Newbie - thoughts on supplies?

[BigJ]

Welcome! Up to you (of course)!

I do not use a bowl or a stand. I prefer to face lather. I do have some brush stands, but stopped using them as LOTH prefers the look of the brushes drying on their handles (and I do not think the stands make much difference).

 

[Quijote]

I also couldn't decide on a scent for my first soap purchase, so I went with in unscented puck of Stirling. I couldn't have been happier.

 

[hamoncan]

Welcome, I'm just a little shy of 2 yrs since I was a complete newbie - what I learned :

Soaps, couldn't make them work for me, creams are easier and much less work - they work great with a brush too.

Blades, mild blades like Derby's and Shark's were my best choice early on until I really hot the hang of it - after a few months I was ready my Silver Blue's and Astra Platinum's - once you move up you (almost) never go back. Used a Feather (once!) from a sampler pack for my first ever shave, it was kind of brutal - still haven't tried one of the remaining 4 again.

Alum blocks are awesome post shave, pre-balm/As - the Osma brand is great for me - they'll stop up any nicks and for me they finally help clear up the irritation and razor bumps I'd been battling since my teens. Probably as "revolutionary" for me as switching to DE shaving itself.

Overshaving in your enthusiasm, don't do more passes than your skin can bear - for me it's usually 1 pass with some buffing in the trickiest spots, or maybe 2 full passes if I'm using a razor with a light touch, and that's all with me shaving every other day.

Your Mileage May Vary! In the end you just got to figure out what works for you.
Enjoy!

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

 

[dajoip]

Thanks again to everyone for all the great advice!

 

[Graybeard57]

Thanks all, loving the quick responses! I definitely get the advice about the bowl, that's mostly why I hadn't really put any time into selecting one yet. Not too worried about that part of it...

But the razor, blades, brush, and soap choices seem fairly solid for a beginner starting out?

Good start for sure, though I suggest thinning the soaps down to just a couple. Mitchell's Wool Fat (MWF) is sometimes challenging to lather for beginners, so why not drop that for now? You can always come back to it. Minimize your variables as you perfect your technique. When you find a combo that works, stick with it for several weeks; this will speed up the learning process. Enjoy!

 

[meliahog]

You have lots of good advice already, so I'm just one more voice in the crowd. All of the gear you listed is solid and will work if used correctly. Figuring out how to use it correctly and constantly learning is the fun part.

I own a Merkur 34c. It is solid, and on the mild side of the razors I own. It was my first good DE (started on a no-name gap monster from a local beauty supply store).

The soaps you listed all have fans. I love Tabac personally. MWF can be a trick to lather but performs well when done right. I have not tried Haslinger but I cannot recall ever hearing a negative word about them, apart from some wishing the scent was stronger. Maggards is a good spot for samples. Their Plissoft brush is great as well. I own two Plissoft brushes (one Maggards, one RazoRock) and it has cured my search for brushes.

I would also recommend Stirling for soap samples. I believe they are one of the best soap values out there. They have a wide range of scents and their samples are inexpensive and generous. Shave sticks can also be a good deal. I have Tabac, Arko and La Toja sticks and they offer good value and are quite easy to usem

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+1 on the Stirling samples. Quite a bit of soap in the sample puck. Check them out, for sure.
Mikey

 

[Doc4]

Great start! My only suggestion is to start with Tabac as your soap. It's among the easiest lathering solutions out there, in my experience. B&M is close. MWF can be much more difficult to lather, from what I hear (although I've not tried it).

Agreed.

Tabac will work well for anyone. MWF (and yes I have it and have tried it) is a great soap once you get the hang of it, but that's not something a beginner should have to do, and will likely just get you "turned off" wetshaving when you can't get a good consistent lather.

Make sure you try MWF ... later.

 

[Bookworm]

I'm not sure that a tobacco scented soap is a great idea as a starter soap.

 

[dajoip]

Ok, so I do have a potentially dumb question already. My Merkur + Astras already arrived and of course I had to play with them immediately. I've realized that when I tighten down the screw handle, it bends the blade in an arc. I'm guessing this is normal, but is there way to gauge the proper tightness to snug the whole assembly down with? Obviously the tighter you go, the steeper the angle of the blade... seems pretty critical? Hopefully I'm not just over-complicating things here!

 

[SharptoothC]

Ok, so I do have a potentially dumb question already. My Merkur + Astras already arrived and of course I had to play with them immediately. I've realized that when I tighten down the screw handle, it bends the blade in an arc. I'm guessing this is normal, but is there way to gauge the proper tightness to snug the whole assembly down with? Obviously the tighter you go, the steeper the angle of the blade... seems pretty critical? Hopefully I'm not just over-complicating things here!

It is perfectly normal. Snug it down to just where it stops turning. Don't over-torque. Then the trick is riding the cap so that the blade is at approximately at a 30 degree angle. No need to really press down. Make contact and let gravity take over.

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[Jaidmaster]

Hey all, just getting started in this. Been cartridge shaving my whole life and finally realized there had to be something better. I've researched the last couple weeks and just starting to realize how much info there really is here. I know there's a million opinions and no "right" answer, but feel free to let me know what you think, especially w/ the perspective that this is for a (almost complete) newbie:

Razor: Merkur 34C HD
Blades: Sampler pack, but I'll make sure I try some Feathers and Astras
Brush: RazoRock BC Silvertip Plissoft Synthetic 24mm
Soaps: Tabac, Haslinger, Mitchell's Wool Fat, and Barrister and Mann (is it possible to get small samples of some of these?)

I still need to find a good bowl, and maybe a stand... but that's the stuff I think I've settled on, unless I get some suggestions here advising against it.

Let me know, and thanks in advance!

Looks like a really good start!
The only area I would question is the soap selection. It's an interesting selection and good variety but variety is not always the best thing when starting out. I'd suggest experiment with those a bit and then pick one and stick to it for awhile. This will help in the other areas of your shave. Same with the blades - try a few and when you find one you like stick with it while you learn the razor, lathering, etc.
Good luck and enjoy the journey!

I picked up a $1.50 plastic salsa bowl from walmart early on and still use it. Good texture, non-breakable and works and looks great. Not the best pic but:

 

[SteveP]

I was having the same trouble picking soap when starting my set. I ended up getting a Stirling sample pack from West Coast Shaving, but I know that most companies will sell sample pucks.

 

[Stingy Jack]

I would suggest TOBS shaving cream they are a consistent performer in terms of lather.