New Razor suggestions please

cruciate

cruciate

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756
Location
Nr Manchester
Having a thick, coarse beard that takes about 14 seconds to go from vanished to 5 oclock shadow, and yet being very new to DE shaving I still have ALOT to learn.

One thing I think(?) I have established is that the milder the razor the worse the shave. Tugging, pulling and irritation all occur with a mild cheap travel razor I have.

My current day to day, the EJ DE89 is really good, but needs a sharp blade. I tried with a feather last night and had the best shave ever. But by the end of the second pass I could feel it dulling.

I'm wondering whether I may do better with something like an open comb or (say it quietly) a slant, considering my heavy stubble?

Its my birthday later this week and I may treat myself to a new toy. So any suggestions welcome.

(PS. Budget is £40ish, although for that special razor I could part with more - but sorry guys, a feather or IKON are not in budget. Oh and I'm apprehensive of vintage because I don't know whats a good deal and whats a rip off and I have a tendancy not to look after my razor quite as well as a vintage deserves)
 
A slant sounds like it might be a good solution for you, it really is great to shave with and don't believe the horror stories, I picked mine up from eBay used once for £22. So that's enough for a razor and some nice cream/soap left over!
 
+1 for the slant - I too have thick, coarse bristles as well as sensitive skin. The slant is the best razor I've used but like most razors I've tried is blade specific. I've settled on Perma-Sharp as a good compromise between sharp and smooth. 7'0'Clock yellows work well for me (not in any other razor) but Feathers really hurt - strange because they worked really well in my EJ86. DE shaving can be weird.
 
You're probably more than ready for an adjustable where you can crank up the aggression or a NEW OC which are very efficient shavers.
 
I have a similiar beard I think. Techs and non adjustable gillettes I struggle with.

My favourite razors are my Merkur 34c slant, Merkur Futur and Progress, also my Gillette Slim Adjustable and Fatboy.

All with Gillette 7 o'clock Sharpedge yellow blades. I too struggle with feathers as they go blunt mid shave.
 
Shaving soap? I have soap acquisition disorder.
Take your pick from bluebeards, toobs sandlewood soap and cream, toobs shaving shop cream, Arko, Palmolive. There are others but I don't recall them all right now.
I think my prep is pretty good. Certainly I spend longer prepping than actually shaving.

I really fancy the progress. It scares me less than the slant, but then I think the slant may suit me.

Decisions decisions.
 
cruciate said:
One thing I think(?) I have established is that the milder the razor the worse the shave. Tugging, pulling and irritation all occur with a mild cheap travel razor I have.
Click to expand...
I did make the same experience with mild razors myself (Tech, Feather AS, Merkuer 985) and eventually discovered my preference for more "aggressive" razors.
As for new razors I can wholeheartedly recommend the Merkur Futur or a Merkur 37 Slant.
If you want to go vintage in my opinion the Gillette NEWs (long comb) are a fantastic option, somewhat smoother than both the razors mentioned above but can provide as close a shave... they have never let me down.
One razor that absolutely positively surprised me in terms of performance is the Merkur 45 Bakelite, bit of an oddball but loaded with a sharp blade it just delivers.
However, I got the EJ 89 as well when I started DE shaving a while ago and quickly moved on to more aggressive razors - only to discover recently that with my ever improving technique it shaves better than when I used it for the first few times. So with practice you will get better/closer/smoother shaves with a lot of different types of razors.
 
I'd believe that the slant with a Feather could be a good way to go, it's certainly not a razor about which to be apprehensive.
Failing that you should be able to pick up a single edge razor for under a tenner which may be ideal for your needs & the single edge blade might give you a longer blade life.
I declare an interest in this as I'm a total convert to se shaving so my views are fairly heavily biased.

JohnnyO. \:icon_razz:
 
Well, I kinda decided to go with a progress, but they are out of stock everywhere I initially looked. So I looked at the futur instead and same story.
The Merkur slants were out of stock too and I could only find the weber via the US amazon store.....and they are out of stock.

So I guess I have a little longer to make a decision while we wait for the world razor shortage to end.
 
Have a look here, they have them in stock

http://www.traditionalshaving.co.uk/mall/departmentpage.cfm/traditionalshaving/_268151/1/Safety-Razors

I think there is a discount code on this site somewhere as well.
 
Thanks to you both. That's a great help.

I think I like the futur the best, but wasn't sure if I wanted to spend the extra.
I'll look at the mergresses though!

Edit: bit out of budget :(
 
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