Hello from Iowa

Thanks to everyone for the nice welcomes. Looking forward to joining conversations.

Welcome to DFS, Scott( Wolverine )! I think you will like it here!

Wolverine, I have an avatar for you.

Do you like this one?

Haha.  Thanks for thinking of me alphege  that's a good one I will keep it when I make a change.  I had been poking around online looking for something shaving related and came across this photo. Thought it was pretty cool.

Hello everyone.  Just wanted to introduce myself.  I have been a long time lurker on this and a couple of different shaving forums but this is the first one I have ever joined.  I must say the straight forward rules were one of the reasons.

I have been shaving with a DE razor for almost 2 1/2 years. I used an electric razor along with carts for all my prior 30 years of shaving. I honestly started this with the intent of buying 1 razor, 1 soap, 1 brush with the intent of saving money. Well that has not gone as planned although I haven't gone completely crazy.

I have only bought new razors as I have feared purchasing vintage razors. I don't feel confident enough to know what I would be getting or what to look for or if it was a good deal or not.  I have become very interested in SE razors but until recently this has been mostly a vintage game.  I really want to try the injector and Gem razors so I really looking forward to help from all of your experiences here.  

I suppose I should save some info for future posts.  Thank you and I look forward to participating.

Scott, I believe you joined the “right” forum. Welcome! Also, I think there are a lot of us who could say that our intent at some point was to save money, but then something very different happened….

I took a similar approach and started with new razors. Most of them are very good, and a few of them remain my top favorites. I think that by hanging out on forums such as this, you eventually learn quite a bit about vintage razors and what to look for in them. For a vintage SE, in my limited experience I would recommend the Gem 1912, coupled with a (Personna) Gem PTFE blade. You can find one of these century-old razors in decent shape usually for about 15–30 dollars, depending on its condition and the seller.

Other good recommendations have already been made, and I’m sure there are more to follow. Take your time and I’m sure something will eventually stand out and capture your attention. Good luck!

http://www.vikingsoap.com/

This new co. is in Ames.

Thanks Matt ( Matsilainen ).  This SE bug just hit in the last month. I must admit that I found the Schick Injector razor's kind of ugly so I was only researching Gem razors. Then I saw a picture on another forum showing all these injector razors and I saw the G4. It's chrome finish with a navy blue handle really looked good and that changed my mind.  Andrew has a bunch of injectors on the BST but the G4 has sold.  I will defently be keeping an eye out for one of those and of course the Gem as well.  I only have 5 DE razors so a couple of more really would not be considered a RAD problem.

Thanks for the info BPman .  Do you live around Ames. I found the Groom Room in Ames. It's been awhile since I've been there.  The have some wet shaving gear. I bought my first stick of Arko there and a blade sampler. Also purchased a Parker razor later on.

Thanks Matt ( Matsilainen ).  This SE bug just hit in the last month. I must admit that I found the Schick Injector razor's kind of ugly so I was only researching Gem razors. Then I saw a picture on another forum showing all these injector razors and I saw the G4. It's chrome finish with a navy blue handle really looked good and that changed my mind.  Andrew has a bunch of injectors on the BST but the G4 has sold.  I will defently be keeping an eye out for one of those and of course the Gem as well.  I only have 5 DE razors so a couple of more really would not be considered a RAD problem.

I hope you find another G4 and that you also have a chance to try a Gem. That will of course mean two new blade systems, as well…. But some things you just have to try, to know if they work for you. Thankfully you can always put up for sale any extra items. Another reason DFS is such a great place.  

Thanks for the info BPman .  Do you live around Ames...

I grew up in southern Iowa but now live in Texas.