Beginner's Guide for DE Safety Razors:

I ran across someone today that was just staring at the shaving section in Walmart today and he was blown away at the prices and on my way out it hit me. Why hasn't anyone put together a basic guide for beginners on which razor to purchase? So I'll do what I can in terms of what to purchase and how long it will be before you'll need to upgrade and learn this new style of shaving. In my opinion, possibly 2 of the best double edge or DE safety razors you can start off with would be the Edwin Jagger DE89 and/or the Merkur 34C. Both will last a lifetime if they're maintained and cleaned on a regular basis.Now there are a few that have gone mainstream, but these aren't very good in terms off quality and I wouldn't call them the best either. The first is endorsed by Rick Harrison off of the hit TV show called Pawn Stars and that razor is called The Micro Touch One Ultra. This razor is the exact same DE or double edge safety razor that I bought online about 1 day before the commercial for the razor mentioned above and it's called The Weishi 9306 G which is almost a carbon copy of the 1960's Gillette Speed Glide which is why I bought it. They're decent but they're also poor quality in terms of construction and materials. They're both "twist to open" or TTO which is where the problems begin. The butterfly doors tend to be a little on the weak side around the hinge area and tend to come loose. All of the DE or double edge safety razors listed above are mild in terms of blade exposure and angles and can be used daily. I recommend that you use the razors at least 30 days before considering an upgrade because your skin has to get use to this kind of shaving, you'll need a solid technique and after 30 days, you'll have a really good idea of what works for you and go from there. I recommend avoiding the open comb and slant bar styled DE or double edge safety razors until you find the right razor and blade combination. The best double edge blade you can get will vary from razor to razor. To find that blade and razor combo, I recommend getting a Sampler DE Blade pack from a supplier. This will give you multiple choices to find out what works best for you. One of the most popular blades on the market today is the Feather DE blades. Unless you're using a Weishi or Micro Touch One Ultra DE or double edge safety razor, I recommend you avoid these blades because they're excessively sharp and in the Merkur 34C and Edwin Jagger DE 89, they'll do more damage on your face instead of removing your beard. This changes though if you have a extremely coarse beard. One of my personal favorites is the Gillette Silver Blue DE blades. They're currently made in St. Petersburg, Russia. They're sharp enough to get the job done, but they're also a very forgiving blade which is great for beginners or people whom have just returned to this style of shaving. They will also provide one of the smoothest shaves you'll ever have in your life. I've used both Feather and these blades along with a few others, and in my opinion the Gillette Silver Blue blades are the smoothest you can get. Now as for the DE or double egde adjustable safety razors, you can start off with one as a beginner if you want but if you're on a tight budget and really haven't found the right blades just yet, you'll be better off getting one of the safety razors mentioned in the beginning of this post. They usually start around $62 U.S. Dollars and there's only one brand that makes them which is Merkur (it's pronounced as MurKor for those that's wondering). Germany's finest safety razor company has alot to choose from. Wether you are a beginner or seasoned veteran, they'll have something for you. The first adjustable is called the Merkur Progress which has 5 settings and is a 2 piece razor. Setting 5 will have the most blade exposure while setting 1 will have the least amount of blade exposure which is where most of the aggressive characteristics occur in a DE or Double Edge safety razors. The rest will come from the angle of the head on the safety razor. The next adjustable safety razor is called the Merkur Futur which is also a 2 piece razor and also has 5 settings. There's several differences between the Porgess and Futur. The first is the finishes. With the Futur you have a choice in the finish, either a matte chrome finish or a polished chrome finish. The head where you install the blade has a cover that snaps on and off with the Futur while the Progress has to be unscrewed to remove and install the blade. The Futur is also much larger and heavier which does make a difference in terms of shave quality and the number of passes before getting that ultra smooth shave. The next DE or double edge ajustable safety razor is called the Merkur Vision. It has alot of the same characteristics as the Futur in terms of loading the blade and finish, but it has 6 settings instead of 5 because it uses the word "Vision" as its settings. It's also the largest DE or double edge safety razor on the market and one of the most expensive at around $180 U.S. Dollars.