razor recommendations

Bezoar said:
. Most of the American sites are merely run as a way to make money off of people selling "artisan' soaps and dishonest business practices.

THe EJ89 and similar are pushed as the best starters for those who are afraid of vintage razors with vintage crud and germs on them.
Slims, Flares, and Techs are pushed heavily for good vintage beginner razors. And they get pushed the most on new shavers.

But so many of those who push them on newbies refuse to touch them. Seriously its funny that they have no problem selling someone a 1966 travel tech with a puck of Williams or a stick of Palmolive for 40 dollars but suggest they use the travel tech themselves and its like you peed in their coffee.
Click to expand...

Hi there,

At one point or another, some time was spent on most forums before I ended up here. It's been a while but last time I looked most shaving forums aren't run with a moneymaking mentality being first and foremost. Some places for sure, but they are in the minority.

The EJ and Merkur are common suggestions and both see lots of use among members, even experienced ones. It's easy to find them with no worry about past history and are not expensive ways to go. What is it.....$35 or so for a new razor? Very good chance of success for new people also. No hidden agenda there I can see.

The deal with Techs and superspeeds is they are good to start with....middle of the road nothing crazy shaves. They are just not glamorous and to me there's other razors I prefer using. Far as the lightweight or short handle travel Tech kits goes you're right, they get about zero use from experienced members. Well they're cheap enough so no harm done.

What is up with you and Slims? I tell ya, they are popular over here and get bought in a hurry usually. Lots of Limey love for those.

Martin

Ok, while I am typing there's some things I can't figure out and one is suggesting an aggressive razor to start with. Makes it tough in the beginning.

Another is someone suggesting a SE 1912ish contraption instead of a DE razor. Plenty of time for that down the road.
 
Last edited:
I have to say I love my fat handle tech .... I usually shave most mornings with it twinned with a Personna blade. I have to admit I'm having to do a fair number of passes though to get the smooth shave I want. Maybe I've got to the stage where I've sorted my technique enough to try something more aggressive though. I've picked up a few lately that I should try !

Jay :)
 
I am only a recent convert to "proper" shaving and went into a buying frenzy. Got a few nice razors and lots that I am not so fond of :) I agree with Martin and others that a Tech is the ideal starter, and maybe the only razor you will ever need or want. Others I like are Schick type J, the 1912 and my very favourite the Rocket HD. Start with the tech then try cheapies, you maybe suprised that expensive doesn't always mean best.
 
Greetings

In a extensive survey (that I have just conducted in my head during the time it took to read these posts) the two razors recommended to new shavers on this forum the most during the years I have been here have without question been the Edwin Jagger 89 or the Muhle (same head) and the Merkur 34C.

I just fail to see how Bezoar the original poster could see it as any different. I am not saying that they are, or indeed they should be his recommendations but they are consistently what the majority of forum members here have said, I personally agree!

Regards
Dick
 
I feel like @Bezoar may be on a crusade against the Slim (which I almost never see recommended as a first razor indeed), and possibly against American forums? The only American forum I frequent is The Shave Den, and I think they are a nice bunch :)

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 
PLANofMAN said:
Most of the UK members of TSD are from this forum, and most of the U.S. members here are from TSD. A bit of cross-pollination going on, I would say.
Click to expand...

And I don't see the behavior on ether of these sites that warrants such a bad opinion of how newcomers are treated. In fact I see just the opposite. My first razor was a DE89 because of recommendations on TSD. I do agree that some forums are not as friendly as these two and choose not to frequent them. Hang out where you like the people.
 
Im not on a crusade against the slim. Not at all, decent design but the super adjustable is so much better.

I have looked at The Shave Den randomly through google searches. not a bad place but their never was enough to get me to go back or join up.
As far as THIS site is concerned, EJ and Merkur razors are recommended enough times that a person can get a thought that a merkur or EJ executive runs the site.

On a lot of American websites and shaving websites the tech, slim, and even Red Tip get touted as THE razors for a beginner. But then so many of those sites are on the lines of "so you've had a tech or superspeed for 3 weeks. now get a REAL razor from ATT or Ikon"

On a lot of American sites TSN and BB... new comers get crapped on very quickly once they post outside of the educational "how to put a blade in yoru razor" sections.

Good example, on one site there was a big fight over "melt and pour" soap makers versus "genuine artisan soap makers". I had an email from Mickey Lee Soapworks where they basically admitted they bought unscented soap from a 3rd party vendor for proprietary scenting. I offered to post it on their site to end the dispute so to speak over "artisan" and had my IP address banned because I refused to say I was lying. That place the moderators are on several pre trial testing groups for a large number of the vendors who pay for advertising on the site.
 
Bezoar said:
As far as THIS site is concerned, EJ and Merkur razors are recommended enough times that a person can get a thought that a merkur or EJ executive runs the site.
Click to expand...
images
 
I hate zamak razors. sure I love my two techs but in general I hate the idea. I still go by the old axiom. a razor should last a life time. all my other gillettes already have.
 
Bezoar said:
I hate zamak razors. sure I love my two techs but in general I hate the idea. I still go by the old axiom. a razor should last a life time. all my other gillettes already have.
Click to expand...
That's the first thing you've said in this thread that doesn't sound like a rant.

The Shave Nook is outright vendor owned by Bullgoose, and Badger & Blade is a "for profit" forum. Both forums are 'businesses' first, and 'shaving communities' a distant second. Anything that hurts the business aspect gets shut down quickly, as you've discovered.
 
I have used both Merkur products and the EJ89. Both make a decent starting point for anyone new to DE shaving, particularly the EJ89 as they have a nice finish. The appeal of these razors is that they are not too expensive and are new. Not everyone wants to shave in a vintage style-ee.

But if they did, the razor I would suggest would be a Tech or a Flair Tip.
 
PLANofMAN said:
If you are asking me, no, I haven't.

I've recommended them before to newbies, though. Based on people's experiences with those razors...people whose opinions I trust.
Click to expand...
Sorry, the question was to the OP.

I agree that zamak isn't the best material, but for the price they are easily replaceable.
 
I've been a lurker here for quite a while, and of all the shaving forums, this one seems to be the most laid back, and definitely has the best sense of humor!

TSN is well known to be owned by Bullgoose, and saying or doing anything that hurts business is a definite no-no. However, it does have a very deep member pool, and contains a lot of valuable information. Civility is enforced harshest here, and you see a lot of banned members and closed threads if anything gets out of line.

B&B is profit based as well, but without the civility. Threads can turn into cesspools at times, and members will be banned or threads closed only if a mod's ego is hurt or profit to the site compromised.

TSD seems also to be profit based, as the owner has a shaving store linked to the site. I've also seen here threads deleted for mod's egos being bruised, and I'm sure the site store is paramount.

DFS is an enigma, the pirate forum. Andrew, the owner, and former, but now banned admin from TSN, bought out and built up DFS after being banned from TSN. Apparently not based on profit, and having no formal connections to any vendors or companies in the industry (no paid sponsors or vendors), It seems to be the only truly independent forum of the ones named above. It also has the fewest rules, and most 'anything goes' attitude.... That is, unless you step on the ego of a moderator...

TSR... I have yet to fully figure out... Who owns it? Where does the paid sponsor money go? Ego balance seems to be excellent here, as is humor. Haven't seen too many closed threads, or banned members, But that could be just because I'm not looking hard enough…
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom