Newb DE questions.

Ok I was in an antique store and found this metal box with like 2 ducks and a book on it, opened it and inside was a DE razor, finger nail clipper, file and a comb. On the bottom was a sticker that says right on it made in China 1983. So I have been curious about safety razor shaving and this thing was $9 and made the same year I was born so I thought what the heck why not. Now that I have it my questions are, are the blades in the paper safe or ok to use? And since I have never used one of these once the blade is in the head, how much do you tighten the head to the handle? I apologize if these are not correct terms. Also I guess most importantly, should I even shave with this thing?? Thank you all in advance :D

pictures would be helpful so we can tell more about the razor. i would think the blades would be safe if they are new and not rusty.

Im in the process I only took one pic of it and the kit is at home and the one I have may not be helpful but when my email gets it Ill post :DAttachment 219369 Here we go tintin , it is the only one I have hope this helps??

It looks like a three piece razor. If it is you just screw the head on to the handle until it's snug. It should accept standard DE blades. With that picture this is all an assumption.

I was going to say the same thing. If it is a three piece be sure you have the middle piece (for lack of a better term, that is the curved shiny piece being the top and the middle piece being not the handle) facing the right way. i've seen so many in antique stores put together wrong. the curve of the blade will match the curve of the top. there is going to be some flex in the blade so expect that as you tighten it.

Thanks thebigspendur and tintin, it is not a great picture so I appreciate what you can tell me from not giving you much to work with. It is 3 pieces and I figured that was all I would do is put a blade in and snug it just wanted to make sure. This thing is nothing fancy but just wanted to try a safety razor and rather than spend $20 @ walmart on the one the Pawn Star guy has his face on I thought I would give this a shot. Thanks again fellas

if you would like to try some different blades pm me and i can send you some samples. they are not all the same.

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Originally Posted by tintin

if you would like to try some different blades pm me and i can send you some samples. they are not all the same.

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Thank you so much that is very nice of you to offer that. I am gonna see what the blades in the package look like and if they suck I have some for my shavette that I can try but I might take you up on your offer. Thanks again tintin :)

Well I tried the 32 yr old blade that was in the paper and had my first DE shave. I was impressed for a $9 razor at how well it shaved! I would like a heavier one, this things is aluminum and pot metal far as I can tell but it gave a great shave far as I can tell. Thanks for the info gents much appreciated.

If you're still interested in a new razor, and excellent first choice is either the Edwin Jagger DE89 or the Merkur 34c.

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Originally Posted by Wayne1963

If you're still interested in a new razor, and excellent first choice is either the Edwin Jagger DE89 or the Merkur 34c.

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Thanks for the suggestions Wayne1963 so far the little cheapo I have seems to be working well with the Dollar Gen blades I am using. I must not have terribly sensitive skin because I hear very little good about those blades but they seem to be ok. I will one day upgrade and get a better razor when I get the fun money set aside : )

I have tried to use old DE blades in the past, rough wow, they were out in the open when I found them, maybe 7-8 years old. Dust and just moist air can have an effect on a blade, DE blades are thin and it doesn't take much to ruin it.

The blade that came with this shave kit was I am assuming the original I believe Eagle brand. It was actually just as sharp as the blades I had and sharper than the ones I just got from Dollar Gen. But the blade was still sealed so to speak in paper with another paper package on that.