Safety Razors

OhThePenguin

norrie rugger wrote: »

Need to get some blades, 1st time since christmas!!!
Where in Dublin/Cork can they be picked up?

OR

What is the best online local site?

Shaving.ie for next day delivery and all round great service.

Think you can also pick up blades in Tesco which are supposedly good quality. Never used them myself though.

Gran Hermano

As mentioned Tesco and Boots stock their own brand DE blades (similar to Personna) and possibly some Wilkinsons but shaving.ie is your best bet for a decent selection and prompt delivery.

sombaht

Norrie
Best bet is to get a blade sample pack. Everyone seems to have different experiences with the various blades. Some people swear by Merkur, but I find Merkur very harsh on my skin. My fave blade is Derby Extra or Israeli Personna, others wouldnt go near them, to each their own.
This seems like a good starter pack:

http://www.shaving.ie/products/Two-Of-A-Kind-DE-Blade-Sample-Pack.html

Cheers,
sombaht

padi89

norrie rugger wrote: »

Need to get some blades, 1st time since christmas!!!
Where in Dublin/Cork can they be picked up?

OR

What is the best online local site?

If personnas suit you check the sale thread in the stickys

nkay1985

Hey lads,

Been using my Progress for months now with Proraso soap. I don't use pre-shave or aftershave. Would you guys recommend these? If so, what would you recommend? I used Shaving.ie for my initial gear and found them great so would like to give them my business.

oscarBravo

Proraso pre-shave cream, definitely. I hate to shave without it; I just bought a 500ml bucket of it from shaving.ie.

I generally alternate between Speick intensive cream and Trumper's skin food after a cold rinse and a good alum rub.

nkay1985

oscarBravo wrote: »

Proraso pre-shave cream, definitely. I hate to shave without it; I just bought a 500ml bucket of it from shaving.ie.

I generally alternate between Speick intensive cream and Trumper's skin food after a cold rinse and a good alum rub.

How is the pre-shave cream used? Do you just rub some into your beard and rinse?

What kind of aromas are the two aftershaves?

norrie rugger

sombaht wrote: »

Norrie
Best bet is to get a blade sample pack. Everyone seems to have different experiences with the various blades. Some people swear by Merkur, but I find Merkur very harsh on my skin. My fave blade is Derby Extra or Israeli Personna, others wouldnt go near them, to each their own.
This seems like a good starter pack:

http://www.shaving.ie/products/Two-Of-A-Kind-DE-Blade-Sample-Pack.html

Cheers,
sombaht

Ordered and on the way.
I did like the personas but should try them all really

oscarBravo

nkay1985 wrote: »

How is the pre-shave cream used? Do you just rub some into your beard and rinse?

What kind of aromas are the two aftershaves?

After a shower I rinse my face with warm water, and rub the cream into the damp beard before lathering.

Skin food comes in several fragrances, coral (which is basically rose scented), limes and sandalwood. Speck is... distinctive. It's hard to describe.

nkay1985

oscarBravo wrote: »

After a shower I rinse my face with warm water, and rub the cream into the damp beard before lathering.

Skin food comes in several fragrances, coral (which is basically rose scented), limes and sandalwood. Speck is... distinctive. It's hard to describe.

Cool. Sure they're not very expensive anyway so I might try them both.

DeadSkin

oscarBravo wrote: »

Proraso pre-shave cream, definitely. I hate to shave without it; I just bought a 500ml bucket of it from shaving.ie.

I generally alternate between Speick intensive cream and Trumper's skin food after a cold rinse and a good alum rub.

I use the Proraso pre shave and Speick aftershave lotion with witch hazel and love the stuff, wonderful scent from the Speick.
Next on the list is the Speick cream

Used the alum stick first time tonight and found it excellent. Been using a styptic pencil for a while and tbh it stings like a bastard.

nkay1985

I've gone with the Proraso pre-shave cream and the Speick cream. Will see how I get on with them.

Amalgam

Postman delivered the Bakelite Merkur 45 030 this morning, courtesy of Shaving.ie.

This is the basic, card boxed version, issued with a Merkur tri-fold pamphlet and 1 Merkur razor blade.

Lovely patina to the bakelite, a really classic pattern, typical of bakelite ashtrays\smoking apparatus you can find. Bordeaux streaked red.

The razor is extremely light, in the hand, it feels like a typical Gillette II disposable. I would guess it is lighter than a Mach 3 and associated multi blades.



'Made in Germany'



Surprise! It's a 3 piece. I love this aspect of the razor, light and transportable. Very untypical of Merkur at the moment, other than their travel razors.



You'll have noticed the 'pins' don't go through the bottom bracket of the razor head. They're pocketed in indentations instead.



I've yet to test this razor out, tomorrow will be a Monsavon shaving cream and a Gillette (green) Super Stainless shave.

I'm delighted with my purchase. I have a lot of bakelite around the house (Radios..) and I understood exactly what the item would be like. I might buy another one, or two..

CrowdedHouse

er...I'm probably get hammered but is there anyone else on here that think Merkur razors are sh**e

I have/had a 34HD, 38c and 11c and I can't get a good shave from any of them,I get a reasonable shave at times but that's about it.

I get great shaves from vintage Gillettes,including the mild blue tip,Schick Krona,Muhle 89..even the plastic Wilkinson is not bad.

I just can't get the Merkurs to work for me

/minor rant over

Gran Hermano

CrowdedHouse wrote: »

er...I'm probably get hammered but is there anyone else on here that think Merkur razors are sh**e

I have/had a 34HD, 38c and 11c and I can't get a good shave from any of them,I get a reasonable shave at times but that's about it.

I get great shaves from vintage Gillettes,including the mild blue tip,Schick Krona,Muhle 89..even the plastic Wilkinson is not bad.

I just can't get the Merkurs to work for me

/minor rant over

I think it's a case of 'horses for courses' and YMMV.

I found the following too mild and now rarely use them:
Gillette Superspeed (numerous variations)
Merkur HD
Muhle R89
Gillette Tech

The following are mild but usable for me:
EJ Chatsworth
Gillette Slim adjustable

Current rotation:
Gillette New open comb
Gillette Fatboy
Merkur Progress - both models
Mergress
Merkur Futur


Too aggressive, in reserve for several days growth:
Merkur 37c slant
Merkur 11c open comb

I prefer a slightly more aggressive than normal razor, hence why I prefer
the Merkur adjustables. A mild razor even with a Feather/black Gillette blade means too many passes for me to get the same shave as an aggressive razor.

Shaving.ie

CrowdedHouse wrote: »

er...I'm probably get hammered but is there anyone else on here that think Merkur razors are sh**e

I have/had a 34HD, 38c and 11c and I can't get a good shave from any of them,I get a reasonable shave at times but that's about it.

I get great shaves from vintage Gillettes,including the mild blue tip,Schick Krona,Muhle 89..even the plastic Wilkinson is not bad.

I just can't get the Merkurs to work for me

/minor rant over

The thing is it's an impossible argument. For me the best razor I have is the Progress but some one else might not be that impressed. I do make use of the adjustability depending on a number of factors such as blade type, how much time I have to spare and how much stubble I have to tackle. The end result is always good. On the other hand I do like the Mühle/EJ 89 razor and use it regularly. Its forgiving, comfortable to use and very well made but if I had to choose one I would go for a Merkur every time as the extra bite gives me a better shave.

Amalgam

Horses for courses.. I use the Mühle R106, Merkur 11C and the Merkur 34C (HD), depending as much on how my skin is doing, as well as what razor blade I'm in the mood to use.

I just had an evening shave with the Merkur 45 (Bakelite) Razor and it is somewhat unnerving, coming from the Merkur 34C, it is like shaving with a lollipop stick, with a blade wedged at the top. The blade seems to have a steeper incline than the regular Merkur razor head. This favours the meek and the lazy, a minimum amount of fuss needed to actively shave. The downside of that is a 'sweet spot', similar to the Gillette Tech.

The material of the razor itself, bakelite, means feedback is totally alien to what you might expect from a regular safety razor, where you might use the weight to gauge your shaving manner, say along the top lip and around the nose\nostrils.

The razor transmits noise from the blade, strokes of the razor along the neckline give off a very satisfying, Shhhhriiiiiiiittth, Shhhhriiiiiiiittth.. if that's what you like, you'll be in heaven.

The lack of weight might put some people off, but that feather feeling might prove popular with others.

The razor is unique, only one other brand with a totally non metal body comes to mind, that is the 'Lord' brand of safety razor, which is marketed in the Middle East and the Indian Continent.

The design shows up general shaving muck\residue very visibly, a quick wipe along the razor head after a shave cures that.

An acceptable shave that took a bit longer due to a bit of self doubt about what was actually taking place.. due to the new sensations.

I like this razor, still a bit of a mystery to me, I'll pick it up for the next few weeks and see how I get on.

GD

Be interested to hear how you get on with the Bakelite after a couple of shaves Amalgam.

Just had an eBay splurge on a '52 Super Speed Black Tip and a '66 Flair Tip so was going to behave myself for a while, but that Bakelite Merkur is very cool. Might wait till it's available with the case.

Amalgam

GD wrote: »

Just had an eBay splurge..

PayPal verified this week, after 11 years of resistance..

You can guess where I've been loitering..

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=11

GD

Always some really nice items on there and at way below eBay prices too.

I've picked up some Mint Slim Adjustables (got Birth Year and then had to get Birth Quarter) for about half the going rate. A very gentlemanly "old world" community!

Gran Hermano

Anyone here with experience of both the Vietnamese and Thai versions of the Gillette Super Thins? Having used about 30 of the Thai version I recently picked up some Vietnamese ones as most feedback on the usual fora was that they were the same. However after trying several of the Vietnamese variety I'm finding them slightly inferior to the Thai blades.

The Vietnamese are not a bad blade but even dialling up the adjustables I find I can not get as close a shave nor are they as smooth. They're not as rough as Derby/Bluebird but not as good as the Thai or French Bleue blades.

Amalgam

Gran Hermano, I don't know which ones I have, to be honest. Check this out for a bargain..

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=158214&highlight=Thins

By the time I decided to PM and ask about P&P to Ireland, too late.

---

I started using a Feather blade in the Merkur 45 (Bakelite) this morning and the razor tunes out the harshness of the Feather very well. Enjoyable shave.

I wouldn't mind the new head geometry that Merkur are using, in a different material.

iKon, over on the iKon Razors forum (http://www.ikonrazors.com/forum/), picked up something strikingly similar to the Merkur 45, on eBay recently.

http://ikonrazors.com/forum/index.php?topic=29.0





The curvature of the head is very similar. The aesthetic of it too.

Just to stay with the topic, iKon razors have been selling for as low as 38 euro on auctions at eBay. Lovely heavy slabs of steel.

Here is pureslab's (iKon Razors) vendor page on eBay.

http://myworld.ebay.ie/pureslab/

norrie rugger

have found that i definately do NOT like Feathers. They cut my skin but not the hair for some reason.
Still loving Persona platinum and now Astra platinum. Still a load in the multi pack to go through

CrowdedHouse

@ Gran Hermano - I have them- but I agree with you,not a bad blade but definitely different to the Thai ones.Certainly not as smooth or long lasting.

Shaving.ie

That's interesting. I had always assumed they were the same blade in different packaging. Both types are produced in China with similar packaging. The Vietnamese version is labelled as platinum coated. I will have to do a side by side comparison and see which I prefer.

Shaving.ie

One blade which I have not heard much about here is the Iridium Super. They seem to be well received on other forums. I have been trying them out for the past week or so and so far they have become one of my favourites... very sharp.

Anybody else using them? How are they working out?

yabadabado

Shaving.ie wrote: »

One blade which I have not heard much about here is the Iridium Super. They seem to be well received on other forums. I have been trying them out for the past week or so and so far they have become one of my favourites... very sharp.

Anybody else using them? How are they working out?

Yeah I have used them before got a few off a mate think he got them in a sampler pack.i liked them but i never bothered to look into buying them anywhere.as you say they are very sharp bit like the feathers but i dont think they would do as much damage if you were a bit wayward with the blade.

one question lads ,how many shaves do ye usually get from a blade on average.i always just keep using a blade until i notice the sharpness going,one of the lads reckons he tosses a blade after 4 shaves no matter what type it is.bit of a waste?

Genghiz Cohen

I used to go for 3 shaves.
But that was madness, getting 5-6 easily out of the last few I've used.

Cabaal

So I went away last weekend and had my progress and everything packed up and ready to bring with me....but then I forgot the bag they were in.

Luckily I always have an emergency travel bag I prepared about two years back in the car, travel shampoo, Boots safety razor etc

So ended up having to use the boots razor and I have to say I was impressed, first time I had used it so I was abit iffy about it. Didn't find it as close as my progress but still didn't cut the face off me or anything like that.

Not bad for about 2e

Dord

I usually give the blades around 3 shaves. I could try 4 but I'm not sure if it'd be good for my face.

I haven't tried out the Feathers yet but so far from the Derby and Persona I have tried I prefer the Persona. I'll try out a feather blade next time I guess.