So I did my first shave this afternoon and it wasn't bad. I had a few small nicks, but nothing serious. It looks good, and smells good, but the soap I had didn't seem to lather up a lot. Did I use too much hot water possibly when I dipped the brush in the soap and then the water, started lathering, then added a little hot water to the mug? Also, I didn't seem to get a horribly close shave. Is that because I just did a single pass? I hadn't shaved in about 3 days, so while it wasn't LONG or anything, it was definitely getting to almost be more than just stubble.
A single pass is typically not enough in the single-blade safety razor world. Those 5-bladed monstrosities can accomplish more in a single pass because there are 5 blades. A single pass with that is like doing 5 passes with a DE. Fortunately DEs are better than that as I'd say most people do 2-3 passes & get better results than they ever did with carts. I'd suggest 2 WTG passes & be done. Hone your technique before you attemp XTG or ATG passes. For lather you really should play with it. Make test lathers to learn your brush & soap/cream. Start drier & add water in a controlled manner. Watch what the lather does. See when it's pasty & dry; see when it's over saturated & runny. You'll learn what to look for for the lather you like & then you'll be able to get there much faster with practice & experience. Put some time in now & enjoy it. It's fun making loads of lather!
Thanks for the info. I'm going to shave again tomorrow morning, and I'll do two passes and see how it works out. For the lather, I'll just play with it and see well it works. I read some of the tutorials on the shave soap, and it says to dip your wet but not dripping brush in the soap then in the water, then start making lather in your bowl... I had some trouble dipping the brush into the soap. Its kind of a cream, so dipping the brush into it didn't work horribly well... But I guess it all just takes some practice and getting used to. Over all it was definitely a success.
Welcome! Pull up a chair and pick a habbit. We've got plenty to go around. What soap and razor are you using? Like mixing your favorite drink or what not, making lather requires practice and experimentation. Typically, you want your lather to be dense and have the consistency of Cool Whip. Too much water and it's runny; not enough water and it's pasty and won't give cushion or glide. As for the closeness of your shave, yea one pass will leave stubble especially with just one with the grain (WTG) pass. Don't sweat that though. As you become more familiar with the razor and your technique, it will get much better. You might want to try 2 WTG passes next. Also, I'll suggest reading the posts here in the Newbie forum. Lots of stuff here to help you and don't be afraid to ask questions.
So here's all what I ordered: Tweezerman badger brush - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000G647Y8/?tag=thshde-20 Lord Premium aka L6 - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004N77JVY/?tag=thshde-20 Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood Shaving Cream Bowl - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007MW2ZW/?tag=thshde-20 Hrm.. Part of my problem may be I'm using a shave cream, not a shave soap and I followed the shave soap directions. I've read some of the posts in the newbie forum and they've been hugely helpful. I'm definitely reading as many as I have time to!
Guess what? The shaves (& the experience) only get better from here. Enjoy the ride & it's great to have you here at 'da Den!
Looks to me like your starting out just great! I like your selection of gear and it will serve you well. Any questions you have just ask.. at TSD we know everything about shaving.. there's a good slogan lol. Anyways keep up the good work and WELCOME aboard!.. Joe...
SharpSpine brings up a great point about "Test Lathers". The very best thing about making a hobby out of shaving, has been it's something that I get to do everyday. The very worst thing has been, I only get to do it once a day. I'd walk into the bathroom during the day, and notice my bowl & brush sitting on the counter, and think "I really need to get better at lathering hard soaps.....at the once-a-day rate I'm going, it's going to take a while." Then one day I read someone mentioning a "test lather", and I thought "Hey, what a great excuse to go play with my new toys, right now!" Honstly, the second best thing about this hobby is just taking the 15 minutes every morning just to myself, and taking my time, but I do have to get to work, so making a runny batch, dumping it out and starting over two or three times isn't what I want to spend my 15 minutes doing. Test lathers during the day are a win/win thing!
Welcome to the Den! Don't worry about your shave. As all things that need technique, time makes perfection. You'll get there! And as Java said: The fun is you get to do it every day. Enjoy!
So the second shave worked much better. I did one WTG, one XTG and one ATG. Came out much better with a single minor nick. If you lather up the cream the way you're supposed to, it works much better too. Imagine that.
Welcome! We're both using the exact same razor and soap. What blades do you have? Definitely would go with two WTG passes for the first couple weeks. took me a while to get the TOBS soap to lather up properly, too...
I literally just got the razor, so I'm still using the blade that came with it. I need to pick up some more blades, as this was my third shave with it. Today was much better. Once WTG and once ATG and no nicks. I found the trick for lather seems to be using much less water than you think you might need. At least that seems to work for me. I used it to shave my head today too (used the new shave cream, not the safety razor) and it worked really well.
you might want to look at a blade sample pack. most of the online stores have them including the TSD store. you will want to try a few blades and find the ones that work well for you with your razor.
I was just typing what DLP suggested. That's what I got. I got mine from amazon, TSD's store also has blade samplers. They are a godsend, there's no better way to try out different blades. They make a huge difference. You're also right about the lather. Start with what you think is barely any water, then add a couple drops at a time. EDIT: See my sample here... http://ddavidn.net/files/1331494545433.jpg it contains 50 blades.
Looks like you've got good advice. Test lathers and blade sampler packs are both great things. It also looks like you've done a really good job picking effective but inexpensive products.
One other thing, that may not have been mentioned- use NO PRESSURE with a DE razor. With a cartridge razor, you would apply more. If you do that with a DE, you get nicks (which you did.) The weight of the razor will do the work.
