Getting ready to take the plunge... and I'm pretty sure I'm going to permanently replace the cartridge razor for the DE safety razor, so I'm looking at taking a step up from the aforementioned Weishi razors. I'm looking at the Merkur 33C Classic, the 34C Heavy Duty, the 23C Long Handle, and the 47C Long Handle razors. Suggestions on which one to start with?
I have used my Merkur 1904 Classic with a closed comb (pretty similar to the 33C Classic) exclusively for about four months. Never tried a long handle, but don't think it is necessary for me. There's a learning curve, but it does a fine job once you get past that.
The cheap Astra blades I bought with the razor are still working okay for me, and changing them out once a week makes it easy to keep a sharp blade. I did buy some Wilkinson Sword blades recently to try soon.
My first DE shave was with conventional shaving cream. Meh. With the Mach 3, I just used water, but knew I'd need something more with the DE. Later, I tried using my wife's conditioner, which did an okay job but needed to be reapplied between passes. The past week or so I've used Shave Secret shaving oil. It has
greatly reduced irritation, but it slows the blade down as you shave which makes it feel like it isn't lubricating as much as I'd like.
