EJ89 came today

[Mike E. P.]

On a whim, I ordered the EJ89 from Amazon the other day. I had been thinking about regrowing my beard, but when it came, I was excited to try it out, so no beard, at least foe a while.

I had a couple days growth and was pretty nervous starting out. At one point, I pulled the razor away from my face as I thought I was feeling the sharpness of the blade, but realized it was just the heat of the blade after I had run it under very hot water.

Turns out, it was a really enjoyable experience. I found shaving my neck a bit awkward and I ended up with two small nicks. Not sure how I did that.  I was probably a little too confident at that point, maybe I was going too fast, but after the nicks, I lost a bit of that confidence!  And the shave I got was not the best, but I guess that will come with practice and the right equipment.

The blades that came with the razor were Derbys. I am using some crappy shave cream from Target and a lousy synthetic brush. I have a steep learning curve ahead of me, I think, and I need to upgrade my stuff. That razor is one beauty, though.

I would like to eventually attempt a head shave after some practice. The front of my head and the sides seem do-able, but attempting the back is a bit scary.

[Sir Harry]

I have one of those myself.....It's pretty sharp and gives a good shave, but if you use it on the head, I would make sure to lather up good first, and make sure you have very little stubble. That canned stuff is okay, but shaving soap is so much better. Thanks for the review, and enjoy!

[slymyke]

Mike, it does sound like a learning experience... but you have the rest of your life, right?  lol

Did you shave off the goatee too?

[Mike E. P.]

Mike, it does sound like a learning experience... but you have the rest of your life, right?  lol

Did you shave off the goatee too?

Mike,

I still have the goatee, but I'm tempted to shave that off, too so I have more space to practice!

[Sir Harry]

Mike, it does sound like a learning experience... but you have the rest of your life, right?  lol

Did you shave off the goatee too?

Mike,

I still have the goatee, but I'm tempted to shave that off, too so I have more space to practice!

You know, clean shaven and sly is not that bad of a combination....Once you get the face down pat, you can graduate to the head eventually.

[Bald Guy]

The EJ89L is what I use for my head shaving needs.  Derby blades don't work for a lot of people so I recommend that you buy a blade sampler pack and find a blade that works best for you.  A good soap and for me, badger brush is where its at.  Pressure and the angle you hold the razor is the toughest part of using a DE razor.  I suggest you google Mantic59 and watch all of his videos, that's how most of us on the wet shaving forums learned how to use the traditional shaving methods.

[warhawk]

@Mike EP:  Congrats on a fine DE razor.  Keep us posted on your DE journey by posting your results in the SAFETY RAZOR SOTD section of the forum.    

WARHAWK

[slybeard]

Mike EP, have fun with the new razor, and practice on your face.  But I have to say I like your full beard better than the goat.  Once you have eough practice, do you have any plans to go back to the full beard?

[Mike E. P.]

Thanks, Slybeard.  I did like the beard, but had a shaving mishap and shaved the whole thing off.  That was the first time I actually had a full beard. The goatee is back because that is what's most familiar to me.  I get bored and often change the goatee a bit and often I'm clean shaven.  I will probably be clean shaven for the summer, but I definitely am going to try the beard again - probably in the fall.

[DOC_OSMC]

+1 for the beard.  Thought that was a good look for you.

[greatnessinc]

Ditch the crappy shave gel, invest in a good soap/cream such as Taylor of Oldbond Street.

[Mike E. P.]

Ditch the crappy shave gel, invest in a good soap/cream such as Taylor of Oldbond Street.

Since I've only just started, I've been using what I could pick up at the drug store. I used a Van Der Hagen soap a few days ago that was just okay. I don't have a decent brush yet. I'm using a synthetic one from the Body Shop.  Tonight I used a cream from the Real Shaving Company that I though was way better. But I am a novice and don't really know what is good and not good!

I'm still not getting a great shave on my neck. I think because I'm a little afraid since I had a wicked razor burn the first day. It is getting better though. I only did two passes on my neck today. No burn or cuts, but not a close shave. I definitely need another pass, but I'm not sure if I am ready. The face way very smooth though!

[greatnessinc]

You don't need to drop major coin on a brush. I prefer to get my supplies online via Amazon & eBay. Soaps creams and blades I get on Amazon. DE handles I get on eBay sometimes for half the retail price.
I recommend trying different brush types to see which you prefer, don't jump straight to the expensive priced models, snag a low to mid range model (about $10-20) first.
Badger brushes are generally good to go right out of the box and provide a quick lather, and have softer bristles.
Boar brushes can take some time to break in before providing a consistent rich lather. But once broken in, you won't need to break them in again.

You can do this with a properly lathered brush

[Mike E. P.]

Love that photo, greatness!

[sheffdave]

I've been face shaving with the EJ 89 for 5 years using astra and gillette yellow blades, both blades give a lovely smooth close shave. I'm  a newbie head shaver and the combination of the razor/blades are great. Dont apply any pressure and lather up well, I use arko or palmolive soap stick