It's going to feel silly bringing up the topic here, but I figure why not? We have a cooking thread and a whisky thread.
I've been into old-school mug, brush, double-edge safety razor shaving for about a year and a half now. Yesterday, my wife bought me some maca root shaving cream from bath and body works The Body Shop. Holy smokes, it's awesome! If you're into whipping up your own shave lather, give it a try. It's really nice. Before that, I had tried: Taylor of Old Bond Street, Colonel Conks, Proraso. This stuff is better than any of them.
If this post was just weird and didn't mean anything to anyone else, please disregard. :)
I use a safety razor as well. I currently use a Merkur razor, Shark blades, Shave Secret shaving oil (I like it better than Art of Shave because it's not as thick and gunky, but havent tried other brands), Proraso shaving cream (have only tried a few others mainly just shaving soaps, but I like the Proraso), then Proraso aftershave cream
Quote from: Leevibe on September 01, 2014, 06:55:16 PMIf this post was just weird and didn't mean anything to anyone else, please disregard. :)
It'll only get weird if we get onto the subject of ball shaving.
Yeah, that'll be freaky
I switched about 9 months ago, mostly out of distaste for the rising part of cartridges. But likewise I don't buy into the whole bootique DE fad either. I think I might have spent $20 on my razor, which will last longer than me, $9 on a brush and I get soap that lasts ~6m for $2. My mug is a cracked coffee mug that was going to get tossed.
I've been using safety razors off-and-on for the past several years. I generally like the experience. I've got a few vintage handles, and lately I've been enjoying Astra blades.
Still using the first and only razer i bought, shaving cream- only a couple brands at the local drug emporium, curently a couple different tubes from The Real Shaving Co. out of England, mug and badger brush, not sure how many brushes i've ground away over the decades.
Parker 3 piece de razor and I alternate between feather and Astra blades right now.
Soap is either from the copper hat (based out of Victoria, Canada) or the usually. Prorasso stuff from my local pharmacy.
I've been thinking about trying a merkur sledgehammer 39c but I haven't convinced myself that it's worth the price tag.
I use an Edwin Jagger DE89 razor and a Parker best badger brush. I don't collect razors and brushes but I kind of wish I could afford a silver tip brush. I'm currently using Feather blades but I'm not wowed by them. My favorite blades so far were some drug store house brand that were super cheap. Maybe walgreens?
Funny, I've been thinking of going straight or DE for about a year or so. No one I know uses them and I trust the reviews on amazon but not really. I was looking at a Parker safety razor with an ebony handle. Any recommendations for a DE starter kit or something?
Quote from: flanagan0718 on September 04, 2014, 03:09:13 PM
Funny, I've been thinking of going straight or DE for about a year or so. No one I know uses them and I trust the reviews on amazon but not really. I was looking at a Parker safety razor with an ebony handle. Any recommendations for a DE starter kit or something?
Most of the advice I remember reading when I got started was to start on a Merkur razor. I can't remember the model but it's probably around $40. I bought the Edwin Jagger based on reviews and I haven't felt the need to upgrade. I love it. Get a sample pack of blades so you can figure out which work for you. Get a badger brush. Boar brushes are cheap but they tend not to make as good lather as badger. There are different grades of badger and the prices vary widely. I think the biggest factor to getting a good shave is making good lather. For me, good lather trumps a fancy blade any day, as long as the blade is reasonably fresh. As far as which shave soap to use, Proraso is probably the most prevalent, and I've used it a ton, but I don't like the smell of it. It's kind of a grandpa's after shave kind of smell. It's easy to make lather with though. If you have a bath and body works near you, they have a house brand that is relabeled Proraso. Taylors of Old Bond Street cream is good stuff. The stuff I mentioned in the original post is from The Body Shop. It's their Maca Root shave cream. It is my favorite by far to date. I also like their Kistna after shave cream.
If you really want to know all about it, there's a forum called Badger and Blade. It's where I lurked when I was figuring it all out. It's a bit weird over there because those guys are as passionate about shaving as we are about guitar gear. Seriously. There are some youtube videos by a guy who goes by Mantic or something like that. Those will get you started.
The great thing about it is that you really can get a better shave this way than with all the high tech multi blade razors and you will have less razor burn. For me it turned a daily chore that I often skipped into something I look forward to in the morning.
Here is the razor I use: http://www.amazon.com/Edwin-Jagger-DE89Lbl-Detail-Chrome/dp/B002RBF1PO/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1409847110&sr=8-11&keywords=merkur
Here is the Merkur lots of guys start on: http://www.amazon.com/Merkur-Heavy-Double-Razor-Included/dp/B000QYEK88/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1409847205&sr=8-3&keywords=merkur
Here's my brush: http://www.amazon.com/Parker-Safety-Razor-Bristle-Shaving/dp/B004U6P0NW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1409847235&sr=8-2&keywords=parker+best+badger
I also have a Dovo shavette that I use every once in a while: http://www.amazon.com/Dovo-Silver-Shavette-Straight-Holder-Matt/dp/B001ASOD86/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409847290&sr=8-1&keywords=dovo+shavette
Thanks for the information Leevibe! I often skip shaving (usually only shave twice a week) and I have, what some would say, are tree trunks for facial hair (that's the Irish in me I guess). The worst part is it grows in swirls on my neck. I'm hoping this will helps with the razor burn. The latest Gillette 9 million blade razor head certainly did shit for it so why not try something new...and look like a TOTAL bad ass to my wife and friends! But in all seriousness I'll absolutely give this a try. In the end it's really not that much more expensive. The refills for the Gillette crap is $400 for 3 heads so it all works out. I will checkout that forum too! Thanks again.
http://www.reddit.com/r/wicked_edge/
your new time sink ;)
Great info Leevibe, i was just checking back in to ask a question but looks like i was beat to the trigger and you've got it covered.
So moving on... all you DE'ers, always the case, or converts from the multi-blade universe?
Advantages/disadvantages?
The attraction of ritual or truly a better shave? (i can fall for and embrace ritual)
Thanks
dave
I had two main motivations:
1. the cost of razor cartridges was getting obscene. I would get maybe 2 or 3 shaves from one cartridge before having to toss it. Costco would sell them (i think 25 or 30 cartridges?) of the Mach 3 blades for $50... the mach 5's were even more. $20 buys me enough DE blades to last a few years, even if i use a new blade for every shave.
2. the quality of the shave is significantly better. with a DE shave, i can usually go 4-5 days if i push it between shaves. with a cartridge i wouldn't be able to go more than 3 days without looking like a bum. Ingrown hairs and razor burn are also a thing of the past since i switched.... and i also can't remember the last time i drew blood with a DE shave. with cartridges sometimes my face would look like there was a massacre in the bathroom....
TLDR: the amount of $ you would spend on one costco-size mach 3 pack will get you enough DE supplies to last you significantly longer.... your ROI is basically made in the time i would take you to buy a new set of cartridges.
Quote from: zilla on September 04, 2014, 05:30:10 PM
http://www.reddit.com/r/wicked_edge/
your new time sink ;)
http://badgerandblade.com/
Could this be the shiny bauble that breaks the pedal building spell...
Quote from: davent on September 04, 2014, 05:36:26 PM
So moving on... all you DE'ers, always the case, or converts from the multi-blade universe?
Advantages/disadvantages?
The attraction of ritual or truly a better shave? (i can fall for and embrace ritual)
Thanks
dave
I used to use a Gillette Fusion and gel from a can. I feel like I get a better shave, but it's probably more about the ritual and the challenge of getting the perfect shave.
Quote from: davent on September 04, 2014, 06:23:34 PM
Quote from: zilla on September 04, 2014, 05:30:10 PM
http://www.reddit.com/r/wicked_edge/
your new time sink ;)
http://badgerandblade.com/
Could this be the shiny bauble that breaks the pedal building spell...
Not for me. I got in, learned what I wanted to learn, and got out. It seems silly that some people are so into it that they have "shave lockers" with whole collections of razors, brushes, mugs, creams, after shaves. There's even the equivalent of NOS mojo in that some guys pay big money to buy and restore antique holy grail razors. And that's just the DE stuff. Then there's the whole straight razor thing. I'm sticking to pedals and amps! :)
Grew up watching my dad shave with his "safety razor" (had never seen the DE terminology before here) and the mystery slot in the medicine cabinent that swallowed the spent blades.
Have been using badger brushes with various Body Shop products (seems they discountinue product as soon as i latch onto it as something useful) and drugstore soaps for years, small step to take the plunge into DE.
All sounds like my cup of tea... The nostalgia, the ritual, the cool tools, the arcanity, the outsider status, the challenge, the need for a little danger in my morning to get my eyes open and the brain engaged... i'm weak and the suck of the rabbit hole is strong, that and the enabler- free shipping at Amazon... doomed. I've still got time, a full pack of blades for my old razor and the local razor center has nothing, no razors or blades, gives me time to sort through it all, haven't found a diyse forum yet so my pedal building may be still safe, i need to be making something all the time.
Thanks guys, give life onto the mundane!
dave
edit. The Italian Barber is fairly close by and on this side of the border so no crazy import trauma just Canada Post or whomever to deal with and Ontario sales taxes.
Quote from: flanagan0718 on September 04, 2014, 05:11:51 PM
Thanks for the information Leevibe! I often skip shaving (usually only shave twice a week) and I have, what some would say, are tree trunks for facial hair (that's the Irish in me I guess). The worst part is it grows in swirls on my neck. I'm hoping this will helps with the razor burn. The latest Gillette 9 million blade razor head certainly did shit for it so why not try something new...and look like a TOTAL bad ass to my wife and friends! But in all seriousness I'll absolutely give this a try. In the end it's really not that much more expensive. The refills for the Gillette crap is $400 for 3 heads so it all works out. I will checkout that forum too! Thanks again.
Haha! I predict that you will spend more time in the bathroom in the morning than your wife, and your friends won't get it. :)
No worries, I'm safe, i swear her hair-habit-bill swamps my pedal building bill over the course of a year and then she's out of the house in the morning before i ever manage to pry my eyes open so no bathroom wars, on a perfect day my daughter's left as well! And my friends... well i'm definitely already a puzzle so the unexpected/obscure/eccentric/odd? is the norm.
dave
not much to say here, other than i do wet shave. i use a super badger and my favorite 2 hard soaps are harris "arlington" and mike's natural soaps "barber shop". you have to try barber shop. I'm not too much into creams.
i have a straight razor, and a couple of old gillette de handles i inherited from dad and gramps. but i am also a head shaver (yes that's right, a baldie), so 80% of the time i just grab a mach 3 for the convenience.
i tried shaving my head with the straight razor once. a harrowing experience that i am not keen to repeat. i just don't have the skill.
You need to update your avatar then, Keefe :)
Closest I get is when I received my set of supersharp hobby knives (the Stanley knife wasn't fine enough).
"Wow, I bet these are sharp enough to shave with!"
*ten seconds later, LICK, cutcutcut, no hair left on the left arm and a few cuts..*
Quote from: alanp on September 05, 2014, 04:17:33 PM
You need to update your avatar then, Keefe :)
Whether is Lebowski or Stane up there in the corner, the image etched in my mind will always be "the dude" in a bathrobe hovered over and gently rocking a tray full of ferric chloride and pcb's.
Curtis may have guitars but i have razor blades man. Order from Italian Barber came in today, more then my last Mouser order and free shipping with orders over only $60us.
Bought a Razorock Mission razor that came with Astra, Treet and Rapira blades, added Feathers, Bolzano, PolSilver and Gillette yellow Seven O'clock's, a couple pre-shaves, a soap, a cream and an alum block. Razor has a solid core handle, nice weighty heft. Let the blood bath begin!
(http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc305/davent/IMG_6697_zpsd447a1e8.jpg)
Quote from: davent on September 23, 2014, 12:27:44 AM
Curtis may have guitars but i have razor blades man. Order from Italian Barber came in today, more then my last Mouser order and free shipping with orders over only $60us.
Bought a Razorock Mission razor that came with Astra, Treet and Rapira blades, added Feathers, Bolzano, PolSilver and Gillette yellow Seven O'clock's, a couple pre-shaves, a soap, a cream and an alum block. Razor has a solid core handle, nice weighty heft. Let the blood bath begin!
Whoa! You really went all in man. I see the tub of TOBS. I'm all out of that stuff and kind of want to get some more in lemon and lime. Let me know how you like those Gillettes. I need to buy blades. I have one feather left.
Ooo-wee. It took me over a dozen shaves to get the smell of Tabac out of my badger. Never again for me.
^^I just realized that's probably sig-worthy^^
Quote from: Haberdasher on September 23, 2014, 02:11:58 AM
Ooo-wee. It took me over a dozen shaves to get the smell of Tabac out of my badger. Never again for me.
^^I just realized that's probably sig-worthy^^
I think that's what sold me on the Tabac- great shave reviews but love/hate on the scent, had to see for myself, figured if it was too floral or off for me i've two females in the house who's legs might appreciate the cushioned shave. My wife says she really likes the scent although her head is plugged solid with a cold. Hmmm... floral with a touch of Tide laundry detergent, we'll see, i've a spare brush.
The TOBS is the Avocado, scent reminds of babies.
The 3P- strong, i believe, camphor scent, this one they suggest as a pre/post and maybe even shave cream?
Going to change one element at a time over a number of days, start by trying out the preshaves with my Trac II and Real Shaving Co. creams.
Next change up the creams/soaps and finally try the DE once i figure out which blade to initiate first.
What a can of worms i've opened for first thing in the morning.
dave
I bet you'll give up the cartridge after your first DE shave. Just go slow, light pressure, not too many passes. Shoot for par. It's too fun to go back.
Thanks Lee, i'm looking forward to getting to it, i'm persistent and love a journey and ritual, i'll see this through plus i've a pile a razor blades i'm not going to allow to go to waste!
Cheers!
dave
At work we order in packs of 25 or 50 Solingen razor blades, for the cutters on the chain for the smallgoods (the razor blades are mounted on the cutter brackets, so you have two hands free. They're at the bottom of a deep U that fingers can't fit down at all.)
Quote from: davent on September 23, 2014, 02:47:56 AM
Quote from: Haberdasher on September 23, 2014, 02:11:58 AM
Ooo-wee. It took me over a dozen shaves to get the smell of Tabac out of my badger. Never again for me.
^^I just realized that's probably sig-worthy^^
I think that's what sold me on the Tabac- great shave reviews but love/hate on the scent, had to see for myself, figured if it was too floral or off for me i've two females in the house who's legs might appreciate the cushioned shave. My wife says she really likes the scent although her head is plugged solid with a cold. Hmmm... floral with a touch of Tide laundry detergent, we'll see, i've a spare brush.
i did the same thing. i bought a stick of tabac to try, thinking i'd like it. that didn't happen for me.
i don't detect floral with tide. i get a long elevator ride with someone's grandma wearing half a can of aerosol hairspray. but opinions do vary and i hope it works for you ;)
if you want something that smells amazing try barber shop from mikes natural soaps. it doesn't smell like a barber shop to me. i can't describe what it smells like. just awesome.
That's funny, luckily an infrequent rider of elevators so haven't had the pleasure of such an encounter but will be on the lookout.
Bookmarked the Mike's page, will see how his cross border shipping might affect things, thanks!
Tried one of the pre-shaves on half my face this morning, maybe a little slicker then the untreated side, like the scent of that one, Razorock.
So on a recent trip back to visit my folks, I ended up coming back with literally 20 or so straight razors that my dad used to use in his previous life when he was a barber.
Most of them are fairly simple, but there are a few really nice ones with carved bone or wood handles.
I have no experience with straight razors other than being on the receiving end of a shave..
any tips on how to clean them up and restore them?
Quote from: zilla on September 25, 2014, 02:42:50 PM
So on a recent trip back to visit my folks, I ended up coming back with literally 20 or so straight razors that my dad used to use in his previous life when he was a barber.
Most of them are fairly simple, but there are a few really nice ones with carved bone or wood handles.
I have no experience with straight razors other than being on the receiving end of a shave..
any tips on how to clean them up and restore them?
I'd recommend having someone else re-edge them. The blades would need to be evened out and sharpened properly with the correct grit levels. People collect those stones and love to use them. There are a few folks out there that do good work. I'd recommend going to badgerandblade.com and look around.
I used to love collecting safety razors, but decided to grow a beard instead. Down to one vintage safety razor, couple of brushes and soaps that'll probably not get used in the future..
DE shaving?
Never heard of it.
After a few years of going through all the different blade types, I think Gillette Bleue Extra's are the best.
Too bad they're out of production now.
You guys should also check out single edge Gem razors. Next to my Merker butterfly, the Gem is my favorite.
They use those single sided industrial type blades.
(http://i.imgur.com/VUDavN2.jpg)
Truth is I didn't actually buy a most of the razors. A few months after I started DE my wife's grandfather died an he had a box of "mojo" razors and stuff like that. It was either me take them and put them to good use or throw them away.
Heeere we go!
Over the first four days tried using the preshaves i bought with the soap & creams i have shaving with the Trac II, a new blade installed on the first day. Shave improved... probably due more to just paying attention for the first time. The cushioning was so extreme on a few lathers that the Trac II floated over the face here and there without slicing anything off, lots more pressure needed.
Fifth day (Saturday) dropped an Astra SP in the razor, Razorock preshave on the face after a shower then TOBS cream lather and the first very tentative DE stroke... smooth! Get the angle of the blade right, let the weight of the razor alone apply the pressure and it's smooth and very clean with that slight audable buzz of hairs being sliced off effortlessly. First shave was a one pass with touch up, what do you mean you lather up again and shave in a new direction, never would have occured to me. I was stingy with the cream so no go for a second round and didn't want to press my luck. Alum block revealed one stinger on my lower neck but got a better shave then i've ever had from a cartridge, able to shave spots in one pass that were always a fight and missed with the cartridge. Rubbed in a bit of the 3P, post shave, cool & refreshing.
Second day exact same setup but more cream so could dare a second round. Never have i reversed the direction of the neck shave, with the grain always but today tried against on the second pass, bit of red irritation on the lower neck again but touch wood, no blood anywhere yet.
Far far better results then ever had with the cartridge... sold Lee! My wife was equally impressed, my daughter rolls her eyes, "you're obsessed dad". So it would seem permission to break the bank!
The transition from face/chin is going to take some figuring and the Adam's Apple is worrying but the biggest hurdle is being able to practice only once every 24 hours.
Haberdasher, did a cartridge shave with the Tabac and the lather was great... and i just may be a fanboy of that divisive scent.
It seems to me that none of the products i've messed with so far have a scent that lingers for very long after shaving, that's no doubt a good thing.
Thanks Lee and others for the awakening!
dave