With various amounts of aggressiveness in razors and blades, I'm wondering what would be a good starting combination for a new convert to wetshaving. I understand that the blue tip SS is about the mildest vintage Gillette DE. Would this razor, paired with a moderate blade like an Astra SP be a good set-up to begin with? I also have several others; Fatboy, Slim, 66 Tech, Red Tip SS, 54 SS, Early SS and Contracr Tech. Have been told that these are really not too different and are all mild to moderate. Just thought it may be good to start at the bottom and work the way up. Thoughts and suggestions most welcome.
I think the super speed with an Astra SP gives a great shave. Not aggressive and very smooth, it's one of my go-to combinations. As I'm sure you've probably read by now, what works for some may not work exactly the same for others. The best way to find out is to jump in and get started. It does help to stick with a regular combination for a while, same razor/same type of blade, until you get a feel for technique. This makes it easier to know how a different blade/razor combination affects your shave. There's not really a bad place to start. Just make sure and enjoy the ride.
They are all great razors and you will no doubt need to experiment to find your favorite. A fatboy or a slim adjustable will go from Bluetip (3) to Redtip (4). Then you can crank it all the way into 9 which is very aggressive. I would also buy a blade sample pack. astras are good but a sample pack of 10 different 5 blade sleeves will let you really try the razor out and give it a fair trial. One more thought. Once you get the hang of this (technique) depending on your skin you may realize it's all about almost no blade pressure. The aggressiveness of the razor makes almost no difference. It takes 30-60 days to figure out technique. Give it a chance. Those first few days can be rough.
While all razors and blades work unfortunately/fortunately you need to try at least a couple of razors and blades to find what works best for you. So make sure you have a LARGE blade sampler pack. Rather than try different razors of the same type, I would advise trying one each of the various different styles(DE, SE, Injector, even straight) razors and see if one really sticks out, that's how I did it at first. I found that as much as I wanted to use a SuperSpeed in the beginning, the 3 piece Gillette "Fat Handle Tech" was a far superior fit for my face.
I'd advise more along the lines of what NOT to try, which for a true newb would be the razors that are more aggressive (less forgiving of error = more likely to discourage one from continuing). Go mild for the first several shaves until technique starts to come around...then ramp up the aggressiveness.
I'd say shave a few days with one of your TTOs and a few days with a Tech. You might want to try a few different blades in each too just to see if anything really seems to click. If you find something that does, stick with it for a while and let your technique develop. I prefer a Tech to any of the TTOs but some guys are exactly the opposite so try 'em yourself and see.
You might want to look in this thread and in the feeding threads you will find much more detailed discussion. http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/gd-carringtons-safety-razor-and-blade-reference.42301/
+1... yes, every one is different, and different stuff works better or worse etc. But when I am running behind, and I need to get in a great shave, an Astra and a Super Speed are my go to. I can always depend on that combo to give me what I am after, with no irritation, injury or uncertainty. Sometimes blue tip, sometimes red. Every once and a while black handle or 50s type. But Super Speed and Astra SPs are good stuff.
