Brand new to this hobby: Gillette super speed - just bought one

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by Dr. Fitness, May 3, 2009.

  1. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    I love my shave from a Lady Gillette personally.. Might still use it if I went back to DE shaving more. As far as plastic..I spent a week recently with a plastic Dorco.... worked very well with proper technique.
     
  2. sol92258

    sol92258 I have no earthly idea

    uh oh, hope Burnwood doesn't see that....
     
  3. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    I was gonna tell but....JoAnna scares me.:D
     
  4. Dridecker

    Dridecker Sherlock

    +1
     
  5. Queen of Blades

    Queen of Blades Mistress of Mischief Staff Member

    Moderator Supporting Vendor
    Nice :D
    Ray is a teddy bear, and knows what I say goes. ;)
     
  6. superbleu

    superbleu Active Member

    +1 +1
     
  7. sol92258

    sol92258 I have no earthly idea

    okay, un-hijacking time....

    Dr. Fitness, you definitely have what's called a Fatboy razor, the slims, which is a slightly longer, thinner handle, weren't even out yet at the time of your razor's make.

    It is a good razor, many people's favorite. Might be one of mine if it didn't suffer from the dreaded "slant" condition many vintage Gillette adjustables have.

    as for badger brushes, there are "basically" three types, but different companies and manufacturers refer to them by different names. Basically they reference from which part of the badger the hair comes from.
    Theoretically, "silvertip" is going to be the softest, most luxurious feeling, while the "best" or "pure" will be the most "scrubby". Personally, I like the silvertip, but super-soft bristles are no match for my stubble. In all fairness, it's difficult to judge a brush by it's hair alone, because it will have it's pros and cons. Probably the best advice is to try several. Try the inexpensive ~$5 Burma Shave of Van Der Hagen boar, lots of folks prefer them to their much more expensive hand-plucked_on_a_Tuesday, oat-fed mountain-raised badger-named-Charlie $500 brush.
    Blame it on the dreaded YMMV Clause....
    Try a ~$15 Omega boar or Tweezerman badger. I loved my Tweezerman brush, but once I started making my own brushes, I gave it to a friend.
    THhe C&E/EJ BBB is often considered the standard badger brush, at around $35. It's said to have a good performance/cost ratio, which is what makes it the standard, not necessarily that it's the best overall...again, different folks' tastes will determine.
    As you progress, you may deem the $50-$75 brush range all you need, or may feel no need to go beyond the $5 drugstore brush...nothing wrong with either.

    Blades - 2 words, sampler packs. there are several places you can get wide variety of blades to try and find what suits your skin and hair best.

    Creams and Soaps - again, gotta try 'em all. The inexpensive work great, as well as the high-priced fancy versions. Tabac is a good one, though the scent may take you a couple of shaves to get used to.
    Don't overlook the TSD store, you can get samples of not just JoAnna's great concoctions, but also of several main-stream products.

    Be ready to experiment....ALOT!
    Heck, that's half the fun! You just have to make up your mind as to how much you're willing to spend, but in the long run, you will spend less on this type of shaving that the "conventional" way that's prevalent today.......as long as you make up your mind to spend less :D
     
  8. Dridecker

    Dridecker Sherlock

    Great write up Jim. Now I know why you have Product Pimp as your title.

    Dr. Fitness, Jim just gave you a lot of great advice condensed down into that one post. Usually one would have to do alot of reading around here to come up with those answers.

    I'll see if I can drag Fuzzy over here to give you some cool points for all that newbie help Jim.
     
  9. jbcohen

    jbcohen New Member

    Excellent advice from Jim, however I would like to expand on his last topic. Acquisition Disorder is an afliction that happends to most all new wet shaver, it happened to me a few years back and is the disorder where the shaver tpyically buys up all wet shaving products in site. Sometiems to the point that they are drowning in west shaving gear. The disorder goes under various titles, typically acronyms such as RAD, the razor variety and the ever popular SCAD, the shaving cream variety. I have never heard of anyone encountering BAD, the blade version but I guess it happends sometimes.
     
  10. Dr. Fitness

    Dr. Fitness New Member

    Thanks to everyone. I'm gonna go look at some brushes and lather and just get started. That's how I learn best. Thanks for the tips
     
  11. sol92258

    sol92258 I have no earthly idea

    now you're getting it!
    can't worry about what everyone else says is "the best", that's usually what is best for them.
    case in point - many consider the Derby blade to be a "standard" to judge other blades. They are often considered the best blade for new wet-shavers, because they're mild but sharp enough to shave you....I've never had great luck with them. I get a couple of good shaves, but nothing to write home about.

    You just gotta jump in somewhere and start, and enjoy the adventure :cool:
     
  12. Dridecker

    Dridecker Sherlock

    A great place to start would be The Shave Den Store! We all like to help our little home on the net, it helps make this great site possible.
     
  13. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    Good deal there Jim.. 100000 cool points to tha man.. <click>:D
     
  14. Dr. Fitness

    Dr. Fitness New Member

    Just bought a Badger Hair brush made by Colonel Krunk (?), cost 50$

    Bought puck of Stephans' soap (with Glicerin) sp? cost 3.00$
     
  15. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    ah COL. Conk me thinks.. ENJOY!!
     
  16. sol92258

    sol92258 I have no earthly idea

  17. Dr. Fitness

    Dr. Fitness New Member

    2. Your Barn Door is Open.
    When adjusting your razor, be sure and open the silo doors before you adjust your razor. Adjusting your razor without opening the doors first can damage it. Consider this a friendly warning.



    opps. i've already done this a couple of times :(
     
  18. jbcohen

    jbcohen New Member

    Dr. Fitness that is Col Conk, I have one of those brushes myself. You must have gotten one of the better models than mine. I spent probably $25 on mine. I know nothing about that soap, but typically they are all good. Smell it, does it smell good to you? If not you bought the wrong soap. I have a few pucks of Col Conk, they don't smell strong enough for me. Have you tried an after shave?
     
  19. Dr. Fitness

    Dr. Fitness New Member

    No. I've read the aftershave section of the fourm and it only lead to more confusion.

    Here's the deal. I need something to help sooth my face after a shave. I love wet shaving, but my neck is a little sore or stingy after a shave. I'm not interested in a perfume, i hate perfumes, I'm interested in something to help cool down and sooth my face after a shave.

    now Mantic, the wet shave you-tube guy says to get an aftershave with NO alcohol, but in the after shave area of The Den some guys are talking about how great some of the after shave is with alcohol. I've never used after shave in my life. I have no idea about anything.

    Aqua Velvet does look good in the bottle. It looks like you could drink it
     
  20. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    LOVE the Aqua velva... they actually had to reformulate it around WWII I understand because the soldiers were drinking it. Some like it some hate it. It is good for soothing a bad shave in my opinion.
     

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