Thread: DE Newbie Sticky

Though I may not be good at it yet, I am a full-time straight razor shaver. However, this forum has also interested me in DE's, as a travel option, a time saver, or a back-up because I have a tendency to render my straights unusable for short periods of time through learning to shave, strop, and hone.

Now that I want to start keeping my eyes peeled for a DE on my antique store runs, I started doing research about them. But the information is quite scattered and I noticed that there is no sticky thread for newbies.

Is there an experienced DE shaver who can create a comprehensive thread about the various types of DE's and basic instruction for assembly/use?

Thank you to everyone who is so generous with their stories and insights on this forum.

Hello Jonathan,

My first suggestion for you would be to try one of the other shaving forums that specializes in DE or SE shaving such as badgerandblade or theoriginalsafety as they specialize in in safety razors where SRP specializes in SR razors.

Safety razors are as vapid in choices as straights are and I am not knowledgeable enough to sum them up in a single post. You are however ahead of the game as you already know about making lather and shaving in passes so will just need to adjust to the feel of using a DE or SE which IMO have a much easier learning curve.


I will lightly touch on some of the categories you should look into:
DE:
new (merkur, edwin jagger) or vintage (gillette, wilkinson)- Much like a straight both new and vintage safety razors will give fine shaves and like most things comes down to preference

blades- blades are as important as the razor itself as a bad blade can make even the best razor shave like crap. There are too many brands and preferences out there so your best bet is to buy a "sampler pack" from a shaving supplier and find out yourself.

Type (TTO,adjustable, 2 piece, 3piece, open comb, bar)- Do you like agrressive or mild shavers? heavy or light razors? this is the same as comparing straight razors grinds and sizes and make all the difference in choosing a razor right for you.

SE:
Vintage- there are no longer any current makers of SE (single edge) razors so you will have to find a vintage one.

Wedge blade or new style blade- SE razors were made to both use a wedge style blade (think of it as a small piece of a straight) that you actually hone and strop, and also new style blades which are basically the normal razor blades you think of in hardware stores (you should look for high quality ones such as ted pella or persona blades though). Both give a different feel to a shave and are worth exploring.

type (open comb, bar, wood handle, hollow handle, long handle)- Much like DE's the weight and style of a SE will change the shave from aggressive to mild and should be considered before a purchase.

I would also highly recommend checking out Mantic's videos if you haven't already done so.


This is just a fraction of the amount of stuff to look into concerning shaving with safety razors. It is worth the research as safety razors can add change to routine and have thier uses as travel razors or when running late. The point is not to convert to safety over a straight but to expand your shaving knowledge and therfore expand the fun of the hobby that is wetshaving Good luck and keep us posted if you have any specific questions.

-1 on the recommendation for Badger & Blade. I find the overall quality of The Shave Den and Welcome to ShaveMyFace.com vastly superior. Unless you really want to learn what the hands down totally raddest Übershaver way to getting rid of leg hair is.

If anyone wants to create a Wiki page for DE usage and resources, I'm game though. Just let me know.

Regards,
Robin

Originally Posted by BeBerlin

-1 on the recommendation for Badger & Blade. I find the overall quality of The Shave Den and Welcome to ShaveMyFace.com vastly superior. Unless you really want to learn what the hands down totally raddest Übershaver way to getting rid of leg hair is.

If anyone wants to create a Wiki page for DE usage and resources, I'm game though. Just let me know.

Regards,
Robin

Targeting B&B in such a manner is uncalled for. Shave Nazi's are unwelcome on any gentlemanly forum.

Originally Posted by spinyeel

Targeting B&B in such a manner is uncalled for.

What makes you say that?

Originally Posted by spinyeel

Shave Nazi's are unwelcome on any gentlemanly forum.

You might want to rephrase that remark.

I'd never reccomend people not go to B&B, but I do know they are very ban happy and heavy handed than SMF or TSD.

There's plenty of good advice on ALL forums, and if you're looking to get better or research everything out there to get better, then alliance's to different forums is simply going to prevent quickly progressing your knowledge to its fullest potential.

There's nothing wrong with the B&B forum (badgerandblade.com), the folk there have been extremely welcoming and forth coming with advice in my experiences DE shaving and being a member. In fact I've found ALL shaving forums fall in that category, regardless of which forum it is, members are sharing their passion for ideas, and tips for getting the best shave possible.

There is a larger DE community at B&B and I would highly recommend a visit if you were looking for further information. You certainly won't find forum members rude, personally IMO I can't recommend them highly enough.

Good luck