Thread: looking for a DE

Two great razors in my opinion are the Edwin Jagger DE89L and the Merkur Futur.

Hiya,

I'm a big fan of adjustable razors and was lucky enough to have started my DE journey with a Gillette version. Turned out to be a good fit and led to an easier and less accident prone learning curve that what coulda been the case. It wasn't THE razor, but it was a good start in the right direction.

Someone new to DE shaving can set that thing on #3 to start with, instead of the usual #5 setting most safety bar type fixed head razors feel like they're preset to (at least to my face). I have a few of those types in my rotation, but I don't get em out all that often. Yeah, The shaves are very good, but the comfort isn't quite perfect, since the #4 setting is the magical one for me. Picky, ain't I?

The long black handle Super Adjustable is gonna be an easy razor to make the transition to DE shaving. That's the one I'd recommend for a first razor. The earlier ones (pre 1980 or so) with the all metal baseplate's the preferred model, although I've had good results with the plastic version as well. With any adjustable, do NOT mess with the settings for the first month, otherwise you add another variable to the mix (a bad thing).

There you go.....that's best advice I can give you,

Martin

Excellent thread here. I'm just about to get started in the DE world, being well into straight razor Shaving now but struggling when I travel or need a quicker option. Have never tried a DE, so that will be interested, especially after using straights.

Opted for the Parker 99r at a very reasonable price, and should be able to test tomorrow. Will keep an eye out for these vintage Gillette DEs I keep hearing about, although they seem fairly rare in my neck of the woods.

I picked up the DE after having learned the straight, and found (still find) it a lot of fun. More learning curve than I expected, which for people like us is a good thing or else we wouldn't use a straight razor in the first place.

Originally Posted by Suavio

...Will keep an eye out for these vintage Gillette DEs I keep hearing about, although they seem fairly rare in my neck of the woods...

I got one (a vintage Gillette DE) the other day from 10 bucks, polished it up (back to brass on the top plate) and now it looks very cool and shaves very nice and close too. It's an open comb DE and much more aggressive than my Mühle R 89.

I'd HIGHLY recommend trying one. I have looked at them online before but after getting this one for so cheap I'll certainly be keeping an eye out for more in the local antique shops...

My 99R arrived today and I have to say is a gorgeous looking and feeling razor - it's solid, has a nice handle, the butterfly mechanism feels good and strong, and it seems to close centred. Sorry about the poor photo but have it with me at work - First DE shave later!

Originally Posted by Rori

I prefer open comb DE razors, like Merkur 11c when not shaving with a straight. Unfortunately Merkur does not produce 11c and 12c any longer. But 15c and 25c are still available.

I've got a 15c and love it. I do wish I had got the longer handle 25c.

Edwin Jagger DE89 "barley" is awesome to start with.