Thread: Looking for an excellent DE shaver

Hello, Mathew:

I own and have owned numerous Merkur models, including the 34C and the 38C, as well as a collection of vintage Gillettes, among other brands. The Edwin Jagger 89L received my highest recommendation. The workmanship in the EJ 89L is impeccable and the shave superb. What's more, the razor is reasonably priced. Try it with blades such as Feather, Gillette 7 O'Clock "Sharp Edge" in the yellow wrapping, Astra, Personna "red" and Derby.

Regards,

Obie

Ace, Obie, thank you both for your thoughts. I do appreciate (and trust) your worthy advice.

Does anyone know anything about Muhle DE's? I've read some good things about those as well. On the whole it seems that the Edwin Jagger receives more accolades than the Merkur so I'm leaning towards the 89L at this point.

A wonderful day to you,
Matthew

I have the Merkur 38C with the comb style guard. I use it with Merkur and Feather blades. It really is a great razor. Secure in the hand and very maneuverable.

Every D/e is A good d/e, it's all in the hands of the operator. Picking a first d/e can be challenging as everyone has their own opinions. EJ' and Muhle's are are from my understanding basically the same razors but with different handles. (and much different price). Merkur HD's have many fans. I personally find Ej's and Merkur HD horrible shavers. It's a total YMMV thing. I highly recommend vintage Gillettes as a great entry point until you can figure out what you really desire in a d/e. If your set on new razors there are some great tech clones out there, the feather clone is highly regarded. You can check out Bruce on shaving's blog for a great article on picking your first d/e.

I have Merkur Slant 39C, it shaves just great.

++1 on the previous posts. My preference would be for the Edwin Jagger 89L. It is a great shaver.

Unfortunately, it's one of those things where you have to use razor and blade combinations to determine what's best for you. The best bet is get something a lot of others have found to be working for them and you'll probably be OK. I've had 2 mercurs, a vision and the 39C and I wasn't crazy about either of them. I have a fatboy and it's a fine razor and I have an EJ Chatsworth and the Feather stainless and I find those two to be the best DEs I've ever used.

Im sure this has been covered, but I shaved for the first time with my parker 91R tonight. Its fairly inexpensive compared to some, and it works great. Nice and beefy, with a good solid feel

I've found these to all be excellent:

Feather Portable
Feather Popular
Merkur Futur
Gillette Short-handled Tech.

I agree with Jim i just bought the Feather Popular to use for when I travel by plane and it works well I still fell my shaves with my straights are better but the Popular gives a provides a good shave also. I am just in the process of figuring out which blades I prefer.