DE or SE?

There is an ever-growing horde of rabid SE users active on the boards, hell bent on converting people from DE to SE. If results and cheapness are your bag, SE is for you. The much meatier SE blades can be touched up and used over and over, and face it, the vintage SE razors are cool and relatively undervalued, although that is changing. Lots of pros, and a couple of cons: There are not nearly as many models of SE razors or blades as are there are in the truly international world of DE. To resume:

SE PROs
Utterly cheap if you are 'handy' and can touch up your edge without fucking it up (not difficult)

The really old razors are pretty gorgeous and steam-punky:

The rest of the razors will appeal to fans of the DECO - Moderne aesthetic:

The build quality of the all-metal models is truly first rate, it will outlive you no problem.

Even nice old ones are relatively cheap. I paid 15 USD for nice OCMM with a mint case and 30 blades.

SE CONs
VERY limited choice of razors and blades compared to DE.

At least on my face, SE blades out of the box are dull and pull like a MF

If you're not 'handy' enough to touch up the edge of SE blades, the blades are WAY more expensive than DE. You can still get decent Trac II/Atra carts for less.

CAVEAT - If you have a pre-Micromatic SE razor like a GEM 1912 which are cheap and plentiful you can pretty easily make a robust and effective holder for DE blades - so that's a real advantage over just about any razor on the planet if you ask me. Sadly, this will not work in Micromatics or later:
DE Blade Holder DIY
DE Blade Holder pics


DE PROs
HUGE, international variety of both razors and blades, to satisfy any possible budget and/or aesthetic.

DE is the original disposable "system" - one of Gillette's original pitches was "no honing, no stropping". If you have a TTO, switching out blades is a breeze. Even the 3 piece DE razors as a group are pretty easy and idiot proof assembly-wise. Blade gets dull, you pitch it. Easy.

QUITE cheap if you find a cheap blade you like and buy in bulk. I've had sublime shaves from the lowly YUMA - you can too.

Best for beginners.

DE CONs
Even the best blades are good for no more than a week or shaves before they have to be pitched.

Forget about any vintage Gillette other than the Tech - the prices are ridiculous. You'll never get one off the boards either unless you are lurking 24/7.

OK, somebody help me - I'm not coming up with any more CONs