Finally i was able to spend some cash on a new Razor! Bought an Edwin Jagger DE89L. I snagged it on sale for $28 at royalshave. I got a few different blades to try as well, Derby, Feather, Wilkinson and sword, Dorco 301's, and Astra Super's. Ive read good things about Personna's in the blue packaging, kinda wanna try them too. Ive seen the 100 pack for $12 on ebay but am unsure about buying that many. Anyone use them?
Congradulations on getting your first safety razor ..Nice score!! The EJ89 I.M.O. is one of the best modern "3 piece" safety razors out there for the money..(I own one and used it happily until I went stainless)....In fact about the only way to really "upgrade" the EJ89(again I.M.O.) would be to move into stainless steel or vintage.. I would definately suggest your next purchase be as large a sample blade pack as you can afford, rather than a bulk blade order at this time.....I know how much you want to get a bulk order,we all do in the beginning, but (trust me)taking your time and trying as many different blades as you can(before buying bulk) will benifit you in the long run..If you have an interest in a particular blade or two that aren't generally included in sample packs, ask around I'm sure someone here will have some and would be willing to send you a couple to try...If you like Personna's you may want to give Viking's Sword blades a try..
I have several antique Gillete DEs, some even gold-colored. All great shavers . My only problem is that I love Wilkinsin Sword blades, and they are getting hard to find around here. I also sometimes shave with an antique Durham Duplex, which was the first DE 'safety' razor to come out, I think.
Yeah I'll try to find a good priced 5 pack of personna blue's first. 100 pack for only $12 is awfully tempting though lol.
Sounds like you got off to a good start. My razors are all vintage, so I can't comment, but you're already getting good feedback on yours. Have fun focusing on the one razor and working through those blades.
My advice is to hold off buying any blade in bulk until you know said blade is going to work for you.
Gigmaster, I buy my Wilkies at Bed, Bath and Beyond here in Virginia. They always have plenty. It looks like you have three BB&B's right across the line in Chattanooga. Just thought I'd let you know.
Yes that is definately one of the "BIG" advantages to DE shaving the price!!...Even most bulk orders aren't that expensive(especially when compared to carts)...The problem comes after you buy several bulk orders,finding a place to store them.. Thats what happened to me I'd buy bulk only to discover another blade I liked better... So really if you have someplace to stick them and can afford the price then buying bulk instead of packs is ok, just hate to see you with a load of blades you can't use,taking up the space you could store the load you wind up loving in...
Here is the advice I received when I started with a DE and so I freely give it to new users. The most important things in shaving are, your skin and technique. All other things fall in line behind those two things and to support them. Since the skin is a given fixed item, the next major item is technique. It is called THE 30 DAY RULE. THE 30 DAY RULE is as follows: Find a razor, then a blade that will not cause issues with your skin (that may take a few different blades in a sampler pack to find a suitable choice or it maybe the first out of the gate) and select a soap or cream that is easy to generate good lather. Once you find those, and it may take a couple of weeks to find this combination, order a quantity of that blade enough for 30 days, and then spend 30 days using nothing else until you build up your technique. (Note that only one brand blade is used for 30 days after each blade in the sampler pack is tested to make the decision on the blade brand to use for 30 days.) The 30 day clock starts when you have the right blade for you. After 30 days, change one and only one variable and work for another week then change another after another week. At that point you should be able to make better decisions because your technique is now in place. This will help you to avoid buying too much gear and stuff too soon without having the technique down to enjoy it all. Cheers.
Congrats on the new razor. A fine selection with many, many positive reviews on many shave forums. Once you hook-up with the right blade for you, it will be shaving at the best. Of note, please do not jump from your blade/soap combination on a day-to-day basis. Otherwise, you will not be able to "baseline" the various combinations. Enjoy
That's a super razor. IMO the Personna Lab are the best blades. At 12 cents each, what's not to like.
