Help me spend my B-day $

Discussion in 'General Shaving Talk' started by dgamby, Mar 7, 2011.

  1. dgamby

    dgamby Active Member

    Hello all!

    Looking for some suggestions on how to spend my hard earned birthday money.

    I'm relatively new so here is all that I currently have
    Razor: Black handle SS
    Brush: Tweezerman Badger
    Cream: TOBS sandalwood, and TOBS Lavender (wife's present to me!)
    Soap: VDH glycerin (haven't tried yet)
    Blades: Sampler of Derby, Red Persona, Dorco 300, Lord stainless
    AS- Nivea balm and an Alum Block.

    So what's my next purchase/upgrade in your humble opinion? The budget is a little less than a hundred bucks. And GO...
     
  2. Regan

    Regan Well-Known Member

    I would say samplers. Blade sampler, shaving cream sampler. Just to find what you like without having to buy whole tubs, tubes or packs of blades. You can check the review section if that's what you looking for. Could also try different aftershaves but if the Nivea works for you then you can stick with it.

    There are so many options. You could go crazy and buy some razors but I would stick with one razor at first, its what I'm doing right now.

    Tsd has samplers of blades and diffrent creams, also have many scents that are made by JoAnna for TSD.:D
     
  3. cyb

    cyb Member

    The TSD samplers is a great suggestion. I just tried my first TSD soap and it is excellent.

    I've also been working through a Truefitt & Hill $19 sampler with creams, after shave balms, colognes and pre-shave oil. I'm pretty sure that includes next-day shipping through the T&H website. I recommend it highly.
     
  4. cswann1

    cswann1 Member

    I'd get a nice Dirty Bird or Georgetown Pottery scuttle, a tube of Proraso and a EJ DE89l. Should be around a C-note. (If you are happy with your razor and don't care for a different one, get a few packs of Feather blades.)

    Happy Birthday btw:D
     
  5. Dridecker

    Dridecker Sherlock

    Met me first ask you, how do you like the shave you are getting from the SS?

    Also how do you like the Tweezerman brush?

    While it is certainly a serviceable brush, I find the one I have to be a little too scritchy for my liking, and you can move up to a much nicer brush for a very reasonable price.
     
  6. ChemErik

    ChemErik Mr. Personality

    While I'll not recommend specific products here, I will recommend going to one of the sites that gives free shipping on orders over $80.
    I've had great service from both Bull Goose Shaving and West Coast Shaving. BTW, Phil from Bullgoose is a member here and would get my ever so slight nod between the two if product selection doesn't dictate one or the other.
     
  7. dgamby

    dgamby Active Member

    The SS shave is not bad. I'm not getting as close as I want yet, but I'm still not sure that's the razors fault! I've only been in a month.

    The Tweezerman isn't the most gentle feeling on my face so I wouldn't be opposed to upgrading that. Suggestions for a new brush? I typically bowl lather cream, but am may yet get into soaps.
     
  8. cswann1

    cswann1 Member


    Vulfix-2235S



    It's a nice middle-of-the-road brush. You may find later that you like a larger or smaller knot or taller or shorter loft, but this is a good place to start and it's price is fairly modest.

    EDIT: Foor $10 less they have a 22mm/50mm model (2234S)...probably the better deal.
     
  9. ChemErik

    ChemErik Mr. Personality

    I'll put out three to consider:
    1) An omega boar brush. The downside will be a break-in period typical to boar brushes. Once broken in, a good boar brush has very soft tips, nice firm backbone, and may just be the best bang for the buck available. Boar is ideal for soaps and capable with creams. Cost is $9-35 depending on model. Handle material and knot size are the big differences in models.
    2) Edwin Jagger medium best badger (sold at Bullgoose among many others). This is a good entry to high quality badger brushes. Packed enough that it's not a floppy, but doesn't have a heavy backbone either. Opposite of the boar in that it excels with creams and is still very capable with soaps. Cost ~$40.
    3) A penworks brush in a grade above pure. You can get a little more backbone for about the same price and have a more all=purpose brush this way. Pure or Finest grades will be significantly less scratchy than your Tweezerman while still very affordable. If you're wanting to spend more than 1/2 your money on a brush, the super and silvertip knots are very nice and the tips are as soft as it gets. I'd also say a normal knot size for badger is 20-22mm, so only go outside this if you want a big or small brush. Cost ~$36-$100 depending on model selected. Just noticed one silvertip model on sale for $38.50 that would be a real bargain.

    Any of those options would serve you well and I'm sure you'll get more suggestions.
     
  10. Dridecker

    Dridecker Sherlock

    :sihns011 Erik beat me to it.

    Also if I recall correctly there is a excellent used EJ DE89l razor at a super price in our B/S/T section.

    Those two items combined would still leave you plenty of money left over to get some more creams and soaps to try out.
     
  11. dgamby

    dgamby Active Member

    Yeah I saw that EJ on the classifieds but it has already sold. Do you guys have personal experience with the penworks brushes being pretty solid? I saw that silvertip as well. Is a 20mm knot small, good, normal? Still learning a lot
     
  12. swarden43

    swarden43 "It's your shave. Enjoy it your way."©

    I'll save myself a lot of typing and just say, "Yeah. Everything Erik said", to include the ever-so-slight edge to Phil.

    Happy Birthday, by the way.
     
  13. stingraysrock

    stingraysrock PIF'd away his custom title

    Happy Birthday!

    Can you be a bit more specific as to what you are trying to accomplish with your purchase?

    Or, are you just wanting to spend cash on shave stuff?
     
  14. Queen of Blades

    Queen of Blades Mistress of Mischief Staff Member

    Moderator Supporting Vendor
    Happy Birthday! ::poze

    Good questions, Jeff!

    I'll add one;
    Is there any area you are having particular difficulty with?
     
  15. dgamby

    dgamby Active Member

    I think I'm wanting to further explore the wonders of wet shaving with my recently acquired funding. I think I'm wondering what stuff people absolutely love and would want me to check out.

    I think the only area I'm struggling with is getting a little closer shave, but I think a good bit of that is technique that is still coming along.

    So the money was burning a hole in my pocket so I went ahead and grabbed a Penworks silvertip 20mm for about 40 bucks. Seemed liked to good a deal to pass up.
     
  16. Slivovitz

    Slivovitz Well-Known Member

    Trouble is, there are a lot of things that are fun to experiment with, and what appeals to any one of us might not really be the thing for you.

    Just to pick something, you might want to try one premium soap. D.R. Harris or Mitchell's Wool Fat, would be examples. Don't pay extra for one that comes in an expensive wood or ceramic bowl; just get a "refill" size and put it in your own container. Or try Cella, which is relatively inexpensive, but still a step up from VdH (though do try your VdH since you've got it.)

    Maybe try a shave stick, too, they're good for traveling. Palmolive or Arko are inexpensive and good. Something like Tabac or Irisch Moos are also good, but cost more. Not everybody likes the scents of Arko or Tabac, though.

    Alternatively, ignore all of the above, because what you're really interested in is trying a different kind of razor, or a better brush, or getting a scuttle. What does interest you?
     
  17. DLreno

    DLreno Well-Known Member

    Something that might bring you loads of RAD pleasure is what I call a "new rig." This includes a monogrammed shave mug, a new puck of soap, and a new brush. This will give you an entire rotation to enjoy. I got my monogrammed mug at: http://www.classicshaving.com/Shave_Mugs_and_Bowls.html.
     
  18. cswann1

    cswann1 Member

    I also thought it was a great deal, so I bought one too:cool:
     
  19. RABIDMONKEY

    RABIDMONKEY Active Member

  20. dgamby

    dgamby Active Member

    Rabidmonkey, great minds think alike. I ordered a Trumpers and a T&H sampler pack this afternoon! Should help me break in my new brush:D
     

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