My first razor that I bought was the Edwin Jagger DE89 Edwin Jagger DE Safety Razor, 'Extra Grip' Handle, Knurled Chrome. Any suggestions for a second razor? A slant or adjustable maybe?
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My first razor that I bought was the Edwin Jagger DE89 Edwin Jagger DE Safety Razor, 'Extra Grip' Handle, Knurled Chrome. Any suggestions for a second razor? A slant or adjustable maybe?
IMHO you can't go wrong with a Merkur Slant, 137C for the standard, or 139C for the longer handle. Unless you've found your favorite blade get a sampler pack along with it.
What about picking up a vintage in good condition ?
What do you like about the EJ? Anything you don't like? Would you like to try something a little more aggressive, or a little less? The DE89 is a perfect first razor, because it's right in the middle in almost every way. Which way do you want to go from there?
Agree...Merkur 37c Slant. I use it and my EJ 89, depending on how long it has been between shaves. The Merkur is a great razor with Feather blades. It is nothing to be afraid of. Respected yes.
I must agree with the Merkur 37C slant, it's a wonderful razor. I would add the Merkur Progress as well, as I find that it's also a great razor. I like how I can adjust the Progress to be very aggressive to milder.
Yes, the Merkur slant will take it up a notch or two but is a delight use once you get used to it. Alternatively an adjustable, like a vintage Gillette, will allow you to play with setting the aggressiveness to your current level and let you increase it as you get better with it. Can't go too far wrong either way.
Bob
Alex,
Try the American-made all stainless steel Weber. The razor is a wee bit more aggressive than your Edwin Jagger and not as aggressive as the Merkur slant. Weber's finish is not as slick as that on some of the other stainless steel razors, but the quality is topnotch. For the modern adjustable double edge razor, the Merkur Progress is a fine choice.
Agree with Obie...I also have a Weber in my rotation, and use it with regularity. It is a well made, slightly more aggressive razor and will last for several generations.
I also think you should first describe what you like about the DE89. Based on that we'll be able to give you some suggestions. Otherwise, just buy what looks good to you.
Alex7,
By way of a change, you could try a vintage GEM/EverReady SE razor.
The GEM/EverReady 1912 would be an excellent choice to start with. They are easily available and well priced.
For me, these SE razors shave superbly when paired with a GEM PTFE coated stainless blade.
Have fun :)
Best regards
Russ
Alex, try a Gillette fatboy, they're an excellent adjustable DE. One in good condition will set you back a few dollars but less than what you'd pay for a new quality straight razor. Check out that well-known auction site and you'll get an idea of values and condition.
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Originally Posted by Maladroit
I'll second the recommendations for a vintage Gillette adjustable, the FatBoy being my personal favorite. On the other hand, when it comes to slants, the Alpha is the recently released Open Combed Slant S-2 from Above the Tie. Machined out of stainless, not cheap, cast pot metal like the Merkurs.
After all the DE's I tried I found that many provided nearly identical results.
The adjustable Gillette's are nice, and I liked the Ikon Shavecraft 101 as well (beautifully machined head...)
I finally settled on the Muhle R41 though. My shaves are so close and last for such a long time after using this razor I just never looked back.
I love how the slants look, and tried them but they didn't work well for me.
Regardless of what you decide to try, I hope you get lucky and grab something that works well and meets your expectations!
Right now my go to DE is a Standard. it's muscled out my Feather DS-2.
I broke my bank on a Feather Stainless not long ago. Its been worth every penny. Superb shaver.
Given the one you have is fairly mild, I'd go with something more aggressive like the Muhle R41. It's open comb, and more aggressive, but I get an excellent close shave with mine. Some suggest it's too aggressive, but I don't find it so...you just need to pay attention.
You can't go wrong with a vintage Gillette! Maybe a Fatboy, Aristocrat, Flaretip.........
The problem is there are so many great choices.
And full disclosure - I very seldom use a DE these days...
I have the Weber that Obie suggests, and it is indeed well made and a great razor.
The Slants...with a Feather...with some experience...great (amazing) shaves.
In my stand on the counter? A 1953 (Y-4) Super Speed TTO to remind me of the Glory Days of the TTO...
Good luck with your choice...
Smooth Shaving..
after buying a Merkur Futur its hard to recomend anything else !! i love it .. bbbuuuttt i still have a heart for my Gillette Slim adjustable and an older Gillette TTO ... as stated above try a sampler pack of blades .. ive had the worst DE shave with a certain razor then tried a new blade and then loved the razor ... good luck in your search !!
I mostly use EJ89EG But in rotation is my Gillette Slim Adjustable and my Merkur 38 & 34c. Tried a Merkur Slant but never could get used to it but my nephew loves it.. Any of the vintage Gillette Adjustables a great razors, but make sure it's in good working condition before buying checking that the adjustment is also in working order.
Try an ikon slant, it is my smoothest shaver. I sold my muhle r89 and my Merkur futur after using the ikon slant and the ikon slant is less aggressive than the ikon closed comb. Just my suggestion
In the interest of fairness, this forum is populated by very passionate wet shavers, who are accustomed to paying a lot of money for straight razors. To them a hundred dollars for a stainless DE isn't a big deal, and those razors are works of art. But I do hate for beginners to get the idea that you have to spend that kind of money to get a great razor. Vintage Gillettes are great deals (even "cheap" non adjustables). And again, I understand the enjoyment of using a modern stainless razor, but I've got modern cheap chrome plated pot metal Merkurs that are over 30 years old, and still look good and work perfectly.
I agree with Java. I happen to have a Gillette adjustable from the 60s that is a little out of whack (I'm guessing it was dropped), so buyer beware wh en going vintage to use. I also have a stainless Merkur that I got from SRD for around $50 that is a great shaver, and a good one from Maggard that was even less. You don't need to go to Ikons or Above the Ties to get a good shave. Buy a lower end one and you'll be able to see what style and level of aggressiveness you prefer. You can also buy stand alone heads that you can use on handles you like and make your own "mix and match". I've done that with a stainless handle from Maggard and a Muhle head from some other vendor.
I have been using a Parker 96 as my "entry" into wet shaving. It has a long handle because of my ham hock sized hands. It was worked great for me. I recently got my dad's DE razor (unknown make/model) that had sat in a cabinet since he died in '82. A little cleaning off some dust and it has been a great shave and it has a short handle.
I can hear the comments about only using one or two razors, how do I know what is good; or other people have had a bad experience with Parker. My answer is that this is such a personal opinion hobby. What is a beautiful shave for you with a $100 razor may look like a cheese grater on my face. My $30 razor gives me a beautiful shave and my hand me down is a personal heirloom that is worth more than $5,000 to me. The hand me down is probably worth $20 on an open market but this is opinion and personal choice.
Every face is different with curves, dry skin, oily skin, acne scars, etc. all the opinions here are good and based on honest experience. The best opinion I saw was to experiment with what you can afford and just enjoy the shave:gl: