My acquisition disorder is kicking in again. I am thinking of purchasing a 3rd safety razor. I currently have a Merkur HD and I have a 1967 Gillette Slim adjustable on the way. Any suggestions on what razor I should get to round out my rotation?
Thanks for the suggestions. I just scored a great deal on a Ball Handled Tech and a Canadian Fat Handled Tech. You have me thinking about a Superspeed and a Slant though...my RAD is sure to flare up again. It's a sickness!
I have looked at the Gem Micromatic and was tempted. Is it difficult to find a variety of single edge blades?
I nearly pulled the trigger on one. On one of my 1st days on the B & B forum someone was selling a lot of seven razors including a GEM for $30.00 total. I blinked and they were sold. That will teach me to hesitate.
It seems to me that there is not nearly the variety in SE blades. Gem blades that I picked up at Walgreens I believe are also the same from CVS, and maybe some other generic type blades. There's also Pal and Treets, which I'm hearing conflicting stories on whether they're the same as the Gems or not. Then there are Ted Pellas and Feathers. So far that I know, that's about it.... You also want to make sure that the blade is meant for shaving. Don't pick 'em up at Home Depot. I'm sure one of the more experienced SE shavers will be in soon to correct my misinformation, if any.
There is not the great variety of blades... but the ones that are there work good for me./ The ASR blades sold by Wal greens and CVS, Rite aid.. are good.. the Treet is also a ASR blade They all work good for me. The Ted Pellas are good blades if you want to order some off the web. Dave swears by them. Fuzzy
As a third razor I would really recommend the Parker 91R.. for me that razor was sort of the end of my AD.. It pure exellence.. And kinda cheap too..
Get your hands on a 1912 GEM. Great SE razor. I always got great shaves just with the blades I got at CVS. You can get others from Razorandbrush.com, or go in for a group buy with someone for Ted Pellas, but really I didn't notice that any were significantly better than the Personnas I got at CVS.
If you won't go for a 1912 GEM (the Micromatics can't hold a candle to a 1912 GEM) then I suggest an open comb vintage Gillette. Best to get would be a Gillette NEW from the '30s. Great shavers and can be had in shaving condition not display condition for cheap. But I would strongly suggest you go the SE route. As Fuzzy says the blade choices may not be that large but what is out there is usually pretty good. I use the Ted Pella blades and get like 7-10 shaves per blade. And even though you buy 200 of them they are far cheaper than what you pay for some of the more highly recommended DE blades.
The Futur wiped out all RAD. Seriously. I have no desire to shave with another DE razor again. Straights, on the other hand...