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Hey guys I just joined the forum and I've been looking for a DE to start with. I don't have the money for a straight or strop yet so I figured this would be a good way to at least get rid of the mach 3. Anyway I've been shopping on a severely small budget and ran across this. I was just hoping to get some feedback.
Amazon.com: Weishi Safety Razor and Travel Case: Health & Personal Care
Weishi is know to be very mild, probably too mild. A much better inexpensive starter DE is a Lord L6 1822L, check eBay, you can get them with a pack of good blades for less than $15.
another good one if you want to go vintage is a Gillette Superspeed. it's mild but not too mild and you can get them off ebay for 15-20 bucks
The WEISHI is a superb razor to start with that is the 9306-A model and is nicely weighted. I use my 9306-E (matt chrome) on a regular basis and remember using it very often when starting Straight Shaving. Yes it is gentle, but it does set a very good blade angle and will teach you to get a good shave from a DE. The advantage for using it as your DE when starting straight shaving, is it does not shave too close, thus irritating your skin, and leaves enough beard for daily shaving as you will be excited to keep trying your straight and will be wishing your beard to grow so you can keep practicing.
I am not a big fan of the 2003-M model as it is aluminum and not bronze like the 9306 model.
It is rumored that the WEISHI is a replica of the Superspeed (as jmbbabson points out is a good razor)
Hope this helps,
Sam.
GTIwarrior,
have you given any thought as to what blade or blades you're going to try first? i'm sure we'd all be happy to make some suggestions on that as well if you would like
Justin
Thanks to all for quick replies. I wen't ahead and got the Lord that Blix recommended. I have not thought about blades just yet, what would you suggest?
Hello, GTIwarrior:
Yes, under the circumstances, the Weishi should be sufficient for a first razor. It's probably modeled after the Gillette Super Speed flare tip popular in the late 50s and the 60s. That was a great little razor. The Weishi is a relatively mild razor and for that it needs a spunky blade. I suggest Derby or Astra, both of which are sharp.
Regards,
Obie
Personally I prefer the Lord L6 with Feather blades, and medical prep personnas. The Lord L6 have a Merkur style head and shaves as good as any much more expensive DE.
Certainly should get a sampler pack, many of the shaving sites common to users on this forum have them so they shouldnt be too hard to find. I second Obie in that a mild razor needs to be compensated with a more aggressive blade. So far I've tried merkur, personna reds, and dorkos. My favorite have been the personnas because they may not be the very sharpest but they are superrr smooth. No nicks or razor burn. Everyone has very personal preferences when it comes to blades though especially since different blades have different feels in different razors
Since you've got the razor, I would order a sampler pack of blades to get an idea of the difference in qualitys, and to find what suits you best. We each have personal preferences, and I think it's best to leave those unstated so you can make up your own mind without trying to make a blade live up to expectations derived from other users experience.
Obie's suggestion on using a more aggressive blade is something I wish I had have been told when I first started using DE's. I own just the one, a Merkur 38c HD, considered a mild shaver and a good starter razor by many. I wish now I had have bought the slant version, but only because I was already shaving daily with a cut-throat anyway. It made blade selection a little slower as I worked my way through the generally accepted scale of sharpness (with the blades in my sampler pack) from the bottom up.
I'm still learning with the DE, and I've been using it off and on for some time (Not as long as many here though) and I'm finding my opinions of blade choice is in constant flux. Feathers, the sharpest (by popular opinion) blades out there, I considered to be way too harsh some months ago, when used again, just today in fact, gave me the best DE shave I've had in a while, without any irritation. I can only put that down to my skills having improved with regards to the meaning of the phrase, 'use a light touch'.
Anyway, best of luck to you and may you get many great shaves in future.
Mick
Thanks again to everyone for all the great advice. I decided on a sample pack from West Coast Shaving.
DE Blade Sampler Pack, Choice
Now I can't wait till they get here, I've got some shaving to do
I was actually going to recommend finding a nice Merkur to start DE shaving, but it's a little late now! Lord is a recommended one, though I haven't tried one as yet.
The sampler pack looks pretty good. I would suggest starting with the Personna blades; I find them to be smooth and easy on the face. Haven't tried Crystals or the Feathers (yet), but Feathers should likely be last- they're supposed to be incredibly sharp.
Just got the razor, and the blades got here yesterday. I feel like a kid on christmas morning. I'm gonna go shave, and I'll let you all know how it went. :)
EDIT: Just finished the shave. It was great, closest and smoothest shave I've ever had. I've got a little irritation and a handful of nicks around the jaw line. Thats not much of a surprise though. Nicks on the jaw line were expected as part of the adjustment process. The irritation I think was caused by excess pressure, but that was the standard with my mach 3. I figure I did pretty good for the first one.
Good to hear mate. Remember to keep your wrist locked, find the right angle by placing the top of the head of the razor on your face and moving your arm, roll the head down till you have the blade edge resting against your face. Then without any more pressure than what the razor weighs, move your arm to commence the shaving stroke. For now do nothing fancy, later on you can attempt things like J strokes etc. Once you're comfortable with the razor and your shaving technique.
Oh yes, and since I mostly use a straight, others advice may be more valid than mine, but what I've told you is what worked for me.
Mick
Forgot to ask earlier but I have a theory. I'm sure someone has thought of this before and it is probably common around here. I was thinking of storing my DE in a plastic soap dish or some other box (preferably air tight) with a dessicant pack. The same as you would find in a bag of beef jerkey. I figure a clean and dry razor in an airtight box with the dessicant shouldn't rust. I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts on this please.
Most DE razors are made of brass (or aluminum, for some Weishi's, or plastic for some really inexpensive models). The brass razors are plated with chrome and/or nickel. They don't rust.
The blades, now, are mostly stainless steel -- they don't rust either.
Rust is a real problem for straight razors, mostly made of non-stainless, high-carbon steel. But not for DE's.
Charles
Ditto the above.
Mick
Agreed. Never had a problem with DE's rusting. Shake them off when you're done and you should be fine
If you were just wanting a way to carry your razor with you in your toiletry bag or something, I would suggest doing what I did, and make yourself a case to put it in. I made a leather case that slides onto the handle and has a wider flap to cover the head of the razor. It just press studs down. You can buy these things for something like $40. But since I'm tighter than a Scotsman, I made my own instead. Probably costs all of $2 if you do it yourself.Quote:
Originally Posted by GTIwarrior
Mick