Thread: Acceptable for a first DE?

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