Seeking advice

[MileHigh86]

I have been wet shaving for about 1.5 years now. Using various blades from sample packs settled on feather blades and persona blue blades, Himalayan mountain soap, omega synthetic brush, Edwin jagger pre shave lotion, various after shaves, along with an Edwin jagger de89 DE. Well, I wanted to up my game and purchased a High Mountain brush from whipped dog, Gillette #16 aristocrat, and a Gillette executive. All are suppose to be delivered between Monday and Wednesday of next week.

My question is more of a seeking recommendations for soap, shave creams, blade recommendations for the razors, and an after shave that doesn't have a scent. I have settled on channel Bleu after shave for men to match my go to Cologne. I will have a few days to order any recommendations due to cleaning the razors and disinfecting them.

Opinions and recommendations are appreciate. And I know I know YMMV lol

 

[sandstone]

Welcome to B&B! Congrats on your new gear. The Gillette Aristocrat and Executive should be excellent shavers. I have two HMB brushes from Whipped Dog, both are exceptional. I personally prefer Feather DE blades over anything else. For soaps my first recommendation would be Tabac, it is my favorite shaving soap bar none. Also any of the Stirling shave soaps would be excellent choices. Whatever your choices may be, enjoy the shaves!

 

[mdevine]

A great scent-free aftershave is Lucido. Blade preference varies so much from person to person that a blade sampler makes the most sense.

 

[BigJ]

Welcome aboard. Looks like you have some great kit on the way.

In answer to your questions:

Soap: my preference is 'tallow' especially Haslinger's, MWF, MdC. Next tier would be Tabac, Arko and Cella

Shave creams: I can't really help as I use soaps.

Blade recommendations for the razors: for me any new razor means that I need to revisit my blade choices. So I suggest you keep an open mind and get a sampler pack or two. As we say YMMV-especially with blades.

After shave that doesn't have a scent: I suggest you try Thayer's witch hazel, or (my favorite) Lucky Tiger which has a light, short-lasting citrus scent.

 

[alex2363]

Welcome aboard. Looks like you have some great kit on the way.

In answer to your questions:

Soap: my preference is 'tallow' especially Haslinger's, MWF, MdC. Next tier would be Tabac, Arko and Cella

Shave creams: I can't really help as I use soaps.

Blade recommendations for the razors: for me any new razor means that I need to revisit my blade choices. So I suggest you keep an open mind and get a sampler pack or two. As we say YMMV-especially with blades.

After shave that doesn't have a scent: I suggest you try Thayer's witch hazel, or (my favorite) Lucky Tiger which has a light, short-lasting citrus scent.

+1

 

[xxvaleria]

+1 on the Stirling soaps. You might also consider Tiki Bar soaps. For an unscented aftershave, try any unscented Witch Hazel, especially Thayers.

 

[hcoop112]

its all ymmv...one thing others may like you may not....but my top 5 creams are in no fancy order... Truefitt and hill(expensive, nice smells..ok lather)..tobs(cheaper than tf&h..slightly better lather most smells i dont like except 4 of them)...proraso(cheap nice italian soap..lathers with the best)..Arko(also a cheapy and very nice shaving stick mash into a bowl or cup and lather away) and home made creams( can customize how you want it and know whats in it)....now as far as blades go its also a huge ymmv but...no fancy order...derby extra- cheap nice smooth blade sharp....shark- also cheap sharp smooth blade...feather- the sharpest ive found first time u shave with it will be the closest shave of your life...but sharp is the word lol use them a few times they get better and less harsh good lasting blade.....asco orange one of my faves id shave everyday with...wilkinson sword in black packet- probably my 1st fave or 2nd fave due to feathers so sharp so smooth not as cheap as others but cheaper than feathers...as you said tho ymmv get a sampler pack try different blades see what you like its the only way my friend as far as soap goes ive only used three...the best was truefitt and hill sandalwood and crabtree and evelyn myrrh...didnt like crabtrees sandalwood lather was a bit iffy for me great deep smell
Though

 

[atoms8791]

In terms of soaps I like, I'm pretty partial to Stirling, Soap Commander, and Cold River Soap Works. Those three companies alone make up a good amount of my stock of soaps. I also like Arko -- it's cheap and it works. Haslinger Schafmilch I also enjoyed and it performed for me very similarly to MWF, but didn't have any of the lathering issues that are often reported with The Fat.

It's kind of hard to beat Feather blades. I tried them, but I don't really need that level of sharpness in my blades even though they were quite nice. My current go-to blades are Gillette 7 o'clock Yellow (SharpEdge) and the Russian 7 o'clock Green (Super Stainless). I've recently been experimenting with Rapira, Voskhod, and Ladas blades, but when I need something reliable that won't let me down, it's the 7 o'clocks all the way. Getting a sampler from tryablade.com is probably your best bet. That's how I ended up with a 100 pack of the Greens...

If you're looking for unscented alcohol-based splashes, Stirling makes an unscented splash. If you don't mind menthol, Fine Snake Bite is technically unscented once the menthol goes away. I just added menthol to a bottle of plain Thayer's witch hazel and that's become my "unscented" aftershave. If you're looking for unscented balm, I have to go with Soap Commander Integrity.

 

[adamchur]

Hi, welcome to B&B

 

[BSAGuy]

Hello and welcome. Great to have you here on B&B. Wander on over to the Hall of Fame and introduce yourself.

Plenty of good advice above.

 

[Alex_Kinzor]

+1 on Tryablade. Very useful if you don't want to buy a whole tuck to try a blade in your razors. I do however suggest getting at least two blades if you use that service.

As for unsented aftershaves I see lots of people saying Thayer's WH. I'm going to be contrarian here and say T.N. Dickinson's. (Everyone else tells me they can't smell it but I do...but the medicinal smell dissipates in about 10 minutes. Probably wouldn't have even smelled it if I still smoked.)

 

[GlazedBoker]

All good advice above amigo. The Aristocrat and Executive are top notch collector quality Vintage razors. I'm still searching for an Aristocrat myself. Witch Hazel medicated will work. Any brand should work well enough, I use Thayers. Alum if you don't mind a tingle every once in awhile, tightens and seals the skin and takes care of the blood running effectively. Like I said, plenty of good suggestions above. Just my $.02 worth.

 

[Graydog]

Try The blades you have first , no reason to add more to the mix if you are happy with the results so far.
Stirling make a very nice soap with many choices of scent and a great price point. My #1

 

[BigJ]

Welcome aboard! Some good advice above. IMO, the main thing is to give things a try!

 

[MileHigh86]

Thanks for all the responses. Checking out tryblade now.