How Long Has This Been Going On?

did you say grapefruit? did you say lemongrass? I cannot hold out on the method shave much longer. I have seen Mike's posts about it, but when Michael speaks this highly, I am afraid that I cannot resist. I have not yet "delved" into brushes yet, I only have two, and they are cheapos, so I guess that is my missing link, the fan shaped shavemaster. Since I have reactions to most, but not all shaving creams and soaps (especially FOs), I guess the move to an OO soap and stuff that "doesn't smell like a lot" kinda speak to me.

Someone explain why I shouldn't do this? crickets chirping in background

 

This just ain't right...

So first I get into wetshaving from reading Michael's blog and now this? And there's a grapefruit product to boot? I am going to try and get back to my regular life with out thinking about this too much. I must resist...

 

Just curious, is it the number of passes that would sometimes make the 'method' bloody?

 

Not at all. The only thing that will make you bleed is a cut and you can do this in wet shaving as well as straight shaving and method shaving. There is no correlation between MS and bleeding. Charles has even gone as far as saying that you don't have to follow the cutting forms if you don't want to do them. So the number of passes is up to the individual. when I use method shaving I simply follow my routine as any other shave.

Raf

 

Jeez, tell Charles to take pity on us guys out in the boonies and put his full product range on the Web site---or else give us a button to click to get a PDF emailed to us of the full product range. (That would be easy and inexpensive and give him a good email list for announcements.)

 

It continues to get easier. I have this little wooden drying rack from Mama Bear, which I’ve used to hold my alum block. Yesterday, when I finished with the Cube, I placed it on the rack—it just fit between the side rails.

This morning I picked it up, and the rack came with it. Okay, no problem. I held the rack in my left hand while I worked up the lather using the Rooney Style 3 Size 2 Super. Then I thought, why hold it? I put it back in place on the back of the sink and let it sit there as I lathered away at the top. The Cube is heavy enough to stay in place, and the lathering went fine.

I put the piece of Shaving Paste in the brush, lathered more, and then applied lather and picked up the Futur with a Treet Blue Special and started shaving. The double downward pass is a nice thing, I discover. Then sideways, then up, lathering between each pass.

Very smooth result. 9.5, I would say. Acqua di Selva aftershave, and tomorrow I’m trying the Rooney Style 3 Size 1 Super. Then next week, I’ll use the same razors in sequence, but using regular soap or shaving cream and note the difference, if any.

 

I've seen mantic's videos twice. My three issues with MS are as follows:

1. It seems incredibly wasteful, no? So much material is used for a single shave.
2. It takes way too long to get the necessary lather, and to complete the shave.
3. It's really messy.

Would the Method Shavers out there care to comment? I'd like to know if my concerns are warranted.

Thanks.

 

My experience so far:

1. I don't use as much material as Mark did in the video. Of course, he made lather three times (with three different types of brushes), so there were a lot of suds. But I'm able to get a good lather going pretty quickly without using much of the soap (which is dirt cheap anyway: $10 for 1-pound block). And, of course, the shaving paste is measured out with a little spatula.

2. For me, the lather whips up pretty quickly. Of course, I normally use a soap, so perhaps I've had good practice. But I don't notice that it takes significantly longer to get the lather going.

3. It's getting less and less messy. The first day was the messiest, I think. But now that I've thought of leaving the soap sitting on the wooden rack, it doesn't seem to be very messy at all.

Note that I don't dunk the soap in a sink full of water. Since I'm building lather on just one side, I don't see much point in wetting the other 5 sides. I just use the wet brush (a little wetter than I would normally use) to scrub the top of the soap well, and that seems to wet it just fine. A certain amount of water and thin lather runs down the sides, but it just drains on into the sink. I keep scrubbing the top of the cube, and I get the lather I want.

Perhaps more experienced (and more traditional) Method shavers can provide more information.

 

I'd sling water and lather all over the mirror, bathroom and adjoining closest every day, if it meant I'd get results like so many Methodshavers talk about. It's worth it, plus I need to clean my place more often anyway. :rofl

Man, I hope Charles decides to make trial/starter kits.

 

Blood and method shaving

You can thin the mix out more and it becomes faster and does not cushion the skin as well. It gets really close and if your technique is spotty, it is easy to nick yourself using too much pressure or wrong blade angles with a feather. Number of passes does not matter. I typically do a finishing pass with just slag from the cube or round and activator. This is really close, but don't start out that way.

If you can make it Austin, Charles will et up a private shave clinic for you to show you the method his way. Highly recommended.

Brad

 

He did a post about the new products on his message board here. Hope this helps. Call him and he will send any products out.

http://www.hydrolast.com/shaving/index.php?PHPSESSID=227329a15b4ec9a1f4fc03eae1017157&topic=140.0

 

Actually, I believe "the cube" to be somewhere in the range of 80-90% Olive Oil

 

Michael,

How is the Method Shaving treating you. I have been thinking about getting back into it, since my skin is drying out during the winter months.

Chris