I learned to shave originally on a double-edge razor starting in 1966. I returned to it almost 10 yrs ago.
For those of you who grew up on the Trac II &/or its descendants, here are a few tips.
*Infinite info- & some misinfo- is available on the shaving forums. The 2 biggies a couple of years ago were
Badger & Blade and- I forget the other.
*Prep is the single most important thing- no foolin. Hot water & soap face wash, goal is to cut all the oil off whiskers & skin before you lather up.
*The best DE blades you can buy today- *Anywhere*- will be no better than what was availble in the corner grocery or drugstore circa 1972 or so. Gillette, Schick, Personna, Wilkinson- all had stainless, coated blades that were excellent. (If you find any unused today that are 30-40 yrs old at a garage sale or when you're cleaning out Grandpa's old house, if you can separate individual blades you'll find they are still excellent. But do *Not* try to shave with any old uncoated carbon steel blades.) That's right- with all our manufacturing progress, the DE razor blade hit its peak by the early/mid 1970's. These days almost anything decent will have to come from overseas.
*You don't need an expensive razor, or soap, or brush. I really like the Omega brand(mfg in Italy) boar brushes, I have a bunch & it looks like the only one I really use is gonna outlast me! Last I knew you could get most of them for ~$10-$15 or less, might even find 'em at a big chain drugstore. Williams soap is cheap & works well for me, & after all these years I still have a tough beard & tender face.
And Razors? $pend all you want for a Merkur or some other pricey foreign make- but you ain't gonna beat a plain old Gillette. My Dad's old Aristocrat- with all the gold long worn away- still shaves great. The Gillette Tech & other 3-piece razors they sold- if they're not bent or damaged- shave as good as anything. Just be sure to get the heavy brass models- the last few years of availability they had some flyweight aluminum models that were terrible.
Having said all this, what do I use?
Prep? Hot tap water & whatever hand soap is handy.
Brush-Omega Boar bristle
Shaving soap? Williams(though I have some fancier/nicer ones)
Blades? Recently, some Gillette-branded(mfg in Russia?) yellow-pak 7 O'Clock blades- really good.
Razor? An old 3-piece Gillette New, circa mid/late 1930s, short-toothed comb style, with all the gold plating long worn away. Canadian mfg. Ugly & shaves great.
For razors, I say hit the yard sales, ask your relatives, etc. You can't beat an old Gillette- and they used to almost give them away so you'd buy the blades!