Thread: Mystery DE in the hands of a noob

When I used DEs I never went with aggressive open comb razors as they just cut me up too much. Now that I use straights I know what a light touch means and so DEs are all fine for me. I think in your case going from straights to DEs is probably a much easier learning curve.

I went from cartridge razors to DEs to straights. Now when I travel if I have to go back to a previous method DEs wherever possible, cartridge if not. My shaves are much better than before.

Glad you managed to clean this up and shave with it. I wish I had something from my grandfather in my shaving collection.

Originally Posted by Porl

When I used DEs I never went with aggressive open comb razors as they just cut me up too much. Now that I use straights I know what a light touch means and so DEs are all fine for me. I think in your case going from straights to DEs is probably a much easier learning curve.

Yes, I found that after I had gotten a good grip on how to shave with a straight razor using an aggressive DE was no big deal anymore. Using a straight razor taught me the importance of finding the right angle to use with any razor type and exactly what a light touch meant.

I do believe that the OC razor the OP used to shave with is an aggressive one. The design of the head may have been for the use of the early thicker style DE blades. Using the modern thin ones may also contribute to the aggressiveness of the razor. Those old style OC Gillette razors will shave right up there with a straight razor for me.

Bob

Yeah, it worked as well as my Dovo. Still figuring out the ATG pass, but it'll come. I do think shaving with straights has given me an edge (intended) in using a DE razor. If I'd gone from cartridges, I probably would have cut myself up pretty badly by now.

Originally Posted by BobH

I do believe that the OC razor the OP used to shave with is an aggressive one. The design of the head may have been for the use of the early thicker style DE blades. Using the modern thin ones may also contribute to the aggressiveness of the razor.

I think the old thicker razor blades would make an Old Type more aggressive, not less aggressive -- it's less aggressive with modern thin blades. This is because a thicker blade lifts the edge away from the cap (the base plate). Some people shim the Old Type to make it more aggressive. With Astra SPs, Old Types feel to me about the same as a Fat Boy dialed to 5.