Brand New Wet Shaver

Discussion in 'Welcome Center' started by Fup, May 16, 2017.

  1. Fup

    Fup Well-Known Member

    Hey everyone, new wet shaver here. I've been lurking for a couple days and this seems like a really cool community so I created an account.

    I pretty much gave up shaving a couple years ago and just used a trimmer to keep my beard in line. Then I started researching cheaper alternatives to ridiculously expensive cartridges and found safety razors. I then used a $25 Amazon gift card toward the purchase of the Gentleman Jon's Complete Wet Shave Kit. Then after more research discovered most veteran wet shavers recommend better quality kits...oh well.

    I've shaved a couple times now and going for the third shave tonight. I have to say I am quite enjoying it and hanging on the cusp of the rabit hole with one hand. I'm resisting the urge to spend money for now and just sticking with what I got which all seems pretty functional. But the research is pretty obsessive.

    I'm always ready to learn and hopefully down the road a bit I'll be able to educate as well. Looking forward to being apart of this community and happy shaving!
     
  2. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    Welcome!! Glad your enjoying the shaves. Learing with what you have is great. Some of the 30 day crew will swing through soon to invite you.
     
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  3. lightcs1776

    lightcs1776 Well-Known Member

    Welcome to the Shaving Den. There are very few safety razors that won't give you a good shave, so you're smart to hold off on adding more razors for now. Just continue to improve with your current one.

    Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
     
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  4. jimjo1031

    jimjo1031 never bloomed myself

    Welcome to the Den.
     
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  5. Fup

    Fup Well-Known Member

    Yeah, the razor is probably the last thing I'll replace. I'm resisting the urge to get more soaps, a new brush and some manly aftershave. After reading up after I already ordered the kit I was worried the brush, which is advertised as a badger, might be low quality and shed hairs but my first shave with it it lost maybe 5 hairs. It also softened up quite a bit after the first shave, it was a bit 'prickly'.

    My first two attempts for aftershave I just used shea butter I already own because showers dry the hell out of my face. It seems to work okay. I also have a really old bottle of Nivea for Men aftershave balm which I might try tonight.

    My second shave I went for an even smoother shave and must have been too aggressive because the alum block burned my face pretty good but was fine after about half an hour. My girlfriend bought me some alcohol free witch hazel to try tonight as well.

    Thanks for the greetings you guys!
     
  6. RetLEO-07

    RetLEO-07 likes his penguin deep fried, with pink sparkles

    Welcome from Central NJ!
    The rabbit hole does not need to be expensive(at least at the start). C O Bigelow Shave Cream(think Proraso Green) is available at Bath and Body Works for $10(large tube). Wilkinson Sword blades are at Bed Bath & Beyond. Also Clubman After Shave.
    Fleamarket for vintage razors(my first, a NEW Short Comb was $5)
    Welcome to the show!
     
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  7. AGHisBBS

    AGHisBBS Well-Known Member

    Welcome to The Shave Den, a great place to hang out!
     
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  8. Fup

    Fup Well-Known Member

    Cool, thanks man. My girlfriend lives real close to a couple antique stores and I really want to say we saw some vintage safety razors when we were looking around months ago. I will definitely have to get back there and make sure.
     
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  9. RyX

    RyX DoH!

    Welcome @Fup! Glad you jumped in. There's a good chance you can get a great shave with the gear you now own. Many of us have purchased lots of gear searching for The One. Later we went back to our first set up and found we can get good shaves from what we thought was mediocre gear. It's about developing Technique. My (120 mile away) neighbor @Fuzzy predicted you'd get an invite. There's a group of shavers here at TSD that are trying to improve their results. Weather they are New guys learning Vintage razors, or Vintage shavers learning New razors The 30 Day Rule/Focus group (link below) is all about getting your best shave with the gear you own. There may be a theme each month but the idea is helping each other with our combined wisdom. And shenanigans.
     
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  10. brit

    brit in a box

    welcome from b.c. canada.
     
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  11. RetLEO-07

    RetLEO-07 likes his penguin deep fried, with pink sparkles

    IMG_0417.PNG
     
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  12. DaltonGang

    DaltonGang Ol' Itchy Whiskers

    Welcome, from Texas.
     
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  13. Zykris

    Zykris Well-Known Member

    Welcome!
     
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  14. Straight razor dandy

    Straight razor dandy Stuck cleaning the house himself PERMANENTLY

    Wsup, fup?

    Great choice for joining!
    Join our soap passaround and try a bunch of stuff!! There are tons of great soaps out there.

    Heres a list for things to look for:

    I like Gillette techs and Gillette fatboys for vintage safety razors, and timeless razors and Blackbird for modern ones.

    I believe the very best soaps are Barrister and Mann, Stirling soap company, Catie's bubbles, and L&L grooming.

    Great Aftershaves include chatillon lux, musgo real, pinaud, floid, and lucky tiger.

    My favorite blades are Gillette silver blues, gillette 7 o'clocks, voskhods, and feather.

    There are several top brushes out there, but I would suggest Wolf Whiskers above all others. They are gorgeous, offer tons of options, cheaper than most other too end brushes, and will last. They are tough to get though. We have a Wolf Whiskers thread in here...you should check it out.

    Gentlemen Jon makes one of the best alum bars, so you really don't need to ever switch that out.

    If you want to just get a package deal...or you are low on funds, check with Stirlingdoap.com for a wet shaving set or put a "want to buy" ad on here to get some good deals on stuff.

    We also have several PIFs (pay it forward) going right now. Go there to enter for FREE stuff
     
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  15. RyX

    RyX DoH!

    @Fup - is you name a reference to something in Larry Nivens Ringworld novel series? Several other options presented themselves, and I'm curious.

    Tapatalk Via Kyocera
     
  16. Jayaruh

    Jayaruh The Cackalacky House Pet

    Supporting Vendor
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  17. Fup

    Fup Well-Known Member

    Nope, never heard of those. Oh and thanks for the info and words of encouragement. Does the 30 day group just post updates in that thread?


    You, sir, are a scholar and a gentleman. So much to research... I've heard about a lot of the stuff you mentioned and forgot to talk about blades. My kit came with a 5-pack of Astra SP which seem pretty good and popular. I'm interested in trying the Gillette blades(what's the difference between the 2?), the feathers sound...daunting. My facial hair is not on the super thick side and my skin is more on the sensitive side so from what I've read the feathers sound a little extreme for me.
     
  18. david of central florida

    david of central florida Rhubarb Rubber

    Hello and welcome.
    Go slow, listen to your razor(turn the water off). Remember to prep, can't get a good shave without a good prep.
    Ask, the only thing we can't help with are questions not asked.
    Enjoy
     
    Fup likes this.
  19. Primotenore

    Primotenore missed opera tunity

    Article Team
    Welcome to TSD @Fup
     
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  20. Jim99

    Jim99 Gold Water Shaver

    Welcome to The Shave Den!

    :signs046:
     
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