Edwin Jagger DE89BL Chrome Reusable Classic Double Edge Safety Razor for Men

Update below - Original Review: This is my first Double Edge razor. I was looking for something that was well reviewed and not too pricey. That's how I came to find and ultimately purchase the DE89bl. I purposely did not shave for a few days before the razor arrived. I wanted to see how well it would handle a few days growth. I also might mention that I have sensitive skin, so I am always looking for the least irritating way to shave. I have been through lots of multiblade systems that work OK, but I cringe at the high price of replacement blades. The fit and finish of the razor is flawless. I am really pleased with the heft and quality of it overall. It comes with a starter pack of Derby blades, which by all accounts are a mild blade and good for beginners. I can't offer any perspective about how they compare to other blades, but they worked quite nicely for me. For my first shave with the razor I lathered up with some Taylor of Old Bond Street, Mr. Taylor's Shaving Cream. I used short strokes and rinsed the razor frequently. There's an excellent video on youtube "How to Shave with a Safety Razor" that is worth watching if you are new to DE shaving as I am. The results are really quite amazing. Not only did it handle my thicker than usual growth, the shave was quite easy. A multiblade razor would have required a lot more effort to accomplish the same results. The area under my chin and around my neck have always been the most difficult to achieve a close shave. **Not any more!** This is easily the closest shave I have had short of my barber giving me a straight razor shave. (Which I get with nearly every haircut.) The results: Nice and smooth and the irritation to my skin was minimal. Tomorrow's shave with only one days growth should be that much better. The best part is the $$ saved in the long run. No more budget busting multi-blades for me. DE blades are inexpensive and readily available. The DE89bl should pay for itself in savings in just a few weeks. ******** Updated Review: Having lived with and used this razor for several months, I would still recommend it for anyone looking for a new double edge safety razor. It is fairly forgiving and provides a satisfactory shave. Having said that, I no longer use it daily. It is now one of three DE razors I own. The other two are vintage Gillette's which are still widely available online. I no longer use Derby razor blades in any razor. I tried several brands from a sample pack and found that I get the best performance from Personna Med Prep blades in all three of my razors. Your mileage may vary and I encourage you to try several blades in whichever razor you ultimately buy. Finally, after every shave I still have that feeling of "Wow! That was great! Do other people know about this? Someone has to tell them!"

This is my first safety razor. I hadn't heard of them until a week or so before I bought this one. I was tired of paying $16/month for a name brand razor and my barber recommended I go "old school." I'm hooked. I will say that the short handle was surprising when I first opened the package but it actually handles very well. I do not find it slippery either and have used it in the shower. Although I bought it for function and cost savings, I have to say the thing looks amazing- like a work of art. The chrome is top notch work and I like the black handle. The Derby blades do a good job for me as well. As for using it, I have to say I was nervous going in with the razor sharp blade being exposed. I watched a bunch of online videos and was fearing the worst for a break-in period. I found it really isn't that hard or that tricky (except for right under the nose- that takes some effort). It is easy to feel when you have the right angle. You just have to take a little time and let the weight of the shave head do the work. It is surprisingly satisfying the sound it makes and the feel of it working. I'm not one for nostalgia either- I never watched my grandpa shave with a safety razor or anything like that. I think the closeness is comparable to a modern 5 blade cartridge razor. I need to take a second pass with both to get real close. And I break the rules and go against the grain with both and lived to tell the tail. This may give just a touch more irritation but nothing terrible, especially for the price. As for cutting myself, there haven't been any major blood lettings. You do have to be extra careful around any blemishes or moles- the blade will nick them before you know it (they are as sharp as you imagine). Other than that, it is amazingly simple. I don't know why people stopped using them. The only caution I'd have is not to get too sucked in by the safety razor/old fashioned shaving fanatics. I think some of the irritation complaints I see on these razors for sale (all brands) is because people change everything at once and go to the traditional soaps too. My first shave with this razor was terrible. On the second shave I learned it wasn't the razor but the cheap shave soap I bought at Wal Mart and my lack of lathering abilities. No matter what the purists say, it is okay to use canned shave cream while getting used to this (or forever). I did and it was great. I've since bought some nice shave soap that I like but am still working on a proper lather. When I'm in a hurry, I go back to the gel. I definitely intend to stick with using this razor. I may even end up collecting them. If you get it, just make sure you let you kids know it isn't something to touch. The thing looks so good, little fingers may be tempted.

i decided to take the wasteful, disposable plastic elements out of my life, and was more than ready to eliminate disposable razors. i did some research, and realized i wasn't yet ready for a true straight razor and the almost strict religious upkeep factors of them...i wanted a middle ground. i researched online and through amazon, reading the reviews of a ton of this type before settling on this one. it came, and my face and i are extremely pleased. right off the bat, the heft and quality show how well made it is. i'm a gadget man, and i love how things work- so opening the razor to replace blades is more fun and fascination than a chore. i'm amazed the solution to a great shave can be so simple. the metal is all heavy, solid (steel?) with a thick, smooth chrome finish you don't see on anything anymore. this isn't going to flake off or turn color...it has to be at least a millimeter thick or more. or is this what true, good stainless steel is supposed to be like? either way, it's solid. the handle is well made and i don't forsee it falling apart. the handle is thick black plastic, but in that retro way, not cheap and modern. i do wish the handle was just a LITTLE longer, but that's just because i'm used to the longer handle of disposables. i'm already acclimating to it. why is it not 5 stars? well,the one point that i worry may fail in the future is the razor head screwing into the handle, with the razor bed resting between them. it 's only friction-held, nothing snaps or locks in, and the parts are so well chromed, friction is achieved by tightening the heck out of it all- which i fear may strip the threading one day. but maybe that's just me being used to cheap products- in all other ways, this razor seems built to last- the kind of thing that if we'd gone to atomic war decades ago, this would have been pulled out of the rubble and used by a scruffy-faced survivor. it's that retro, well made and solid. oh and the shave! well, i'll let you discover that for yourself. you will want to have a bonfire for your old shavers- disposable, or electric. this is the only blade i've used that actually gets the hard to cut hair just below the jawline. if that's not worth $30, what is?

I wanted to wait until I had been using this thing for a while before reviewing it. I've now been using it consistently since May, so after 7 months, here's my feedback: 1. I have had no issues with rust or the finish falling apart. If cared for properly, i.e. all parts rinsed and dried after each shave, it still looks like it just came out of the box. 2. Handle length doesn't bother me. I have big hands, but I have also never used a longer handled safety razor. Maybe if I had experience with longer handled razors, I would be complaining about this. As it is, the weight and length feel very natural to me. 3. Shave closeness: If used properly this thing cleaves through hair, much closer than I ever got with my cartridge razors, especially after a second pass. 4. Blade replacement is not as easy on some models, but I don't consider it that much of a pain. I take the whole thing apart after each shave and wash and dry the two pieces of the guard, the blade and the handle, so I'm used to handling the razor and threading it onto the little pegs and screwing the whole thing together now. But, it is true, there are other razors with much easier blade systems. 5. Blade is not adjustable, which some people are going to look for. I originally purchased this razor specifically because it is recommended as a beginners safety razor. It is not very aggressive and it is not adjustable, which are things that might cause a new DE shaver to cut or nick themselves. Not that this thing won't cut or nick, but if you go slow while you're learning and you read up or watch some tutorials, you'll be fine. I've only had to bust out the styptic a couple of times in my 7 month experience with the razor. It also is not in the highest price tier for razors, meaning that it's a great combination of cheap and easy to use but high quality. I make a habit of always reading the worst reviews first and then making my way up to four or five star reviews, and the impression that I got from reading the one and two star reviews was that people weren't holding the razor at the right angle. This sucker needs to be at a 45 degree angle to your face or it won't cut anything. You shouldn't be dragging the guard across your face. Held properly, the only thing in contact with your skin is the tip of that razor blade. And it will shave the hair down to the pore when held properly. And that's not like, hating on those people. Shaving with a DE razor is complicated, there's a reason we moved as a society away from DE razors to cartridge razors. When shaving you need to consider blade angle, blade pressure (which should be none) and the grain of your beard (first pass should be with, second pass across, third against if you feel you need it and it isn't going to chew your face up). You also should absolutely not be using canned goop from the drug store, please spring for shaving soap/cream and a shaving brush. If that sounds like a lot of hassle to you just to shave, then don't buy a safety razor. I was shaving every day with a cartridge razor, and moved to shaving every other day when I started using this thing just because I could get away with it at work. Oh, and finally, not a huge fan of the razors that came included with the razor. I'd read some reviews and spring for better razors, maybe. I'm honestly using the store brand ones from my local drug store, and I feel like they're giving me a better shave than what came with the razor.

I've been shaving every day for 5 days with this razor (paired with Astra blades), and this is my impression: The build quality is excellent - the chrome is super-shiny, the pieces fit together snug, the blade becomes perfectly aligned to head, and the design has a nice flow to it. The handle is suppose to be short for this type of razor, but I've found that I get the most control the closer to the blades I hold it. The handle in this area has a nice little flange to grip between two fingers and a thumb, so someone was thinking when they designed this. The black handle is $10 cheaper than the chrome handle, but the black lacquer feels nice and smooth, and the handle still has a nice heft to it. The chrome handle looks nice, and if you can afford it you should probably get it, but it makes absolutely no difference in the shave quality, so I suggest putting that $10 towards some good shave creme or blades instead! The only thing I don't like about this razor: on close inspection there's a bit of burr on the corner-edge of the head piece. This tiny bit of metal has been chromed over, so it's not sharp, but I can feel it against my skin when I shave and it's a like a tiny, tiny annoyance in an otherwise perfect razor. How this passed inspection I do not know! I think I may take a tiny file to it to see what can be done - I can't RMA it because then I'll be without a razor! This was not enough to dock a star. Maybe 1/16th of a star? This provides a VERY close shave! It leaves my skin feeling smoother than the disposable razors I wasted a ton of money on, too. I nicked myself a few times the first couple of times I shaved with it, but apparently your skin needs to become acclimated to it because now I don't cut myself any longer and my skin feels better. Grown-in hairs have disappeared nearly completely, in only 5 days! What else? Oh! Do NOT attempt to shave against-the-grain with this on your first time using a double-edge razor! Like I said before you'll need to acclimate your skin to using this type of blade against it, and beside that you'll need a little practice with the angle before attempting. Furthermore, some people like to re-lather and shave in multiple angles - the effectiveness of this probably depends on your skin type - I found that one pass of the razor cuts about 99% of all the hairs - an extra, small, careful pass in problem areas is enough to get the rest without re-lathering.

This is a fine Razor. Properly weighted and well balanced. Build quality, Fit, and Finish are all superb. You will not be disappointed with this Razor. The blade reveal or exposure is not aggressive, and in my opinion it not necessary in any razor. . . more blade reveal simply means more opportunity for cuts and nicks. Take a minute or two to read my thoughts below on the Safety Razor methodology and related products. I'd like to give a small summery of my experience with shaving the past 40 years or so. Like most guys, I am always in a hurry, We have alot to do a just not enough time in a 24 hr. day to get it done. If there were 36 or 48 hours in a day we would work all of those too. Right? The world is full of work and we have allowed it to rule our lives, its just never going to change. Here's a good quote to keep in mind "If Nothing changes, then Nothing Changes." Alright then, how about letting go of the Throttle for a few minutes and treat yourself to change in your daily Grind? Our shaving experience can and should be enjoyable and the little bit of additional time it takes to engage the Safety Razor experience will allow you to clear your head, gather your thoughts, and think about the day ahead as you shave instead of throwing on some propane propelled Edge Gel or other bottom of the barrel shave cream product. Yep, just look at the ingredients on the can, most of them contain propane. Keep the propane for the BBQ grill out in the back yard, not on our Face. We are all aware that that the well known companies of our day have done a great job of advertising and convincing us that their razors are the only thing on the market. They started with two blades - the old Trac Two, then three blades, and now they are up to five. Crazy isn't it? And cost of their blades has risen right along with the blade count. A Safety Razor has one blade with two edges, that's all that is necessary to get the job done, and done well. Not only that, each blade is much less money than multiple blade cartridges on the market that are so popular today. I have listed the items below that you'll need to engage in the Wonderful, Relaxing, safety razor shaving experience. First all, ditch your Edge or similar shaving gel's and other canned products. All of them are weak and dry out your skin - Forget about ALL of those. Purchase these quality items below, and believe me, you will never go back to what you were doing before. So you'll need to buy shaving cream, I really like "Taylor of Old Bond Street - Sandlewood" There are several other shave creams like this on the market, but the aroma of this product is simply remarkable. You will also need a bowl to mix the shaving cream, I like wooden bowels; the metal one's get cold but wooden one's do not. You'll also need a Quality Badger Hair (or similar) Shaving Brush, there are many of them on the market at all price points, but it really pays big dividends to get a quality one. Buy yourself a quality safety razor like the Edwin Jagger DE89bl Chrome Plated Razor I have reviewed. Also a pre-shave oil is highly recommended so look into those as well. So now with your Edwin Jagger safety razor, a Badger Brush, Wooden mixing Bowl, Pre-Shave oil or Oil soap, and Shaving cream you now have likely been set back $100.00, but its all going to be well worth it. Lastly, when you are done shaving, finish the job by applying Neutrogena Razor Defense to your face and then your favorite cologne. Neutrogena Razor Defense is a very, very soothing & comforting lotion - why apply something to your face that stings and burns the Hell out of you?? Bad idea! All of these items are going to last you a long time. So spend some time familiarizing yourself and become SKILLED with your new gear, watch a couple of YouTube Videos on the subject and get ready to be pampered and very impressed. Why hurry? Work will always be there waiting no matter when you arrive. You'll never go back to what you were doing before.

Pretty razor-cheaply made. Thought I'd go with a good razor to eliminate any questions in my mind re inadequate result from a "beginner" razor. Gave me a good shave. Handle was slick, necessitating frequent hand drying while shaving. Within 2 wks I dropped it on the floor-bath rug over tile-soft landing. The head screw snapped off showing cheap pot metal. $42 gone in an instant. Now buying a Murker because of its reported stoutness. Update: Contacted the company and they replaced the head for free. Took a little time, but I subscribe that to the company being across the pond. Bought a long handled Merkur and used it while waiting. To contrast the two: Merkur is 1/2" longer, but the EJ has better balance and weight. Both give a good shave, but the EJ is more comfortable. If it holds up, I would now give the EJ 4/5 stars, losing one star because it may break again. I'm a relative newbie to DE shaving. Wanted a closer shave and less shaving bumps than I electric shaver was giving. Thought I'd get some disposable razors and a can of shaving cream and I would be good to go. After reading the reviews of this razor, I realized there was a lot more to a good shave than just wacking whiskers. I shave everyday because a 2 day growth on a young guy may be sexy to women, but on an older guy-you just look homeless. In addition, I'm not a primper. I have a face that makes people intimate I should be hiding under a bridge asking 3 questions before I allow anybody to cross, so I don't want to spend long periods looking at my mug in the mirror. But DE shaving w/ a good blade, razor, and soap is so enjoyable that the drudgery of shaving now becomes a relaxing experience. It takes me 12-15 min. to shave(3 passes-with, across, and against the grain) instead of 3 min. w/ my electric. Just realize that w/ a lot of choices of razors, blades, shaving soaps, after shaves, etc., you now have taken on a new hobby. Doesn't take a lot of time and is very inexpensive. As to the latter, don't scrimp and buy cheaper stuff and wonder why it is not a comfortable experience. The difference between a Cruz and a Malibu in DE shaving is only $5-$10. If you want the Lexus in a product, it still is not going to break the bank. Enjoy your new hobby.

This razor is awesome. I had been shaving recently with the Fusion Proglide Power and decided to try this to eventually start saving money on the $4+ cost of disposable heads. I have a very thick beard and it just dulls razor blades up really quickly. This razor with the Feather blades that come with it will *easily* breeze through 4-5 days of growth in one pass which was really impressive to me. Shaving with a "safety" razor did take some getting used to. I don't get the people who say it takes 2 months... if it takes you that long, you probably shouldn't be holding sharp objects anyways. It did, however, take me about 4 times of shaving with it to really get a hold of the process. The biggest thing is that you really apply no pressure, you basically lay the head of the razor at an angle against your face and kind of let it glide down. Once you realize you don't have to apply pressure, it really is a good shave. I also ordered an Art of Shaving travel kit with the badger hair brush, shaving cream, after shave lotion, and pre shave oil. Everyone will tell you different products to use but these work great for me. The only reasons I can't give it 5 stars are that single pass shaving is not as close as the Proglide but when you consider it only takes 2 more minutes to lather up and do another pass, it's not so bad. Don't get me wrong, one pass is plenty close enough for anywhere you want to go, but if you ever needed your face/beard to be super smooth, it takes a little more effort. The other thing is that for anyone who shaves the back of their neck or chest with their razor, I'd keep some cheap razors on hand. This product could prove quite the pain (literally) trying to do these things. Overall, it's well worth it considering double edge blades are $0.25 - $0.50 and the 5 blade refills are $4. It does make shaving a lot more enjoyable for me personally as well. EDIT: I have to reduce my previous review because after a couple months of use, for some reason, one side of my razor no longer is able to shave. It's definitely the razor because I've flipped the blades and it's always on the same side that the problem occurs. I still enjoy it better than normal razors, but now only half of it works.