just use commercial shaving cream like Gillette Foamy? It's so...easy.
You know that feeling when people ask why you wouldn't just use a mobile phone rather than a field camera? It's something like that.
just use commercial shaving cream like Gillette Foamy? It's so...easy.
Ah, you beat me to it in a much more erudite way. That'll teach me to read through the previous posts more carefully.Most likely because you haven't dived into the deep end yet! Just like a beginner can't appreciate the differences between Tri-X and HP5.
Mechanically, Foamy works fine, I use it often. But as you come to appreciate the nuances, scent and lather consistency preferences develop and you try out different kinds chasing after "your" perfect lather.
I like shiny razors, does it give me a better shave than matte? You bet it does!
Nice choices @Mike the BeginnerGreat point, yes. A comedian said, "I know, McDonald's is bad for me. But it's ready."
Of course that doesn't mean it's better than a home-cooked meal.
Sadly, I had to give up coffee in 2018--I had some a-fib, and did an A-B-A experiment; first I quit coffee, to see if my a-fib would improve, and it did; and then I reintroduced coffee, to see if my a-fib would get worse, and it did. So I gave up coffee. Now, every morning, I have white tea from China with fresh lemon juice and a bit of saffron ground with a mortar and pestle. Strangely, after drinking coffee virtually daily for 46 years, I like my tea every bit as much and maybe a little bit more. That was a big surprise, but a pleasant one.
I'm beginning to understand that I have very sensitive skin, which is probably why I never liked shaving. So now I'm learning more about that.
The brush and the bowl are ordered from Amazon and on the way!
MtB
The brush arrived today! (I feel a little sheepish that I find that exciting.) Also the Arko sticks. I made up a couple of practice lathers using a cereal bowl and it worked great. I got lots of lather out of very little Arko. I had to smile about the aroma of the Arko...saw a YouTube video that said it "stinks" but to me it's a pleasant, clean, mild and familiar scent that simply smells like soap. Or rather, historical soap. It reminds me of grade school and our old lake cottage. When we sold the cottage in 2013 after 100 years in the family, there were unopened boxes of soap flakes from the 1960s still in the storage room. The Arko smells like those. On the other hand, I can easily imagine that other soaps smell better, and I admit that I don't have a very good sense of smell.Good choice on the brush, inexpensive and it will be a great start. I like my RR Bruce. It has a nice head and a very comfortable handle. I hope you enjoy it!
It’s Citronella and yes it was used to scent many cleaning products in the past. It brings me back to my primary school when they cleaned the floors. Others were not so fortunate and associate the scent wit urinal pucks….The brush arrived today! (I feel a little sheepish that I find that exciting.) Also the Arko sticks. I made up a couple of practice lathers using a cereal bowl and it worked great. I got lots of lather out of very little Arko. I had to smile about the aroma of the Arko...saw a YouTube video that said it "stinks" but to me it's a pleasant, clean, mild and familiar scent that simply smells like soap. Or rather, historical soap. It reminds me of grade school and our old lake cottage. When we sold the cottage in 2013 after 100 years in the family, there were unopened boxes of soap flakes from the 1960s still in the storage room. The Arko smells like those. On the other hand, I can easily imagine that other soaps smell better, and I admit that I don't have a very good sense of smell.
I gather you can just rub the Arko on your face and then lather using the brush right on your face. Since the bowl I ordered isn't here yet, I'll probably try that tomorrow morning.
This morning I had to try the Hawk v3. (What can I say, I'm weak.) It was okay but I didn't do very well with it. Ended up switching to the Rockwell to finish up.
But now I'm looking forward to trying the Arko and the brush.
MtB
Absolutely. Rub the Arko stick all over your wet face and then with a damp brush go to town adding a little bit of water to the tops for the brush as you need to. You are certainly on the way.....The brush arrived today! (I feel a little sheepish that I find that exciting.) Also the Arko sticks. I made up a couple of practice lathers using a cereal bowl and it worked great. I got lots of lather out of very little Arko. I had to smile about the aroma of the Arko...saw a YouTube video that said it "stinks" but to me it's a pleasant, clean, mild and familiar scent that simply smells like soap. Or rather, historical soap. It reminds me of grade school and our old lake cottage. When we sold the cottage in 2013 after 100 years in the family, there were unopened boxes of soap flakes from the 1960s still in the storage room. The Arko smells like those. On the other hand, I can easily imagine that other soaps smell better, and I admit that I don't have a very good sense of smell.
I gather you can just rub the Arko on your face and then lather using the brush right on your face. Since the bowl I ordered isn't here yet, I'll probably try that tomorrow morning.
This morning I had to try the Hawk v3. (What can I say, I'm weak.) It was okay but I didn't do very well with it. Ended up switching to the Rockwell to finish up.
But now I'm looking forward to trying the Arko and the brush.
MtB
Welcome to the mad, glad and sometimes infuriating world of traditional DE shaving.This might be a very dumb question, and I do beg your pardon. I'm a rank beginner--wet shave No. 5 just this morning. I'm not trying to be provocative. I'm getting the impression that shaving connoisseurs tend to be generous and cordial people. I got so many helpful and thoughtful replies on my first thread.
And I do understand (or think I understand) connoisseurship...at various periods in my lengthening life I have been deep in the weeds with: tube amplifiers and vinyl records; Japanese bookbinding; large-format field cameras (the kind made of wood and brass, with leather bellows, used on a tripod with a dark cloth over one's head); and roasting my own green coffee beans at home (best ever: a friend on the Big Island who is a grower of Kona would ship me green 100% Kona beans. Most of the "Kona" that tourists get in hotels and restaurants in Hawaii is 10% or 15% Kona at best).
But...with DE razors, why don't at least some people just use commercial shaving cream like Gillette Foamy? It's so...easy. And it seems to work fine with my Rockwell. I mean, just making ignorant assumptions, I would think there would at least be a subgroup here that would be using DE or SE razors without all the rigamarole of the soaps and the bowls and the brushes and so forth. Wouldn't it simplify things? (I do have a brush and bowl on the way.)
Then again, I haven't *tried* soaps/bowls/brushes yet, so maybe this is merely a case of "contempt prior to investigation" (although I don't have "contempt" for it).
Cordially,
MtB
I gather you can just rub the Arko on your face and then lather using the brush right on your face. Since the bowl I ordered isn't here yet, I'll probably try that tomorrow morning.
I really liked my FIRST EVER shave with a brush and soap. I painted my face with the Arko stick, and the brush made lather all over like magic. It was my best shave yet.Nice! Another Arko!naut is born.
Congratulations on your best shave ever!! Yes, concentrate on comfort above all else for a while. I think if it this way, what good is a super close shave if your skin is all irritated.... It's called a DCF (Darn Comfortable Shave). As far as aftershave or balm, I like both. I like the burn of aftershave and the calming and nourishing of a balm. I like the Nivea sensitive skin balm, it's quite popular and available at the grocery store. Also, if you don't like a burn or your skin doesn't like it then there's alchohol free aftershaves. You may also want to consider an alum block or witchhazel as well but others will chime in. I've only been DE shaving for a year and you're right, this is a very helpful forumI really liked my FIRST EVER shave with a brush and soap. I painted my face with the Arko stick, and the brush made lather all over like magic. It was my best shave yet.
I also decided that my sensitive skin and face irritation is probably what made me dislike shaving for my whole life, so I think I will pursue a COMFORTABLE shave rather than the close shave. I did only two passes, one with the Rockwell R3 plate followed by a second pass with the R1 plate.
Now I have a question. Should I use aftershave, or aftershave balm, or both, and, if both, in what order?
This forum is a gold mine.
MtB