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The Shaving Cadre

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Hi from the East Coast

BigHairyGobbler said:
I give up.
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Don’t give up. Start here:

maggardrazors.com

Double Edge Safety Razor Shaving Starter Kits

Shaving Kits, Starter Kits, Double Edge Shaving Kits
maggardrazors.com maggardrazors.com

Or here:

www.stirlingsoap.com

Starter Kits

Our natural products are great for your skin and easy on your wallet! Using the most quality ingredients to bring you the best for your daily skincare needs.
www.stirlingsoap.com www.stirlingsoap.com

It’s everything you need to start your journey. I lean towards vintage, but have tried a Maggards house brand razor and it was nice. I have also tried Razorrock Mamba 70 and that was a nice razor. I sold my modern to pick up more vintage, but that’s just me. I have also heard good things about the FaTip razors. I can’t be much help with modern, but if you want to try a vintage, let me know and I will ship you one. Just shoot me a PM if interested.
 
As with most any hobby, there are many facets and nuances to everything. There's so much out there, it'll make your head spin if you try to think about it all. Don't overthink it. Eventually you just have to pick one and start. This is a place we all were at the beginning. We got interested, we did some research, then we just picked a razor, be it vintage or modern, and just gave the whole shaving thing a go.
 
GearNoir said:
I’d say just dive in. Reading will only get you so far. Experience with items in hand is a must, then decide where to go from there.
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Seems like a money pit with the potential for a lot of bad shaves until a good razor (for me) is found.
 
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BigHairyGobbler said:
Seems like a money pit with the potential for a lot of bad shaves until a good razor (for me) is found.
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Not really. If you buy a razor that you don't like you resell it. The secondary market for razors is great. This hobby doesn't have to cost a lot. Many new shavers buy their first razor and use it for years. You don't need to jump down that rabbit hole, but many of us just like that journey.
 
BigHairyGobbler said:
Seems like a money pit with the potential for a lot of bad shaves until a good (for me) razor is found.
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That pretty much describes 100% of everything in the world lol. It doesn’t have to be that bad though. You’ve done/are doing the research to narrow the field. You’re at or near the jumping point now. Just have to decide. 🤷‍♂️

There are very few razors that give bad shaves, it comes down to technique or user error most of the time when that happens. When folks find those few or that one special razor, it’s simply the razor that works best for them with the most desirable results for less effort (all totally subjective).

In general it’s best that those staring out begin with mild or no more than medium aggressive razors. Better to learn technique on those than get something super aggressive and carve your face off the first time out.

In general good starting DE razors are things like:
- Gillette Tech (widely available vintage)
- Gillette NEW LC (widely available vintage)
- EJ 89
- Merkur 34C
- Rockwell 6s
- Razorock GC or Lupo

All of these razors are, from what I can tell, almost universally loved. They may not be “the one” for everyone but people usually circle back around to them often.
 
Even though I may sound frustrated, I really appreciate you all helping steer me. I’m at the point where I will pull the trigger but am torn between the Game Changer .68 open comb, the Game Changer .84 straight bar and the Lupo .72. I fear the open comb might be challenging, the GC .84 and Lupo .72 might be too aggressive and the .68sb might be too mild.

Thanks.
 
I’d say go for a solid bar right now, leave the OC for experimenting at a different day. Both the Lupo and GC should be able to handle a few days growth with a decent blade loaded up.

Which one do you like the look of more? Find the one with a handle that appeals.
 
I wound up buying a GameChanger .84-P, a few Gillette blades (e.g. 7'Oclock/yellow, Feather and Nacet), some shaving soap, a brush and an alum bar. Spend about $90 and received everything from the Italian Barber in 4 shipping days.

My first shave went great...not sure why it seemed so scary since I've been shaving for 35 years with a cartridge or disposable. I let the soap sit on my face for 3 minutes then shaved. No nicks, no weepers, no raw spots, no irritation, no missed hairs and it only took 20 minutes or so.

I think using a Bic disposable razor might have bridged cartridge razors and safety razors due to the lack of a head that pivots but that Bic tugged like crazy. The main thing I noticed was how smooth my shave was. I shaved 6 of days growth and it shaved like it was nothing without tugging or issues. I'll shave again tomorrow and see how things go.
 
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Awesome report! Glad it was a good first experience for ya. Hopefully many more to come! 😎👍

What’d you pick for your first soap?
 
Awesome. Glad it working out. Welcome to the addiction! Don’t you wish you jumped in sooner?
 
Glad you had such a good first experience. Sounds like you wound up with a nice set of gear to start your journey
 
Spider said:
Awesome. Glad it working out. Welcome to the addiction! Don’t you wish you jumped in sooner?
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Yeah, but in all my years shaving daily in the military you'd think I'd run into one person using a safety razor. Everybody used disposables or cartridge razors and we'd all shave around the water buffalo or in the latrine when deployed so there were lots of opportunities to discuss the topic. It just never came up.

I went to Quantico today and they actually sell AAFES-branded DE safety razors. 10 for $1.49.
 
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