So you're a newbie, and you want a ............

..............

New Mild DE Razor

Try the EJDE89 series.



These are really nice razors that are effective, without being really aggressive. They're also excellent with almost any blade. It's also not expensive at all, and the quality is great.

New Aggressive DE Razor

Try the NYSC Mariner



For the same reasons as the EJDE89 razors - price, quality, and shave are all brilliant. This is more aggressive, though.

Vintage all-round DE razor

Try the Gillette Slim



This is an excellent adjustable razor. It has some heft and the head profile makes it a much better performer than the more popular FatBoy. Prices are excellent too.

Vintage non-adjustable DE razor

Try the Gillette NEW



This is probably the best razor design Gillette ever came up with. The OC design makes it able to tackle anything. Prices are really reasonable.

Vintage razor.....period!

Get the Schick Injector G series



These are probably the best safety razors available. Blades are easy to get and they are really easy to learn with. They shave brilliantly.

Nice starter DE blade

Get a sampler pack.

There's no way to pick a DE blade that will work for you without trying a few. Luckily, there are several places where you can pick a sampler pack that will give you many blades to try.



A great brush without breaking the bank

Try the Omega 10098



This is a lovely large boar brush that's going to deliver an excellent feel and superb lather. It doesn't splay much, unlike the Semogue (below),

A great brush, if you don't mind some splay

Try the Semogue SOC boar



Nicer handle than the Omega above, but it does splay at the knot, so it becomes much larger than you'd think. But the bristles are amazing. This one will match the more expensive Semogue LE's - so don't waste your money on them unless you really want that handle.

A great badger brush

Try a Simpsons Colonel X2L



The best of the bunch, to my mind. The right balance of quality and price. You can get more expensive brushes (with softer tips, more backbone, etc), but I doubt you'll ever find a better performer than this.

A great synthetic brush

Get the Frank Shaving Synthetic (shown on the right)



What a great brush! Price is right too. The Muhle is nicer looking, but I didn't care for it as much.

An excellent soap

Tabac!



The scent might be polarizing, but the performance isn't. This thing just loves to make lather that leaves your face feeling great.

An excellent artisan soap

Mike's Natural Soaps



This is probably one of the best soaps I've ever tried, and that includes Tabac and MWF. Excellent for the skin and easy to lather.

An excellent Shaving Cream

Musgo Real



This performs great and smells lovely. I love it.

A nice aftershave

Speick



I can't tell you exactly what it smells like, except that it's good!

----------------------------------------------------

These are personal recommendations. Take them with a grain of salt - Especially when you get to fragrances, these things are very personal choices, so soaps, creams and aftershaves are really up to you.

The razors above will perform well, though.

Feel free to add your suggestions here, but bear a few things in mind:

1) Make sure you include a photograph
2) Make sure the prices are reasonable (below $40 for the razors and below $100 for the brushes)
3) Mention only one item for each category - no alternates

Yohann, any suggestion for newbies looking for a good starter straight razor?

Yohann, all excellent recommendations. I would just add a few.

Vintage all-round DE razor.

Gillette Super Speed

A great brush at a very low cost for quality.

Semogue 1460

A great after shave to go with your excellent soap.

TABAC

   

Great post. Please Sticky it!

(06-08-2012, 08:35 AM)Brent Wrote: Yohann, any suggestion for newbies looking for a good starter straight razor?

Brent -

I thought of adding that to the list, but I didn't because really any vintage straight in good shape is a good starter straight. Believe me, I've used straights from $10 through $800 and one of the best straights I ever used was a $20 Torrey.

What you want to do (in all likelihood) is get a 6/8"ish round point vintage straight that's been honed by someone good. Better - get two of those, because you're very likely to mess up the edge on one (or more), and if you have two, you'll still have one while you send the other to be re-honed.

Whatever you do, don't get caught up in the 'big-name' straights - Filarmonica, Dubl Duck, etc. They're good blades, but their prices are dictated by demand more than by performance. Vintage blades were all excellent performers.

Yohann,

I strongly agree with your endorsement of the Gillette NEW open-comb, and the Schick injector razor. Both are excellent choices for any wet shaver, and priced very reasonable.

Along the line of priced reasonable, and an excellent shaving soap, I would add the Arko shaving stick!

Excellent post, Yohann, and great advice!

This post should be a sticky! Great information.

Very nice Yohann.I'm not knowledgeable enough about brushes to comment on your suggestions,everything else is great....But,I would advocate dropping the limit on brushes to $70 and raising the limit for a razor to that same price of $70 to allow the stainless steel Weber to be considered.....It is a trifecta of gentle,effective and efficient.A razor a new shaver won't tear himself up with but could conceivably still be happily using many years into the future.

Yohann, Great suggestions for a newbie. MWF would be the only addition that I would suggest.

(06-08-2012, 05:00 PM)razorx Wrote: Very nice Yohann.I'm not knowledgeable enough about brushes to comment on your suggestions,everything else is great....But,I would advocate dropping the limit on brushes to $70 and raising the limit for a razor to that same price of $70 to allow the stainless steel Weber to be considered.....It is a trifecta of gentle,effective and efficient.A razor a new shaver won't tear himself up with but could conceivably still be happily using many years into the future.
....

Good suggestion, but I put the $40 limit up because a lot of people are unwilling to put down the price of a Weber when they're first considering DE shaving. Still, it's good to have it mentioned.

As to the brushes - a good badger brush from a well-respected maker is going to cost $$. There are cheaper alternatives which are as good or better than the Colonel, but some of the companies that offer those brushes have QC issues, so I didn't want to recommend those. The Colonel has a nice knot size, a nice handle, and exceptional performance. It costs around $75, so it's not too bad.

(06-08-2012, 06:56 PM)ridgerunner Wrote: Yohann, Great suggestions for a newbie. MWF would be the only addition that I would suggest.

William -

I like MWF myself, but a lot of people have problems building a lather with it. To my knowledge, nobody has problems lathering either the Mike's soap or Tabac.

MWF is something everyone should try, but we don't want a newbie with hard water getting frustrated trying to make it work.

Great advice, I would have had a few different choices just based on personal preferences, but i cant see anything wrong with what you have listed

Any beginner would be happy with purchasing those recommended items,...

with the NYSC being the exception as i have no personal experience with that razor so i can comment on it !