New member saying thanks and hello from New England

Hi all

I have been wet shaving for two weeks now after doing about a month or research. Mostly here.

A bit about myself. I am a married 46 year old professional. I have a 6 year old son and a daughter who is 4. My interests range from classic sci- fi and aquariums, to scuba diving and fitness. I grew up on Long Island, NY and now live in MA. I have also lived in Oregon, Florida, California and even briefly in Missouri.

It has been practically "love at first stroke" for me. I have always hated shaving, and have been trying to fit looking for a better way into my busy life. This ridiculously cold winter finally pushed me over the edge. My face was dried out, and starting to get red sores from the dry air and scraping it raw with cartridge razors.

Other than a couple of minor nicks here and there, my very first wet DE shave was an almost magical experience. I am not having any of the issues I see many new shavers discussing. Making awesome lather, prep and the shaves themselves have been smooth and drama free. I am sure my face/beard and some luck have played a part, but the information available here has certainly been a major factor in how well this is going. For that I thank you all.

I will be doing a PIF for the site by making a TSD shop purchase tonight or tomorrow. I have not acquired any creams yet and the six variety sampler looks interesting. I will also try a puck of TSD soap.

I look forward to continuing on this journey and socializing with what seems to be a cool group of folks.

Thanks Again,
Scott

 

Welcome! Since you are new to the Double Edge world, 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.

This really does work.


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

 

Welcome!

 

Welcome Scott! Please share your journey with us!

 

Hi! Welcome to the Den from a fellow New Englandah!!
Be sure to sign up for the March Newbie Give-Away.

 

Thanks everyone! I am trying my best to stick to the 30 day rule and not change a lot to start. I did make an adjustment or two starting out. I had to move a bit faster than intended initially.

An upcoming trade show had me dreading the need to shave four days in a row. Fearing that my face might literally fall off, I ran out to Target and grabbed a Van Der Hagen luxury set and matching VDH butterfly razor to match up with a blade sampler I received from Amazon. I loaded up an Astra SP blade and had at it. The difference in shave quality from canned cream and cartridges was amazing.

Two shaves later (just over a week ago) the soap, brush and after shave I ordered from Stirling arrived. I whipped up a test lather of Scots Pine. The obvious jump in quality from the VDH soap warranted a change. I am now going to stick with the Scots Pine for a few more weeks while I perfect my technique further.

I also just finished the Astra blades, having settled on two shaves per blade to keep a fair comparison. I am going to go with either the Gillette 7 o'clock or Silver Blues tonight. Will be keeping the same razor, brush and soap while I test blades.

 

Thanks. I will check it out. I'm in Shrewsbury. About 45 minutes west of Boston. Just getting ready to shave and flip on the Bruins game!

 

Scott, welcome to the Den!

 

I was born in Van Buren, Maine and a 1980 Grad of Dover, NH. My dad was Air Force and he and mom are retired about an hour north of Bar Harbor.

 

Thanks BigT

Steve- beautiful country up there. You must really be ready for spring. My lawn just unveiled itself for the first time since before Christmas, and now they are talking possible mega Nor'easter this week.

 

I'm living in New Jersey now, literally right across the river from Philly. I retired from the Air Force back in 2000 while stationed here at McGuire AFB. I'm an Associate Pastor at a church down this way, so here I'll stay until God says otherwise!

 

God bless and thank you for your service. I know right where you are, being a tri state area boy most of my life.

 

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

Tell us about your kit...I also hated shaving for 30+ years until I discovered "traditional" shaving and got rid of the cart!! I've never looked back since...

 

Greetings from someone who lives in the Tri-State area and New England.

 

Scott. Welcome to the den!

 

Thanks again for the warm welcomes.

Nothing special yet Eddie, although I am acquiring things at a steady pace. I am trying to focus on the basics for a few more weeks.

Currently using.

Pre shave wash/soak with blood orange infused natural glycerine soap
VDH Razor
20 buck best badger brush with a lather bowl that I picked up in the kitchen section of Target. No issues getting a great lather so far. See photo.
Stirling Scots Pine puck
Just finished my Astras and tried Gillette 7 o'clock blades tonight. Thought they were a bit smoother than the Astras, but will withhold judgement until I am through the 5 pack.

 

from New Zealand where it's already tomorrow.

 

Thanks Gene and cheers Brian. I know and work with a few kiwis. They can all drink me under the table lol,

 

Sorry I'm late to the party..

Welcome to The Shave Den!