Ok...so I just purchased a safety razor from Edwin Jagger after using the Merkur 34c for quite some time. I decided to do this because I have read countless comments on how the EJ is less aggressive and perhaps a bit more forgiving. It's not that I was disappointed with the 34c. In fact, I have had great success with it. But as we all seem to find out eventually it is impossible to have just ONE razor. We all get that itch to expand our arsenal. So I decided to pick up a DE86 since I wanted the highly praised DE89 head with the black handle. I used it today for the first time and got some surprising results. I used a fresh Feather blade and my usual MWF soap with a fine badger brush from AoS. This is exactly the same as I was using with my 34c. I was a little confused, though, as to why the EJ felt so much more aggressive than the 34c. I did everything the same and somehow this razor just felt very harsh. I have to be the only person on the planet to have this experience. Just about every review or comparison I have read say the EJ is milder than the 34c. And the Feather blades seem to be quite a popular choice for this particular razor. I can't help but wonder what the heck I have done wrong. I was so excited to get this razor and my first shave with it was kind of a disappointment. Where do I go from here?
Surprising results from my EJ DE86
- Thread starter rfn379
- Start date
Sorry to here that, try a different blade maybe?
After 6-7 months of DE shaving I decided to try the DE89 head. It was the biggest disappointment for me too. I tried a whole week to like it, but it was never nice. I highly recommend to try open comb. That was the best solution for me.
- Thread starter
- #4
I decided to swap out the Feather for one of the Derby blades that came with it. It was equally disappointing. That was my first time using a Derby blade. I have heard very mixed reviews about them so I don't know if I'll use them again. I am considering some Astra SP blades since they seem to be quite popular around here as well. My technique using a DE razor admittedly needs some work so maybe I should put the Feathers back on the shelf altogether until I am more proficient and give the EJ a shot with another good quality blade.
The DE89 is ridiculously mild for me. You're probably pressing down too hard. Sometimes when things don't work the way we expect we overcompensate by pressing down more.
It's got a very tiny angle at which it works. Find the right angle and it will work with less pressure.
Also a feather is a terrible blade to learn with. It's merciless.
It's got a very tiny angle at which it works. Find the right angle and it will work with less pressure.
Also a feather is a terrible blade to learn with. It's merciless.
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- Thread starter
- #6
Yeah I have learned that the hard way and with plenty of bloody lessons learned. I went with them because I have fairly thick scruff and figured I would just go for the sharpest blade I could find. Great blades but very unforgiving for sure. I just ordered some Astra SP blades so we'll see how they pair up with my DE86. Fingers crossed and alum block ready.
Try a different angle? The blade is set in the head at a different angle vs the merkur. I find my skin likes the DE89 head at a fairly steep angle.
- Thread starter
- #8
When I shaved today I tried to pay closer attention to the blade angle and how much pressure I was using. I did notice that the EJ has a much tighter effective angle. I also realized something else separate from the razor. I recently started experimenting with a boar bristle brush that I found out retains much less water than badger. I wasn't aware of that until I did some research here. Keeping that in mind I put a bit more water into the lather bowl to compensate since I was probably producing lather that was too dry. It made a big difference. My shave this morning was much more successful. Very slight irritation, probably due to sloppy technique, but nowhere near as bad as a few days ago.
