Lets talk about shaving

nickclark08 said:
So this thread has me convinced I need to try old-school shaving, prompted by my Grandfather giving my my great-grandafther`s mug and shaving brush.

I know a DE saftey razor is where to start - which one? Merkur 34c? any other recommendations?

It`s Barbasol and Mach 3 turbo for me right now... I`m thinking anything will be an upgrade. Thanks gents.
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It is better and I started after reading this thread January 2 years ago and have not used a disposable since.

Merkur 34c is a good razor, I don`t even use mine anymore and have gone vintage instead. Edwin Jagger DE89 I have heard is another good razor. The 34c is kind of s stubby or shorter handled razor. If you don`t want to spend close to $40 on a new razor you could try a Feather Popular. Never tried one but I think it runs around $20.

Blades are another topic and to each his own but if you have a mom and pop type drugstore they should have Wilkinson Sword Classics for a buck and change for 5 blades.

If your brush you inherited is shedding a lot of hair you just might want to park it. I went Silvertip badger hair brush but they get costly for starting out so try a synthetic brush. I have one and they are super soft.

Soap, give Van Der Hagen Luxury soap a try if is like $3 to $4 at Walmart. I like it but have since found better scented soaps out there.

It will take a little time to get the lather process down. Also, if you are pressed for time it does take a little longer to shave the "old school way". What took me 8 to 10 minutes before with the canned stuff and a twin now takes 15 to 20 minutes because of the lather process and the extra clean up afterwards. I actually enjoy the process again.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.
 
Dean, you’ve come a long way in the shaving arena. Now the resident “Go To Guy”. Old school’s great isn’t it? ;)
 
After 30 some years of doing it and now the renewed interest in it I actually don`t mind doing it now even though it takes a little longer.

Just like finding this forum I found Badger and Blade and have gone overboard in the soap/cream department. I have a few more razors than I really need but only have a few brushes of which one is my Dad`s that is shedding that I don`t use, one is a plain badger that I only use to do test lather now and then and my regular use is a Silvertip badger and a synthetic I use for hard soaps that I can put a little pressure on without having to worry about ruining or breaking hair on the badger.

I never knew there was so much out there and before I found this old style shaving I was going through the motions. Actually was down to once a week since i was getting so much irritation and nicks I figured why bother. Last week, for the first time in over 2 years, I went the whole week without shaving as it seemed like I was getting some razor bumps. Seemed to clear up now so back to every 2 to 3 days.
 
I wish i could skip days shaving. Every now and again, ill skip if i have a short day at work and its a 6 day week. Shaving 6 days a week is tough on the face so i try to avoid it if i can. I dont grow a real heavy beard, but by the afternoon of the day ive skipped its definitely noticeable enough that i cant really yet away with it.
 
Quick review on 2 new products used today. EDGE 2 in 1 shave cream. Protects and conditions in 1 step. This one was a sleeper. WOW! Fantastic product. Thin white cream. Like Cremo you only need a little. Thinner than Cremo and I think better to use. Rinses cleaner from the blades. And the condition part is the real deal. You could forgo a after shave gel. To me it trumps Cremo. Found it at CVS.

Pacific shaving co. CAFFEINATED After shave. Thick cream. Interesting. Mint scent. Absorbed quickly into the skin. Non greasy feel.

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I hardly feel worthy posting in this thread since I`m not a blade shaver, but figure this`d be the place to ask - Anyone tried the Phillips Norelco One Blade trimmer?

For years now my go to for grooming has just been using a beard trimmer with no guard. I`ve had my current trimmer for a while and it`s fine, but I haven`t been in love with it (Nothing like a conveniently placed power button where it`s easy to accidentally turn it off in the middle of a pass - ouch!).

Recently saw the One Blade and was wondering if anyone here had any experience with it or had heard anything about it.
 
I think it depends on your beard and how long you wear it.

I`m in my first long-term beard experience and when looking for a trimmer this was one I considered. I ended up going a different direction because I was looking to grow out my beard a little longer than the the attachments for this trimmer allow, and it didn`t have some of the handy trimming attachments/heads found on others for a similar price. I ended up with a different model of Phillips and have been pretty happy with it.
 
Better description for what I keep is just perma-5:00 shadow. I use a beard trimmer, but sans guards to get as close as possible. I gave up on regular electric razors because my skin ended up getting torn up no matter which style I used.
 
I thought about getting the one blade for mustache and neck hair trimming but thought it was overpriced at the store for what I need so bought a different style small trimmer.

I had to quit using an electric razor about 10 years ago. It just gave me a bad skin rash and the itchy`s in the summer. When I was using an electric I had to go the route of a foil shaver, Remington I think it is. Still have it but never use it. The Norelco rotary would bite at my skin and leave tracks.

I love double edge razor shaving, mixing up a lather and carving the whiskers off. Who needs a 15 blade razor or whatever they are up to when one does the trick. One of my favorite brands of soap to lather up is Saponificio Varesino.
 
I had to give up electric razors for similar issues. For years, I thought rashes and ingrown hairs on my neck were simply a fact of life since I had curly hair. Changing over to a multi-blade razor and shaving cream eliminated most of the problems almost immediatly. That continued on for decades until I discovered the "old school" double edged safety razor and shaving soap would give me an even better, closer shave. Even though I have started wearing a beard, I still use it to clean up my neck and under my chin.
 
Wanted to report back (I know it`s been awhile):

My wife got me a West Coast Shaving starter kit as a birthday gift - standard DE razor, synthetic brush, soap, etc. Came with Astra blades, which were good for me to get the process down without cutting myself.

Got comfortable with the process, and my BIL gave me some Feathers and Gilette Super Blues to try out - for right now, I`m set with the Feathers.

Getting super close on the chin and neck is still elusive, but getting better. I shave with, then across the grain - Haven`t got brave enough for against the grain yet (which I typically do when using a Mach 3 or whatever).

Anyhow, I really appreciate all the suggestions and tips from you and this thread. Shaving is much more enjoyable now.

skibik said:
It is better and I started after reading this thread January 2 years ago and have not used a disposable since.

Merkur 34c is a good razor, I don`t even use mine anymore and have gone vintage instead. Edwin Jagger DE89 I have heard is another good razor. The 34c is kind of s stubby or shorter handled razor. If you don`t want to spend close to $40 on a new razor you could try a Feather Popular. Never tried one but I think it runs around $20.

Blades are another topic and to each his own but if you have a mom and pop type drugstore they should have Wilkinson Sword Classics for a buck and change for 5 blades.

If your brush you inherited is shedding a lot of hair you just might want to park it. I went Silvertip badger hair brush but they get costly for starting out so try a synthetic brush. I have one and they are super soft.

Soap, give Van Der Hagen Luxury soap a try if is like $3 to $4 at Walmart. I like it but have since found better scented soaps out there.

It will take a little time to get the lather process down. Also, if you are pressed for time it does take a little longer to shave the "old school way". What took me 8 to 10 minutes before with the canned stuff and a twin now takes 15 to 20 minutes because of the lather process and the extra clean up afterwards. I actually enjoy the process again.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.
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You are totally welcome. I am glad to pay back some knowledge and tips. It took me at least a month or more to work into going against the grain. In the beginning after my across the grain pass I would work into slight diagonal strokes against the grain and then finally against the grain.

I love my vintage razor. My main razor is a re-plated rose gold Gillette Slim adjustable in my birth year and quarter(J3-3rd quarter 1964). I probably mentioned in a previous post I acquired a Gillette Fatboy that I have been using the 6 shaves. My go to blades are either Gillette Permasharp from India or Wilkinson Sword Classic from Germany. The latter if needed I can pick up at the local drugstore. I do use Feather once in a while but I can only seem to get 4 shaves out of them, I get double that in the other 2. I am actually 6 shaves in on the Fatboy loaded with a Wilkinson blade and will likely go a few more shaves before changing razors and disposing of the blade.

To finish this off I will mention I used Pre de Provence No 63 shave soap and aftershave balm this morning and it has to be one of my favorite scents. I need to use this one more often. It is hard to since I went overboard with this hobby like I did when I starting detailing. Have way more than I will ever use in my lifetime.
 
Glad to see this thread back. I like west coast shaving, excellent variety of products. You can get some decent variety packs of blades on amazon too. I’m currently using Wilkinson swords on a merkur 38c. Also a huge fan of Taylor of Bond Street shave cream and proraso aftershave. Blades are a very individualized product, every face is different some blades definitely work better for some rather than others. I will say that I have found feathers to be the sharpest out there.
 
I dont know how folks get multiple shaves out of blades, I`ve only gotten one maybe one and a half before needing a new blade

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On Badger and Blade forum they have the Excalibur club for those that can get a lot out of a blade. Most of the members that have that in their signature usually have 100+ out of one blade. I think they shave peach fuzz. Best I have done is 12 on one and think it was the first DE razor and blade I used, a Merkur 34C and the blade it came with. I even bought more of those Merkur blades and they just were not the same as the one the razor came with. I think I have pushed a Wilkinson Sword Classic to around 11 and a Gillette Permasharp to about the same. Now I run around 6 and I have tough whiskers. The Feather gets rough on the third shave.
 
3 shaves, that’s the best I can do without really noticing degredation in blade performance. I definitely have my favorite when it comes to blades but the end result is much the same, 3 that’s the number. Now that is (3) three pass shaves. So... depending upon how you look at it maybe thats the equivelant of 9 shaves. ;)
 
Civicclutch said:
I dont know how folks get multiple shaves out of blades, I`ve only gotten one maybe one and a half before needing a new blade

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So much depends on the blade and the individuals beard. I use the German Wilkinson Sword blades or the Persona Lab Blue blades and can get between 3~4, two-pass shaves out of them. When I tried Derby blades they lasted a bit longer, but seemed more dull at the start, so there may have been less of an edge to lose from the beginning.
 
Blades are definitely to each his own. A lot of people like the Personna`s both the red and blue, I tried the red`s but they did not like my beard. Polsilver and Voskhod are a couple more that are popular on Badger and Blade and after trying both for me the Polsilver tugged a little and the Voskhod blades I just could not get beyond one cheek they were that bad for me. Not sure why I push the blades but shave number 7 yesterday on the Wilkinson Sword Classic and it was still smooth and will try another shave with it. Although I have spent a lot on razors and soaps I can say the blade is definitely cheap part of it at $.13 for the Permasharp(shipped all the way from India even at $13/100). The Wilkinson Sword is about $.25 per. The Gillette Silver Blue is an okay blade. Another decent blade is Perma Sharp(Russian I think, and not the same as the Gillette), my friend ordered these by mistake thinking they were the ones from India. he couldn`t use them so I donated them to a dude that give them out on B&B.

Funny thing about finding the Gillette Permasharp was from ordering a vintage Gillette razor from the bay and the seller included some with the razor. It made short order of finding the right blade. I found the Wilkinson Sword Classics at the local drugstore.
 
I am bring this thread back up. I have looked at it numerous times through the years wondering when this bug would bite me.

Soo. After reading through some pages again and then trying to get to a few having websites. Honestly I am still pretty confused.

Is there just a standard "kit" with decent quality stuff in it that I can pick up online? Am I better off going to Walmart and picking up a safety razor there and just giving it a go after some more YouTube videos?

I am a hands on learner so I know at some point I will just jump in but I don`t want to spend 60 bucks at Walmart to learn that is junk.

How did some of you all jump in?

Thanks

KM
 
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