How were you introduced to wet shaving?

I used to watch my grandpa shaving as a little child, was always fascinated by it. At age 14 I needed to start shaving and got my first DE and brush.

 

I walked past the art of shaving store at my local mall and had to go inside. I'd never seen wet shaving as an art like that before. It was beautiful.

 

How is the shave for a women's legs with a de ? And could my wife just pop in a new blade in my Merkur 34c and use it?

 

My woman loves her 1966 Lady Gillette, I don't know If I'd use a mans razor on a woman's legs after cheese grating my cheek with her
lady G.
Tho long ago all they did was shorten the handle for women.
The Lady G was the first razor designed for women.

 

Actually, they made the handle longer for women. Many of us find it helpful, to reach spots like the back of the calf, or the ankle. But other than that, razors & blades are not gender-specific. As with men, women need to learn good technique and good prep. Given that, we can get great shaves with a DE. I notice the difference and so does my hubby!

 

AMEN!

 

I got into wet shaving with an Atra Plus way back in 1992. I was a brother in a Benedictine Monastery at the time and someone had left a brush (can't remember the brand anymore), and Old Spice mug in the room where we got our toiletries so I decided to grab a puck of Colgate soap and give it a go. I've been hooked since. I had a buddy in college who was a straight razor shaver, so I had been exposed to the idea. I switched to DE shortly after I found this site, and was exposed to DEs after reading a long-forgotten blog post somewhere. Started using straights from time to time a few years ago.

 

Funny thing, I actually had a dream about S/R shaving woke up and told the wife excited as can be. I started researching wet shaving, two weeks later I took the dive bought the gear and had at it. I had a 9 month beard going at the time because I hated shaving so much.(and it looked pretty sweet) I've been unhappily shaving with an electric razor since I was 13, my skin never tolerated cartridges. I thought I was stuck in electric hell. Now I'm hooked.

 

I watched my Dad and Grandfather shave for years. When the time came my father gave me a Slim Adjustable, brush, Old Spice mug and a puck of Williams. Been wet shaving ever since.

 

I used a DE (dad's Gillette Slim) for the first time in October of 2011. I tore my face all to hell too.

I haven't used a cartridge razor on my face since July of last year.

 

My grandfathers both wet shaved (bic or gillette disposable and goo by the time I was around) while my dad always used electric. When I started shaving, I was given an electric which I used (and many others), but I never got good results. "Close as a blade" -- my arse. lol. Anyhow, blade shaving always seemed more "right" to me for some reason and I flirted with it on and off over the years (gillette disposable and goo). When I went to grad school, I had enough time to blade shave full time and over the years moved to M3 and goo and eventually progressed to DE/SE/Injector and soap after M3 carts got insanely expensive and seemed to hardly last a week (I would normally get a month out of a cart).

So, I credit my grandfathers for the intro to wet shaving, although they never sat down and actually taught it to me. Everything I've learned per se has come from another shaving board (of which I am no longer a member) and trial and error. Also, the Mantic vids were a great help.

 

Watching my dad for years. I started briefly, but like my dad, switched over the cartridges. He now uses an electric shaver, and I decided to go back to wet-shaving due to the cost of multiblade cartridges and my beginning to loathe the shaving process (thanks to years of cartridge shaving & canned gel/goo). Love the morning shave now!

 

I started - many moons ago - with a Braun electric shaver. Ever shave with an electric when there's an unintended hole in the screen? Yeah, that was the last time I used an electric on my face.

$12 American for a pack of cartridges, plus the cost of the goop-in-a-can, convinced me I had to find another way.

My first time using a brush and soap combination on my face told me I'd made the right call in ditching the goop.

Merkur DE en route, with a Dovo straight purchase planned for later this year, or going on the Christmas list.

 

I started with brushes and soaps. Then I was inspired to move to the straight razor after "Skyfall," the newest James Bond film. They have a "cut throat" razor scene.

 

Trough tweakers.net a dutch tech site they where selling beginner sets there and gave a lot of info about it so i thought why not give it a try. Since then(a whole 2 weeks now) i'm doing it and i enjoy it more much more makes me feel like
a real man.

 

Recall watching Dad (DE) and Grandpa (SE) shave when I was younger. Dad used to take the blade out of a DE razor, lather me up, and let me pretend shave when I was a little boy. Mom still has a picture of me doing this when I was about 5. When it came time for me to shave, I started with an electric Norelco that I got for Christmas (my 16 yr. old son currently uses it). When I got in college, the electric just didn't give me that close of a shave, so I switched to cartridge blade shaving. A couple years ago, I was in a mall that had an Art of Shaving store. Went in, got a quick intro and some samples and filed that away for later. In the last year or so, I had contemplated giving it a try because of the high cost of razor cartridges. I came across a blog post about DE shaving to save money where they compared the costs, etc. to cartridges. I decided to give it a try. Wife said try it, but don't spend too much on it! I ordered a cheap DE razor, brush, cream, and blade assortment off of Amazon and the rest is history. I have now purchased 6 DE vintage Gillettes at estate sales and am having fun trying them all out.

 

My grandfather was going to buy me my first razor. He died when I was 13 didn't even have facial hair. I'm now 48. Remember cleaning out his house after he passed and coming across all kinds of straights and DE's and just pitching them into a dumpster. Found a few youtube videos found TSD and here I am about 6 months in not looking back. I even reintroduced my father to DE shaving. He told me the other night he forgot the joy of shaving and thanked me.

 

Hi all. New to the forum today. Thanks for your great tips and conversations.

My life as a DE shave addict began in March of this year after weeks of painstaking research to find the right razor and soap and brush and oil and....blades. I couldn't bring myself to buy the $100 plus Merkur. Or drop all that cash at the Art of Shaving. On a business trip, after warchkng the tutorial on The Art of Manliness, I figured I'll never do it if I don't start. I bought a $12 DE and tried it the next morning. I WAS HOOKED!! That afternoon I stopped at a local antique store and found an adjustable Gillette DE safety razor for $2.37. WHAT LUCK!! Turns out it's a Fatboy (I3).

Since I've started DE wet shaving, I relish my morning shave. It's as necessary as coffee. And I enjoy not buying cartridges. I enjoy shaving like my dad used too.

 

14 months ago I purchase the latest multiple blade vibrating state of the art razor in hope of getting a better shave. It was the worst shave ever so upon reflection I realized that with every improved cartridge system my shaves got worse.

So I thought using a straight razor would be cool and macho and most likely better. So using my Googlefu I started my research and found some websites and video. It was clear maintaining a straight is beyond my skill set but a DE was a great option. I wish I had found wet shaving years ago. From lousy shaves to a hobby and way to make when I die I don't have any cash to bequeath but a bunch of razors, blades, creams and blades.

Viva wet shaving!

 

A coworker discovered wet shaving and was talking about the cost savings (he is very frugal). He also said he was getting some of the closest shaves in his life. He got me to reading and I was fascinated with how large the online community is for this and by the vintage razors. I am only two shaves into this and I am hooked. My face is the smoothest it has ever been and I just enjoy playing with all of the gear. Before I had even had my first DE shave, I was so into it that I got my wife interested and she had me get her a Lady Gillette on ebay. I also picked up a FatBoy for myself to go along with the Super Speed I started with. I think I already have a problem.