Four shaves in and never looking back. Thank you TSD!!

So I have been reading and watching videos on DE shaving for about 2 years now. I watched nearly every video on Mantic59's youtube channel, which I think should be a requirement before anybody starts DE shaving, as well as any other videos I could find. I was incredibly interested in trying an old school shave but I couldn't pull the trigger on a new DE razor. My first step I took was I started using a brush and soap around 20 months ago and thought that was a huge improvement on my shave. I just picked up the cheapo Van Der Hagen set with a bowl, brush and soap and transitioned to that. This was a huge money saver and a good shave but not a life changer. I kept watching videos on youtube and kind of got scared to try DE shaving. With so many instructional videos and tips it must be difficult to pick up. Eventually (November this year) my my wife got tired of hearing the videos and told me to "just go buy one already". This opened a whole new can of worms I couldn't figure out what to buy. There are so many options and at around $35 fearing it might not be right for me I couldn't pick one. After all $35 is a decent chunk of change for an experiment with a razor i might not even like. I kept researching but never was able to decide on the perfect one. Luckily for me my wife stepped in looked at my computer browser and for Christmas she surprised me with a Merkur 34C, and a badger brush. It just happened to be the one I had up when she looked. This rates as one of the best Christmas presents ever. I think everybody should get the gift of a perfect shave. It should not be intimidating at all. I cannot believe I was so worried about... What? I don't know what. I guess I just pictured it being super difficult and having a long learning period full of nicks and cuts, maybe even looking like I fought a mountain lion. Shave one I was honestly scared for my safety. I started with super light pressure using the included Merkur super blade and I didn't think it was doing anything. Still I continued since I could hear what sounded like the blade cutting. After the first pass I went to rinse and WOW so smooth. I did one more pass and it was the best shave I had ever had. I only got one tiny little nick I didn't even notice until I put on aftershave. Since then, the subsequent three shaves have been even closer with no irritation and only one more minor nick. On shave four I even attempted blade buffing and got the closest shave I have ever had. Even on my neck!! This forum has been an amazing wealth of knowledge and instrumental in my success the last few days. I will never go back to a cartridge and I think I may have early symptoms of acquisition disorder. I have in just the last week ordered a new stand, 4 new shave soaps, a synthetic brush ( just to try one) and a blade sampler. I still have a large list of things I would like to try. I will try to follow some advice I saw on a thread and for another 26 days I will try to stick with my current prep and not change anything until I perfect my shave. After that I cannot wait to try my new soaps and different blades. This has been a great transition and I am glad I found TSD to help me learn the way. I want to say THANK YOU to all who are here actively passing their knowledge and experience to the new guys like myself. You are making this transition a great experience.

 

Welcome to The Shave Den and your new addiction!

 

Thank you for the warm welcome. Hopefully I can stop with the purchases for a while. Well after a new scuttle. I can upgrade that while I attempt to perfect my shave technique.

 

Welcome friend, to the worst addiction you'll ever love

 

Welcome aboard

 

At least it is healthy and inexpesive.... so far.

 

Welcome...I was worried myself over nothing at all!! Remember wetshaving is only as expensive as you make it.

 

Welcome! This definitely helped settle some nerves; I've been anxious about how well I will do and whether or not I will cut myself up.

 

As long as you lock your wrist/pull with your arm and use little pressure there is nothing to it. I am so glad I tried it and I hope you let me know how your first DE shave goes.

 

INEXPENSIVE ?!?!?!?! Bless your heart.
Its cheaper than crack I guess (assuming, never done it) But I bet my wife would beg to differ. Im constantly getting the buisness for buying $30,00 soap pucks when I have 8 of them stashed all over the bathroon. Its like a disease, the more you use, the more you need.
Im a hopeless addict.
Wait until you discover SINGLE EDGE razors, oh my. A whole NEW family of blades, oh my.
Yea good luck with the inexpensive friend. I hope you are stronger (or wealthier) than I

 

I am not wealthy that is for certain. As for being stronger than you SWMBO will definitely keep me in check. I am quite sure of that.

 

yea, And I can quit any time I want to, I swear! LMBO
Soon you will be one of us, I can hear it now " I know the car insurance is due but, EDWIN JAGGER HAS A NEW SOAP!"

welcome, come on in. MWAHAHAHA

 

Man, I thought I was getting into something awesome. Now the evil laugh makes me think I may have just joined the dark side.

 

Dark and wonderful.
Great folks here, plenty of good advise and all the insight you could ask for.

 

Welcome to the den! It only gets better!

 

Hi JPB amd welcome to TSD. Great to hear about your first DE schaves. Happy Shavings!

 

to TSD "jpb437"..........I hope you enjoy it here.......

Quite a wife you have there, you should be "VERY" thankful to her!! The 34C is an excellent razor, it was one of the first "non-vintage" razors I bought when I first started....

I'm glad to hear your first shaves were such a success ....Luckily most are...And now that you are hooked on "traditional" shaving and have abandoned the "cart&goo" lifestyle your shaves will only get better and better...I promise
Don't worry about catching "Aquisition Disorder" your already "FULLY" infected, trust me I can tell...
The best you can do now is control it...Take your time to fully research,read about,watch video's and compare prices on different sites and/or ebay on all of your purchases(razors,brushes,bowls,soaps.aftershaves etc), It doesn't stop the buying, but it will help slow it down some.. Also when you start buying vintage razors(and you will) remember don't worry about missing a razor on ebay today,(don't go overboard on price) there is always another razor coming down the line tomorrow...

Welcome to the addiction err hobby. Glad to have you aboard.....

 

Fantastic news. Welcome to the Den. Sit back put your feet up and enjoy the ride. There are many very knowledgeable men and women here don't be afraid to ask questions. As promised it only gets better

 

Welcome to the Wonderland of shaving and good mood. You will enjoy your stay here because here are fantastic people which will help you in nearly every situation. Everytime i´m surfin here i think for myself:

I´m such a lucky guy to be here.

So i can shout out a BIG THANK YOU. All your advices and informations made my shaves more and more enjoyable.