First time shaving with EJ--Wow...

So this was my first time that I have used a DE razor, and all I can say is wow... I do not have a problem admitting that I was a little intimidated by this first time. This is the fourth day of shaving for the week and normally the last as I only work 4 days on 3 days off. I am active duty and have to have a good shave, but usually by half way through shift I look like I did not shave.

So I used the EJ 89 pared up with a Derby Extra blade, my AoS sandalwood pre-shave oil, same cream and aftershave balm. Now normally there is no way I could do a 3 pass shave on day four with out bleeding, and massive facial burning, but I figured go big or go home so I gave it a shot. First pass with the grain, then across, and finally against it. There was shaving bumps but I am going to atribute that to learning.

I ran into shoprite to see if they had a styptic pen, which they didn't but I saw a Williams Shave Soap for a buck so I picked that up and some styptic swabs. I was ready to use the swabs but no blood which shocked me.

In my mystery sample pack I received: Bic chrome platinum, Lord, 7 am, Sharp durablade, Astra, 2 Derby pack's (one with the razor, and one in the pack) Shark, and 2 dorco packs.

All in all I am very happy with my decision to give this a shot, and I want to thank y'all for putting good information here on the forums for a newbie like me to do the researching a way to make shaving (which I absolutely hate) something that is enjoyable.

 

Great to hear it's going well for you. Give all those blades a try and see which ones work the best for you. Also, THANK YOU, for serving our country.....from a vet.

 

Thank you, and thank you for your past service.

 

Glad it's working for you. I know exactly what you're saying. I had to avoid shaving any day I was off just to let my face rest. I wish I had found DE's and injectors a little sooner. I didn't until about a year before I retired from active duty but better late than never right?

Good luck with that Williams. I couldn't stand the stuff. Luckily there's plenty more out there that I do like. Good luck and keep us up-to-date on how it's going for you. Thanks for your service too.

 

We are glad to be of service and thank you for you service.

Thanks to the veterans of our armed forces for their service to the U.S.A.

 

Thank you!

The Williams was only a buck so I figure why not Try it. Its smelly...

Thankfully im at 8 years, so I still have plenty of shaving to do.

 

Welcome to the Den! You've got a great razor and a great start on DE shaving.

 

Great razor and a nice kit. Welcome to TSD!

 

It is a great razor. I am definitley sold onwet shaving with a de razor.

 

Since you are new to the Double Edge world, and learning fast, here is the advice I received when I started with a DE and so I freely give it to new users. The most important things in shaving are, your skin and technique. All other things fall in line behind those two things and to support them. Since the skin is a given fixed item, the next major item is technique. It is called THE 30 DAY RULE.

THE 30 DAY RULE is as follows: Find a razor, then a blade that will not cause issues with your skin (that may take a few different blades in a sampler pack to find a suitable choice or it maybe the first out of the gate) and select a soap or cream that is easy to generate good lather. Once you find those, and it may take a couple of weeks to find this combination, order a quantity of that blade enough for 30 days, and then spend 30 days using nothing else until you build up your technique. (Note that only one brand blade is used for 30 days after each blade in the sampler pack is tested to make the decision on the blade brand to use for 30 days.) The 30 day clock starts when you have the right blade for you.

After 30 days, change one and only one variable and work for another week then change another after another week. At that point you should be able to make better decisions because your technique is now in place.

This will help you to avoid buying too much gear and stuff too soon without having the technique down to enjoy it all.



P.S. This really does work.

 

That sounds like a very good plan! Thank you.

 

Party Pooper!

Kidding, of course.
Very sound advice I wish someone had shared with my years ago when I got into the realm of high-end audio.

 

So second shave today and I figured another 3 passes (not something I plan on doing every week but I am outta work today and wanted to see if my face can handle it and no blood yet again) but I tried the soap instead I wanted to feel the difference, I liked the Williams smells awful dry but used the brush got some lather going and it was actually pleasant, and felt good on my face. I didn't like how it seemed to dry up kind of fast on my face. I am also thinking that I don't much care for the AoS after shave Balm my face feels dry after about 5 minutes after my shave.

After second shave I definitley love the razor don't mind the derby blade (but nothing too compare it to. ) think I like the idea of a soap better than a cream (I will try the Williams again with some more water on the brush) and I am looking for a new after shave lotion. Still unsure about the AoS pre shave oil.

 

Yes, high-end audio seems to have the same effect on me as well.

 

Stick with it and it will get better with each shave. Remember, the p's prep, less pressure, patience you will be rewarded with the best shaves of your life.

 

As an inexpensive alternative to Williams, Van Der Hagen shave soap is pretty widely available in various pharmacies and Walmart. The Deluxe version at my local Walmart is about $1.60 if I remember correctly. There are a couple other versions that may cost a bit more, but I actually prefer the less expensive Deluxe. I always keep a couple pucks of it on hand and use it frequently. It lathers easily, much more so than Williams, and at least for me gives a good comfortable shave.

Some people, including yours truly, make "Van Der Williams." Grate the Williams (it should not be melted), microwave VDH in 2 or 3 10 second bursts, and mix in the grated Williams. Do a search for Van Der Williams, there are a couple of threads on this. The last time I made it, I only used half the puck of Williams to a whole puck of VDH and liked that ratio better.

Some people make frankensoaps with bits and pieces of pucks mashed, grated, or melted together. This morning I used "Van Der TSD," using a piece of left mover TSD soap mashed into some left over VDH.

 

I am going to have to look into that. What does mixing soaps actually do?

 

the EJ DE89 is really nice....i had many razors and kept going back to that one as my gold standard...it finally got ousted when i got my stainless steel above the tie Titan...but i think the edwin jagger is fantastic and would recommend it to anyone.

try some popular soaps.....
mitchells wool fat,
DR Harris arlington,
Mikes natural,
Martin De Candre,
Palmolive stick,
pre de provence.

cant go wrong with any of those.,

and check amazon for some 100 blade purchases for about $10-12

 

You are mixing the quality's you like in 2 different soaps. If you have two pucks about the same size cut them in half and put in the bottom of your save mug.

 

Williams is notoriously hard to lather, and/or has the famous disappearing lather you've already discovered, but it does seem to provide good lubrication. Mixing Williams and VDH results in an easier lathering soap doesn't disappear, and perhaps provides additional lubrication versus straight VDH, although just plain VDH works pretty good for me.

I would suggest seeing if you could find some Van Der Hagen and try it first before mixing it with anything else, you just may like it fine as is. You can also order soap from TSD via the "Support TSD" link at the top of the page, there are several soaps/creams to pick from.