Another new member saying hi

mr626

mr626

ARKO! TERMINATOR!
Joined
Jul 5, 2012
Location
NSW
Hello all,

I was pointed in this direction by a friendly OCAU member. Looking forward to some proper shaving.

I've ordered from shaving.ie to start me off:

Edwin Jagger DE89 Chrome
Semogue 1470 Shaving Brush
Styptic Pencil
Taylor of Old Bond St Sandalwood Shaving Cream Bowl
Two Of A Kind DE Blade Sample Pack

Hope that works out to be a good beginner's budget pack!
 
mr626 said:
Hello all,

I was pointed in this direction by a friendly OCAU member. Looking forward to some proper shaving.

I've ordered from shaving.ie to start me off:

Edwin Jagger DE89 Chrome
Semogue 1470 Shaving Brush
Styptic Pencil
Taylor of Old Bond St Sandalwood Shaving Cream Bowl
Two Of A Kind DE Blade Sample Pack

Hope that works out to be a good beginner's budget pack!
Click to expand...

Will sort you with a few more blades. Might not be as much as I sent to Bodge or Glenos but there should be something to keep you going.
 
Razormonsta said:
Will sort you with a few more blades. Might not be as much as I sent to Bodge or Glenos but there should be something to keep you going.
Click to expand...

That would be fantastic! Thanks for your generosity- I'm completely new to this so being able to try out different blades is obviously a good thing.
 
Welcome Mr626 :)

The board isn't in the fastlane of the interweb so to speak but we have a good group of genuine folk here who are full of useful information (and full of something else too :p ) Enjoy your stay.

The EJ seems well thought of for starting out on. I'll let you find out what the grumpy bums around here think of the Semogue. With that TOBS Sandalwood you will be able to make lather with a toothbrush.

Post plenty, ask lots of questions and enjoy learning DE shaving.

Cheers
SyD
 
SmallYetDeadly said:
........ I'll let you find out what the grumpy bums around here think of the Semogue...........
Click to expand...

It's got a nice handle and it'll sort of work. Otherwise some nice purchases. As you've got some sandlewood Drubbing might even show his grumpy bum too. Welcome.
 
Thanks for the kind words all.

I have to admit, the choice of brush was mainly down to price. It did have almost entirely good reviews from what I read, but some people mentioned that it is too 'soft' for them.

I've always liked the scent of sandalwood (as does the wife) so that was an easy choice.

With the razor itself, it was a toss up between the EJ and the Merkur 34C. At the time shaving.ie had no 34C in stock so that made the choice easier. From what I understand, the EJ is meant to be better finished but the 34C is heavier due to the solid handle.

Also, the EJ is 3 piece whereas the 34C is 2 piece? I guess that means changing blades is slightly easier on the 34C?

Looking forward to learning from you all :)
 
The merkur is adjustable so you can use all kinds of blades for different results. The two piece not adjustable.
I own both types and while I started on an EJ I moved over to a Merkur and love it.

And welcome!

2
 
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JugV2 said:
The merkur is awesome so you can use all kinds of blades for different results. The two piece not adjustable.
I own both types and while I started on an EJ I moved over to a Merkur and love it.

And welcome!

2
Click to expand...

FTFY

The 34C is the venerable Merkur HD. Deffo not adjustable but the damn thing works with every blade I've fed it to date.
 
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I also welcome the new member. I do hope you enjoy your adventures and stick around long enough (and have enough curiosity) that we can introduce you to the world famous (infamous) anyway thanks to MARK1966 known over yonder as the Thomas Method of shaving. (I can hear the chorus ofn groans starting already) but it does take you beyond the simple world of lather shave another pass etc. and into the realms of Single Edga blades and all their glories. As it so happens, when the time is right I should be able to equip you with all you need to climb the peak of wet shaverdom. In the meantime enjoy your journey and never forget you are have joined an expert pool (present company excepted) of wet shavers.
 
SmallYetDeadly said:
FTFY

The 34C is the venerable Merkur HD. Deffo not adjustable but the damn thing works with every blade I've fed it to date.
Click to expand...

Oh cheers mate, I thought the Merkurs were all adjustable, shows how much I know!

Get an adjustable then!

lol
 
So some razors can be adjusted to use different blades and others can't?

Hopefully I can still use most blades on the EJ that I got?

In my ignorance, I thought that most DE blades worked on most razors.
 
mr626 said:
So some razors can be adjusted to use different blades and others can't?

Hopefully I can still use most blades on the EJ that I got?

In my ignorance, I thought that most DE blades worked on most razors.
Click to expand...

Yes, any DE blade should fit in any DE razor. There were some older razors that were not standard, and that was mainly to do with patents, making you buy the razor blade which they made so they could maximise profits. It's the old day equivalent of selling a inkjet printer for $45 and charging $65 for set of ink cartridges.

Not all razors are adjustable. The adjustable ones can vary the exposure of the blade. The more blade that is exposed then the more 'aggressive' the shave is said to be.

The main adjustable razors are:
  • Vintage Gillette Slim/Fatboy
  • Vintage Gillette Toggle (Fatboy with different blade change mechanism)
  • Vintage Gillette Super Adjustable (Late 60's to Early '80s)
  • Merkur Futur
  • Merkur Progress (and Mer's 'Mergress' modified version)
  • Merkur Vision

There are others, but the vast majority are non adjustable, closed comb razors.

You might see us saying a particular blade 'doesn't work' with a particular handle, in that case we mean it gives a bad/terrible/horrible/"omg call an ambulance I need a blood transfusion" shave.

For instance, the Derby blade is quite horrible in my DE86, yet gives a surprisingly great shave in my vintage Gillette Slim.
 
Razormonsta said:
Yes, any DE blade should fit in any DE razor. There were some older razors that were not standard, and that was mainly to do with patents, making you buy the razor blade which they made so they could maximise profits. It's the old day equivalent of selling a inkjet printer for $45 and charging $65 for set of ink cartridges.

Not all razors are adjustable. The adjustable ones can vary the exposure of the blade. The more blade that is exposed then the more 'aggressive' the shave is said to be.

The main adjustable razors are:
  • Vintage Gillette Slim/Fatboy
  • Vintage Gillette Toggle (Fatboy with different blade change mechanism)
  • Vintage Gillette Super Adjustable (Late 60's to Early '80s)
  • Merkur Futur
  • Merkur Progress (and Mer's 'Mergress' modified version)
  • Merkur Vision

There are others, but the vast majority are non adjustable, closed comb razors.

You might see us saying a particular blade 'doesn't work' with a particular handle, in that case we mean it gives a bad/terrible/horrible/"omg call an ambulance I need a blood transfusion" shave.

For instance, the Derby blade is quite horrible in my DE86, yet gives a surprisingly great shave in my vintage Gillette Slim.
Click to expand...

Ah, thanks for the clarification. So I guess if I decided to upgrade down the track it would be worthwhile going for an adjustable one. I think I'd like the progress, but its a shame about the plastic knob (I can see why people opt to modify them).

I'm really hoping that Astras suit my skin/beard, since these seem to be cheap and readily available. Time will tell if this is the case.

Thanks for all the great responses guys.
 
mr626 said:
Ah, thanks for the clarification. So I guess if I decided to upgrade down the track it would be worthwhile going for an adjustable one. I think I'd like the progress, but its a shame about the plastic knob (I can see why people opt to modify them).
Click to expand...

I pretty much only shave with either my Fatboy or Slim these days. I should break out the DE86 again but it's gotten a few fleabites in storage (the finish while beautiful, tends to degrade quickly).

You can get some decent user-grade Slims and Fatboys on eBay if you keep an eye out, Try to pay $30 max for them.

Try this one for instance.
 
mr626 said:
I'm really hoping that Astras suit my skin/beard, since these seem to be cheap and readily available.
Click to expand...

I've found the Astras work well the EJ 89 Barley Chrome.
 
Razormonsta said:
I pretty much only shave with either my Fatboy or Slim these days. I should break out the DE86 again but it's gotten a few fleabites in storage (the finish while beautiful, tends to degrade quickly).

You can get some decent user-grade Slims and Fatboys on eBay if you keep an eye out, Try to pay $30 max for them.

Try this one for instance.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll keep an eye on that and others similar.

eggbert said:
I've found the Astras work well the EJ 89 Barley Chrome.
Click to expand...

Fantastic, thanks for the confirmation.
 
If I've learned one thing in this game, is that more money doesn't = upgrade. The best shave comes from your own hands (Gillette know this and so created products that doesn't teach blokes how to do it).

Buy adjustables, badger brushes and more expensive creams and soaps because you like them and develop your own preferences, not because they're better than what you've just got, because few, if any, are.

You may find the EJ too light, but that again is a preference.
Feathers are the sharpest and most expensive blade - I can't tolerate them.
Badger brushes are extremely expensive for what they are, some of us prefer boars. I was the dipshit that spent $300 on badger before I realised this.

If you like the Semogue, I have a better one you can have, but by 'better', I mean bigger and fatter and softer.

The best advice I can give it to not register for any large US-based "Gentlemen's" shaving sites. They are full of evil, deranged people, hype-merchants and shills for (mostly Italian) shaving goods cartels. They don't let you swear either. Unless its on a bible.

All the sane people are right here. Talking about shaving. Completey normal...
 
eggbert said:
...for people going online to talk about shaving.
Click to expand...

You guys have nothing to worry about. I'm a member of some keyboard forums that make pretty much any other forum seem sane by comparison.
 
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