I bought an eBay Chinese junk DE razor for less than two dollars about a year ago just to edge up my beard. I had my father's two DE's but in one of the moves they "disappeared" Not sure if it was due to my wife or sticky fingers. Sadly, they can never be replaced even if they can be rebought. Lots of sentimental value as dad has been gone many years and that is all I had of his. Additionally, it is sad to find out one was what is called a "fatboy." Alas, can't go back in time. I never had any success with dad's razor when I was younger nor the ebay junker. I was using dollar store blade and each shave session was like filming a horror movie. Fast forward.... to two weeks ago. I got fed up with the beard. I went to Walmart found a puck of VDH shave soap, VDH blades, and Shave Secret pre-shave oil. Made my way around town and found the only shave brush in town at Sally's Beauty supply and a "world' best father" low and wide coffee cup at the goodwill. Man, what a difference! The soap, oil and blades gave me a great shave from the cracker-jack razor. The mug is way to big and not much use. The brush loses hair like a mangy dog but I am getting some great shaves with just few weepers. Those are from rushing it. I have a tough beard and a sissy face, yet I can get a shave good enough to last for two days. And the only razor burn issues are in the lower neck area. Even that is better. By the second week, this week, I added Noxzema, Derby blades and began face lathering. Even better. My only complaint is that my razor broke ther other morning as I made my final stroke to clean up the sideburn area. Duct tape to the rescue! Other than that I has been great. Just need more money to get a real razor! But from the couple of hundred or so posts I have read, that seems to be a common problem!!!! I still have the razor as Ebay is not always nice during the bidding wars. And a lot oflying about the razor they are selling and jacked up prices. Alas, it will work out. But I now have Bath & Body's C.O. Bigelow - Proraso repackaged shaving cream and I love it. Not sure why they make all that junk in a can at the grocery store! It it is nice and better that the VDH puck of soap too!
Welcome to TSD. Sounds like you are at the beginning of an interesting journey. As they say, practice makes perfect and you will quickly learn what works and what doesn't work for you. Supplies can be hard to find if the stores around you carry limited (or no) shaving supplies, but, no worries, the world of online shopping awaits. There are so many knowledgeable people here in the den that can advise on all aspects of shaving. Enjoy!
Glad that you landed here at TSD, Chris. It is a great community of shavers. Join us on The Shave of the Day thread. It is fun, and you will see all kinds of products. And please Mark YOUR location on the TSD map - instructions here.
to TSD "pricechris" If there are any antique stores in your area you maybe able to get a vintage safety razor for a fair price and you have the advantage of seeing it and touching it before you purchase. Other than that my advice would we be either amazon or one of the shaving supply vendors such as shaveabuck.com, Maggards, Shave Nation, BullGoose or WestCoast to name a very few. All of these are helpful, knowledgeable and honest vendors. Some good modern brand choices are: Edwin Jagger Muhle Merkur Sabi Cadet I hope this helps you some, I'm glad you've joined us. Take you time, stick with it and be prepared for the BEST shaving of your life.
Hello and Welcome fellow Texan. Whereabouts you from? I like how you said tough beard and sissy face...that is actually a common problem. Plenty of info can be found on these threads to help with your situation, and don't be afraid to ask some questions. Enjoy the Journey...
Howdy fellow Texan! I've been doing this for exactly 1 year this month and getting started was a challenge. You would think that Texas would be awash with vintage shave gear, but not in my experience. I started with a Murker 34c HD from Amazon. Good razor still in my rotation, very mild. I then also got a VDH kit with a great shave mug good soap and a badger brush with a stand. Great buy! You can find them in Texas at Walmart and Target. Also on Amazon. Even with all the vintage and new stuff I've picked up, I still use everything but the brush, which fell prey to a failed experiment. I get most of my things on eBay or Amazon, or here. The shave products here are very good and you can order samples to try things out. This is a fun place, with some very good folks, enjoy the ride
