I know.......just thought......it couldnt hurt to try again Mike needs to put together some Method Shave Sampler kits. I mean.... Its not like he's busy with a new job or toddler or fighting off the evil ravages of Simpsonitis Geez.
I'm convinced Charles Roberts doesn't want any more business than he already has. If so, that's cool... I keep waiting for someone to offer their entire range of products up for sale so I can get them all at a discount and finally see if all the hype is legit or not. But now Methodshaving has hard rounds, soft rounds, apparently some new kind of paste or whatever, etc. The longer it takes, the more products that keep coming out.
a shaving round costs $5, a pot of paste $15. You'll pay ~$30 for a tub of Trumper's. The variety of pastes are for fine-tuning a shave for your particular skin and conditions. To get a feel for MS, all you need is the primer (round or cube) and one of the aromatic pastes that are on the site. Or you could spend hundreds of dollars on parabin-heavy retail products and the array of required recovery products. Have been MS for about 3 months and get a chuckle when I see people on other forums cheering the occasional BBS. With MS, BBS is a given every time.
OK. So I have 3 pieces of da Cube and some Eucalyptus paste. Thats all I need ??? I still want to experience the activator, cutting balm and aftershave products to see if my face will look and / or feel differently than it does now. I'll prolly just lurk around until someone offers some up for trade.
Per Charles' suggestion, I started out with just da Cube (oh great and mighty Cube) and some unscented paste. I focused on getting the forms right and getting a wet, rich mix. I was using a low-end Rooney--since I wasn't using a Shavemaster brush, I had to spend a bit more time priming off of the cube and mixing the paste-loaded brush on the cube, but it still worked fine. Now that I'm more proficient at making and correcting the mix mid-shave (was never able to correct lathers mid-shave when I was trying regular wet shaves) I can cut the forms more efficiently, and am able to do some seriously off-form chipping away during my final pass. The aftershave tonic and conditioners are really nice, but not necessary. I would recommend the finishing balm rather than the cutting balm or activator. It provides a bit more moisture and emollient at any step of the process. If there is any post-shave irritation, a hot rinse and a squirt of the finishing balm absolutely knocks it out.
That's a bold statement. I've never heard anyone else who primarily Methodshaves, including Mike, mantic, etc.. make that claim. Good to hear you found a process and set of gear that works so well for you so consistently. That's what the rest of us are striving for.
Using the forms, I got BBS shaves with MS every time as well. However, I also got tons of irritation. My issue was that MS didn't give enough protection for my sensitive skin. I want to get back into it a year later but I've just started using Trumper soaps and they're amazing. I also got some old formulation Harris shaving creams. Until those items finish, I'm going to sit pat.
I also wan to point out that the forms are there as a guide for newbies. experienced gents can just shave as usual. Duder you have all you need for now. I'll put in a small sample of the activator when we send you the soaps. Prime the brush on the Cube for about 30 seconds get a good "slag" or lather going then open the breach and put a dab of paste right in the middle. Go back to the cube and see how the lather develops. if it gets a little dry drop a bit of water inside the breach and go back to the cube. You can also double load the brush with paste at this time. put the cube down. This is when you open the breach again and put the activator in small squirt or two. Lather in your hand and watch the lather explode great stuff. Apply to face and shave as usual. The entire process takes about a minute and a half. It is not the brain surgery some people make it out to be. Raf
Bold as it may sound, he's right. I have always gotten BBS every single method shave since I started using the stuff almost 2 years ago.
Here's another case of only BBS. My success didn't start until I switched from my Progress and Fatboy to a Merkur HD. At the same time I moved to a Shavemaster S-100, high emollient paste, and the shaving round rather than the cube. So much for controlled change of variables. I made one attempt to go back to the Fatboy and decided never again. I can use my Vilfux 2234, but a it takes a little more effort to make the mix. The S-100 is my daily brush and the Vilfux is now for travel. For a considerable time I struggled with irritation. I had more than a couple of conversations with Charles. The last was two weeks ago and the last adjustments to mix and method have resulted in irritation free BBS shaves. The main adjustment was what was described earlier as "correcting the mix mid-shave". You have to be willing to talk to Charles. Listen carefully and then try to restate the advice into your choice of terms. See if what you heard was what he meant. Jim
I can get BBS every time with method shaving as well now. That being said, I can now do the same with my Futur and about any soap or creme. Not sure whether method shaving improved my overall technique or tamed my beard, but I can now get BBS with all my DE razors. That was not true for the six months prior to learning method shaving. Now I just wish I could say the same about my str8 razor shaving. Brad
