Newbie... Yep from the South...Not a product of when cousins married nor am I married to my sister. Been using a SR...(shavette) for 18 months and still got all body parts and most of my blood (styptic pencil saved my life) But I've gone legit now with two vintage SR. (New are amazeballs expensive) Time to get control over the sharpness of the knife at my throat. There's a lot I'd like to learn yet and advise I haven't heard. They say experience is a hard teacher and a fool will learn by no other... Well I'm running out of time to learn everything the hard way. So I'm all ears and all in.
Welcome aboard! SR is less dangerous than shavette. It should be an easy transition. If there are specific questions you have, feel free to ask them here, or visit the guys on the straight razor forum. We'd love to help. Also, register for our New member drawing here : ****March 2017 Newbie Giveaway!****
Well I'm not sure about the lathering of the face. I've been using gel. Tried canned foam...Hated it Tried AOS cream... Wasn't a fan but it smelled nice. Haven't really found a brush I liked. Haven't discovered a need for it either. I maybe missing a key component of it all.
Welcome aboard! There are lots of great soaps/creams out there that, with the right brush, will make an amazing difference. Synthetic brushes get a lot of love around here and I can see why. I also like a good boar brush, like the Semogue 620 or Omega 10066. Once broken in they do a great job. For soaps? Try Route 66, Stirling, Soap Commander, and don't forget Arko which is cheap and really easy and great to use. Some people don't like its scent but it doesn't bother me. There are others too so check out the soap and cream forums and don't forget the 30 Day Thread! Everybody there will be more than happy to give you their ideas and favorites and will answer any and all questions you have! So.....to make sure you really understand based on your heritage - Y'all c'mon in and set a spell!!
Hello and welcome to the Den from Central NJ! There are plenty of members of the Dark Side here(I am not one). Cruise on over to the 30 Day Rule/Focus thread. You'll get plenty of good advice and you'll see some great "shave porn" as well!
Welcome, from Texas. Semogue Boar Brushes, and any Stirling Shave Soaps. Once you've tried them together, all your canned goo will be history. Plus, since you are using straight razors, a good slick shave soap is a comfort necessity.
An excellent synthetic or boar brush can be had for less than $20. Many of the top soap makers (Stirling, Captain's Choice and others) sell small sample packs of their different soaps. You might want to give it a try. That way you can find one or two you really like and go from there. Having used gels, canned soaps, et cetera - none of those come close to a true wet shave with a brush. Let the adventure begin.
There's been a lot of talk about the different shaving soaps people use and they seem interesting. And if you use a puck or other soap you gotta have a brush to turn it into a lather. So I'm inclined to do a touch more research and venture forth into the realm of brushes and soaps. The tiny brush that came in the kit my son gave me from AoS just didn't give me a pleasant experience. So maybe it is another part to play with getting good quality stuff and trying out. If SWMBO likes the scent it's a definite plus. But I know that if it smells like a vegetable it's not going to be in my repertoire.
@JohnDB , I'm not a fan of AOS Brushes either. I have tried and own many brushes, not expensive ones. The Semogues boars are consistently soft and made well. Also, many soaps have come and gone, from inexpensive, to very expensive, in my arsenal. Stirling and Arko are my favorites. Stirling is inexpensive, and is made by a fellow member. The slickness and scents are many and usually very good. I tried samples before I bought. Marko is very slick, very inexpensive, but the scent is polarizing for some. Do yourself a favor, gleen info from fellow members here. It will save you a lot of time, and money.