Blades are cheap. I go a max of three and out on one blade. Saving 20 cents by giving myself razor burn with a worn out blade doesn't make sense to me. (Kind of like making one cartridge work for a month of shaves. You can do it, but why would you want to?) Yes, the siren song is loud, somewhat hypnotic, and a lot of fun. Once you get a solid foundation of shaving skills that will work with many razors, go nuts! What I found out when I went nuts before getting my basics down is that my skills didn't traslate between razors. When I focused on one razor, blade, and brush for a month, things got better. Then I got to where I could get a good shave out of any razor, and started being able to play with more hardware. Then I tried straights...
Razor: Gillette Black Tip (X3) 1952 Blade: Voskhod Teflon Coated (3) Brush: Omega 10066 Boar Soap: Captain's Choice Bay Rum A/S: Captain's Choice Bay Rum Day 15 Very good shave tonight. I added a little to much water, so it took some time to fix that. "User error"
My first post here so give me a good interweb slap if I mess up Razor MTO brush WSP badger Soap TSD barbershop Blade Wilkinson The shave was great, cold water for me thanks. 3 pass, WTG, XTG, ATG. Very little irritation and still no cuts (been lucky I guess, no cuts since I switched to DE) I can't say BBS, but my 2nd best shave to date. I had better with a feather blade. I've only had 2 bad shaves, my second which was shaky hands the other was when I went off the cold water path. Neither were too bad though. I'd love to get that BBS, just can't seem to get one.
Thanks for joining the crew and a great job on your first post. Don't worry the BBS will come in time. Feel free to ask any questions and we'll try to help if we can. I am looking forward to following your progress as you master DE shaving,
October 15 Gillette New LC Feather blade (2) Kent BK4 silvertip brush Trumper's Coconut cream Two passes Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, unrefined shea butter, and Trumper's Coral Skin Food I don't know what to say about this set up other than it just works well for me. I plan to change my brush (to a Semogue Boar), handle (to my Mongoose handle), and aftershave selections over the next few days to bring in some variety. All things considered, I have really enjoyed this focus even though I haven't experienced any break-through learning. We sure had a beautiful day here in Kentucky...sunny blue skies and temps hovering around 70 degrees. I absolutely love this time of year. I hope you had a fantastic Thursday.
Welcome aboard! This is a great thread to talk about technique to improve your shaves. We won't slap you. We have Igor and the Russian Blade cartel for that. (Keep reading, it will make sense.) Judging from your set up, I am guessing someone gave you a starter gift or PIF, since its hard to put a kit together like that.
No actually bought it all. The shave den soap and captains choice came today. The MTO I got at Walmart. Have a few tins of WSP soap and some TSD milk as well. The only problem I'm having right now is just above my Adams apple and to the sides of it, no matter how many passes or directions, I can't get it smooth. It's like the razor just won't catch the hair. I even tried applying a little pressure, but still not getting it.
I had to get some. I read so many great things about it. I have to admit, I did what most people say not to do, open up the bottle and take a big whif. I almost didn't use it. But I did anyway and glad I did....love the smell. Not as much as that TSD oakmoss sandalwood though. That is some great smelling aftershave milk!
Well, I tossed out my Clubman Hair Tonic to make room for the soon-to-come gels. The tonic wasn't bad, but I've always had better results with the gels.
Thanks, I'll give that a shot. I was taught when I was young to not pull my skin, but that was with cart razors.
Charlie, that's when you know it's all dialed in it becomes a little boring. Changing handles, aftershaves, soaps and brushes helps add variety without screwing up a good thing. I know it works for me. We had similar weather in Atlanta today. This is my favorite time of year.
You're not trying to pull it tight, just move the small trouble area to a flatter area so it's easier to shave. I remember the barber using the same trick during a shave.
15 October 2015 30 Days with a Fat Boy 1959 Gillette Fat Boy Asco Super Stainless (2) L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic Van Der Hagen Luxury Shave Soap (@CyanideMetal style) Alum TSD ISZ AS under the Veg Second verse, same as the first! Cool, calm clear day, super busy, puppy mayhem stuff! Other than that...all is quiet in Colorado! Have a fantastic Friday!!