I jumped into the DE wet shaving subculture world this week. The way I found out about DE wet shaving: googled alum bar over a yr ago to try and find somewhere to order it of the net. Ran into Leisure Guy's website and read about wet shaving but bookmarked it to come back to it later. Finally, a yr later I went back and researched wet shaving. Long strange trip but glad I made it. Thanks to forums like this I found out about DE wet shaving. Here is the general summary for the week..... previously had practiced wet shaving with the cartridge a couple of times to get my lather right Sunday - 1st time and I am glad that it was not a working day. I highly recommend the day you pick for your 1st time be one where you don't care to show a few cuts or scraps. My beard was a 2 day stubble which is pretty thick for me. I prepared by showering, including washing my face with an exfoliator, then prepared my shave cream which was the Taylor's Eton College. Lathered up good and used my Krona with Derby blades. Cheeks went GREAT very smooth even on the 1st pass. Below the jaw line was a different story!!! I tore myself up due to bad blade angle not really too much pressure. This has always been my problem area for shaving. Managed to get by with only a few nicks and one weeper but the jaw/neck area was very red and stung like a mother. Left it way too raw. Used my alum block which helped a little and "My Nik is Sealed" to stop the cut. I splashed on Lucky Tiger After Shave and Face Tonic. Observations: I went way to aggressive below the jaw line but it was definitely better than the boring cartridge shave. Tues- 2nd time was AWESOME. Same set up as before...Took my time below the jaw line and wound up with a pretty darn close shave especially on the cheeks and chin. Don't know if I will ever get BBS on the jaw/neck area. Observation: I am able to let the blade do the work as far as pressure but Blade Angle is where I have to concentrate.
The Korona is a very good shaver. Its what we often referr to as a Twist To Open or TTO for short. This is becuase you twist the knob at the bottom of the razor to open the silo doors at the top in order to insert the blade. There is one other type of double edge razor, called a three piece. Rather than twisting the top you unscrew the top from the razor which is on threads. Once you have the head off it will seperate from the bottom plate where you lay the blade on the bottom plate and insert the top plate into the bottom plate through the holes in the bottom plate. If you try it, the task will be obvious from the start, its really a lot easier than it sounds. Three piece razors come in two varieties: open and closed comb. The comb is the edge on the three piece where it makes contact with your beard. The open comb will have prongs that come out that straighten the beard so the blade and make a clean cut. The closed comb has no prongs and is solid all around. This is easier to understand if you can see a picture which I have attached. Now why do I say all of this? Simply because I would recommend that you go get a three piece, either open or closed comb becuase sometimes the three peice razors do better for certain people becuase of your skin type. If you have a heavy beard you will need the open comb and if you have a light beard the closed comb will do better. Also try different brands of blades. Derby are great blades and excellent ones to start with but I would also recommend trying a Wilson Sword, which are also great ones and can be found at most area Bed, Bath and Beyond stores, which is where I got my stash. And above all HAVE FUN. The razor on the left is a closed comb, the one on the right is a open comb. Both are three piece razors.
There are also injector and single edge razors. While not double edge razors at all they are classified as single edge razors. If you think about it a single edge from a single blade is really all you need to get a great shave, so to some the single edge really is the only thing that makes sense. I will post photos of both. The Injector was produced by Shick Corp, now a part of Phizer Pharaceuticals. The injector is called this becuase the blade is injected into the razor rather than placed there. The blades are still being produced and are really quite popular. Single edge razors are one of the oldest types of wet shaving razors and come in two types, TTO and clamshel. I have said before what TTO is so I will not rehash the issue here. Clamshell got its name becuase it open and closes like a clamshell. The blades for the single edge razors are still being made and are readily available. There is one type of wet shaving razor that is what I referr to as extinct type. Its called a Gillette Techmatic or a band razor. The blades are in a band form and the band is rotated when it dulls too much for shaving. The cartridges for the techmatic are no longer made and the razors are bought and sold now as museum pieces. The most notable proponent of the techmatic was Elvis Presley. You should consider each of the different types of west shaving razors and decide which is the best for you before you settle on the TTO. The top razor is a single edge clamshell. Second row right is a injector and the bottom is a techmatic (obiously)
Wed- Same set up except I used Taylor's Sandlewood and I shaved in the shower. Shaving in the shower was my method with the cartridge shave. A GREAT SHAVE even around the jaw and neck. Pretty close. Observation: Once you go DE, you never go back!!! Thur- Same set up and in the shower. Another GREAT SHAVE. I wish I could say more but it was just a perfect shave and very enjoyable! Observation: Shaving is fun and I am looking forward to it now.
