I started off with a Gillette 7'o Clock Sterling which i bought for INR 100 ~ $1.75 or so. I have posted a review of this razor and it is a brilliant razor to start off with. Very mild, almost perfectly balanced three piece razor. Strongly recommended!!
I found the Merkur 34c is the razor for me. Not that I'm not always looking for that next "new" razor that shaves nicer than my 34C. I also bought my boys 34c's, the 34c is like a workhorse.
A merkur 1904 would be a nice starter razor. So would a triangular holed, fat handle tech. I kind of loathe the tech that came after that point.
I'm biased towards the Gillette Slim because I started out on that. It's also the one razor I keep coming back to. It's like nine razors in one. I started out at 3 and then turned the knob one click until I got to the top If it was too aggressive, I moved it back down a level. I found 6 to be the most comfortable for me. I can pull a 7, but I prefer 6. I use that for my first pass and then bump it back down to 3 for the second pass.
I have mixed feelings regarding adjustables. One one hand, they are like having 9 razors in one, so it makes it easy to find the one that is best suited to you. On the other hand, with 9 settings a beginner might be tempted to constantly play with the settings and then blame errors in technique on the razor instead. I think Dridecker's list is still the best starting point for most new wetshavers.
I feel like my Merkur is not aggressive enough. I'm having trouble just getting a close shave. But I don't know if it's adjustable.... It's just one of the Merkur Model 180 Long Handles. Is there a way to adjust that one?
No. Not really. Except you could make it more aggressive through the use of shims. http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/shimming-what-does-it-accomplish.34932/#post-613222
I think this one would be a good adition to the sticky Dirt cheap (it canbe found for around 4$) it's chromed metal, mild but very effective and will forgive a new shaver just about anything
I started taking things for granted when it comes to razors. I just presumed everyone knows everything IT's called Rimei, but it can be found under other names too on the internet, but if you see this shape, that's it. you can get it on deal extreme, ebay and I think I saw it on Amazon too
Wow, Dridecker; What a great report, how did I miss this thread. Good work thank you for taking the time and putting the effort into it.
Thanks for this write up and all of the additional recommendations. Now I'm off to ebay to try and find a vintage DE.
Thanks so much for this, since being on the forum I'm realizing that whilst I truly am passionate about shaving, I thought being adventurous was trying different creams and aftershaves. That led to "I think I'd like to try true wet shaving" which led to "where do a I start" and BOOM I found this in a couple of minutes. Thanks for doing my legwork