Good "starter" double edged razor?

[UncleS2]

For a new razor, a Merkur should be fine. BUT: whenever you're out & about, hit the junk shops, garage & yard sales, thrift/charity stores, estate sales, & anything else you can think of, & find a decent old Gillette- or several of 'em. 3-piece or twist-to-open, you can't beat a good Gillette. Period. (The only bad Gillette DE razors I can think of were the very-latter-day, last-gasp versions of the Tech 3-piece that they made of aluminum. Easy to tell, just pick it up- kinda heavy, feels like brass, all straight, grab it! Flyweight? For curiosity only, IMO.)

Oh yeah- Ask any neighbors, friends or family members, yours or hers, if they have any old shaving stuff from Dad or Grand Dad or Great Grand Dad. You might get a real gem that's been hidden away in a cabinet or bathroom drawer for decades! Looks grungy? Scrubbing Bubbles cleaner, old toothbrush, hot tapwater = clean, shiny & ready to shave.

)

Gillette. That's what the big boys use.

I have way too many of 'em. My most used razor- a 1930's vintage, Canadian made 3-piece Gillette New short-comb, with *all* the original gold plating worn away long ago. Next most used- Dad's old Aristocrat twist-to-open, circa 1950, also with almost gold worn off. The adjustables are neat, lotsa folks love 'em, but I find them to be an ingenious solution to a non-existent problem- YMMV.

In the interest of domestic harmony- *Do* get two razors, His & Hers. (But she will still use yours sometimes.

)

 

[JerryBob]

I grow a goatee every week, and then shave it on Sunday. Saves a lot on razors, not to mention time.

 

[CT8]

I hate shaving. What is interesting is there seems to be a subtle marketing ploy to push the consumers to safety razors again.

 

[Cadenza]

I love shaving. The process of selecting a soap, making a lather, and then using the razor always seems somehow satisfying.

 

[hpb]

I'll admit it - my wife and I share a razor too. I only blade shave once a week, the rest of the time I use an electric. While the razor itself doesn't make much difference, I find the shaving cream affects the final result.

OP, how much are you actually spending on blades? That'd be one of the last places I'd think of to save a bit of money.

 

[zrxkawboy]

If you are looking to stay with cartridges, but save money, go with Dorco. You can always find coupon codes with a little searching. I initially bought one of their packs with a few of each cartridge type, to try them out and see which I liked best. I've been using their products for well over a year now, and am very happy with them. I'd been a Gillette user since I started shaving, but got tired of their prices.

 

[NormanBuntz]

You can find all you need on Amazon. Shop for a good German made razor like a Merkur. Blades are available in 10 and 25 packs from European or Japanese factories. The single edge blades last forever. Don't forget to get a good boars hair shaving brush (not made in China) and your flavor of Prorasso shaving cream (Italian). I tried the $15 deal from Harry's, and their products are very well made. I just found the 4-blade razor to have to much drag.

 

[opus1]

Not DE razors, but right now Dorco has a "Joe & Jane Pack" that has a sampler of both men's and women's razors for $27 and change -- and free shipping since it's over $25. They supply Dollar Shave Club only without the contracts or recurring shipments that you have to cancel. And once you're on their mailing list, you'll get coupon codes and notices of sales pretty regularly.

http://www.dorcousa.com/joe-jane-pack/

 

[JustinH]

Also retailmenot has promo codes for Dorco which makes them even cheaper.

I have bought two of their packs, and a pack lasts me about 9 months.

Razors are very good quality, even the 2 blade ones work fine for me. The six blade ones are very smooth.

 

[grampi]

I rotate between my Gillette Speed with Astra Platinum blades and an Atra with Personna carts. I haven't bought any of either in a while (cuz I have quite a stock pile), but the last time I did I think the Astras were about $16 per 100 blades, and the Atra carts were less than $5 for 10...both are much cheaper than the ridiculously priced Fusion carts, and I get just as good, or a better shave...

 

[The_Eric]

Originally Posted By: fordranger03
Communal razor? Yuck.! Do you two share a toothbrush?
Kidding,

I've been using the basic Gillette dual blade blue razor. The other brands especially the generics feel rough as if they are get clogged up with hair.

Originally Posted By: Oil Changer

I would NEVER let my wife shave with my stuff; that's just nasty. Your wife should keep using the Fusion. The blades will last twice as long without you using it and it will take you forever to go through the sample pack of blades.


Not sure what's so "nasty" about it? No doubt you've shared plenty with your wives in one way shape or form... It's a razor, it washes. Also, sticking her with the Fusion, doesn't accomplish the goal of getting away from expensive cartridge style razors.



Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Find a Gillette Super Speed or Schick Krona. Both are fairly mild, and when paired with a good blade will give excellent shaving results.

In my opinion, the blade/razor combination is extremely important and it takes some experimentation to find a combination that works best for you. Personna blades work well for me in both those razors, but don't do well (for me) in a Gillette Red Tip. I found that Wilkinson Sword blades do better in the Red Tip for me. You can experiment with some of the available sample packs to see what works best for you. Also keep in mind that shaving cream or shaving soap can also make a difference-again, experiment and see what works best for your beard.

Also keep an eye on the handle-razors with a slick chrome handle can be difficult to hold when wet. Look for a handle that has good grip and won't slip when wet. In a box of stuff that I purchased at auction a couple months ago were a couple of razors, one had a polished chrome handle and the other had a spiral design in the handle. Both were difficult to hold, and while I'm sure they were high end razors, quite frankly were inferior to my plain old Schick or Gillette. I quickly sold both of them on Ebay after using them a couple times-one was a Jagger (I don't remember the model) and the other was a Parker.

I have 4 razors that I use on a regular basis-a Gillette Super Speed, a Gillette Red Tip, and 2 Schick Kronas.

Originally Posted By: UncleS2
For a new razor, a Merkur should be fine. BUT: whenever you're out & about, hit the junk shops, garage & yard sales, thrift/charity stores, estate sales, & anything else you can think of, & find a decent old Gillette- or several of 'em. 3-piece or twist-to-open, you can't beat a good Gillette. Period.


In the interest of domestic harmony- *Do* get two razors, His & Hers. (But she will still use yours sometimes.

)


Pop_Rivit- I'm not much of an e-bay buyer, but I will certainly keep an eye out for those models.

UncleS2- Good idea on the old shops and yard sales.




The e-bay links, while appealing in price, would have likely been a Chinese made product- and I would like to avoid those if possible, even if it means spending more.

I was on the fence between the Jagger DE98 and the Merkur 34c. Keeping in mind what Pop said about the slick handles, I ordered the Merkur 34c and mixed assortment of blades, which came with some Astras, a Shark, a Feather and some others.

As we figure out our likes and dislikes, my fairer half may well end up with her own, especially if I can find an old Lady Gillette.

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

 

[The_Eric]

Originally Posted By: hpb
I'll admit it - my wife and I share a razor too. I only blade shave once a week, the rest of the time I use an electric. While the razor itself doesn't make much difference, I find the shaving cream affects the final result.

OP, how much are you actually spending on blades? That'd be one of the last places I'd think of to save a bit of money.


At $17.00 for a 4 pack of our current razor (the cheaper ones don't work as well for us)- they get spendy in a hurry.

Especially when she shaves:

 

[UncleS2]

You'd better hope she doesn't see that!

 

[hpb]

LOL, if she does, he won't have to share his razor any more! May have to find somewhere else to live though...

 

[andyd]

I'm half way through a 20 pack of single edge BICs They shave my shower softened beard close enough. I only shave a couple times a week, so they are lasting over a month each.

Recently< I found an old Gillete nickel plated DE. I bought some blades at the dollar store. I like the BICs better

 

[xxch4osxx]

"Not sure what's so "nasty" about it? No doubt you've shared plenty with your wives in one way shape or form..."

I have agree here, why is it "nasty"?

 

[The_Eric]

Originally Posted By: UncleS2
You'd better hope she doesn't see that!

Originally Posted By: hpb
LOL, if she does, he won't have to share his razor any more! May have to find somewhere else to live though...



She's a good sport- thought that picture was funny as heck!

Somewhere along the line, she got called the "Cactus Queen" and it pretty much stuck....

 

[sciphi]

Good choice on the Merkur. I have one of those. It does a good job on my always-growing stubble, along with a sharp blade like a Feather or Personna med prep blade.

For shaving cream, Nivea came out with men's shaving cream and aftershave about a year ago. Great stuff, I like it every bit as much as the Proraso I started with. A little bit goes a long way, and a lot makes a really luxurious lather when I want to pamper myself.

 

[The_Eric]

sciphi- are there any chain stores that carry Nivea products?

 

[opus1]

Originally Posted By: The_Eric
sciphi- are there any chain stores that carry Nivea products?

Target carries their shave gel.

CVS carries the gel and aftershaves. Meijer does as well, but I don't think they have any stores in Iowa.

The only place I've seen Nivea shave cream (in squeeze tubes) is a place in downtown Chicago called Merz Apothecary.