Hi, my name is Don and I currently reside in Oakland. Mid fifties... Where do I start? Finally, the cost of replacement cartridges for my Gillette Fusion drove me over the edge. So, in order to save money, I decided to go back to "old school" shaving. I purchased a Futur DE razor, some Feather Brand blades, a $40 Classic Shaving Super Badger Brush and some soap. It's been about three months now and shaving has become a real luxury for me rather than a daily chore. After a short learning curve, I've never shaved closer and shaving has become me-time (if that makes any sense). Now I have a question. Okay, more than one: How on Earth did I end up with four shaving brushes in three months with a boar brush on the way? Does this mean I'll have 15 brushes in a year? The Futur is a fine razor, so why did I have to buy a Cobra? And once I shaved with (and loved) the Cobra, why did I order an Artist Club just because it uses the same blades? Why am I looking for a D (1958) Gillette just because it's my birth year? Why do I know I'll be buying a staight next year? What the heck has happened to me, I'm a frugal guy? As for my great idea that this old-school shaving would save me money....what a crock! Sure, the blades cost almost nothing compared to the Gillette Multi-blade gizmos and there are no more empty shaving cream/gel cans ending up in landfill somewhere. I have a great idea! I should switch back to using the Gillette Fusion in order to save money. Thanks for listening.
Welcome aboard! RAD usually either burns itself out in a year or two or dies down to a slow smoulder.
Welcome to the Den Just hope your spending frenzy will die down in time, and in the meanwhile clear up some room in your cabinet for some more stuff
to TSD Don..... I'm sure between all the members here at TSD, we'll be able to answer your questions..... First off as to the cost of your shave. In spite of your initial purcheses(a Future adjustable ain't cheap, Feather blades,$40 brush and soap). You will break even before long(I have no idea what carts go for nowadays) and then begin to save ALOT money on your regular shaving. You must however differentiate between shaving the daily necessicity and shaving the hobby. Shaving the hobby as you are finding out can easily get out of hand and kinda pricey..happy097: You could easily have WAY more than 15 brushes in a year.... R.A.D.,S.B.A.D.,R.B.A.D.,S.S.A.D. are all VERY addictive!! Examples: I own well over a 100 DE,SE and injectors safety razors. You simply need to know how each one feels on your face.. I used a straight razor twice when I first started wet shaving and didn't like it.... Yet I own 13 regular vintage straights(some with coffins, some without) and 5 Durham Duplex safety straights. I've used basically the same shave brush since I started a "bestshave #6 horsehair"(around $5 shipped when I bought it a couple of years ago) I prefer this brush above all others I have used, I even had a friend put the knot into a resin handle for me. I don't even have a serious case of S.B.A.D. I do however own more than 12 shave brushes... As for the birth years Gillettes. You do know Gillette made more than one razor in 1958 and you must also get not only the correct year but the correct quarter also. I'm an A2 and so far I have a 3 piece Ball End tech, Blue,Silver and Red tip Super Speeds, I still need a Gold Diplomat TTO. PLEASE don't go back to the Fusion, just "Sit Back and Enjoy the Ride" with all the rest of us addicts and enablers....
Welcome man nice to have you here. I'm sure finding a birth year won't be too difficult. Now as for mine on the other hand, I don't think there were too many DE razors made in 1991 ( my birth year.)
Welcome to the Den. 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. Oh and one more thing ... Welcome to the Den. We know you'll fit right in. So grab yourself a comfy chair, and give our threads a spin! Burma Shave
I am sure your advice is sound. And I joined this forum for exactlty this -- sound advice. However, in all honesty, I don't think I have the fortitude and intelligence to go an entire month without changing something. I started about three months ago with a Futur razor and Feather Brand Blades. I purchased a "Super badger" brush and some soap with the Futur and just went to town. I didn't know there was such a thing as a razor blade sampler pack. I did not know there was a Shaving Den on the internet. Everything was hunky dory the first week, outside of some weepers and razor burn. The second week is when things got interesting. My technique was very good ( as far as I knew) and I thought " what's the big deal, this is a walk in the park." I was getting the closest shaves of my life and if it wasn't for the razor burn I would have been delighted. Then, for reasons unknown to me, I started nicking myself. I looked at the Futur and noticed I had it set at 1! I didn't know until then that the Futur was adjustable. I thought, oh my God, I have it set at 1, I need to back it down to a milder setting. So, the next shave I backed it all the way down to 6. I was very careful and received the closest shave of my life at 6. Unfortunately, I continued to experience razor burn. Yes, I was/am that ignorant. Instead of trying to concentrate on improving what I assumed was very good technique, I chose to change things up. The first thing I did was replace the Feather blades with the Merkur blades that came with my Futur. This was perhaps the biggest mistake I've made to date. My face does not like the Merkur blades in the Future razor. I won't go into details, suffice to say I was not a happy camper. I then researched on the internet, only to find out that the settings on the Futur were exactly backwards to what I assumed. Now tell me, in the history of the Shaving Den, has anyone admitted to being as ignorant as I have? I have no unrealistic illusions as to my command of common sense. About a week ago I received a Cobra razor and started using it exclusively. I can honestly say that I prefer the Cobra to the Futur at this time. If I am very careful with the Cobra, I can acheive a BBS shave with minimal razor burn. Perhaps not minimal burn, but a great improvement. I know I have a lot to learn, hence my joining this Board. As to your thoughtful and much appreciated advice, I will try to go a month using only the Cobra with "no pressure" to eliminate my ever-present razor burn." But I will be using different soaps and creams during this month, you have to give me some leeway. .. In the meantime, I'd like to learn about these sample blades you suggest. I've read that the 7 o'clock, the Super Iridium, and Astra blades may work better for me in my Futur than the Feathers. Honestly, this is all Greek to me. I need blades from St. Petersburg, Russia? Seriously? This evening, the Artist Club razor and Razorrock cream came in the mail... Face it, I've got "it" bad. Thank God I never got into drugs in my youth, if this wet shaving has taught me anything, it's that I am not the pillar of self control I always assumed! Thank you for the advice. I really do apprecate your sharing of hard-earned wisdom. Any more advice from experienced folks here will be much appreciated.
Welcome to the Den! A cart does save lot of money, it gives poor quality shave forcing you to shave less.
Just so you know, 1 is the mildest setting on the Futur, 6 being the most aggressive. It's no wonder you were still getting razor burn at that setting. Here's my advise for adjustable razors: 1st shave - set to 1.5 (for the Futur, set to 3 for others), finish entire shave, evaluate 2nd shave - set to 2 (or 4 for others), finish the entire shave, evaluate 3rd shave - set to 2.5 (or 5), finish the entire shave... 4th shave - set to 3 (or 6), finish... Keep going until you find that spot that is just one twist on the knob too much , back it down and leave it there. You just found the razor's sweet spot for your face. For me, just a touch over 2.5 on the Futur and 6 on my Gillettes.
Welcome to the shave den! My spending goes wild from time to time as well. I don't consider it a waste though because if you don't like it you can always trade with someone here or if you are super nice pay it forward (PIF) to someone who likes/ wants to try something new. The first years are the "building years." Once you find products that really work well for you, you tend to stick with them. This is a hobby. I dumped $20K in a car over 3 years so for myself this is way cheaper and gets me in less trouble. Enjoy the ride and the shave my friend
...to The Shave Den family! Be sure to stop by The Shave Den "Master Sticky" thread to familiarize yourself with the rules and different areas of The Shave Den!
Welcome t0 TSD - I recently added up all the money I have spent since i started in June of 2012 and it was a staggering sum of money but - hey, Fishing and golfing are expensive hobbies too!
If you think fishing and golf are expensive, you should try wine and women. Any other hobby seems like a bargain.
