What safety razor should I buy?

By Edward.

Shaving with a D’E razor gives me a lot of joy. Although choosing a specific one has had it’s pitfalls. Firstly I got caught out with buying for looks and not practicality. Which is such an important factor particularily if you are new to D’E shaving. Technique is also something we urge our readers to revise. The following post I hope will cater for some of the questions you may have when buying a safety razor.

Things to consider.

Firstly I would consider the fact, wether you are a beginner, novice or experienced. The following categories should help you decide which style razor you would benefit from. Another factor is how your hair grain is, soft or hard. Also how often you shave, this is a key factor. The modern style of having a few days growth will affect the efficiency of certain safety razors. Skin type is another factor you should consider in buying a razor.

Non aggressive razors

I found these later in the shaving game but now I use one regularily . A new shaver would beniefit from there smoothness. These are Ideal for the everyday shaver who want’s to take of that morning stubble. These are good up to 3 days growth after i find there is a little snagging. But they are great razors to practice advanced shaving tecnique with, like the J turn. Razors to consider are the Fatip Gentila and any Feather razor. I have also recommended these to gentlemen who have soft skin for obvious reasons. I would say moderate grained courseness men to light, will suit these safety razors. But the heavy bearded gent will really need to employ every day shaving to avoid snagging. These razors also benefit from a sharp stiff blades like feather. Although I have had great results from sharp flimsier blades like Crown.

Safety razor

Middle aggressive razors

The middle ground and most common of razor styles. They are recommended to new D’E shavers when they are learning the ropes of shaving, and don’t know what they really want from a safety razor. I went to non aggressive after, but I still use my middle with great results. These are adequate for most types of beard growth. Also perfectly fine for an everyday razor but you must revise technique as they are that bit less forgiving than the non aggressive. Examples of middle aggressive razors are Muhle, Edwin Jagger, and Geissen and Forsthof. Home brand blades are often perfect for the razors.

Safety razor

Aggressive safety razors

There is no reasons for a beginner to buy one like I did. Referencing my first paragraph, I bought the feared Muhle R41. This caused me a lot of pain, I was going to jack in D’E shaving all together. As these take weilding some skill, and for the shaver to have certain physical elements. These are a tough dense grain as some men will get frustrated with the less aggresive razors. Also the tougher skinned man would benefit from using one of these. Open comb razors are aggressive they also cater for the gent who irregularily shaves, the comb gets the hair into shape before the cut. Fatip have some excellently priced aggressive razors. If you have a razor like this and want to tone it down, try a smooth blade like Derby or Shark.

Safety razor

Your choosing

Now we think that middle is a great place to start for anyone. You may have even found your rightful place in the middle ranks. Although some may find themselves leaning towards the non aggressive like I did. Also the same with those of you who feel they would benefit from a harsher razor.

Never get frustrated with Safety razor shaving, revise technique and always adequately prepare your skin. We hope this article has helped you on your shaving journey.

We were lucky enough to have a slightly modified version of this article in the amazing Sharpologist blog.

Edwards traditional shaving emporium has a great range of the several categories, so why not click the link below.

https://edwardstraditionalshavingemporium.co.uk/product-category/safety-razors/