Next Step & what was yours

My first razor was a Merkur 33c from AOS. I had not found forums yet, so I didn't know about their marked up prices!
My second razor was a 37c that I got much too soon into this journey - I got some amazing shaves, but also some horrible ones due to my lack of consistent technique.
Next, I tried a Maggard MR10 and loved that for a long time, until I got into trying razors in pass arounds - Merkur Futur, Ikon Slant, Fatboy - I liked them all for the week I got to use them. Along the way I found a New LC in a flea market for $13, and traded for an Old Type, 1948 Aristocrat, and New SC. My wife bought me an iKon SC101 for Valentine's Day and that was my favorite for six months, until I won a 39c Vorschlaghammer in a PIF and that took over until I traded for a 1959 Fatboy and I fell in love with that. I still have both News, 39c, Aristocrat, but I reach for the Fatboy most often.

Interestingly, I am not crazy about the shave I get from the Gillette Fat Boy and dislike its more rounded head.  I much prefer the flatter head Slim or Super Adjustable.  Razors I keep going back to, besides those, are my Gillette Goodwill, Gillette Old Type, Gillette NEWs (both long and short comb), Lady Gillette, Gillette Superspeed Red Tip, iKon Shavecraft 101, STAR DE, and Merkur 37G Slant.  For SE, my favorite is my 1907 Ever-Ready Lather Catcher but I have several others that I keep hitting up also, like my 1912 GEM Damaskeene, 1914 Ever-Ready, Schick Injector Model E, and STAR Lather Catcher.

I haven't had the RAD bug bite recently but that is always subject to change.

Freddy, I agree about the Fatboy. When I was using adjustables I used the Fatboy once or twice and preferred the Slim.

Freddy, I agree about the Fatboy. When I was using adjustables I used the Fatboy once or twice and preferred the Slim.

And yet, there are folks who swear by the Fat Boy, Brian.  It could come down to so many things, even the shape of an individual face and jawline with the shape of the head of a particular razor.  While I still keep my FB close at hand, I may use it once a year, and then only to see if I am missing something.  I never am.

Freddy, I agree about the Fatboy. When I was using adjustables I used the Fatboy once or twice and preferred the Slim.

And yet, there are folks who swear by the Fat Boy, Brian.  It could come down to so many things, even the shape of an individual face and jawline with the shape of the head of a particular razor.  While I still keep my FB close at hand, I may use it once a year, and then only to see if I am missing something.  I never am.

I haven't tried a slim yet, so I cannot compare it to the Fatboy.  I don't shave under my nose or on my chin, so I suspect the head shape would not be a big deal for me.

Are there any other characteristics of the Slim that make it distinct?

Freddy, I agree about the Fatboy. When I was using adjustables I used the Fatboy once or twice and preferred the Slim.

And yet, there are folks who swear by the Fat Boy, Brian.  It could come down to so many things, even the shape of an individual face and jawline with the shape of the head of a particular razor.  While I still keep my FB close at hand, I may use it once a year, and then only to see if I am missing something.  I never am.

I haven't tried a slim yet, so I cannot compare it to the Fatboy.  I don't shave under my nose or on my chin, so I suspect the head shape would not be a big deal for me.

Are there any other characteristics of the Slim that make it distinct?

The Fat Boy is marginally heavier and its handle is slightly thicker. Neither of those attributes is problematic for me. It is the head that is the problem.

My first razor was to utopia from Amazon. After a month or so I upgraded to the Mekur 34c. It's a very solid razor. Now I've upgraded to a mid '30's Gillette new. Wow what a great razor.

Hi to all. My first DE razor was Bluebeards Revenge scimitar and want to go to next step. As a newbie I have been looking on the forum, reviews on websites as to my next choice of razor. I was wondering what your first razor was and how long it took you too go to the next step & what razor did you choose and what influenced you buy them. Cheers

It's been a long time but I think my first DE was a black plastic handled Gillette SuperSpeed-style, which was still sold in the drugstores then, about 20 years ago. I loved it. Then at an antique store I found a SuperSpeed and a Tech. I used the Tech for years. Ebay came along and I added vintage Gillettes. 

Back in the day there was a chain of cutlery stores called Hoffritz. They sold Merkur razors. But the Merkur razors then, though they looked just as they still do, were plated so cheaply the plating would easily crack and peel off, leaving the pot metal underneath to blacken and corrode. I bought a slant that that happened to, and a Merkur Vision that was like shaving with a Louisville Slugger. Eventually, it jammed and broke too. I swore off Merkur razors until several years ago, when I saw Mantic praising his Progress. Lee of Leesrazors.com told me Merkur stepped up its game and was doing a better job with the plating. I bought one and loved it. Now I have two 34Cs. So as you can see, yes, the damned things multiply.

Freddy, I agree about the Fatboy. When I was using adjustables I used the Fatboy once or twice and preferred the Slim.

And yet, there are folks who swear by the Fat Boy, Brian.  It could come down to so many things, even the shape of an individual face and jawline with the shape of the head of a particular razor.  While I still keep my FB close at hand, I may use it once a year, and then only to see if I am missing something.  I never am.

I haven't tried a slim yet, so I cannot compare it to the Fatboy.  I don't shave under my nose or on my chin, so I suspect the head shape would not be a big deal for me.

Are there any other characteristics of the Slim that make it distinct?

For me it wasn't so much the handle of the Fatboy. But if you compare the heads of the Slim and Fatboy the Fatboy is marginally thicker. I feel that during the shave and I never even compared them before the shave. But after I had to to figure out what was going on. I notice the same slight thickness increase in head increase with the Gillettes post '21 and I far prefer the pre-'21 razors. The pre-'21 razors are like a sports car as compared to a van. Sorry, but that's the best comparison I can come up with. The Fatboy and Slim felt somewhat the same; the Fatboy felt somewhat like a club on my face.

It gave me a good shave; it was just the feel of it in use. If I had never used a Slim the Fatboy would have been fine.

Bic disposable ...

When I came (back) to traditional shaving a few years ago, it was a Merkur 23C. Long handle. I think my next was vintage, although I can't be sure ... within a few weeks I had over 100!

My big step was moving over to single edge. I ditched DE shaving as a result. Straights, too really.