Bought a Merkur 33C, a synthetic Parker brush, and a mühle soap bar thar I received today.
Not as close a shave as I’m used to, but my skin feels a lot less irritated than it used to after a shave. Cut myself twice, on my upper lip and on the underside of my chin.
I’ve got really thick, coarse stuble and had trouble with finding a good shave. Changed to safety razors and never looked back.
For anyone new to this… You don’t have to get into the rabbit hole of trying to pick the best products and badger hair brushes and hand whipped soaps and stuff… You can keep it simple. Buy any safety razor and blades. Use the same old canned shaving cream and after shave you’re used to. And you’ll still have a much better experience than the shit plastic multi razor cartridges or electric shavers. Highly recommended. Watch a couple of videos first on how to do it if you’ve never done it before though.
Fell into that rabbit hole about fifteen to twenty years ago. For me it became a proper hobby and I honestly looked forward to shaving for a long time. But since having kids I have shortened the routine a lot. Over the years I have tested out a bunch of straight edge and safety razors. Stopped with the straight edges after cutting off a little chunk of my upper lip before the first date with my now wife due to nerves. Still have the scar.
I am on my second high end badger brush after wearing the last one out a few years ago. That said, I had to borrow my brothers cheaper synthetic brush a couple of weeks ago and it honestly lathers up quicker. So the fancy stuff isn’t necessarily always better.
I agree that it is better to just jump into it and start with just a safety razor and canned stuff. You don’t need to research/buy all the parephenalia. If you get more into it you can look up what you want to add on to your routine/gear later if you feel like it, but what I think is the most worth it out of the bells and whistles is pre shave gels or pre shave oils. And getting a good moisturiser to put on after shaving. After that it is switching out the canned stuff and getting a brush and soap.