Hey guys, I'm wondering about your stories about how you first got in touch with wet shaving? Did the desire came up by yourself or did somebody proposed it to you? I personally was always fascinated about straight razors because they come in so many different shapes and sized. I just love everything with great design... It was not even the shaving aspect that made me buy my first razor. The love for shaving itself came later when I actually started shaving for the first time. But in the beginning, I was just drawn to the looks of the razors itself... That was what made me buy my first razor. Excited to hear your stories.
Around mid 2016 after shaving with carts for 35 years I was 1 year into a full beard.I bought a Gillette fatboy to display in my office at work as i like old cool stuff.I was intrigued to try it out when the beard got to be too much..started collecting more Gillettes .The rest is history....
Around 2007 or so I heard about the purported rediscovery of wetshaving. Wasn't happy with cheap disposables, so stupidly bought a 1924 from Goodwill...one of the worst possible choices for an unskilled newb to experiment with. Ignorantly butchered myself something fierce but have come full circle, now it's my close 2nd favorite SE. And here I am.
I was put off by the cost of carts. I thought, there had to be a more economical way to perform this chore. I had a replica straight, I actually used it once and dulled it quickly. I knew my mom had some of my dad’s and grandad’s razor from years ago. A quick search, and I found blades for sale by the hundreds. I thought even if single use, a hundred shaves for ten bucks, seemed better than 20-25 bucks for 3-5 carts. That’s what opened the door to the whole world of wet shaving, CHEAPNESS Then I went and spent hundreds of dollars on gear and soaps and brushes and aftershaves and mugs and....... you name it. Sort of a messed up circle, but I have enjoyed the ride.
My dad got me into it back in late 2009. I'd been using carts up until then for about a decade. I jumped in with both feet and went mildly crazy compared to a lot of folks on here but still have acquired close to 100 razors and a whole bunch of soap, cream, and a bunch of brushes of all sorts. I've since mellowed a lot and have sold off most of my razors and brushes saving only the sentimental ones and straights. I've also gone from shaving daily (multiple times a day sometimes) to maybe 3 times a week. Still, the best/most comfortable way to remove hair from your face IMO.
Long ago, in a country far from home, I could not find the canned stuff I had used since I was a.teenager. Near the school was a pharmacy where I bought a tube of Speick cream, and a very cheap brush. The very next morning I realized this was so much better than canned foam, that I have been a wet shaver ever since.
My discovery of traditional wetshaving was completely by accident. I read a post extolling traditional wetshaving in the "off topic" sub-forum on a fountain pen forum. I didn't give it a second thought at the time. Several months later, I read another thread on the same topic. Fast forward a year to 2007, I bought some store brand Trac II cartridges from Longs Drugs. These cartridges gave much better shaves than any cartridge I had ever used. About a week later, I noticed Kiss My Face shaving cream at the local Whole Foods. Canned gel was getting expensive, and I was looking for a less pricey alternative. When I asked a nearby clerk how well KMF worked, he said "It gives the slickest shaves ever." Trying it with the new cartridges gave shaves that were absolutely baby bottom smooth every single time. Holy freakin' cow! What an amazing eye opener. At about the same time, I walked by an Art of Shaving store in a local mall. Other than noting it was quite upscale looking, I never really given it a second thought before. This time, however, I noticed an uber-cool looking cartridge razor in the windows display. It was a Gillette special edition, and I went back to buy it a few days later. What the hey, it was $150! Then I looked at the price of the Fusion cartridges, something like $25 for five. Good fooking grief! Talk about sticker shock! Then I remembered the posts about traditional wetshaving. Doing a little research, and looking in the Art of Shaving store, revealed that safety razors were every bit as cool looking as the fancy Gillette handle. Not only that, but double-edge blades were dirt cheap online, and the razors were only $35. I bought a safety razor, blades, a brush, and never looked back.
I have used some sort of wet-shaving for most of my shaving years. I started shaving my legs around age 13, using some silly pink razor, meant for a girl to use in the shower. My foray into “old school” DE, brush & soap is more recent. It resulted from some curiosity about why my husband loved it so much.
I grew up with Gillette adjustables in my home. My Mom used them and my grandfather used them... Although my mom used regular soap for legs. My grandfather used canned foam. He died in 1971. My grandmother kept his razor in a box for years. Just before she passed away she gave me his razor and a 1938 S&W. 38/.44 HD known as the Super Police. He was a cop for years. Anyway... When I started shaving around 14 years old I started with Gillette and canned foam.. Finally switched to soaps and creams about 10 years ago.
I remember watching some video on youtube yeaars ago, ( I don't remember the name of the video) but I distinctively remember it was some guy who looked like he was a teenager in that video talking about a safety razor he had that was previously his grandfather's. that razor happened to be a 50s Gillette bluetip. at the time I never knew the name for a safety razor, so for a long time I called it a "metal razor" fast forward some years later I ran into youtube channels such as "kensurfs" "Kevyshaves" "Paul H Films" and others... after a while of watching those youtubers, I was persuaded into the desire of wetshaving, but I always put it on the back burner. Well one day I was out shopping at my local "Kroger" grocery store, and I came across the "Van Der Hagen" safety razor. I ended up buying it because it brought back the memories of me watching those youtubers. For a while I used my Van der hagen and a can of shaving cream. Months later I ordered a bottle of Aqua Velva and a tub of Proraso shaving soap. I remember coming home from school and being excited like a kid on Christmas because my packages had arrived and I was finally about to have my first wet shave. Then I remembered I forgot to order a shaving brush. I had to improvise that night and use one of my mom's unused makeup brushes to lather the soap. (surprisingly believe it or not, it actually lathered up pretty well) a few days later I ordered my first and currently only shaving brush. Months go by and I saw ken surfs again on youtube taking about "vintage old spice" I thought to myself "that looks pretty cool", so eventually I bought some vintage old spice aftershave off ebay. The first time I smelled I thought it was amazing and yet unique compared to fragrances of today. I did some research online to see what collectors and wet shavers thought of vintage old spice. I came across a thread here on the shave den talking about vintage os @ https://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/vintage-old-spice-shave-soap.62935/page-3 and that same day I joined the shave den. the rest is history. Been here since December 14, 2019.
I shaved the first time approximately 41 years ago using my dad's Gillette adjustable (can't be sure but based on memory I believe it was a Slim). A few years later I enlisted in the USMC and they issued twin blade, disposable carts. I just stuck with that type of razor for decades after that. Shaving was something you "had to do". I would slather on a palm full of canned foam, rake it off and get on with the day. Some time in 2014 the bug to try something more traditional got in my system. I have used DE, SE, straights and shavettes but have never gone back to carts since then. To me it's a way to (however briefly) escape to a simpler era of time, when life wasn't a race to go everywhere. The fact that traditional shaving also makes the "chore" of shaving something I literally look forward to every day, only makes it that much more enjoyable.
I started shaving when I was 12, in 1982. My father, grandfather, and everyone I knew used electric shavers. ‘Wet’ shaving was seen as ‘old fashion’. I never saw a man ‘shave’ in my life. So, my grandparents bought me a Norelco shaver. ‘Letric Shave, and a Norelco. Shaved, and it felt like someone was pulling my hairs out one by one. Horrible razor burn. A couple of times like that, and I was done. So I got a Trac II cartridge razor, and a can of Foamy. A little better, but the ‘cream’ didn’t seem to do much. It just kinda’ ‘sat’ on top of my beard, never really getting ‘into’ it. Then, because of the multi blade head, my whisker hair would get stuck in between the blades, and I would have to ‘rub’ the razor head on my hand to get the hair out. Meanwhile, the ‘foam/cream would ‘dry’ out and feel even less effective. Since I was young and didn’t have to shave as much, it wasn’t that big ‘a deal. When I reached my mid twenties and started working more ‘corporate’ jobs, where I had to shave everyday, it became a hassle, and expensive! So, one day, about 1999,2000, I thought to myself, “there’s gotta’ be a better way to shave”. I thought “ how did the guys shave in the old days”? In the movies, the guys always had a mug with shave soap, a brush and a 2 sided razor, with a real blade. So I purchased a Merkur 33C, a Marvy’s mug, and a cheap boar brush. First shave I tried.... best shave I ever had. Wasn’t even close. Now, understand, I wear fedoras, boaters, smoking jackets, I use a cigarette holder, I’m a little retro. But, It was easily the best shave ever. Once I discovered the ‘wet shaving’ community, I upped my shave game. Now, I get BBS shaves with no nicks cuts, weepers, irritation, nothing. Shaving is no longer a dreaded chore, it’s a pleasure. Oh yeah, the ‘Veg’.
I stumbled on one of Geo Fatboy's videos, showing a proper way to use a safety razor. Then I found the Badger and Blade forum, hung around there a while and learned a bunch. Then I found Italian Barber, West Coast Shaving, etc. etc. Then I found this forum and learned a bunch more.
I began my wet shaving journey on September 9th, 2016. Before that I used electric shavers but they were dismal performance wise. 2 hours after shaving with them I’d have a 5 o clock shadow. Earlier in my life I shaved with The Gillette Fusion and it always cut me to ribbons. The very last time I used a Fusion cartridge it was with a moth+ old cart and I was cut to shreds. Anyways I switched to DE shaving/wet shaving because I felt I needed a better way to shave. So I did some research online watching YouTube videos explaining the process. My first wet shaving setup was a puck of VDH Luxury shave soap in an old coffee mug, a Marvy’s synthetic shave brush, Vikings Blade The Godfather razor, blade sampler pack and a bottle of Pinaud Clubman. I did only 2 passes in the beginning: WTG & XTG. After my very first wet shave I was convinced of the benefits of wet shaving. I never used a cartridge or electric razor to shave my face since then and now I can get a BBS shave most of the time in 3 passes. I no longer have the Vikings Blade razor or the Marvy’s brush and I’ve since bought replacement puck of VDH Luxury and bottle of Clubman. My collection is quite massive and I’m very proud of it.
