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Hello from Ballarat

Andrew_N

Andrew_N

Member
Hi everyone,

my name is Andrew, I’m 35 and I’m living in the very cold town of Ballarat. I’m looking at switching to DE shaving because of the irritation, razor burn and ingrown hairs that I’m currently getting with my current setup.

My current setup is:

Gillette Fusion Proglide Power (5 blades.. yeah I know this is wrong now..)
Gillette Fusion Proglide Sensitive Gel
Nivea For Men Active Comfort Aftershave Balm Sensitive

I currently only shave every 3 or 4 days and its not something I look forward to doing. I know my wife would like me to shave more often.

After reading some posts here and looking at https://www.beardandblade.com.au/ I’m looking at purchasing a new DE shaving setup:

$69 - Merkur Solingen Heavy Duty Safety Razor HD (34C)
Or
$49.99 - Edwin Jagger DE89 Knurled Safety Razor
Or
$84 - Rockwell 6C (adjustable)

$24.99 - Beard & Blade Double Edge Blade Kit (50)
$29.99 - Beard & Blade Classic Synthetic Shaving Brush Black
$12.99 - Proraso Eucalyptus & Menthol Refresh Shaving Soap - 150ml
$29.99 - Frank Shaving Razor & Brush Stand Chrome
$14.99 - Proraso Alum Block 100g

Sticking with my Nivea For Men Active Comfort Aftershave Balm Sensitive for now.

Picking a razor is giving me the most issues. I was set on Merkur Solingen Heavy Duty Safety Razor HD (34C) until I found this forum and I’m now thinking Edwin Jagger DE89 Knurled Safety Razor would be a better razor for a beginner. I do like the idea that the Rockwell 6C is adjustable which would help if I shave every 2 days or every 4 days etc. Any help on this would be much appreciated.

Is that Shaving Brush suitable or should I be looking at a different brush? I did see somewhere a Boar brush can help with ingrown hairs so maybe I should look at a boar brush?

Is a stand necessary for a razor?

Any feedback would be much appreciated.
 
Welcome @Andrew_N shameless plug here mate. I have a Homelike START $150 USD on sale for $150 AUD posted.
https://homelikeshaving.ru/britvennyj-nabor-full-kit-t-obraznaya-britva-start-polirovka.html
The START is very similar to Karve with various base plates, SB and OC options. Otherwise the other 3 are all good options DE89 and 34C are good starters but you will tire of them eventually.
It is really personal preference and what works for you YMMV. Jump down the rabbit hole and you will look forward to shaving as often as possible.
 
Andrew_N said:
Hi everyone,

my name is Andrew, I’m 35 and I’m living in the very cold town of Ballarat. I’m looking at switching to DE shaving because of the irritation, razor burn and ingrown hairs that I’m currently getting with my current setup.
Click to expand...

Welcome Andrew, glad you made it here :)

Picking a razor is giving me the most issues. I was set on Merkur Solingen Heavy Duty Safety Razor HD (34C) until I found this forum and I’m now thinking Edwin Jagger DE89 Knurled Safety Razor would be a better razor for a beginner. I do like the idea that the Rockwell 6C is adjustable which would help if I shave every 2 days or every 4 days etc. Any help on this would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...

Any of these would be fine. The 34C and DE89 are often recommended for beginners and they are both good, solid run of the mill razors, the DE89 probably slightly milder but not significant enough to be an issue any time soon. The 6C does give you more options longer term to experiment and if the budget is not tight it might be the better option for that reason - so you avoid the 'what-if' questions of owning the others.

Is that Shaving Brush suitable or should I be looking at a different brush? I did see somewhere a Boar brush can help with ingrown hairs so maybe I should look at a boar brush?
Click to expand...

That synthetic brush will be a great start and last you long enough for you to really know what you are doing and then possibly, you might not, want something else to try.

Is a stand necessary for a razor?
Click to expand...

No, it is bling - but I'm getting one for my son 'cause he likes them - that is fine. Not needed but grab it if you want to

Any feedback would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...

One last thing - Beard & Blade Double Edge Blade Kit (50) - blades are very personal but

You will get more opinions than people and it is really NOT that super critical what you buy, but don't use the bottom four first up and think DE shaving is horrible!

PS - the Nivea For Men Active Comfort Aftershave Balm Sensitive will be fine too!
 
Welcome @Andrew_N

you havnt told us if you have a strong beard or sensitive/normal skin. If you have strong beard growth the de89 and Merkur 34 will b too mild, I would go with GC or 6c.

like mark said blades are very subjective and you need to get a sample pack and try these for yourself

good luck 👍
 
Welcome to P&C @Andrew_N - great to have you here (y)

There are as many opinions about the "perfect" first setup, as there are shavers out there...but I will add my 2 cents:

Razors: all 3 mentioned above will do a great job as your first razor - I personally prefer the DE89 over the 34C, but that's just me. I would also consider the Rockewell 6S instead of the 6C - but again I am a stainless steel snob. But really the DE89 is a great razor - not only to start with.

Brush: just get a good cheap synthetic - again I am a badger snob, but I think a lot of people here are very happy with their Yaqi synthetics. In my opinion a boar brush involves more work (breaking in, soaking etc.) and to start with you want to keep everything as simple as possible. The whole massaging the face for ingrowns is...again a can of worms, but what I can say from personal experience: you can do way more harm with a stiff brush on your face than you can do good.

Soap: this is in my opinion very important - the change from canned goo to real lather change is single biggest difference between what you are doing now and what you are going to hopefully do very soon. No great shave can be achieved without great lather. Proraso is a solid soap to start with and also easy to lather. Once you have mastered that, you can start to look at even better options, that have more goodness for you skin as ingredients.

Blades: just get a sample...not very important to start with, I would just avoid the extremes at the beginning (Feather/Kai - super sharp, Derby/Muhle - super blunt)

You definitely DO NOT need a stand, neither for your brush, nor for your razor...I would say chances are pretty good (you have arrived here at the enablers club) that you might get a 2nd or even third brush/razor/etc. - they would all need a different stand...save that money for your 4th and 5th brush/razor etc :D :D :D

Alum: check out your local Indian grocery store...should be cheaper there

Enjoy the journey (y)(y)(y)
 
Welcome @Andrew_N. I will second everything that @alfredus has said but I will add the following. I started with the DE89 and still own it. They are a great beginners razor and even as you add more razors to your collection it is a razor well worth keeping. I would also suggest that a non-adjustable razor is a great starting option as it removes a lot of variables and let’s you concentrate on learning good technique. You will also want to try different blades to see what works for you and in my opinion a non-adjustable razor will allow you to sample blades without the variance that adjustability creates. With 2-3 months under your belt you will be well on the way and in a much better position to start trying different razors. I will also second the recommendation to consider the 6S instead of the 6C as it is much better quality. The 6S would be a great second razor to look at getting once you have your technique down pat.
 
Welcome. Great advice already from the guys above so whatever you go with just take your time to develop your technique. Pressure, angles etc are different from cartridges so don't be put off if you don't get great results immediately, there are also a lot of great YouTube channels that are very helpful and entertaining.
 
G'day mate,
Ditch the stand and put the $ towards a 6c,then start at a low setting and work your way up.
You probably will not need,note the word need,but will want another razor like the 6s.
Some members here may have a 6s or Karve for sale.
Go for Proraso red instead of the green for the moment,then try something like Stirling samples or Squadron soap.
Again some kind souls may have something to PIF to you.
Witch hazel as an aftershave is fine.
I think the Plissoft from Vshod is a perfect brush option
 
One more thing: look closely at your beard map - you might be one of those lucky souls, where WTG is north to south and ATG is south to north everywhere on your face...but you also might be like me where WTG in places is a hook stroke east to north :(

If you don't know how your beard grows, there is even a less likely chance of getting a good shave...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Mark1966 said:
Welcome Andrew, glad you made it here :)



Any of these would be fine. The 34C and DE89 are often recommended for beginners and they are both good, solid run of the mill razors, the DE89 probably slightly milder but not significant enough to be an issue any time soon. The 6C does give you more options longer term to experiment and if the budget is not tight it might be the better option for that reason - so you avoid the 'what-if' questions of owning the others.



That synthetic brush will be a great start and last you long enough for you to really know what you are doing and then possibly, you might not, want something else to try.



No, it is bling - but I'm getting one for my son 'cause he likes them - that is fine. Not needed but grab it if you want to



One last thing - Beard & Blade Double Edge Blade Kit (50) - blades are very personal but

You will get more opinions than people and it is really NOT that super critical what you buy, but don't use the bottom four first up and think DE shaving is horrible!

PS - the Nivea For Men Active Comfort Aftershave Balm Sensitive will be fine too!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback Mark. Some very helpful information there. That was my exact thinking with the 6c. Long term and I can experiment with the different settings.
 
StratMan said:
Welcome @Andrew_N

you havnt told us if you have a strong beard or sensitive/normal skin. If you have strong beard growth the de89 and Merkur 34 will b too mild, I would go with GC or 6c.

like mark said blades are very subjective and you need to get a sample pack and try these for yourself

good luck 👍
Click to expand...

I knew I'd leave some important info out.

I'd say I have strong bread growth and I do have sensitive skin around my neck area. thanks for the info.
 
Holiday said:
Welcome @Andrew_N shameless plug here mate. I have a Homelike START $150 USD on sale for $150 AUD posted.
https://homelikeshaving.ru/britvennyj-nabor-full-kit-t-obraznaya-britva-start-polirovka.html
The START is very similar to Karve with various base plates, SB and OC options. Otherwise the other 3 are all good options DE89 and 34C are good starters but you will tire of them eventually.
It is really personal preference and what works for you YMMV. Jump down the rabbit hole and you will look forward to shaving as often as possible.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the offer but I'm looking for brand new stuff at the moment. Good luck though.
 
alfredus said:
Welcome to P&C @Andrew_N - great to have you here (y)

There are as many opinions about the "perfect" first setup, as there are shavers out there...but I will add my 2 cents:

Razors: all 3 mentioned above will do a great job as your first razor - I personally prefer the DE89 over the 34C, but that's just me. I would also consider the Rockewell 6S instead of the 6C - but again I am a stainless steel snob. But really the DE89 is a great razor - not only to start with.

Brush: just get a good cheap synthetic - again I am a badger snob, but I think a lot of people here are very happy with their Yaqi synthetics. In my opinion a boar brush involves more work (breaking in, soaking etc.) and to start with you want to keep everything as simple as possible. The whole massaging the face for ingrowns is...again a can of worms, but what I can say from personal experience: you can do way more harm with a stiff brush on your face than you can do good.

Soap: this is in my opinion very important - the change from canned goo to real lather change is single biggest difference between what you are doing now and what you are going to hopefully do very soon. No great shave can be achieved without great lather. Proraso is a solid soap to start with and also easy to lather. Once you have mastered that, you can start to look at even better options, that have more goodness for you skin as ingredients.

Blades: just get a sample...not very important to start with, I would just avoid the extremes at the beginning (Feather/Kai - super sharp, Derby/Muhle - super blunt)

You definitely DO NOT need a stand, neither for your brush, nor for your razor...I would say chances are pretty good (you have arrived here at the enablers club) that you might get a 2nd or even third brush/razor/etc. - they would all need a different stand...save that money for your 4th and 5th brush/razor etc :D:D:D

Alum: check out your local Indian grocery store...should be cheaper there

Enjoy the journey (y)(y)(y)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback alfredus. Some very helpful information there. I'll look into the Rockewell 6S and Yaqi synthetics brushes too.
 
nsavage said:
Welcome @Andrew_N. I will second everything that @alfredus has said but I will add the following. I started with the DE89 and still own it. They are a great beginners razor and even as you add more razors to your collection it is a razor well worth keeping. I would also suggest that a non-adjustable razor is a great starting option as it removes a lot of variables and let’s you concentrate on learning good technique. You will also want to try different blades to see what works for you and in my opinion a non-adjustable razor will allow you to sample blades without the variance that adjustability creates. With 2-3 months under your belt you will be well on the way and in a much better position to start trying different razors. I will also second the recommendation to consider the 6S instead of the 6C as it is much better quality. The 6S would be a great second razor to look at getting once you have your technique down pat.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback nsavage. Some great advice there and it defiantly gives me something to think about before I make my purchase.
 
JohnJohn321 said:
Welcome. Great advice already from the guys above so whatever you go with just take your time to develop your technique. Pressure, angles etc are different from cartridges so don't be put off if you don't get great results immediately, there are also a lot of great YouTube channels that are very helpful and entertaining.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the warm welcome. Yeah I've started watching videos on youtube. Must admit I never thought I'd be watching other grown men shave but its very informative and I've already learnt so much. Also realised that I really don't know much about shaving even though I've been shaving for 20 years...
 
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