While I now have a soft spot for Boker straight razors, it was not love a first shave. The factory edge on my new Boker King Cutter tugged as badly as my cartridge razor. After several very uncomfortable shaves, I went back to the shop where I purchased it to see about getting it honed. The guys at the knife shop bent over backwards to help me, but at the end of the day they are “knife guys”, not straight razor guys. And as we all know the edge on a knife is very different thing, than the edge on a straight razor. I am very grateful to have such a great local knife shop that carries some straight razors.
After watching numerous YouTube videos of guys getting wonderful, close, and effortless straight razor shaves, it is no surprise that I was dejected after several weeks of disappointing shaves with my straight razor. This is when decided to change gears and I bought a DE razor, a Edwin Jagger DE 89. I spent the next 8 - 12 months exploring the world of new and vintage DE razors. I have amassed meager collection DE razors that includes several vintage Gillette razors, a Segal, a brass Karve, a Henson and several others. I started with an assortment of DE blades and quickly learned my preference is for sharper blades like the Gillette Platinum and Perma-Sharp. Even when using a “disposable blade” straight razor like my Focus Slim the milder blades don’t cut it (pun intended).
I really enjoy traditional shaving and in fact I claim more than a dozen converts of friends and family to wet shaving. Many brushes, razors, and artisan soaps were purchased under the ‘pretense” of gift giving, and some of them were actually given away. For x-mas all of my brother in laws got a handmade leather dopp kit with a compete shaving setup. If I get invited to a “White Elephant” gift exchange, you can bet that someone will be going home with some wet shaving gear. One of the things I find the most fascinating about wet shaving is that everyone has a different approach to it. Everyone I have introduced to wet shaving has taken to it differently, most have kept things simple, some have ordered a number of different shaving soaps, others have gone high end, and one friend just wanted a chrome shaving set that match his bathroom.
I very seldom use a DE razor these days, but on the occasions that I do, I will most likely use the Karve with the C Plate and a Perma sharp blade.
