Safety Razors

Azatadine

I had sensitivity to loads of soaps and creams myself as well. The TOBS, George F Trumper stuff all smelled fantastic to me but face would be very sensitive and burny after using them. Tingled while using them. Proraso green too. Proraso blue was rotten stuff and I always got a terrible shave from it.

My go to was proraso red though.

For me, I don't have allergy to lanolin, MWF is an absolute revelation. I like the scent too. Used the puck as a shave stick this morning and had a lovely shave that lathered up very quickly.

I liked Arko as a soap but the smell was just too pungent.

Red Damo

Just saw this thread, I'm in the TOBS sensitive camp as well, burns the face off me. Shame as it smells great.
Barrister & Mann is great though, excellent performance, lathers easily, nice scent, not too strong. As good if not better than TOBS.
I just got a load of 10g samples to try, some more B&M, Razorock and even a sample of Martin de Candre - just see what the hype is about.
Do you guys order from Italian barber?

Orion

I just got a delivery from Italian barber. Be careful. If the declared value is over 22 euro you get hit for vat. I just got caught with that.

Red Damo

Gents, I'm in need of some advice. Currently using a Jagger DE89 and I like it, good performance etc but would like something a little more finished, like something in steel. I have a gillette ball end tech which is good but if I'm not paying 100% attention, it makes me pay.
SO any ideas for a mild razor which is not cast like the DE89? I suspect I'd like a wolfman but too expensive and way too hard to get.

Michael G

Orion wrote: »

I just got a delivery from Italian barber. Be careful. If the declared value is over 22 euro you get hit for vat. I just got caught with that.

I thought one of the very very few advantages of being in the EU was that they couldn't do that.

Orion

Michael G wrote: »

I thought one of the very very few advantages of being in the EU was that they couldn't do that.

They're in Canada.

colly10

Orion wrote: »

They're in Canada.

That's odd, ordered 50 euro worth of stuff and didn't get caught myself. Think it can be luck of the draw with customs

beardybrewer

Red Damo wrote: »

Just saw this thread, I'm in the TOBS sensitive camp as well, burns the face off me. Shame as it smells great.
Barrister & Mann is great though, excellent performance, lathers easily, nice scent, not too strong. As good if not better than TOBS.
I just got a load of 10g samples to try, some more B&M, Razorock and even a sample of Martin de Candre - just see what the hype is about.
Do you guys order from Italian barber?

B&M is my favourite soap. I have tried lots and lots of soaps and performance-wise it's at the top of the pack. Razorock soaps punch above their weight in performance for the price but as they're made in the EU have a light scent. MdC is overhyped and their formula has been copied and improved upon by countless artisan soaps making them much less relevant these days.

I've ordered from IB but more often from Maggard Razors. Great selection and the shipping costs are reasonable. They mark all international orders at $20 as standard. They also introduced a new shipping scheme for international buyers to make smaller purchases more affordable (vs. the big yearly stock up shop to make shipping worthwhile). E.g. a $20 tub of B&M can be shipped to Ireland for $26.43 total.

They also regularly email coupons so sign up to their newsletter. Also, if you ask they have in the past shipped alcohol splashes.

Rosahane

Red Damo wrote: »

Gents, I'm in need of some advice. Currently using a Jagger DE89 and I like it, good performance etc but would like something a little more finished, like something in steel. I have a gillette ball end tech which is good but if I'm not paying 100% attention, it makes me pay.
SO any ideas for a mild razor which is not cast like the DE89? I suspect I'd like a wolfman but too expensive and way too hard to get.

I find the Feather works for me. It's incredibly mild and forgiving and superbly effective at the same time.
It works best, not surprisingly, with Feather blades.

Michael G

Rosahane wrote: »

I find the Feather works for me. It's incredibly mild and forgiving and superbly effective at the same time.
It works best, not surprisingly, with Feather blades.

I agree. I have the Feather All-Stainless. I know it costs about €200 but I have had it for ten years now and it is flawless. The weight and angle mean that you can use it very gently and still get the most perfect shave. I can't imagine a better shave, even with a straight (which I have used too).

BelovedAunt

Rosahane wrote: »

I find the Feather works for me. It's incredibly mild and forgiving and superbly effective at the same time.
It works best, not surprisingly, with Feather blades.

Michael G wrote: »

I agree. I have the Feather All-Stainless. I know it costs about €200 but I have had it for ten years now and it is flawless. The weight and angle mean that you can use it very gently and still get the most perfect shave. I can't imagine a better shave, even with a straight (which I have used too).

Do you guys mean the AS-D2?

Rosahane

BelovedAunt wrote: »

Do you guys mean the AS-D2?

Yes, that's the one.

It's an impressive piece of quality engineering.

Azatadine

Bought a tub of Speick active shave soap. Normally use Harris creams but they sometimes irritate my skin a little so thought I'd give Speick a go.

Not sure if it's just because I tried lathering it without leaving the soap soak for a while but I struggled to get a good cushioning lather.

The shave itself was decent and I've no nicks or irritation but just feel the lather was lacking cushion. Anybody ever tried it before? I left a little film of water on the soap before closing the tub tonight just in case it requires a little softening.

SeaFields

Lads would ye be able to recommend a more aggressive safety razor? I have the muhle one that came with my starter kit from shaving.ie originally but would like something a bit more aggressive now that my technique is fairly refined.

Azatadine

I'm in the same boat. Got a Muhle R89 in May or June as part of a starter kit. I did buy a Parker 26c OC and got on fine with it but the blade was always a little offset and required a bit of messing around to align it every time I changed the blade. I found the OC design gave a very good shave though but the build quality was rubbish compared to the Muhle.

uncle_sam_ie

SeaFields wrote: »

Lads would ye be able to recommend a more aggressive safety razor? I have the muhle one that came with my starter kit from shaving.ie originally but would like something a bit more aggressive now that my technique is fairly refined.

How much do you want to spend?

SeaFields

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

How much do you want to spend?

Didn't give that aspect much thought uncle sam. If I said 50-60 euro?

uncle_sam_ie

You have a few choices,
-The Muhle R41 is considered one of the most aggressive De Razors.
http://www.shaving.ie/products/muhle-r41-grande.html
or https://www.shavingstation.co.uk/muhle-r41-open-comb-de-razor-head/

-The new Muhle R96 which is between R89 and R41
http://www.shaving.ie/products/muhle-rocca-r96-steel-razor.html

-The Merkur 37c Slant Bar. Great shaver.
http://www.shaving.ie/products/merkur-37c-hd-slant-bar.html

- The Merkur Futur. This one you could dial-in what works for you.
http://www.shaving.ie/products/merkur-futur-polished-chrome.html

Or you could go for a 1950's-60's Gillette adjustable Fat Boy, Slim or Red Tip. The Golden age of DE razors and all of them were well made.


https://www.etsy.com/ie/listing/493078032/1959-gillette-fat-boy-e4-195-adjustable?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=gillette%20fatboy&ref=sr_gallery_1

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Gillette-Slim-Razor-1960-James-Bond-/122312052555?hash=item1c7a5dcf4b:g:YgcAAOSwt5hYe0zx

https://www.etsy.com/ie/listing/499079089/1955-gillette-refurbished-re-plated?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=gillette%20red%20tip&ref=sr_gallery_9

SeaFields

That's a great reply. Sincere thanks. Might throw in an order for the merker 37. Seems to fit the bill.

Azatadine

Got this last week:

http://4men.ie/index.php/brands/bluebeards-revenge/the-bluebeards-revenge-shaving-solution-100ml.html

Bluebeards revenge shaving solution. Got it just to see what an oil would be like. Jeepers, it's fantastic stuff. One squirt into hand and apply to wet face. Shaves like a beaut with my Muhle R89. Really smooth and face feels moisturised afterwards too. Very quick and ideal for travelling.

Azatadine

Was out of MWF and had an alert from shaving.ie set up for when it came back into stock (was out of stock). Bought a refill and went back to add a second just in case but was out of stock again. Is it a massive runner or something?

BelovedAunt

Cortecs wrote: »

Was out of MWF and had an alert from shaving.ie set up for when it came back into stock (was out of stock). Bought a refill and went back to add a second just in case but was out of stock again. Is it a massive runner or something?

It's typically the first mentioned soap when people ask for recommendations. Just ordered some myself as the only soap I've used so far is Proraso and I'm fed up of creams

Azatadine

Yeah, I found creams better when I started DE shaving around a year ago as they were more forgiving but I prefer soaps now.

Not sure whether it's just in my head or not but I often felt that the creams tended to irritate me more than soaps too.

beardybrewer

I think he doesn't keep a huge stock or perhaps he just didn't get enough. Lots of other places you can look:

http://connaughtshaving.com/mitchellsrefill.html

MWF is good but there are better soaps out there. Some people find it tricky to lather and start talking about hard water and such. It's quite a hard soap so I put a little hot water on top of the soap to soften it up to make sure the brush pick up enough. Has a great post-shave feel.

Azatadine

Yeah. It gives a great post shave feel alright. I pulled out a Gillette Nacet this evening. Hadn't used them since I started about a year ago. Damn smooth shave. I've been using Polsilver Iridium since I bought a 50 pack in December and thought I'd use up the remainder of the blades from one of my sampler packs. Really nice blade for me anyway.

beardybrewer

This is a good time for you to reevaluate aspects of your setup like blades. At this stage you know what you're doing and are better equipped to test your sampler pack and possibly discover a new blade which you mightn't have liked as a beginner. For all we give out about Gillette's cartridges, they make a good blade. I really like 7 o'clock yellows.

adrian522

Any recommendations for a second Razor? I've been using a Muhle R89 since October or so.

I was thinking of trying some thing like a Merkur 34C but would that be more of the same?

I'm just looking for something a little more aggressive. I guess an adjustable would be an option too.

uncle_sam_ie

adrian522 wrote: »

Any recommendations for a second Razor? I've been using a Muhle R89 since October or so.

I was thinking of trying some thing like a Merkur 34C but would that be more of the same?

I'm just looking for something a little more aggressive. I guess an adjustable would be an option too.

The Merkur HD Slant Bar 37c it's different and aggressive, http://www.shaving.ie/products/merkur-37c-hd-slant-bar.html


Or if you want something Classic looking, http://www.giftsandcare.com/en/phoenix-artisan-safety-razor/4116-artisan-accoutrements-classic-shaving-razor-bakelite-phoenix-red.html

beardybrewer

I was going to suggest the heaviest Gillette Rocket HD you can find.

Not the best deal, but not the worst either:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Gillette-Rocket-HD-Pat-Pending-71-Grams-/192136956391?hash=item2cbc4149e7:g:RwkAAOSwuLZY0lI-

Definitely a bit more aggressive and just a great razor. I personally love the TTO mechanism.

Also, you might play around with more aggressive blades like Feather or Voshkod.

adrian522

Thanks both, I'm not really after anything super aggressive just something a small step up from the R89. I've used the Feather blades and found them very good, also the Personna (Red) which I find very good also.