DE arrived!!

[Goatee]

Guys, my DE (Edwin Jagger Double Edge Razor DE89L)and blades etc arrived today!!

I will do a review when i do my first shave with it. Got to say, the razor is pure quality! Pic for you to see what i bought. Just waiting on the Shave soap to arrive  now:

[geeman]

I use the feather blades, very sharp, not telling you how to suck eggs, but don't use any pressure, the weight of the razor will be enough, what razor is that? An EJ?

[AgentBald]

Very cool Goatee.  Looking forward to your review as I'm thinking about getting a DE.

[Goatee]

Yea, its an EJ. (Updated first post now).

Very nervous about first use but i know that it will be a slow learning curve.

No pressure on the Razor, just use its own weight.

Do you guys go with the grain and against the grain?

[Sir Harry]

I would try it on the face first.....EJ 89's are a bit unforgiving if you aren't careful...Of the three DE's I own it's the most dangerous but I only need one pass WTG and one pass ATG for a smooth shave. Good luck and let us know how you get on!

[greatnessinc]

Until you get fully comfortable with the DE way I'd advise shaving with the grain then branching out to against and across the grain passes.
Do you already have a shave brush?

[Mike E. P.]

I've been shaving with EJ 89 since February, I think. I started with only my face. I was okay with against the grain on my cheeks ( I had a goatee at the time). I tried against the grain on my neck with terrible results at first. No cuts, but wicked razor burn. I made the decision that with the grain was good enough on the neck. Now I can go against the grain there if I go very slowly and take very short strokes, but really with the grain is good enough.

After a little practice on my face ( maybe a week) I moved on to my head. It wasn't as scary or as difficult as I thought it would be. I does take me considerably more time than a regular razor. I can do against the grain on my head, but again, I am slow and careful. The few times I got cocky, I had mishaps! So slow and steady wins the race.

Have fun. It's a beautiful instrument, isn't it?

[Goatee]

Well, shaved my face and head with it!!

Now, the face:

Lathered up as instructed and used that pre shave stuff first (Hate the small of it). I do use a brush to lather up.

Face shave went well except for the neck. I did go with the grain but decided to go against too on the neck of which i had razor burn. One cut on lower chin and a couple on 'Adams Apple'. To me, my 'Sensor razor' gives the same shave here. Braun i have also gives a good face shave with no irritation at all so for me the Braun wins on the face.

Now the Head:

Shaved the head a couple of hours later as i had to take wife to work and daughter to school.

I used the pre shave (Yuk!!!! Not using that again as it stinks and i saw no benefits at all).

Lathered up the head and took quite some time to shave the whole head! Re-lathering all the time.

I went with the grain first and then against the grain. Only one tiny nick overall!

Result:

Well, again, to be honest i ended up using the fusion to go over a couple of bits and then after i finished off i grabbed the braun and went over a couple of more patches!!

I was nervous at first with the EJ but soon got the hang of the angle etc. It is a slow shave as one needs to be careful etc.

Overall i would say again, i prefer the Braun and to finish off with my Fusion. This gives me the best combination. The EJ did cut the hair on my rear neck very well indeed. I think i will need more practice to get it to cut better. I didnt put any pressure on the razor. I did think it would have cut closer than it did and did have to go over a few spots a few times. Maybe my hair is hard! lol

So, there you have it. First time with a DE. Will i use it again? Yes. I will give it a shot as i need to learn to use it properly but i wont be using it on my face as the Braun does a great job there. I think that i will still use the Braun to go over my whole head and then 'tweak' with the DE.

Thanks guys for all your advice.

[geeman]

It took me a few shaves to get the hang of it, I also used to get razor burn on my neck, and only went with the grain, but I can now go across the grain then atg, gives a super smooth shave that my Mach 3 can't match

[Goatee]

I used the 'Feather' blade as i forgot to mention that in my review.

So, if i give it time all should come good?

Any other preps i should think about to help? The pre shave cream i bought is horrid in smell and i dont think it does any good

[TSE]

Very nice set up 

I use a DE on my head as well as Face. My face routine is typically to go with the grain for a pass or two and then against.  For my head, i do a couple passes with the grain and then a third 'polishing' pass with the headblade.   

In both instances it took awhile to get used to. Once used to it, I find that I'm getting much closer shaves with this routine. 

I'm not sure if anyone else experienced this ... but even if I cut myself on the head using a DE razor, I don't find it as severe as a 2, 3, 4, etc blade cartridge.  Once one those blades dig in, the other 3 or 4 act like a cheese grater and just slice.  DE's I usually just a scratch or small nick.

Personally, I believe if you give it time you'll have a technique that works for you and you'll wind up with BBS shaves








 

[Goatee]

Thanks TSE.

So, short movements are best?

[TSE]

Short strokes are probably best.

I had my head shaved at a barber earlier this year and that's what he was doing (shavette using short strokes WTG).  He then did a final ATG pass with a disposable.  So, I've just been trying my best to emulate what the barber did.

[Bluebriz]

It's a skill that needs to be learned Goatee.  Anybody can use an electric shaver, but with one attempt not many can get perfect shaves with a DE.

I wouldn't advise ATG at all yet.  And make sure you're aware which way is with and against the grain on your neck.  Mine swirls all over the place so it took a while to learn.

With practice, you'll wonder why you ever used the Braun on your face.  One thing you might never have imagined will probably happen: shaving will become a pleasure rather than a chore.  (I still don't like DE shaving on my head though!)

Out of interest, what's your prep?  Do you shower before shaving?  What's your soap? How's your lather?

[Goatee]

I shaved again with the DE today. But, i shaved all over with the Braun 340 first.

I then put that yucky pre-shave on first, lathered with the Wilkinson Sword shower soap and brush. Then i shaved all the areas that needed touching up (quite a lot) and continued to re lather as i went. Finished off using the Fusion on the top as a little was rough and DE couldnt get it smooth!

I then washed head and used an alum block. Stung like mad but no nicks this time! The i used some bump patrol and then finally put some moisturiser on the head (King of shaves).

The 2nd shave this morning was with the DE but this time using the Braun first. Went well. Top of head is hard for me. Got to experiment and get the right angle with the DE. Using the Braun works great for behind the years and some bony bits!

Will try same again tomorrow.