I'm interested starting to use a DE razor as I have used all the other types of razors except DE and strait razors and they all have given me skin irritations and I do not enjoy the shave. I have placed an order for a Merkur Future along with a shaving brush (badger) and some Mitchell's wool fat soap, these should adobe with in the next week. I have watched all of mantic59's videos as well as scoured through so e of the forum sites. Are there a y tips anyone can give me before I have my first shave. P.S does anyone here live in Australia that can tell me where I can get blades for when I run out, if it would help you tell me where to get some blades I liven far North Queensland. Edit: just bought the Gillette DE razor from from the store here, it should arrive a week or two after all my other stuff so if anyone ca. Give me tips on using this and the Futur it would be greatly appreciated. Great prices on the store too, cost me $5 for the razor and $15 for postage but it is still cheaper than anywhere else I could get it from, thumbs up to who ever stocks the store and sets the prices.
The first thing I would practice is making a good lather. A good shave is only as good as your prep. Woolfat can be difficult lather, so stick with it. After that, I wouldn't jump around from blade to blade at first. Find a blade that gives decent results stick with it for a month or so until your technique improves. Remember not use any pressure and when making a change, just change one thing at a time. The most important thing is to have fun and enjoy your shaves.
:thanks for your tip, I have read up on MWF and we have softish water here where I am and apparently it likes that, if it cones to the worst theres alway rainwater, plenty of that where I am. If it is as good as what I have heard I will only be swapping blades or razors when I feel like it, but I'm the type of person that i fond something good like a great razor or soap I will most likely stick with it, I haven't chosen an after shave yet either as I did read somewhere that depending on the situation you may not need it with MWF but I will decide on that after a few weeks of using it.
I concur with Dale's advice. Get proficient with one gear-combo initially and get good lather-prep going. Take the time to work the lather into the beard. Also, do not worry about getting BBS and doing all the passes initially. If only doing 1 or 2 passes WTG initially is more comfortable, that's fine. You can slowly add XTG and ATG passes later when you are ready. This gradual approach will give your face time to adjust to the DE as well.
Sound advice so far. Only thing that helped me to understand the process is you are aiming for beard reduction with each pass, not total removal on the first pass or two. Each pass you make from varying angles gives you the reduction which culminates in removal. Practice practice practice.
And NO PRESSURE. Especially with the Futur as they can be pretty aggressive. Keep it on a low setting until you get your technique down a bit first; don't be so anxious to crank it wide open. The SS will be more forgiving which you will see when you get it, but both razors are fine and highly capable of giving excellent shaves.
Welcome to The Shave Den, a great community of guys and gals that enjoy wet shaving, I hope you enjoy your stay! Be sure to sign up for the February Newbie Give-Away for a chance to win some great shave gear! ======================================= Remember the do's and don'ts: Do prep properly first... Do take your time... Don't apply any pressure... Don't keep going over the same spot... Don't worry if your first time isn't BBS.... Do let us know how it turns out for you... But most of all, enjoy the shave, over time your shaves will get better and better, and the really smooth shaves will fall into place.
i think its a combo of lather and technique.. I like a super slippery lather with some cushion, but technique is the make or break factor. for a while i wa pleasantly satisfied with a 2 WTG pass shave.. no irritation, more than close enough shave to get me through the day... but it was all due to really keeping teh right angle and applying minimal pressure. I thought once my skin was comfortable, i would jump into trying to get a super close shave... the straight will get you there but requires a bit more maintenance than the DE. I would even try something like a BIC Metal if you have access. it will give you a decent approximation of a DE style shave... as a one blade vehicle with a fixed head and a safety bar, you'll quickly see if you are doing technique correctly as i found it to be plenty sharp enough to cut me just like a DE when I wasn't giving enough care and attention, unlike a regular cartridge.
Mastering the art of banging out the perfect lather is key to getting the perfect shave. Getting the right cushion, skin care and glide factor from your lather makes or breaks a shave IMHO.
Take your time, don't worry about conserving product--use all you need when lathering up. Better to have too much than too little. And I've found that rinsing my face between passes makes a world of difference.
Here's a Great tip. Stick around here, take your time, read the forums and enjoy your shaves. Welcome to TSD.
Was hoping for my shaving gear to arrive today but apparently not, altho they did say 2-7 days and today's was only the second day, also the highway was aparnely cut off doubling the travel time from the main sorting centre, hopefully I get tomorrow tho so I ca have a shave before the weekend
Good advice was given above. Lather, Lather, and Lather some more. The TSD has some great soaps and creams epsecially for the price. Im suprised that there is not some type of source for supplies in your area of the world. Even in my small farming community stateside, I can pick up wilkinson sword blades, and VDH soap and brushes. Dont knock VDH if you can find it. For 2 bucks US, it whips up a mean lather.
So am I, but I guess that's what happens when you live in a country that doesnt pay an I heresy in wet shaving, as I said in another thread, I can get SE blades for and injector but that's about it.
Where i live if you go into the larger pharmacy store they have 50+ multi blade cartridges and Wilkinson sword blades (for 10 dollars i think not). But no injector blades and just Poraso creams and TRSC creams.
You need to take into account that we live in a country that is the size of the Lower 48 States of the USA with a population of 22 million, whereas the USA in much the same area has $313 million. Plus the Australian population is highly urbanised with 2 cities of 4+million people each (Sydney & Melbourne - both the size of greater Boston or greater Philadelphia) and 70% of the population in the 6 largest cities. Add in a handful of larger regional centres and there's not a lot of people to go around in the rest of the country. My observation of travelling in the USA is that the farming districts there are much more densely populated than they are here and the country towns are bigger and closer together than in similar farming districts here. All the supermarkets and most pharmacies in Oz carry the Brazilian Wilkinson Sword blades at ~$A14.50 for a 10-pack. Extortionate price and a so-so blade I'm told. These are made by Gillette, whereas the US & European WS blades are made by Schick in Germany, so different blade. Franklin's "No Frills" DE blades are $5 for 10, made in Israel so probably the same as the Red-Pack, Israeli Personnas and Crystals the US guys talk about. The ShaverShop chain carry Astra SPs and Merkur blades IIRC - I find Astra SPs very good, but Merkur blades are not highly regarded on the forums. AFAIK Schick-style injector blades in the cartridge are not available in Oz, everybody has to order from overseas. Are you referring to the Gem SE blades as used in paint scrapers? These are uncoated and apparently give a pretty rough shave. Whereabouts in FNQ are you?
Welcome Steve. IMHO it is very important to spend plenty of time brushing the lather onto the face. Have a good shave!
