What was your first shave like with a Doube Edge Razor?

My First experience with a double edge razor:

OK, Yesterday my Merkur 34C HD came in. It looks beautiful. I was a little surprised the color of the shaver was so different from the Fatboy and Slim I have inherited. All three are cleaned and ready for action. Being my first shave with this type of razor, I chose the 34C to use this month. I elected to keep it to just one razor so I can work on technique and not introduce too many variables to hope to arrive at success more quickly with fewer red badges of honor!

I have shaved for the last ~35 or so years (had to get a couple touch up shaves as early as 10 a week but that's what being Italian is like). I have done 3 electrics, and a few cartridge over the years. All have had mixed experiences. The early electrics were dry shavers only and always irritated me on warmer or humid days. The Goop Norelco was nice for a while until the availability and price of those goo cartridges set in. The Latest Panasonic 8243A has served me well but it has been having display issues and complains it needs the blades changed way too frequently.

I saw that it came with a blade and since my sample pack has not arrived I decided the Merkur blade was as good as any to start. Of course, this is in the evening and I had already shave that morning but as all kids with new toys, I just had to try it out. I figured I would give my sideburns a shot... sans cream or any prep. I saw the cap and bar both contacted the counter when held at about 45 deg. so I figured that was as good as any angle to hold the razor. With rather truncated strokes, I made short work of the top inch. Feeling good about my accomplishment and hearing the challenges shaving under the nose is, I figured to go all in. All it took was maybe a couple pulls and ... Eureka, I stuck a gusher!! I cut myself. I am now indoctrinated into double edge shaving.

It was small but boy did it bleed. Of course I do not own a styptic pencil or an alum bar so it bled for a while. Cold water, ice did not stop it for what felt like an eternity. All this time, my wife and daughter are out and due to come home soon. I cannot show my badge of honor to them and face the ridicule that I was sure to ensue. Recalling some information about stopping bleeding when clipping bird's nails I went into the kitchen for some flour or cornstarch. A little puff of flour and like magic the bleeding is already stopping. Of course, I now have a decent size spot of coagulated blood/flour paste. So much for sneaking by the family my mistake.

Luckily the ladies came home and didn't make any notice of the error.

That night, I ran to the local CVS and Harmon Discounts to pick up a styptic pencil and odds and ends. I was not going to be prevented from succeeding in my endeavor! Finding any form of DE shaving gear on Long Island is more like pulling teeth. Harmon had a pencil and no alum block but I recalled that some were using crystal deodorant that was nothing more than a handy case on a block of alum. They did have a Potassium Alum stick so I grabbed that. They also had some Wilkinson Sword blades. These were the ONLY DE blades in the store. There were only a couple packages so I grabbed one of those. Knowing that a cartridge only lasted me 5 shaves if I pushed them, I knew the Merkur blade would be needing replacement sooner than the the estimated arrival time for the sample pack was due to come in. Harmon also had the Nivea aftershave balm but I elected to stick with the Art of Shaving stuff I had for my first run.

CVS was a waste. I figured I would stop there to get an idea what was available. Few Nivea products, no DE blades and no decent creams/soaps. At least Harmon had some that were OK. In a pinch, I can at least hit Harmon but I had better make preparations for mail order and keep some stock on hand. What they did have was Castor oil so I grabbed that and verified they did have some witch hazel if I so chose to go that route. With my supplies obtained, I was ready for my morning ritual.

Morning came and I was a bit excited. I was looking to walk in the footsteps of the uncles and grandfathers before me in using a double edge blade. I must say I always admired them. When they were out of work clothes, a sport coat and slacks was considered casual. They were always dressed to the nines and made Sinatra and Cagney look like soft slouches.

I took my shower as usual as hot as I can stand it. I always felt I never needed that outer layer of skin so let's burn it off and get ready for the shave. I left plenty of time. I did not want to rush and repeat my earlier mistake. AoS preshave, sandalwood cream and post shave were all at the ready.

Preshave went on and I started in on the lather. I just received with the Merkur a stainless steel bowl and was anxious to make my lather in that. Brush was soaking all during the shower and was shaken lightly to remove some water. the pure badger brush was wet but not dripping so I added a couple of sprinkles of water to it. That is what all the Youtube guys did so what the hell. A pea to almond sized bit of cream was applied to the brush and I whipped up the best lather I have done yet. Very thick and creamy. I prefer a thick protective lather. Too often I have worked up on my hand or face what looked nice and glossy, small bubble lather but turned out to wet. It looked good, lasted a long time but offered little protection I felt. I was thankful I was using an electric. No room for that error now. Blades are less forgiving.

With thick lather in hand, umm, brush, I lathered up. I dove into my 'with the grain' stokes. To my surprise, I felt nothing. There was just a little sound that reminded me of someone sanding in the distance rather slowly. This of course was my facial hair being removed. I did not know if I was hearing it or feeling the vibrations through my skull and jawbone. I kept the pressure light and kept the razor softly touching my skin. The angle I tried to keep at 45 degrees seemed to work well for me. The cheeks went well and I recalled the desire to move the skin or change jaw positions whenever a difficult area was needed to be shaved. Worked like a charm. Neck, Adam's apple, jaw line were cut with the grain like a pro. Best of all, no blood.

Feeling good about my success but felt I needed a closer shave I decided to throw caution to the wind and cut cross grain. I was happy to see the lather still frothy and thick and the brush still standing in the bowl. Application and commencement. As luck would have it, this too went well. Feeling success was just before me and I only had one direction left to go, I proceeded to relather and do against the grain. Being no fool, I decided to go against the grain everywhere but the chin. This has always 'bitten' me in the past, even with electrics (damn those middle cutting combs). With care and caution, this too went smoothly. My first full DE shave was a success.

I rinsed off and applied some alum to get an unbiased review of my job. All except for the neck showed nothing at all. The neck gave a very mild lesser review with some tingling but nothing really burning. I did use the Potassium Alum instead of the Ammonium so that could be the reason too but I took this as a job well done. AoS sandalwood aftershave balm was applied to complete the shave.

Recapping, I noticed the blades did cut but I did not get as close a shave as my Panasonic electric. I know there will be uproar about this comment but I am new and fully attribute this to technique and not capability. It was very good and was less red as well. I did take about 15-20 minutes to complete which is a bit of a disappointment but then again this is more a religious experience and not a laborious task to be completed as quickly as possible. Now for the critics, my wife and daughter. To my surprise, they gave nothing but accolades for the completed job. I felt like I wanted to press some but resisted. I have pressed when using all previous methods to get a closer shave but DE blades will punish that kind of action with blood so I resisted. I will admit that I did press a little but kept it to a minimum.

I have successfully shaved with a double edge and love it!

Tell me about your first experience!!

Frank

 

My first DE shave was also with a Merkur 34C. Great razor, in my opinion. It is very mild and easy enough to find the right angle. I didn't have an significant issues that I can recall. Having a good prep routine is essential, meaning at least a couple splashes of warm water and a good shaving cream from a soap or cream. Also using as little pressure as possible is important. Glad you found success. It only gets better from there. Although you may find days when you wonder what happened and take a step back, you will find many more are steps of improvement.

Sent via mobile - Chris

 

Sounds like you are off to a good start Frank. My first DE shave was with a Van Der Hagen razor,brush, C. O. Bigelow Shave Cream(Bath & Body Works/made by Proraso), Wilkinson Sword blades(Bed Bath & Beyond)Clubman AS and a glass bowl from Dollar Tree. The upper lip was no problem, since I've had a mustache since 1974. But I cut the crap out of my neck and chin 'cause I was still using cartridge technique. If you're still looking for an alum block one of the guys said he found one at his local Indian grocery. When you get your gear settled head over to the Rule/Focus thread and join in. It'll do great things for your technique. Have a great day!

 

Good stuff Frank, My first DE shave was also with a 34c. I used an Astra SP froma sample pack and a VDH deluxe shave kit. Prior to using the DE I was using a cartridge razor with the VDH kit for a few weeks before I took the DE plunge. Hapily, I saw no blood on my first shave either. BTW I usually get 4-6 shaves out of a DE blade. Oh and also potassium alum is the one you want.

 

Went very well. Loaded up a 34c, with what, I can't remember.
All good. No nicks or cuts. Pretty easy and straightforward.
Although I was coming off a Gillette Sensor Excel, I did learn to shave with a fixed head cart, so I knew what a correct angle felt like and how to find it.

 

I can't recall the very first DE (I actually started, badly, with an SE) but the first DE that I can recall was a Diplomat/Aristocrat loaded I'm pretty sure with a 1960s Gillette stainless blade. The shave was so fantastically smooth that it was truly a paradigm shift.

 

Frank,
Where on L.I. are you?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I couldn't sleep one night and I saw a commercial for a micro-touch from the pawn shop guy. It struck me that I remember my Pa-Paw shaving with one of those(what I now believe was a Schick Krona or a black handle Superspeed). I knew that the cost of cartridges was hitting my pocket hard(I now had to be clean shaven for work.)and the shave I was getting was just sufficient. ( And I hated having to shave.) I researched DE razors and wet shaving diligently for months-forums, ebay listings, anything seemingly credible I could find. I won the razor on ebay and bought the rest from a vendor in Michigan. All of it arrived on the same day. My wife was excited for me because she knew I was excited. I took a shower and lathered up successfully. I found my angle and went for it. AT the end, I was satisfied that a DE would replace my cartridge razor, but I wasn't as pleased as I expected to be after my first shave. I was also about as burned and irritated as I've ever been. My wife said; "it looks angry", "it looks like it hurts".( Not the victory lap I anticipated). I used plenty of Nivea and the next day My face was sore to the touch.( I hadn't realized how accustomed to pressing down I was(on a cartridge razor). I didn't realize that on the spectrum of coarseness that my beard is on the severe end. I didn't realize that the technique I had read about to successfully shave with a DE was really more of a feel that I needed time and practice to develop.

Thus, began my journey through many razors and blades to learn the "feel", and what workes best.

I have recently been very pleased with my new r41-from the first shave it has been great!

 

from what i remember my first shave with a de was when my ej 89l arrived,proraso green soap pre shave,nivea balm.had a few beers that night and was very excited about it.new experience.face was a little warm after but no problems.i had tried my new 53 canadian tech before but wanted to save that for my display case,so at that time only shaved around my goatee with it.then the goatee came off and i was hooked.ej 89 hasn t seen much use asi felt traditional shaving was more fun with vintage equiptment.haven t looked back since,5-6 monthes approx since dropping carts.still learning,playing trying new stuff. i wanted to try my fatboy g4i had bought for the man cave first but i didn t trust it ,something looks out of wack.

 

My first DE shave was loud! The hairs were pinging off every where!

 

My first shave was with a 34C too. I also drew some blood on the first shave. It took me about a month before I could deliver a consistently close shave. Hang in there the shaves will only get better.

 

Plainview

 

My first DE shave was with the Van Der Hagen butterfly razor, and the blade that came with it. I applied too much pressure, like I was used to with the Harry's razor - you know so it would actually cut the whiskers. And it sure did cut the whiskers, and everything else! I was a bleeding mess at the end. Much lighter touch on the next shave, now my technique has improved.

 

My first venture into wet shaving or DE shaving was back in the late 70's, I believe dad had a Gillette Super Speed in the bathroom, with what looked so scary "double edged blades".
My first DE razor is the Edwin Jagger DE89, which I still have!!

 

It was a bloody mess! Actually, it wasn't too bad. Lots of irritation, but that cleared-up after I mapped my growth pattern and avoided going against the grain.
P.S. New member here.

 

It is shiny but I think I prefer the warmer tones of Nickel. Once you look at the nickel, the chrome almost looks like a polished paint job instead. Almost fake looking.

Shaved for a second day with the 34C and it is going well. WTG, XTG and ATG both days.

I do have one question though, when I shave with the Merkur blade that came with the razor, the second and third passes kinda feels like a kid sliding down a staircase - all bumpy. It is almost like my beard is short and stiff enough to just kick the blade out of the way and will go no shorter. I was able to touch it up with the electric(I know blasphemy). Does this indicate I might need a sharper blade, more pressure or what? Yesterday's shave was good but I think today's was better so I think technique is improving. Both days had the sensation of the beard putting up a fight and winning as indicated.

Since my sample pack is still at least a week away from delivery, I grabbed the only other blades around Wilkinson Sword Classics(black plastic). It was either these or Van der Haegens which I hear are terrible.

 

No pressure should be your motto. The weight of the razor is plenty of pressure to keep the blade in contact with the skin and slicing hairs. My advice, until you get your sample pack stick with the Wilkinsons, they are a great blade. Most problems new wet shavers have can be traced back to two issues. Too much pressure and incorrect angle. Its really hard to get the angle wrong with the 34c since the blade gap is so small, but there is a little room to play. Once you get the angle right the hard part becomes holding the angle. Practice locking your wrist and moving your whole arm to accomplish the shave stroke, this will ensure that the angle you are using doesn't change. The best way to find the correct angle is to start with the cap of your razor flat on your face with the handle sticking out at 90 degrees, lower the handle a little and make a test stroke. Keep doing this until the razor has managed to wipe away the lather and the whiskers. Also listen to the sound of the razor, once it starts cutting hairs efficiently it will sound like Velcro being pulled apart. You should be able to hear the cut but shouldn't really be feeling any tugging or pulling, and in the 34c you shouldn't feel much, if any, of the blade either.

 

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