a bad time

Greetings everyone, for the past few years i've been using an electric razor
anyway, i don't really have a thick beard, and what i do have grows pretty slowly so its been kinda sufficient, it's just really not enjoyable doing a thousand passes, and missing spots

so, im thinking of giving a double edged razor a try, and i was just goign to pick up a cheap $20 kit off ebay

is this a bad idea?, am i going to have a bad time by doing that? and what else would i need

something like this
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/221342751683

really not willing to spend $50-$150 right away

thanks
EDIT:
So i ended heightening my budget, a few nice forumers have offered to send me almost all the gear i'll need to get started (keljian and tonich), other than that, i've probably spent more than i originally thought just on the products & after care (not that that's a bad thing), really amazing community here, member for all of 3 days, and people are helping me out so much

anyway, this thread isnt really about the original topic anymore, right now we're just discussing synthetic brushes/tallow-free soaps, and other care products that i could try, just putting this edit in so people reading only the first post get the whole picture

Welcome to B&B!
It's a start. I also started with a cheapo razor similar to that one, and it was a good razor. Bought it at the supermarket for less than €2.
At a later stage, if you are sure enough DE shaving is for you, then you can get something better, a modern razor, or a vintage Gillette. You will need a soap or a shaving cream, but I guess you can get that locally?

This is useful info:

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Getting_started_wetshaving

Good luck.

Hello and welcome to B&B. that's an OK starter kit. If you are here in the USA, a better alternative would be Garry's sample Shop. He isin the vendor forum. He has a $35 starter kit that has a quality Gillette razor. If you find that you like DE shaving, the razor in the kit you are considering will essentially be a waste of $$ and you will want a better razor for better shaves.

Welcome.

You can also try a vintage Schick Injector. Easy learning curve, and it does a very good job.

Gary's Sample is a a good choice, I have picked up item from him,and they have been very good.

By trying smaller samples it is easier than buying large quantities.

You're probably going a little bit cheaper than you should, and I would say "yes" risking having a poor experience because of it. That kit doesn't include soap/cream or aftershave, so there will necessarily be a little more expense anyway. You should be able to get a razor for about $15 and a brush for about $10. So just a few more dollars than what you picked out. I don't want to spell out exactly what you should buy, because it looks to me like you might be in the Australian market? But I think you shouldn't buy anything without a brand name on it, even if it's a Chinese name, and something you can look up reviews for. The Weishi is cheap, and people review that, so maybe that's something you could try. So is the Lord L6, Utopia, and even the Feather and RazoRock razors are affordable.

All I'm trying to say is you don't have to totally roll the dice. Pick out a branded razor and make sure someone else out there agrees it isn't a total sham.

I agree that buying better gear is a better option. But prices and brands have absolutely nothing to do with shave quality.

BSAGuy said:

Hello and welcome to B&B. that's an OK starter kit. If you are here in the USA, a better alternative would be Garry's sample Shop. He isin the vendor forum. He has a $35 starter kit that has a quality Gillette razor. If you find that you like DE shaving, the razor in the kit you are considering will essentially be a waste of $$ and you will want a better razor for better shaves.

Click to expand...

I think this is spot on. My story was VERY similar to yours. Electric shaving, hated it, a thousand passes, still not close (when it was, I dealt with irritation and ingrowns).

My $0.02: get the Garry's Sample Shop gear, read up and watch youtube videos (geofatboy and mantic59), and LEARN YOUR GROWN DIRECTION/PATTERN! If you think you're going WTG and you're really going ATG?






Best of luck. The advice in these pages (Forum overall) is spectacular. It'll change your life (or at least some of your behaviors )

kidsam said:

Greetings everyone, for the past few years i've been using an electric razor
anyway, i don't really have a thick beard, and what i do have grows pretty slowly so its been kinda sufficient, it's just really not enjoyable doing a thousand passes, and missing spots

so, im thinking of giving a double edged razor a try, and i was just goign to pick up a cheap $20 kit off ebay

is this a bad idea?, am i going to have a bad time by doing that? and what else would i need

something like this
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/221342751683

really not willing to spend $50-$150 right away

thanks

Click to expand...

I'm not at all impressed with your first choice, actually. Is there no access to Van der Hagen setups where you are? One of those, plus a Weishi, which is what the razor now sold under their brand looks like, and you've spent only $40 (stateside).

Yeah, i'm from australia, i was actually looking for branded razors, but the only cheap ones i could find (weishi) ship from hong kong, and would probably take a month + to get here

anyway, i'll be doing more looking over the weekend, and probably order something on sunday or monday

also, that gary's shop stuff, probably a no-go, from what i can see, there's alot less stuff avaliable locally over here

just having a look around, shipping on some sites doesnt seem too extreme
bestshave.net, was about $13 for shipping ontop of ~25 for a wilkinson sword , some random brush that had no negative reviews, and some shaving soap
can anyone suggest any other reputable sites? i might also drop garry a pm just to see what sort of shipping costs he could offer

I had a look at the Amazon site "Down under" and it looked very bleak, unless there is a different name for safety razors. "Goloops" maybe, or "Zopplers"? I was actually amazed by the lack of stuff on Amazon for you chaps there.

well, that could just be because amazon doesnt ship to australia as far as i know (atleast for most things)
i think there is an australian amazon website exclusively for books, or ebooks, or some other niche >.>

Ok guys, i've kinda decided i'm willing to spend up to $ 50 total to get started, bestshave.net has free worldwide shipping for orders over $50

anyway, perhaps some helpful people could build me a few sample shopping carts of the best stuff within the price?

it doesn't have to be from bestshave, but shipping costs may be an issue too (calculate it for NSW australia, 2260 if you get that far :S)

anyways, advice appreciated

kidsam said:

Greetings everyone, for the past few years i've been using an electric razor
anyway, i don't really have a thick beard, and what i do have grows pretty slowly so its been kinda sufficient, it's just really not enjoyable doing a thousand passes, and missing spots

so, im thinking of giving a double edged razor a try, and i was just goign to pick up a cheap $20 kit off ebay

is this a bad idea?, am i going to have a bad time by doing that? and what else would i need

something like this
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/221342751683

really not willing to spend $50-$150 right away

thanks

Edit i'm going to start a new thread for suggestions on what i should buy with a slightly higher budger

Click to expand...

Welcome to B&B. I would say that you can find a Good Gillette on e-Bay, but I would look for a buy it now. I am not sure where you are located, but if you are in the conus I would buy a Weber 3pc. W/Classic Handle 85mm. They are $70.00 plus around $4.00 shipping. http://www.weberrazor.com

Not in the conus, located in australia, which makes everything rather painful & more expencive
$74 is a bit much for just the razor/holder for my current situation anyways, considering i'd still need to buy brush, soap, blades, and other accessories on top of that

i'm looking at one of the only local merchants, they have a few parker razors around $35-40 listed (no idea if parker is a good brand)
http://www.shaverhut.com.au/catalogsearch/result/?___SID=U&p=2&dir=asc&order=price&q=safety+razor
any ideas?

I have a spare basically brand new ej89 I am willing to part with as I don't use it, and I am in Melbourne, send me your address by pm and you can have it for the cost of shipping. (5-10$?)

You will need to get your own cream/soap and brush, but it is a start.

that would be amazing, i'll send you a PM right now

Welcome aboard. Lots of great advice above. Let us know what you decide and keep us posted. Happy Shaving!

so, hopefully that works out, aside from that, what else should i buy to go with it (i'll probably be able to spend a bit more on anything else since keljan is giving it to me for shipping cost)
so, other things i may or may not need
a brush- something from supermarket should work for a start i hope
blades- from what i've seen, feather brand blades are a favorite, astra, and derby are also ones i've seen mentioned
shaving soap(/other)for now, i think i'll try the palmolive shave stick, i'm really not opposed to spending a few dollars more and getting something a little nicer later on though
other stuff i've heard of
alum block/styptic pencil, i'm gonna guess i'll probably cut myself on my first try, so it might be a good idea to get an alum block
aftershave- not really a fan, atleast of splashing scents on my face, would there be a theraputic point or something to getting a non-scented aftershave?
i'm pretty pumped about giving this a try

Proraso cream is easy to lather and relatively cheap, I prefer Taylor of old bond st, Jermyn st though(personally)

So in terms of brushes, I suggest you get a cheap badger brush.

Forget the alum block, get a styptic pencil from a chemist. This will help with weepers

Get some witchhazel from Coles for post shave treatment


Get some Nivea sensitive aftershave balm (Coles also)


I highly recommend getting a 100 pack of astras from eBay for about $15 shipped. Work through them then switch blades once you get your technique right. If this strategy isn't for you, and you are determined to try different things, I can include a few Astra, derby and a few feather blades with the ej.