Question about getting a razor

[Blue58]

A safety razor is much cheaper to use and it isn't that difficult to use. I suppose most guys (and girls) my age learned to shave with one.

To be safe, start out with a Gillette Tech, which is a three piece razor as opposed to a twist to open (TTO). You can get a Tech off e-bay for around $10. or you may find one for sale on this board. You can get a new Tech style razor made by Lord (Lord Tech) new for about $8. The Techs are pretty mild razors and you can learn to shave with a saftey razor, commonly referred to as a "DE" for double edged, without too much worry about cutting yourself. I prefer the three piece razors to the TTO's but you will figure out what you want to use after you have tried a few different types. The choices are many and everyone has a favorite but you don't have to spend a lot of money getting into this so if you don't like it you can just ditch it.

You can get an inexpensive soap and brush at Wallgreens for just a few bucks. The brand is "Van der Hagen" commonly referred to as VDH. You will find soap and brush way better than the canned stuff from the drug store that you're probably using plus it is entertaining to learn.

I still use Williams soap most of the time but I don't recommend it as a first soap - you may never want to bother with it actually but chances are you will eventually take on the challenge. I think it is the most contested soap on B & B so if you don't try it you will never get to take a side.

Then there are a great number of brands of blades to try; that seems to be a hobby in itself. Just get a sampler pack to start with and read the reviews.

Other members will provide more advice and this is the place to come for good advice and laughs. I've found the members here to be a great bunch and I've learned quite a lot from them.

Also, there are often newbie starter kits offered for sale on the board and that may be your best and most efficient introduction to the hobby. I had never thought of shaving as a hobby but it seems to be turning into one.

Enjoy!

And you have to admit, you love every minute of that hobby don't you??

 

[Blue58]

Switch

1) Chicks Dig it (the 2 flare tips that I have arent that nice looking, but the Slim adj. gets noticed!) manly men use real TOOL to trim wiskers, not some plastic widget turned out of some factory in a far off third world country.
2) Better shaves
3) Instead of shaving being an early morning chore, it becomes some kind of insane hobby.
4) It really could be a cheap hobby if I could only resist RAD, SCAD, and whatever else this contagious board has to offer. Holding the razor count to 3 for now, too many decisions....Mergress or Futur or Fatboy or Ranger Tech Or Merkur HD, sigh I want them all.
5) Blades are seriously cheap, buy thousands of em, you know incase of _____ insert a commerce ending disater of epic proportions
6) Everybody has a Fusion, except pple who know better or the recently converted.
7)You get to drive around from pharmacy to supermarket to mall to high end boutique looking for more and more stuff to fuel your "hobby".
8)Instead of going to bed at an appropriate hour you can spend alot of time writing very long comments about the world of shaving.
9)Having eventually purchased every razor you could ever want with an ample supply of blades, soaps, creams, aftershaves, brushs, and other misc. items you may want to sell some on B&B's b/s/t board or keep them all to yourself. Eitherway perhaps then you may finally begin that whole saving money business that you hear so much about.
10) Dont really have anything to add except that 10 seemed like a gd # to stop ranting at, Did I mention Chicks Dig It!?

Snag a Starter Kit in the B/S/T, that way when it arrives you should have almost everything you will need and wont have to wait on several packages from several places which arent likely to show up at the same time.

you forgot to mention Aristocrats

Now tell us how much you love your hobby

 

[Ollivander]

3) Instead of shaving being an early morning chore, it becomes some kind of insane hobby.

So true. So very true.

 

[rdh1223]

Not sure how I feel about Aristocrats yet, maybe I need to shave with 1...
I Love my new shaving hobby, best thing since Nintendo for keeping the weak-minded off the streets

 

[Blue58]

Not sure how I feel about Aristocrats yet, maybe I need to shave with 1...
I Love my new shaving hobby, best thing since Nintendo for keeping the weak-minded off the streets

A 1946 Aristocrat with an Astra Super Platinum blade has to be the perfect shave I can do WTG and ATG and get a BBS shave after 3 days with one blade ... and thats shaving face and head

 

[Buck Melanoma]

You've gotten some good perspectives in this thread.

All I have to add is that I never, not once, ever, enjoyed a single shave when using multi-blade razors (Gillette or Shick) over the course of twenty-five years' worth of shaves, but now I enjoy every morning's shave.

You can't beat that with a stick.