- Joined
- Tuesday May 24, 2016
I kicked off shaving with a £10 Jagen David from Amazon (see here). In the intervening 3 weeks I researched, hankered after, and order a Gillette Tech. The Gillette Tech, I read, is the everyman of DE shaving. No-one speaks an ill word. It's mild, good for starters, yet referred to fondly by the experienced shaver.
Your first three weeks on DE razors involves a lot of learning. By the time my Tech arrived, I'd made most of my major mistakes, and started to shave at a decent if not expert level.
When my Tech turned up, here's what I was struck by. My Chinese Jagen David (for that's what I understand them to be), looked a hell of lot like a Tech copy. The major observations were:
1. The Tech had a far more satisfactory look and feel, less plastic in the handle, and more weight in the head of the razor.
2. The Jagen David showed a little more blade; it was just that fraction more aggressive.
3. The Tech gave a milder, smoother, shave, but the Jagen David was not disgraced by comparison.
If you put a good quality handle on the Jagen David, you'd have a decent razor. However, it cost me £10 on Amazon. Add a decent handle and you're up for another £15 at least (I'm not suggesting an exceptional handle). Whatever the amount, by the time you've fine tuned the Jagen David, well, then you've bought yourself a Tech on eBay for £15 depending on condition, and my Tech is in immaculate nick.
So, here's the point. The Jagen Davis is not an all together bad option for a first razor. But given that for a few quid more you can find yourself owning a Tech, then why not. My Tech is decades old, and there's something about owning a classic piece of equipment that has lasted the ages and will continue to do so that is worth far more than the few extra quid you may pay.
Funnily enough, the Tech is milder than the Jagen David, so it feels in some respects a step backwards (although, a good mild shave is a good shave, so who's going backwards). I wonder if our attitude to Chinese products at the moment is the same as existed towards Japanese products back in the 70s (ie, referring to them as Jap Crap, only to find that they had developed the most sophisticated quality processes in the world in many manufacturing areas which we all ignored for 10-20 years).
I think the major difference here is that the Tech I have has lasted for 40+ years already, and shows every sign of doubling that innings, whereas the Jagen David's handle may struggle to make it past 2+ years.
I need to try a Merkur HD. Ahead of that, my sense is that every newbie should be required by shaving convention to buy a Tech to get going, because you can't go wrong with it. But if you can't do that, then a Jagen David purchase on Amazon to avoid the uncertainties of ebay is not the worst step a newby could take either.
[Still long term obsessed by a slant]
Your first three weeks on DE razors involves a lot of learning. By the time my Tech arrived, I'd made most of my major mistakes, and started to shave at a decent if not expert level.
When my Tech turned up, here's what I was struck by. My Chinese Jagen David (for that's what I understand them to be), looked a hell of lot like a Tech copy. The major observations were:
1. The Tech had a far more satisfactory look and feel, less plastic in the handle, and more weight in the head of the razor.
2. The Jagen David showed a little more blade; it was just that fraction more aggressive.
3. The Tech gave a milder, smoother, shave, but the Jagen David was not disgraced by comparison.
If you put a good quality handle on the Jagen David, you'd have a decent razor. However, it cost me £10 on Amazon. Add a decent handle and you're up for another £15 at least (I'm not suggesting an exceptional handle). Whatever the amount, by the time you've fine tuned the Jagen David, well, then you've bought yourself a Tech on eBay for £15 depending on condition, and my Tech is in immaculate nick.
So, here's the point. The Jagen Davis is not an all together bad option for a first razor. But given that for a few quid more you can find yourself owning a Tech, then why not. My Tech is decades old, and there's something about owning a classic piece of equipment that has lasted the ages and will continue to do so that is worth far more than the few extra quid you may pay.
Funnily enough, the Tech is milder than the Jagen David, so it feels in some respects a step backwards (although, a good mild shave is a good shave, so who's going backwards). I wonder if our attitude to Chinese products at the moment is the same as existed towards Japanese products back in the 70s (ie, referring to them as Jap Crap, only to find that they had developed the most sophisticated quality processes in the world in many manufacturing areas which we all ignored for 10-20 years).
I think the major difference here is that the Tech I have has lasted for 40+ years already, and shows every sign of doubling that innings, whereas the Jagen David's handle may struggle to make it past 2+ years.
I need to try a Merkur HD. Ahead of that, my sense is that every newbie should be required by shaving convention to buy a Tech to get going, because you can't go wrong with it. But if you can't do that, then a Jagen David purchase on Amazon to avoid the uncertainties of ebay is not the worst step a newby could take either.
[Still long term obsessed by a slant]
