Tell Us How You Helped Convert Someone To Wet/Vintage Shaving.

This post is meant to help others who desire to introduce others to our was of shaving, like our ancestors shaved. I know there are proud moments when introducing others to Vintage shaving works like a charm, and times when your efforts get shot down, embarrassingly.
My two stories are about my wife and son.

Wife: She was a hard nut to crack. She was into speed shaving in the shower, with carts. After a while, of attempting to get her to try a DE razor, she flat out refused. I even told her about the cost of the blades, no go. I had luck when I started refusing to buy her any more cartridge refills, so she had to buy her own. A few times at that and she was ready to try DE shaving. That and the pretty Gillette Black Beauty helped. She never looked back, after that. She even used injectors for a long while. I now have her using a shave brush and various soaps. She has thanked me many times.

Son: He was easier. I refused to buy any more cartridges, he didn't have any money, and I handed him the Micro Touch One, I started on. He took to it fast, and progressed to a Gillette Triangle Tech, soon after. About a year and a half later, he started to face lather with a Boar brush. He's now hooked on Vintage Shaving, and comes to me for blades, all the time. He got a very nice condition Gillette Fat Boy for Christmas. He had been wanting one, for a while.

 

I've purchased inexpensive safety razors online, at that time a Washi was about $3.
I'd give a razor and six different blades to guys that were friends. I think I got converts on three of four razors. I've gave others an Arko Stick and a low price Turkish brush and they are hooked. Most of these guys are cheap geezers, so they are going for value.

 

I bought a Parker 29L for my wife, which she didn't use. After some discussions with a coworker, I found out he was shaving dry with some disposable razors. It hurt my face so much just hearing about it, that I gave him the Parker, a brush I wasn't using anymore, and a puck of soap I had. I also got him a bottle of Clubman. I gave it to him with some brief instructions and he has been hooked since.

 

Outstanding.

 

I agree, cheapskate converts are the easiest

 

That's why I'm here

 

I used to watch my next older brother cringe when I told him I cleaned old Gillette's and shave with them. It was amusing, but I finally bought him a vintage NOS Schick Krona that was still in a sealed package, and gave it to him for his birthday. He loved it at first. But alas succumbed to the dark side after vintage wet shaving for about a year, and went back to carts.
My oldest brother has however, fully converted to DE wet shaving using a Weishi, a Feather Popular, and a Shaving Factory DE that I gave him. He has been shaving our way for around two years now.
I have given many friends starter kits, but most don't stay with it. Oh well, their loss.

 

My brother was easy...he used to get ingrowns in his beard and was willing to try anything. I told him about my new hobby and he was in...its nice cuz we share and pass stuff around

I converted someone without even knowing...i was giving a lecture the subject came up because a guy told me how he appreciates older things like perculators and vintage watches so i mentioned the vintage razors....ssw him a few weeks later and he had acuired more razors than me.

Ive converted a co worker just by showing him some razors when he brought up how tired he was of paying high prices

I however have no luck with my best bud who i thought would be the easiest convert.

 

I just sent my brother a starter kit hope he likes it and uses it.... it consists of a super adjustable black beauty, a 10 pack of assorted razor blades, maggards 24mm synthetic brush, Mike's natural soaps bay rum, a beautiful chrome shaving stand and an original vintage Old Spice mug. I told him anything he doesn't want or use send it back.

 

Slowly

First a brush and creams and how much better they were then goo.

Relentless bragging by my wife about my great shaves

Several Mentions over months about cost. (Ha!)

Then for Christmas I gave my buddies EJ89s and blade samplers.

 

Although still new to DE shaving, I stumbled across this site and B&B years ago when I bought all my gear. I turned on a couple other people to it that actually continued working with it while I quit for a while.

 

Ok, time to tell about my greatest, and biggest fail.
Around two year ago, I bought my brother a beautiful starter kit. it had an old Occupational Shaving Mug(Physician), near mint condition. It was a hard one to find. I provided several soaps, creams, a nice badger brush, and an assortment of very nice blades. I also paid very good money to find his Birthday razor, an I2 Slim Adjustable, in near mint condition.
I mailed it to him, with all the care and instructions needed to start.
I waited a couple of months, and called to see if he got the package. I knew it arrived, because I had tracking on it. He said he hadn't gotten around to looking it over yet. Another few months went by, and he said he has the mug and brush on his desk, and he gave the razor to his son, who wanted to try it. I haven't brought it up again.

 

I'd ask for it all back

 

It was a gift. He's free to do with it as he wishes. I didn't chastise him or ask why he wouldn't at least try the stuff, his loss.

 

I started after a conversation with a co-worker about how much cartridges cost. He had looked into safety razors just a month or so prior, but decided not to get into it just then. I dove in that weekend and basically haven't shut the hell up about it since. He got his new razor package over the weekend..

 

I'm on the hunt for my son-in-laws birthday Super Speed (doesn't know yet). I've been slowly nudging him into wet shaving. Now I have him bowl lathering, but he's still using a Trac 2 I gave him (had to get him off the Dollar Shave club). I think he will be amenable to trying a DE once I get him the S.S.

 

I gave a friend a Fat Tech to try with some Arko and an old Everyready. He got some irritation when he used for both WTG and ATG. So I gave him a Red Tip to try and told him to just try WTG. He likes it.

So now I am looking for a SA for him to try. If not, then I will find him a Red Tip.

Greg W.

 

Last summer I challenge my brother in law, technical manager at a small workshop to make a razor. We design it and now is here and there and people like it, but before all this, someone had to test in his face. He did it, and now he is a zealot... But doesn't dare with some razors. Now I give him a Gillette Slim bought here (thanks, @FreddieP318ti) and hope he left the aluminum one aside and try to use another one.

 

Last week I gave my daughter a cased 66 Lady Gillette and my son-in-law his birthday razor - 1983 Super Speed. I started them off with Personna Red blades. Both used the razors successfully this weekend. My daughter went directly from a disposable to the DE. My SIL I semi-converted months ago from Dollar Shave Club and canned goo to my Trac II and Proraso Blue/bowl lathering. Now he has made the logical leap to a DE. The only problem encountered was with my daughter. She reported the legs felt great but she had minor irritation under the arms. If the underarms problem persist I may have her try my Blue Tip (US) in that area.