Good Thread Idea... Im 31(for a couple more months). Just started wet shaving in March. I should have listened when everyone told me to get out while I can:char039
I'm 41 and have been wet shaving for 2 months. I started shaving at 15 with cartridges and electric razors. I got my first smooth painless shave 2 months ago. I should have started wet shaving years ago!
Ack! I'll be 38 this year .. there is just no way for me to say that and it sound good coming out of my mouth .. :sick007 On the other hand .. I have lived nearly 38 years! I started shaving when I was 10 years old My Mom started me out with Noxema foam in a red can and a disposable razor. It wasn't such a good shave. She then moved me from a orangish yellow handle to a Personal Touch razor ... MUCH better, but still the same red canned Noxema foam. This was my routine for years. At some point I found the Venus. HALLELUJAH! Such a better shave .. by this time I found GEL! So revolutionary!! Years go by, I am rockin the four-blade Venus WITH the vibrating handle and Skintamite shaving gel, but still the same routine. Shave, then don't shave for a couple days because my legs are broke out and irritated. Shave again ... wait a couple days because of the burning and irritation ... Oy, the cycle. Flash forward to May of 2010 .. we are at the beach .. Jeff has been wet shaving now for a few months and implores me to try it .. MAGIC! The wonders a of the Weishi gunmetal, Dorco 301-ST blade and :ashamed001 canned goo, OH what it can do for you. Now, I refuse to use anything other than a DE or SE. I MUST have a brush, and well, let's just say ... I have plenty of flavors of creams and soaps. In addition, my legs are irritation free .. look fabulous and I am sad on shave day for just a moment because for my work I must cover them with nylons. But those have to come off at some point . Then jammies rule and my skin can breathe .. and WOW!! What a fantastic shave!! I couldn't be happier that Jeff introduced this mysterious habit to me .. My Daddy only used an electric shaver. The only DE razor I remember was my Uncle Raymond. I'm pretty sure he uses the same one to this day.
I will be 46 shortly, and have been wet shaving for over a year. I always used the gillette carts with some sort of canned goo, except for about 5 years in the Navy. We were not allowed to used aerosol sprays because they contaminate the air in confined spaces so I used the old spice mug and brush. Should have stuck with that, but I was younger and stupider.
First post. Is it still true that you get a free '59 Fatboy for your first post on the forum? Hope so. Great forum. Fun to read. I'm just shy of 46. I started shaving with a plastic disposable and "The Beard Buster" when I was 18. I had no one to show me how (dad had passed away a few years before) so, I was on my own. First shave, carved a pretty nice chunk out of my face just west of my left ear. Fantastic learning experience. Shaving for the next twenty years or so was just a daily chore made worse because of my cheap bastardom. I hated buying carts. I tried to make then last as long as possible which only made the daily chore more of a chore. While trying to keep ingrowns at bay, I began looking for alternatives. About 10 years ago I started using a straight. Enjoyed the shave but hated the stopping and honing. Bought a DE several years ago and found that it's my way to go. It took something mindless and expensive and turned it on its head. It made me enjoy shaving. I love the nostalgia of it, you can do it well on the cheap and the quality of the shave is completely in your hands. I've really enjoyed lurking here. I've learned a lot from you guys and gals. Thank you. Ron
LOL... now i just shower shave with my EJ... Anywho, i'm 24, and i started shaving DE when i was 22... mostly because the weishi razor was nice and cheap, and DE blades were also nice and cheap...... after a couple years, it's not such a cheap hobby, but that's why i started.... i was poor and i still needed to shave :ashamed001
Welcome to The Shave Den Ron! A great community of guys and gals that enjoy wet shaving, I hope you enjoy your stay. While its not required, how about you hop over to the Newbies Section and give yourself a proper introduction thread, I'm sure you'll receive many warm welcomes from the friendly folks of this community.
I'm 42 and started regular shaving at 16 when my parents gave me an electric, a philishave. A few years later I couldn't bare the irritation the electric gave me and tried a gillette sensor (I think, could have been a contour as well), together with a boar brush and vergulde hand shaving soap. Later I switched to Mach 3 and Mach 3 turbo but I never switched to the fusion 5 blade marketing blabla. I used canned goo on and off, mostly because of budget and more recent used unscented canned goo because my then pregnant wife couldn't stand the smell of the shaving soap :-D I switched to DE shaving last march and couldn't be happier! As a kid I always watched my dad shaving with his gillette super speed. I always thought he still used it but a couple of weeks ago I told him about my DE adventures and he confessed that he switched to an electric a while ago His main reason: the quality and availability of DE blades, he had too many nicks and cuts lately. I couldn't persuade him to try a couple of my blades....
Ron !! Welcome to the Shave Den!!! Thanks for sharing as well. We don't all come into this from the same age, obviously. From folks like me that dabbled in wet shaving, then electric for a few yarons, and then back to disposables (wet) until finally finding straights and DE/SE razors. The commonality here, was what was once considered a chore, to us, is not a relaxing moment to look forward to, for us. Shawna ~ aka BG, Aye on the brushes! I don't care if someone still uses a cartridge, if they use the brush, a GOOD one, it's like nothing else! It's like putting silky cream on you skin, applied with the tips of a butterfly's wing, or if you want to invigorate the skin, then circular motions feeling like a Luffa Sponge waking up your skin. I had an old brush, my Uncle Herman's, but didn't want to wear it out, so I bought a new brush and really didn't like it at all. Too much bristle (reads CHEAP). Bought a 20mm Silver Badger Hair brush knot on ebay and pulled the old one out and put this in the place. WONDERFUL brush now, but a bit full for me. Father's day rolls around and my wife says get something you want for Father's Day. Well, the "Kids" bought me an 18mm custom super badger brush, with Elephant Ivory handle. I use it every day and it's just the right size. Love the look and feel of that heavy handle as well. There simply is nothing like putting shaving cream on your face with a decent brush!
I'm 73. Born in 1938. I was in grammar school in the latter parts of WW II. I don't exactly remember when I started shaving but I know I was wet shaving when I started high school. I used a Schick injector and tubed shaving cream from high school to well after I got out of the service in 1964. I used Schicks and Gillette injectors for many years and eventually used Gillette Foamy. In the 80's my daughter gave me a hot lather machine for Christmas one year. I used it until they stopped making the machine and stopped making the lather refills. I think I have the machine somewhere. I've used plastic razors, electric razors and for a short time used a Gillette cartridge razor that came free in the mail. I went about 5 years with a short beard and eventually got into Gillette de razors and badger brushes with shaving soap. Most of my shaving now is with a Gillette Old Type and a New open comb. From time to time I'll use a Schick injector, late 40's Super Speeds and an open comb Aristocrat, Bulldog and Senator. I'll sometimes on a Sunday declare it a special day and use a razor from my permanent collecton. That can be anything from a Double Ring to an ABC, almost always an open comb. Len
I just turned 51 & started wet shaving when I was 16 (1976) with a hand me down Schick injector & a new Krona. Somewhere in the mid-80's I ended up with a Trac II. Not long after (1986) I grew a beard & have had it until 2 yrs ago. While having the beard all I needed the razor for was to trim around the edges, a cartridge lasted months. When the beard went (it was getting pretty gray) & I was back to shaving everyday I realized just how bad a shave I was getting from the multi-bladed cartridges, not to mention they didn't last very long and the prices just seemed to be ridiculous. One day while my wife was dragging me through Walmart, I spotted the Wilkinson DE blades. I picked up 2 packs & the VDH shave kit & headed off to the local antique store & picked up an old Gillette OC. Now my side of the bathroom vanity is as cluttered as my wife's...
60 in February. Decided to go back to the beginning. As I remember it shaving was a chore so anything that made it faster was better. These days I figure I might as well be nice to me as fewer and fewer people are. And hey if I can't enjoy it well I just ain't doing it anymore. Dagnabbit!!
Great outlook. That is me too. I want to shave nearly everyday... However if it is a weekend and i don't want to shave. Or want my face to heal... I just don't. I love just having some scruff for 1-2 days growth but after that it starts to get itchy. By changing shaving from a pain in the arse to an enjoyable experience I find myself shaving more on weekends.
I was little bird special when it came to buying disposable razors... cheap, cheap,cheap!!! NOW look at me. 28 straight razors, and a large handful of DE razors. (a few more on the way, including a 1912 MINT Gem single edge). WHAT'S HAPPENED TO ME??? I've got blades from the 4 corners of the world, Pakistan, India, Russia, Egypt, Israel, Thailand, Mexico, Korea, and "who knows where else. I've shaved with a straight that was made in 1854, to last night a shave with a 1982 (C-3) Gillette Super Adjustable, which looked new!! A Feather (Popular) and a Lord Tech are new razors I have shaved with. So it's a Duke's mixture, and I'm sure I should stop.. but... there is that one more I have on a watch list, and my kids.. their birth years!!! I guess it's cheaper than buying expensive bottles of wine for putting away in the cellar. I live in a double wide and "cellar" is my underneath, or at work. LOL I got enough razors and blades for a long spell.. except.... I've heard that Super Iridiums are a "SUPER" good blade.. but, alas, now the quest begins. Guess I'll have to watch the Euro folks for those as they might pop up.
Im 40 this year been wet shaving for about 2 years now, (my ex bought me a L'occitaine soap+dish + shave cream + ASB +TOBS badgers brush about 7 years ago) and I didnt really use em or more to the point appreciate/understand them or know how to get a good lather etc etc... i always wanted to try straight razor shaving and that is how I started 2 years ago mainly due to the internet so easy and quick to get all the information and see how its done via youtube etc, and about 18 months ago ish I got on this site and learned about DE razor and even SE's which I had no idea about but do like em now. My only incentive was to get a better shave ie no irritation or ingrown hairs that I would get from all the other mainstream types of shaving methods. Not to save money (just as well really LOL) its only now i have realised I have had my ideal shave set up for about 1year 59FB (set to 7) astra blade and more or less any of the creams or soaps I own. having tried a lot of razors I know this is the one maybe I will thin the herd.
I am 52 (or "a week & a half older than dirt", as I like to tell my students.) I guess I started shaving my legs around age 14, with a cartridge razor of some sort, along with some shower soap. It worked OK, but then I discovered shaving soap & brushes about 3 years ago. Much smoother! But the fun was just beginning. If I was going to use shaving soap, I was going to make my own. So I searched the net for recipes and amalgamated 3 or 4 of them, until I could produce a product I liked. This past December, my husband & I both switched to DE razors. Once again, a quantum leap in skin smoothness!
Hmmm... I guess I haven't posted in this thread before. But since it's going again... I'll be 36 in a couple weeks. Been wet shaving with a Mach3 and Edge Gel since I was 14 or so. Been Traditional Wet shaving for almost 2 years now. I'll never look back.
I am 26 and I have been into wet shaving for just a couple weeks now. I got interested in shaving with a straight and started all my addictions there! I shaved with a straight for a couple weeks and I really enjoy it. I found a ball end gold tech at an antique store when I was looking for straights. I picked it up and bought done blades and after a little cleaning it was good to go. All of this is after ten years of dry shaving. I wouldn't use shaving cream just to make everything go quicker... I know I know I just hated shaving. My dad has always used an electric shaver. But now I own 3 straights 2 Gillette DEs and 4 brushes. No to mention a nice collection of soaps and creams!
