been meaning to ask this, the related post earlier reminded me, and i can’t seem to find the thread on them from while back, so…

whats the deal with the safety razors, hows the shave, do they cut through stubble ok, do you need loads of lotions or can you just shove some gel on in the shower and scrape away, and finally which ones at the lower price end (20quid’ish), should i look at?

just buy a mac3 and be done with it.

there’s a few good threads in the archive. Search for Merkur and see what comes up.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/that-razor-you-lot-recommend
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/niche-shaving-psa

Merker bd (double blade) 34c is superb, I’ve had one for three years.

It’s a great shave and mixed with some of this

Bluebeard

And a decent brush ,there is no better feeling.

Go on you know it makes sense

just buy a razor from these guys,

http://www.traditionalshaving.co.uk/

and get some japanese ‘Feathers’ blades from them too and you will be a happy man,

as for creams etc, i use Arko soap sticks, cheap and last for years, get a decent brush too, £25 for a good badger should do.

sorted, ps i have never nicked or cut myself in 1 year of going ‘niche’, so don’t listen to the hype

cool, thanks for the links to the threads, i did look before posting but obviously not hard enough.

just buy a mac3

thats what i use, but these days at 7quid plus for 5 blades its silly. plus wheres the fun, some of the safety razors are lovely things.

I switched a couple of months ago after 30 odd years of cartridge razors and its been great. Whether I shave every day (rare) or once/twice a week – no nicks, no irritation and no clogged blades; and after the initial cost its dirt cheap.

Give it go and see how you get on.

It doesn’t seem to suit everyone, but fingers crossed you get on okay.

I have been using them for a while and whilst my shave does take a bit longer the overall quality is better (for me at least).

For balance, I do cut myself, but then I cut myself with Mach3s and give myself razor burn with electric shavers. Get an alum stick and done worry about it, it doesn’t hurt and the alum sorts the blood.

I prefer it to disposable multiblades or electrics. I haven’t gone back since I started on a safety razor – except once which was definitely a mistake.

The blades give me two or three shaves per edge – whereas with my beard a Mach3 is shot after one shave. So 3-5p per shave on blades (or less if you by in enough bulk) versus a couple of quid – ouch.

I think I prefer Gillette 7 o’clock blades to Feathers but they don’t come in a plastic dispenser with old blade storage which the Feathers do – and that makes a difference when you have two boys under 6 years old that you don’t want playing with old blades.

PS – My wife reckons my stubble is less scratchy when I don’t shave these days.

^^^

Good post igm 🙂

If you are new to DE shaving then I would not start with Feather blades as they are very sharp and unforgiving, try some of the Gillette 7 o’clock ones.

If you are serious about giving it a whirl then have a look at the blade sample packs you can get on Connaught Shaving because you will find that different blades give you a different quality of shaves to what others report.

In my opinion it is also very much worthwhile persevering with a half-decent brush to learn how to whip up a lather rather than relying on the stuff out of the cans.

Happy Christmas!

but they don’t come in a plastic dispenser with old blade storage which the Feathers do – and that makes a difference when you have two boys under 6 years old that you don’t want playing with old blades.

Top tip……

Buy a tin of soup.

Put two holes in the top so you can pour the soup out.

Pour the soup out.

Wash.

Cut one of the holes into a slot.

Pop your old blades in when you’re done.

It’ll keep you going for a couple of years.

When full, take it to the recycling centre. 8)

Oh. Welcome to the wonderful world of DE shaving, OP.

It won’t change your life as some may proclaim- it’s just shaving after all. But it makes a degree of sense financially and it is much nicer thing to own.

I too have a merkur 34c and like it. There are those that seem to like the models with adjustment but never felt the need or wish to adjust from the standard setting. I also got a sample pack of blades initially. Can’t say I noticed a massive difference between brands – all gave a good shave at least as good as a mach 3.

I’ve always used a soap and brush instead of foam in a can so can’t comment on that difference. The only difference to my old routine is I lather up again half way through shaving but probably only use the same number of shaving strokes in total as I used to with mach 3. Maybe added a minute to my shaving time.

The blades give me two or three shaves per edge

I’ve always wondered if people monitored which edge they were using and use one up then start on the other side- now I know some folk do. I just twissle it around in my fingers every time I give it a rinse in the water and both wear simultaneously. About 5 shaves between blade changes and like with a mach 3 type I don’t look forward to shaving if I’ve waited too long between shaves but it does not clog up half as badly as a mach 3 does when you are very stubbly.

Failing to get Gillette 7 o’clock blades then get some Personna Blue (package inside is Red) as they are very good too.

If you want to try it out you can get a perfectly servicable razor from Boots with 5 blades for £5.

good call on the boots one mefty, may give that a go.

Just had a great first DE shave with the el cheapo boots.

Used facial scrub and shower before hand with oil and Soap to shave, Nivea after shave. Really smooth, one slight spot but I’ve done worse many a time in the past with a cartridge. That said I do now hanker after an expensive Merkur and the 4.99 Wilkinson sword brush it truly pants….