Most beneficial upgrade?

I'm curious as to what you all think would be my most beneficial upgrade(besides more practice). As with most of my hobbies, I quickly become a collector of whatever that hobby entails and really enjoy the process of finding what works best for me. I've been doing a lot of reading on here lately, but can't make up my mind as to what my next purchase should be. Hopefully y'all have some advice.

Here's what I've got so far...



Two no name badger brushes(chrome handles, they actually work pretty well though)
VDH Boar
Omega 49
EJ Kelvin
Merkur 34c
Merkur 23c
various bowls, soaps, cream, blades, AS's..., I've got a bunch of samples on the way of all these.

What do you all think would be the most "bang for the buck" upgrade over what I've already got? I'm thinking of maybe trying a more aggressive razor since the ones I have a fairly mild. Any suggestions?

Vintage Gillette OLDs, NEWs, and Slims are great bang for your buck.

Semogue 1305 boar brush - a great brush for face and bowl lathering
Soap: Arko and Tabac, everyone should try these great products.
Cream: Depends on the scents you like (Cyril Slater, TOBS, GFT all are great creams)
Razors: Gillette New, Old, Superspeed, tech

Whipped dog sight unseen

I'm going to order a Semogue 620 soon, might add a 1305 to the order! Lol

As for vintage razors, I've done a lot of looking on the bay, but can't make up my mind. There are so many to choose from and I have yet to find a good comparison showing what the differences are between them. I did check a local antique store. They didn't have any, but said they'd call if they got any in.

Agree 100%

troy said:

Vintage Gillette OLDs, NEWs, and Slims are great bang for your buck.

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I'm not a fan of any of the soaps displayed, so I would say a "better" soap. Try Stirling or Mickey Lee Soap Works.

Try an alum block.
It will tighten up your skin at post shave , and is useful for getting a better grip with your fingers when skin stretching.
Skin stretching is a handy technique for getting at trouble spots.
Alum will greatly improve the grip on your razor too.

MrSpeedy said:

I'm not a fan of any of the soaps displayed, so I would say a "better" soap. Try Stirling or Mickey Lee Soap Works.

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Ive got a bunch of samples on the way from the shave den. Once I've sniffed a few of them to find out what I like I be placing an order for more. I also really want to try the green and red Proraso.., hopefully I'll pick them up soon too.

Merkur 39C slant.

Most beneficial upgrade?

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Joining B&B.

Try some of the classic drugstore aftershaves like Skin Bracer and Aqua Velva.

High end shaving soap like Barrister and Mann.

And

A good alcohol based after shave splash like Captains Choice.

Also, keep trying different blades in all you razors.

I could shave with a Merkur 34c, Omega 49, Feather blades, and the Nivea Sensitive ASB for days without wanting anything different. My only suggestion would be to get a nicer soap like Tabac, D.R. Harris, or Barrister & Mann.

Lose the DEs.
Get Injectors.
Enjoy shaving more.

GoneRetroInOH said:

Merkur 39C slant.

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The razors I have seem pretty mild so Ive contemplated trying a slant to try something more aggressive. Would this be a big jump, or more of a reasonable step up in aggressiveness?

royal52 and Claudel, I've got a D.R. Harris Arlington sample on the way and I'm looking forward to trying it!

eleuther0s, I tired to grab some Old Spice when SWMBO wasn't looking, but she saw it, took a whiff, and immediately said no. She said it'd make me smell like an old man(I'm 34)! Lol! She hated the smell. I got the Gillette Cool Wave as a compromise because she actually liked the smell. I'll try AV or something soon.

Fatheadhill said:

The razors I have seem pretty mild so Ive contemplated trying a slant to try something more aggressive. Would this be a big jump, or more of a reasonable step up in aggressiveness?

royal52 and Claudel, I've got a D.R. Harris Arlington sample on the way and I'm looking forward to trying it!

eleuther0s, I tired to grab some Old Spice when SWMBO wasn't looking, but she saw it, took a whiff, and immediately said no. She said it'd make me smell like an old man(I'm 34)! Lol! She hated the smell. I got the Gillette Cool Wave as a compromise because she actually liked the smell. I'll try AV or something soon.

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I found a slant to be a reasonable step up. It required only a tad bit of additional attention. Going to an "aggressive" razor like the 41C, on the other hand, was a minor bloodbath worse than the original move to DE. As always YMMV.

Didn't notice any straights in your photo...

I'd get at least one really great soap in play: B&M, cold river soap works, Mike's
and at least one great splash: something from fine accoutrements or D R Harris

Rotflmao said:

Didn't notice any straights in your photo...

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I'm not quite that brave yet! Lol