What advice would you give the Newbie you?

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I think that's the way it is for me-my RISE order will reassure me that I will have at least one shave cream and one aftershave for probably 2 years. But I'll buy others as backups.

 

I would tell myself, " Go vintage with your razors, skip the new razors, and buy every soap and cream on the market". Oh wait, that's what I ended up doing. Good advice.

 

My advice:
Try many different soaps and creams.
Try many different razors and blades.
Most importantly, try them slowly over a few days with each change.

 

I would advise myself to follow the 30-day rule. Technique needs to develope first.

 

More water while lathering

Less pressure while shaving

Don't wait so long to buy Cella

Get off eBay!!!!!

 

-1k Chosera, 4k/8k Norton, 12k Naniwa SS, SG20k. That's it. No more hones. Forget about the Hone Flavor of the Week. Never start with J-Nats...that way lies madness.

-Tell anyone who will listen that J-Wests are really cruddy razors as their price has been skyrocketing along with their popularity.

-Stop buying soap, cream, and AS. You will not live long enough, nor will 3 generations of your descendants, to use what you have accumulated.

-How many strops do you really need? You have one you use only for Japanese razors, one you use only for Sheffields, one for new steel, one for razors with spine work, one pasted with 0.5 micron diamond, one with 0.25 micron CrOx, and you have 3 you never use that you spent enough on to make 2 Cadillac payments. Get an SRD #4 and call it a day.

-BIG NUMBER ONE: When your daughter gets you that "Art of Shaving" starter kit, just toss it in the bin with the cheap flashlights and crappy combination screwdrivers she's been getting you for years. Unless you hate disposable income.

 

Buy samples rather than pucks, that way you can try more soaps/creams in a shorter time period.

 

For whatever reason, I just found this thread. I would tell myself to skip the cheap badger brush and get a good Boar instead. I wasted a couple of months with a poor brush.

 

With respect to products and learning resources that were available in 2007 or 2008:

• Razor + blades combination: Gillette Slim adjustable + Gillette 7 O'clock Super Platinums or Merkur 34C + Derbys work exceedingly well
• Wilkinson Sword (Indian made) and Rainbow blades also work well
• Merkur blades are awful. Shaving with a safety razor is light years better if you use other blades.
• Use Kiss My Face cream or Van Der Hagen Deluxe soap
• With brushes, softer does not necessarily equal better and often does not. Soft and floppy brushes don't lather soaps as well as brushes with more backbone.
• Don't waste money on a badger brush. Get an Omega boar brush instead. It is every bit as good as a badger brush and costs a lot less.
• Get a custom made mug with a brush holder from an artisan potter. Until it arrives, simply use the Kiss My Face cream.
• Get an alum bar. They are inexpensive and worth the money
• Once you have found a few blades and soaps that work well, don't waste your time trying a bunch of new things. It won't give you anything you don't already have.
• "Weasel & Widget" has some really nice members, but the management is way out of control. You won't like it there, and it is not typical of traditional wetshaving. Join the Razor & Brush and The Shave Den forums instead. You will get accurate information at those places and both the management and members are super friendly and helpful. Most of all, don't let the forum wars and shouting matches discourage you and turn you against traditional wetshaving.
• Don't spend too much time at the forums, but do spend enough time to learn the basics. Get the info you need, ask questions, contribute anything you find and deem useful to others, and then go put what you have learned into practice.
• You will get much better at wetshaving over time, and it will eventually become second nature.

 

I think this thread is a great idea.

Subscribed.

 

I did the 30 day rule when started, I would tell (insist) myself to do it again. I would also tell myself to ignore YouTube except for Mantic59 and John Hallock the rest are a waste of time and listening to their "recommendations" on products is BS.

 

-Stay away from forums
-This isn't going to save you money

 

Buy more stuff. That's what you enjoy the most after all
And dont toss that 500g brick of Vitos that you thought had gone bad. It probably wasn't
And last, but not least. Start traditional wet shaving at 16, not 36

 

I would tell myself - don't soak your pucks. It's unnecessary and wastes product.

 

I would tell myself to keep distilled water on hand. Everything but Arko benefits from it at my house. I refill a water bottle (one of the really thin disposable ones) and pop a bunch of holes in the cap. I have great control, and only fill it up every week or so. Way too much iron in my water for making lather.