Hello Den-mates, My son was staying with us for a few months, and when he left, he left behind a mug with some soap, a ratty brush and a nice older looking Gillette DE razor of some make or another. Intrigued, I made an attempt at making lather so I could check out this "old timey" shave. Well the lather sucked, the blade was dull-ish, the brush was lackluster, and I was HOOKED! After a few weeks I bought the only kit I could find locally which is the VDH from walmart. This allowed me to mess around and learn the ropes, what works for me, what doesn't. I can't believe I shaved (when I shaved) with those cheap plastic crap razors and cold foam all my life. Although I was always a Barbasol user and still like it I can now see the benifit of us guys taking a few minutes to pamper these ugly mugs we go around making poor decent folks look at all day long. A revelation to say the least. I have surfed around most of the "Shave" forums and immediately liked the friendly helpful non rude vibe I got, so if you'll have me I'd like to stick around.
Thanks for the welcome! Doing some research looks like the boy somehow stumbled onto a 1965 Gillette Slim. Not sure where he got it, but hopefully he doesn't want it back!
to TSD...I hope you enjoy it here as much as we all do..... Maybe your son left all that equipment on purpose? As you now see once you find the "JOY" and start down the "PATH" you want to spread the word.. Have you gotten your son to join the Den yet? The Gillette Slim is a very nice adjustable, what number (1 mildest-9 most aggressive) do you use? What blades are you using? Store branded blades made by ASR are Personna, if made in Korea are Dorco, also at least where I live, you can get Wilkinson's locally also. I've found the Personna's and Wilke's pretty good blades. If you have any questions feel free to ask........
Since you are new to the Double Edge world, here is the advice I received when I started with a DE and so I freely give it to new users. The most important things in shaving are, your skin and technique. All other things fall in line behind those two things and to support them. Since the skin is a given fixed item, the next major item is technique. It is called THE 30 DAY RULE. THE 30 DAY RULE is as follows: Find a razor, then a blade that will not cause issues with your skin (that may take a few different blades in a sampler pack to find a suitable choice or it maybe the first out of the gate) and select a soap or cream that is easy to generate good lather. Once you find those, and it may take a couple of weeks to find this combination, order a quantity of that blade enough for 30 days, and then spend 30 days using nothing else until you build up your technique. (Note that only one brand blade is used for 30 days after each blade in the sampler pack is tested to make the decision on the blade brand to use for 30 days.) The 30 day clock starts when you have the right blade for you. After 30 days, change one and only one variable and work for another week then change another after another week. At that point you should be able to make better decisions because your technique is now in place. This will help you to avoid buying too much gear and stuff too soon without having the technique down to enjoy it all. This really does work. Oh and one more thing ... Welcome to the Den. We know you'll fit right in. So grab yourself a comfy chair, and give our threads a spin! Burma Shave
Welcome to TSD! I think you're right. This is the friendliest shaving forum around. That VDH soap is pretty good stuff and definitely worth the buck and a half they want for it at Wal Mart. Happy shaving.
I hope you enjoy traditional shaving as much as we do. It's something that takes a little bit of trial and error before you can reap the benefits. I hope you enjoy your journey as much as I'm enjoying mine. TSD will help guide you from start to finish.
Welcome aboard! I think it's wonderful that your son got you interested in traditional wet shaving, whether by accident or design. It will be a fun hobby to share with him.
