Thread: To DE or not to DE

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

DEs can be nice but frustrating too. They are recipe driven. This razor, with that blade will be different with anther blade. One DE and 10 different blade makers gives you 10 different shaves. 10 razor makers with 10 blade makers becomes a dizzying effort to find a good, nick free, shave.

+1 DE shaving is all about getting the right combination if you blades you have don't give you a good shave with your razor try different blades. that's why sample packs are so useful. I tell this story to everyone starting with a DE. I own two DE a modern Merkur as well as a Gillette Slim from the 1960's. Merkur blades in the Merkur razor are crap and don't shave worth a darn. However IMO they work very well in the slim. The counter example is derby blades which work very well in the Merkur shave horribly in the slim. This is all just personal opinions and I'm not saying these combinations will work for you. I am only encouraging your to try different blades in what ever razor you end up will untill you find a combination that works for you.

Cheers
-Omid
p.s. As far as a first razor I will just echo the opinions of all the other contributes old Gillette's (any will do) are excellent first razors as well as Merkurs. What ever you choose go with a closed comb to start. And pick first razor based on weight Merkur's tend to be a little on the heavier side which will shave more aggressively.