DE Razor last straw!

Hi everyone I have been away for a bit, so based on everyone's advice! Sick and tired of my razor still!

I purchased some Edwin something shaving soap. I placed the badger brush in hot water. Wash my face etc held a hot flannel on my beard. Lather all over so it's not too watery but quite thick. Had a look at my razor gave it a thorough clean OCD standard. Checked the blade for any manufacturing problems like marks or a dented blade.

Guess what I might as well have had a wax it ripped my stubble and when I am saving it does not slice through it kind of judders!

High expectations to failure! Back to Bic disposables this weekend

Can anyone recommend a good double edged safety razor ? Do you get better quality of the more you spend?
 
Hi everyone I have been away for a bit, so based on everyone's advice! Sick and tired of my razor still!

I purchased some Edwin something shaving soap. I placed the badger brush in hot water. Wash my face etc held a hot flannel on my beard. Lather all over so it's not too watery but quite thick. Had a look at my razor gave it a thorough clean OCD standard. Checked the blade for any manufacturing problems like marks or a dented blade.

Guess what I might as well have had a wax it ripped my stubble and when I am saving it does not slice through it kind of judders!

High expectations to failure! Back to Bic disposables this weekend

Can anyone recommend a good double edged safety razor ? Do you get better quality of the more you spend?

Its not about money. Depending on your prep, soap/cream, blade etc, I can imagine one can get both a good shave and an awful shave out of a £15 razor or a £150 one. I haven't used the Merkur 34C but I understand it to be a quality razor so I don't see that throwing a lot more money at a razor will sort you out overnight.

It was asked on the previous page "Is your first shave with the grain?" Is it? You said on your OP that "it feels like the blades are scratching my face." If you have prepped well and have good lather than it certainly should not feel like the blade is scratching your face and juddering. The blade should remove the lather, and with it the stubble, effortlessly, if your lather is good. How many passes are you doing?
 
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34C is a fine razor. You don't necessarily need anything 'better'. Try a couple of different blades if you're feeling more confident. More often than not, a fresh blade will be better than trying an old blade which may have been prematurely dulled through misuse.
The soap you're using is okay, there's better out there but that's not the issue.

Sounds to me like your issue is the angle at which your blade is attempting to cut your hair. At any wrong angle you'll either have it pass over hairs or catch and 'ping' rather than cut the hairs. Sounds like you're suffering with the latter. If I misjudge the angle, I get red rash-like marks and remnants of stubble. Look at riding the cap, i.e. using the top 'cap' of the head of the razor as a guide, and make short, very lightly-pressured strokes while gradually lowering the baseplate (lower portion of head of razor) towards the skin until the safety bar (solid bar along edge of baseplate) contacts the skin. Somewhere between 'here' and 'there' you'll have a neat cut without juddering/skipping. Don't go against the direction of growth of the hair as this can cause issue too.

TL, DR: Focus on the ANGLE which your razor is trying to shave. Image highlighting riding cap etc. as below;
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Hi everyone I have been away for a bit, so based on everyone's advice! Sick and tired of my razor still!

I purchased some Edwin something shaving soap. I placed the badger brush in hot water. Wash my face etc held a hot flannel on my beard. Lather all over so it's not too watery but quite thick. Had a look at my razor gave it a thorough clean OCD standard. Checked the blade for any manufacturing problems like marks or a dented blade.

Guess what I might as well have had a wax it ripped my stubble and when I am saving it does not slice through it kind of judders!

High expectations to failure! Back to Bic disposables this weekend

Can anyone recommend a good double edged safety razor ? Do you get better quality of the more you spend?

You are shaving in the direction of the growth and not against it aren't you ?
Your Merkur 34C is a fine razor and your blade choice seems good too.
Practice latherIng in the palm of your hand to perfect your lather. It won't use up all your soap, a little goes a long way.
You're aiming for a creamy peaky lather
You don't "need" to spend fortunes on double edge razor to get good shaves
 
You don't say how many days growth you are shaving. The 34c is a daily shaver. If you are hacking away at weeks of growth, you need something more aggressive (bigger blade gap) or use a beard trimmer first.
Also, strong dense stubble benefits from short razor strokes.

Good prep and technique can master most beards. If you are just having an odd Nick or weaper, it's probably that. If you are indeed getting a bloodbath every shave, it could be that your skin is in poor condition (spots, bumps etc) or your razor is knackered.

Or you are rubbish at wet shaving lol.
 
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