Shaving

[ash_1050]

Where did you buy?

Beard and Blade Merkur 34C Safety Razor HD Chrome × 1 $69.00 inc postage
Men's Biz Double Edge Blade Sampler Pack: Deluxe (50) $26.90 inc postage

Also picked up the Rockwell Double Edge Blade Safe Disposal Case and Merkur Leather Razor Case from Beard and Blade as well so I'd have somewhere to dispose of blades and store the razor.

Highly recommended, that startup cost will pay for itself inside a year and the shave quality is much, much better.

 

[estibador]

Beard and Blade
Men's Biz

These are the two I recommend too. They both give 10% off your first order if you sign up to their email newsletter too.

I've decided to bite the bullet and buy a top shelf Feather AS-D2. Expensive, but for something I use so often I like the idea of having a top quality piece of kit that will last forever.

I can't over-emphasise what a game-changer proper DE shaving is. I shave every second day and actually look forward to it now instead of it being a chore.

 

[estibador]

So my Feather AS-D2 arrived this morning, surprisingly enough. Kudos to Beard and Blade considering I only ordered it Tuesday night and they had it in my hands on the other side of the country less than a day and a half later for the princely postage fee of tree-fiddy.

Anyway, initial impressions if anyone is interested:

Straight out of the box you can tell the quality (even the box is quality!). It's an immaculately put together tool exactly as you'd expect from a high-quality Japanese product. Lovely weight and balance, beautifully finished, and the grip on the knurling is sensational. My Muhle R89 was a decent quality razor but this thing is on a completely different level, as you'd expect from the price.

First shave I kept the same blade and cream as my previous one for comparison's sake. Apparently some hardcore shavers consider this thing too mild for their tastes, but one pass and my face felt smoother than it usually does from two passes. And that was with a Shark blade, which is a long way from the ultra-sharp Feathers this razor was designed for.

I even managed to nick myself a couple of times (I'm sure in no small part due to the fact I've had quite a few NYE pre-beers already) but I actually found this oddly reassuring given the reputation of the razor as being overly mild almost to a fault.

Long story short: best shave I've had yet! Is it worth the extra money over the usual decent mid-range recommendations? Probably not, unless like me you get obsessive about the idea of having the best. Am I glad I bought it? Absolutely!