Greetings, I am ready to take the plunge. I want to buy my first safety razor. Any recommendations on for a first safety razor and blades? Recommendations for on line sellers? I know I will need soap and a brush, anything else for my first purchasce? Thanks
Get ready for 1001 suggestions! This link is not intended to overwhelm you, but give you a central local for many of your shaving questions, including suggestions on what to use and where to buy. Please DO NOT let this keep you from asking any question you like! We're here to help, and I believe the info in that link will be very beneficial. Have fun!
westcoastshaving and bullgoose shaving supply are both good sites. They sell both razors and blades. The owners of those two sites are active members here.
I'll leave the subject of razors to those more versed in the different varieties. I have a simple Lord 3 piece that does me well, but I'm in the hunt to expand my collection with some vintage razors ASAP. Where I can comment is on blades. Find a vendor who offers a sample pack. Why? Different blades behave differently for different skin types, facial structures, beard types, etc. What works good for me may leave you red, irritated, and nicked up. Also, different blades will behave differently in a particular type of razor. A sample pack will let you test some different blades and pick one that works for you. If you do find a sampler pack I'd suggest you get one that included at least some of the following blades: Feather Astra Platinum Red 'Israeli' Personna Gillette 7 o'clocks ( yellow pack ) Derby Extras Iridium Super Extra Dorco Platinum Extra Many people judge the Feathers as the sharpest blade available, but that may or may not translate into performance for your situation. It's just a blade most people should try at least once. The blades listed above are usually easy to find, and will provide you a fairly good basis to make some decisions on.
I can highly recommend Bullgoose for an online trader. As for a razor, are you interested in modern or vintage DE's? If you're interested in modern then an Edwin Jagger EJ89 is a very good one. If it's vintage then I think something like a flair tip Superspeed (silver end) would be good. I think one of the most underated blades around are the Shark Super Chrome. They are cheap, they are quite sharp and they will last 5 comfortable triple pass shaves. As blades are a very personal thing, I think a sampler pack is a good option to start with though. I would get a Palmolive soap stick, the one with tallow and I'd also get a tube of Erasmic cream. That will help you decide if you are a soap or a cream person. Both are good in their own way. A good starter brush would be a Vulfix #2006 pure badger or an Omega badger.
