Need OT Recommendation on Safety Razor

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Can I get some recs on razors and blades for a newby?

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you metros kill me, had a friend that was a grunt in VN,they'd go out in the bush for days, weeks, maybe more just fighting everything they could, he took a razor and and few blades, part of his discipline each day was to pour a little of his drinking water into his helmet and shave, has a ZZTop beard now

I was under the impression he meant those who go out of their way to pay attention to shaving trends.

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no, just commenting on how feminine this is getting, and the attention given to it, at least imho, shaving is to me like mowing the lawn, it is what it is and you'll be doing it again before long, what's the big deal?

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Anything worth doing is worth doing right. And, IMHO, the shaving with plastic crap that passes for cartridge razors (like the ladies do on their legs, baw) and chemical soaps isn't mainly. I use a manly German steel razor, manly Russian razor blades and manly Italian shaving cream.

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You calling your grandpa, or in your case your dad, a feminine pussy?

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him/he called me that once, straightened my arse out!

I swear that all the OT does is shave and drink.

Edwin Jagger 89 or Merkur 34c

Or......... Vintage Gillettes. Start with a Gillette Tech or a 40's style super speed. If you treat them right they will last as long as an anvil.

All moderns are made of pot metal. Eventually the thread, to either the top cap or handle will fail you. You will unscrew it and it will fall apart.

You will get something like 2-6 years out of one, but it will break. A Gillette that's vintage will last until your son is too old to hold a DE blade steady.

My oldest is 1918. Looks good. But it is mean as hell. I believe I heard it call me a pussy once when I reached past it for another one. It is a Gillette Old Type BTW. it's not for you(a beginner).

ETA: modern stainless steel razors are made, but you are talking more money. Well over a $100.

It's more about saving money. I'm cheap. I was using my old sensor excel with two or more month old blades because I got sick of paying ridiculous prices for cartridges.

If there is a trend that saves me money and does a better job than my current process... Call me trendy.

I did a lot of reading into it when I purchased my safety razor about 2 years ago. The end result was me deciding between the Merkur 34c and 38hd (same head, longer handle). I read that the longer handle was supposed to make for an easier transition/feel more familiar. I realized a few months later thst I don't grip it like a standard multi-blade and that I spent a few extra bucks for a handle I didn't use at all.

There were some Edwin-Jaggers out there for roughly the same price that seemed to be roughly the same in terms of quality, but the two merkurs above just kind of blew everything else away in terms of overwhelming recommendation + amount of reviews online.


Also, with the Merkur 180 mentioned, I looked at it pretty heavily too, as there was a set that it was part of for fairly cheap, but I seem to remember reading somewhere that the screw mechanism was lined with plastic threads that could strip out/break. Don't take that as fact from me, but I do think I saw that somewhere.


Lastly, if you're really just wanting to try this without a $30-50 upfront commitment on the razor, search "feather safety razor handle," and you can get the plastic-handled one with two of the Feather Hi-Stainless blades for $14.03 on Amazon right now. It has decent reviews but, again, a plastic handle. It's probably not the most durable thing in the world, but it will probably last you several years fairly easily.



Blade wise, I like Astra stainless and Shark super chromed. I dislike Astra chrome and shark stainless. A sampler is good, but don't buy one that includes more than a single pack (5-10) of any given blade like I did. Now I've got tons of blades that I don't really care for but really don't want to throw out.



I like synthetic brushes. I don't care for my own Omega nearly as much as the Elite and Parker synthetic brushes I bought my father and brother. Cream wise, Taylor of Old Bond Street is my go-to. The C.O Bigelow/Proraso eucalyptus menthol is great if you like the feeling of that and the scent. I just recently found a place called Bathhouse Soapery in Natchitoches. They also have a store in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Decent creams at a decent price, but regardless of scent they all kind of remind me of church incense a little (if you're not a Catholic or have never attended a Mass with incense, i don't know what to compare it to). Their hard soaps seem to be a little different in terms of scent and kind of drop the "spice" scent that comes through in their creams so much. I've not actually shaved with their hard soap yet, but I did recently purchase one that's siting and waiting to be unwrapped.





Good luck. That was a wall of text.