Ready for another

Ok, so I bought a Lord razor to start and I'm ready to buy another. My two top runners are the EJ89 and Merkur34C hd. The Lord is working well but after three passes I still do a little touch up in a few places. I will sometimes get minor irritation but it goes away in the shower. I shower after I shave, not before. Looking for opinions on which razor will give me a better shave maybe without the touch ups. I know the EJ is better finished, I'm looking the quality of the shave.

Check out the Modern Double-Edged Safety Razors Ranked by Aggressiveness article in the Shave Wiki. It ranks both razors in terms of aggressiveness and includes a buyer's guide among other things.

I have the EJ89 & the Merkur 34C HD in my regular rotation. I find that both of them give excellent shaves- and I don't notice any particular difference in the quality of shaves they provide- that's more of a technique and consistency issue on the "operator" end for me. It would really come down to a couple things that only personal preference can decide: the length/shape of the handle, overall weight & whether or not you like the 3-piece design of the EJ or the 2-piece TTO of the Merkur. (These 2 razors, along with a newly acquired pre-War Tech, are my standard razors). Both are excellent, well-made razors- and the shaves they provide are very similar in my experience. (If I had to do it over again- I would probably choose the EJ "DE3D14bl 3D" diamond edge- just for a bit of extra grip- and it looks great). I don't think you can go wrong either way...good luck!

Go vintage. Gillette Tech or Super Speed. Great, classic shavers.

Ok, and this may be a silly question but will a more aggressive razor give me less irritation because I'll need fewer passes ? Or more irritation because it's more aggressive?

Jersey Johnny said:

Ok, and this may be a silly question but will a more aggressive razor give me less irritation because I'll need fewer passes ? Or more irritation because it's more aggressive?

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IMHO, with proper technique no razor should give you irritation, regardless of its aggressiveness.

Aggressive razors will certainly highlight flaws in your technique though.

I'd suggest an open comb, a Gillette NEW LC is a very smooth and efficient shaver. Not aggressive, just efficient.

Jersey Johnny said:

Ok, and this may be a silly question but will a more aggressive razor give me less irritation because I'll need fewer passes ? Or more irritation because it's more aggressive?

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Very much depends on your technique, skin, and hair types. For reference, I am one of the few who after 6 months of trial and error found out by using a Fatboy wide open at 9, and a NEW LC with 3 shims, that I need a lot of blade exposure in order to get a close, irritation-free shave with minimal passes. I spent about 5 months with less aggressive razors, including a 37c, and a NEW which are commonly categorized as efficient, but not aggressive. I could not get nearly as comfortable a shave with any of them. I would recommend that if you have spent plenty of time working on your technique with something on the mild side and still get irritation, try out something more aggressive.

If you aren't opposed to used, I would recommend a vintage Slim. Prices are reasonable, and you can use the adjustments to change the aggressiveness to figure out what you prefer.

In my opinion you need a razor that pairs well with your skin. No matter how advanced your technique my be, using a aggressive razor with sensitive skin just does not pair well. You need to find out which razor works best for you. Depending on your skin type, you may find out you need an aggressive razor, or you may also find out you need a very mild razor. A little bit of trial and error trying a few different razors is usually needed to help determine what type of razor your skin type allows. Also depending on your shaving routine, if your shaving everyday, or only shaving every couple days, along with the creams or soaps your using, can change how well your skin tolerates some razors. As mentioned by gwsmallwood, having an adjustable razor in the beginning is very helpful in determining which end of the spectrum your skin type needs are. I use a merkur progress pretty much exclusively, and use different settings for the different areas of my face, and have found out doing it this way reduces any irritation but also allows me to get a completely smooth shave everywhere.

So while I spent the last two days hunting for Whitetailed deer I had some time to do some reading on my phone. This forum is a great wealth of information. I was reading about no pressure and blade angle. So tonight's shave began with mixing up some lather in the new bowl I got from ebay, found a deal on one from the VDH premium kit bowls that I couldn't refuse. I started mixing and thinking things seemed a bit thin and then all of a sudden there it was, the lather I'd been looking for. I lathered up and with the lightest touch I could muster and paying special attention to blade angle I made my first pass, actually did with the grain twice, then across the grain and then against the grain. Still needed to go back to a few areas and touch up. This going back and touching up is the reason that I'm leaning towards the 34C and it's slightly more agressiveness. Anyway, after all these passes with the light touch and careful blade angle I have to say this is the best shave that I have gotten and no irritation!!!!! Thanks to everyone and this site for the helpfulness. I'm now sitting here typing this with two fingers of adult beverage and going to go DE razor shopping online.

gwsmallwood said:

Very much depends on your technique, skin, and hair types. For reference, I am one of the few who after 6 months of trial and error found out by using a Fatboy wide open at 9, and a NEW LC with 3 shims, that I need a lot of blade exposure in order to get a close, irritation-free shave with minimal passes. I spent about 5 months with less aggressive razors, including a 37c, and a NEW which are commonly categorized as efficient, but not aggressive. I could not get nearly as comfortable a shave with any of them. I would recommend that if you have spent plenty of time working on your technique with something on the mild side and still get irritation, try out something more aggressive.

If you aren't opposed to used, I would recommend a vintage Slim. Prices are reasonable, and you can use the adjustments to change the aggressiveness to figure out what you prefer.

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+1. As I've gotten older the whiskers around my chin have become as hard as tungsten steel. I've had the same experience as Garrett.
The 34C and EJ89 are considered mild razors and Garrett's suggestion regarding an adjustable is worth considering. If you do settle on a 34C, try the sharper blades in it - Feather, Gillette 7 O'Clock Yellow, Polsilver SI.

Cheers, George

Is the head on the 33C the same as the 34C? I've read conflicting reports. I found a good deal on one and the handle length is closers to the lord razor I am using.

Which Lord is it? I've got the L5 Tech, and I'm having a very hard time deciding if it's 'better' than my Pre war Tech! It's pretty close in comfort and a tad more aggressive, and may very well turn into my daily?! My opinion anyway is to maybe try a couple different blades before you give up on the Lord. For me it likes the sharper ones, usually Gillette Sword's, or Israel Personna's.

It's the L-125, supposed to be the upgraded L6. I really like it and not giving up on it, just looking for something else to play with. Originally I wanted the 34C but got the Lord to try as a first because of the price. Looking at 34C's now and realized how much shorter the handle is than the Lord. That's when I found the deal on the 33C.

Jersey Johnny said:

It's the L-125, supposed to be the upgraded L6. I really like it and not giving up on it, just looking for something else to play with. Originally I wanted the 34C but got the Lord to try as a first because of the price. Looking at 34C's now and realized how much shorter the handle is than the Lord. That's when I found the deal on the 33C.

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The 23c has the longer handle, but it is not as big in diameter as the 34c. Heads on the 33c, 23c, and 34c are indeed the same.

Well that's the good and bad thing about 'getting more'. Handles are never an issue as there's a million ways to change them around until you find the right one, should that ever happen!

Good reason to go with the 33c, I can just change the handle if I want to.

Well, found a heckva deal on a new EJ DE89L ($25.32 shipped). So that's what I'm getting next. I'm sure there will be a 34C in the future sometime.

Look into some gillette vintage ones

Two shaves under my belt with the EJ de89. So far I prefer the Lord razor. Closer shave with the Lord and the ej is giving me some slight irritation. I'm going to try a feather blade in the ej next and see what happens.

Edit: I realized that I don't have enough posts to list something for sale here so I listed it on ebay. I hope it's ok to show the link.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Edwin-Jagger-DE89L-Razor-/321628331213?