Welcome aboard. Looks like you are off to a good start & have already gotten some good advice from the fellas. I am going to add one suggestion- add some castor oil to your pre-shave oil blend. It REALLY reduces razor friction.
BamaT - RTR! ...grew up in Madison County. Family there and in Jefferson County. Sweated through the adventurous first half yesterday afternoon.
Thanks for the blade link VedderLG. Exactly the kind of thing I wanted. GDCarrington - I have settled on the 3pc razor with Arko warm lathered in a bowl, will stick to boar brush for kicks...I am gonna play in the blade sampler pack til ~1October and take your 30 day rule. I have not shed blood or had razor burn/bumps in 3weeks using the 3pc razor. I think the weight of the razor suits my technique better. As of now Silver Blue seems very natural, like there was not even a blade. It was kind of a Eureka thing. And Sara-s - Thanks! I can mix some and will test it before 30 day rule. Say for 1 fl oz grape, how much castor?
Thanks again everybody. This is the first message forum I have ever tried to participate in, and am really enjoying the site and the forums. In many ways I am the ultimate internet newbie, but thanks for making me feel welcome here. If I ever exhibit bad form or etiquette, please let me know. I would really like to make the most of this experience and can't thank you all enough in advance. My knowledge has increased seven fold just in the short time I am able to spend here each day.
Glad to see your liking it here in the Den Bama and that your getting some benefit from being a member. There is a lot of info on shaving out there, and we love to share what we know and learn more from others..
Does the thirty day rule apply to aftershave lotions? I do my 2x shave then use tepid water to remove the soap. I follow that with many cold rinses, pat kinda dry...then it's moist alum block. I usually let that sit for 3min and then cold rinse, pat dry...follow with Clubman or AV Blue. I keep witch hazel around in general. My best gauge of technique seems to be alum. If it feels ok and is dfs and nearly free of irritation, even after alum, would the AS matter for our experiment?
Live in Jefferson County, and am familiar with Madison County, had some business associates up there. RTR! We've got several Bama fans on here! Along with Missouri, LSU, and some others I'm sure.
@GDCarrington Thanks for your work and organization that went into the blade test. I just finally had the chance to sit down and digest it and found it to be helpful and thorough!
I hung around for about three months till I got a feel for the goings-on here, all the while trying to read everything I could about DE blades/safety razors/straights/soap/brushes/AS/skin care. I wore a beard for years, then decided to shave again this spring...Honestly, wet shaving has become my new interest/small hobby, and this board has helped me flatten the learning curve significantly. I see myself getting into straights in a couple years, but am focused on 3pc DE razors until I can shave with any of them straight out of the box. Looking forward to hanging out here!
I had a beard for years because I hated to shave. Now I look forward to my daily shave. It is fun again.
It is invigorating, it is quicker than bowl lathering, and it exfoliates, too. When I got my new Turkish #6 brush, I bowl lathered to test it out and see how it lathered. But, when I shaved the next day, I went straight for the face. I use my bowls for storage now. I just load my brush well, and start in on the face. http://jrshaving.blogspot.com/2013/02/5-minute-shave-from-lather-to-rinse.html This is a page on my blog. The video is what got me to face lathering.
