khaosx
07-19-2006, 08:19 AM
Greetings to you all! My name is Kris, and I'm a convert to the old ways of the most manly of arts. I thought I'd share my experience, as I've enjoyed reading so many of yours.
Like a lot of the new folks on this board, I came to this after reading an article on MSN on how to correctly shave. I have suffered for YEARS with very unpleasant shaveing experience. My introduction to shaving came from my Grandfather (who gave me an electric razor) and my Father (who gave me a bag of Bic disposables and a can of Barbasol), but they never sat me down and explained HOW to shave. Prior to yesterday, anytime I shaved I woulld end up with one of two things: If I shaved close, I wound up with a crop of mildly painful red bumps on my lower neck. If I shaved loosely enough to avoid that, I ended up with a shave that looked...well...amateur. Like I wasn't smart enough to actually hold a razor against my skin. Unsatisfying. Unmanly.
Obviously, when the MSN article came out, I read it closely several times. That's when I found Badger & Blade and started researching. After a few days of mulling, I decided that even if I didn't have the same experience that others have had, I'd jump in. I am 35 years old. I ride mountain bikes. I brew my own beer. I've jumped out of airplanes. I am, in fact, a man. How hard can this be?
I had been thinking a few months back that I would like a DE razor, but couldn't find one locally. I usually prefer to research online and then buy local, but no one in my area seemed to sell DE's. So, I surfed over to Classic Shaving and made my selection. I purchased a Merkur Futur, in a set with a brush, a mug, and some sandalwood shave soap. I also purchased a tube of Taylor of Old Bond Street Aftershave Balm, also scented Sandalwood.
Yesterday, all my toys came in, and I tore into the box like a kid at Christmas. I typically shave every other day, in the shower. I only shave north-to-south, and I've used the same shave gel for 5 years. I decided that 18:00 hours would be my first real shave. I took a shower, patted my face dry, turned on the radio, and went about it.
Wow. My whole bathroom smelled pleasantly of the sandalwood soap. The brush felt wonderful against my skin. It took two swipes to start getting the feel of angling the blade, and after that it just flowed. I even rinsed, re-lathered, and went back in for some clean-up work on my face near. I shaved my neck exactly as I have been shaving: north to south, no clean-up. I thought that might be wise until I got the hang of it.
Gentleman, I've never had a better shave. My face has never been so smooth. I have never ENJOYED shaving...until that moment. At that moment, I felt like a man. In tune with all of my manly forebears, for whom shaving meant exactly what I just did. It was GREAT! My last thought as I patted the aftershave on and left the bathroom was "Meh. Nothing to be afraid of there."
Fast forward to 10:30 last night. I hopped from watching a movie to answer nature's call, and there it was, gleaming in the bathroom lights. My razor. My new favorite piece of the bathroom, and the cornerstone of my new morning routine.
While I was in there, I took a moment to reread the instructions and look at the adjustments on the razor. I did not change them for my shave, and wanted to get a better look at what exactly happened when you changed the adjustment.
Fast forward to 11:30 at the triage center of my local emergency room. As I was adjusting the dial, my hand slipped, and I sliced deeply into my thumb. Four stiches, 2 hours, and three rounds of "OK, what exactly were you doing shaving at 10:00 at night?" later, I was back home.
And contemplating my next shave. :)
Postscript:
As I was typing this up, my wife called me upstairs to get the garbage out on the street for the trash pickup. I rolled it to the curb, and went back in to get some beer bottles for the recycle bin. While trying awkwardly to manage them witha bandaged thumb, one slipped, fell to the concrete, shattered, and cut my foot open.
Sigh. It's not my week.
Like a lot of the new folks on this board, I came to this after reading an article on MSN on how to correctly shave. I have suffered for YEARS with very unpleasant shaveing experience. My introduction to shaving came from my Grandfather (who gave me an electric razor) and my Father (who gave me a bag of Bic disposables and a can of Barbasol), but they never sat me down and explained HOW to shave. Prior to yesterday, anytime I shaved I woulld end up with one of two things: If I shaved close, I wound up with a crop of mildly painful red bumps on my lower neck. If I shaved loosely enough to avoid that, I ended up with a shave that looked...well...amateur. Like I wasn't smart enough to actually hold a razor against my skin. Unsatisfying. Unmanly.
Obviously, when the MSN article came out, I read it closely several times. That's when I found Badger & Blade and started researching. After a few days of mulling, I decided that even if I didn't have the same experience that others have had, I'd jump in. I am 35 years old. I ride mountain bikes. I brew my own beer. I've jumped out of airplanes. I am, in fact, a man. How hard can this be?
I had been thinking a few months back that I would like a DE razor, but couldn't find one locally. I usually prefer to research online and then buy local, but no one in my area seemed to sell DE's. So, I surfed over to Classic Shaving and made my selection. I purchased a Merkur Futur, in a set with a brush, a mug, and some sandalwood shave soap. I also purchased a tube of Taylor of Old Bond Street Aftershave Balm, also scented Sandalwood.
Yesterday, all my toys came in, and I tore into the box like a kid at Christmas. I typically shave every other day, in the shower. I only shave north-to-south, and I've used the same shave gel for 5 years. I decided that 18:00 hours would be my first real shave. I took a shower, patted my face dry, turned on the radio, and went about it.
Wow. My whole bathroom smelled pleasantly of the sandalwood soap. The brush felt wonderful against my skin. It took two swipes to start getting the feel of angling the blade, and after that it just flowed. I even rinsed, re-lathered, and went back in for some clean-up work on my face near. I shaved my neck exactly as I have been shaving: north to south, no clean-up. I thought that might be wise until I got the hang of it.
Gentleman, I've never had a better shave. My face has never been so smooth. I have never ENJOYED shaving...until that moment. At that moment, I felt like a man. In tune with all of my manly forebears, for whom shaving meant exactly what I just did. It was GREAT! My last thought as I patted the aftershave on and left the bathroom was "Meh. Nothing to be afraid of there."
Fast forward to 10:30 last night. I hopped from watching a movie to answer nature's call, and there it was, gleaming in the bathroom lights. My razor. My new favorite piece of the bathroom, and the cornerstone of my new morning routine.
While I was in there, I took a moment to reread the instructions and look at the adjustments on the razor. I did not change them for my shave, and wanted to get a better look at what exactly happened when you changed the adjustment.
Fast forward to 11:30 at the triage center of my local emergency room. As I was adjusting the dial, my hand slipped, and I sliced deeply into my thumb. Four stiches, 2 hours, and three rounds of "OK, what exactly were you doing shaving at 10:00 at night?" later, I was back home.
And contemplating my next shave. :)
Postscript:
As I was typing this up, my wife called me upstairs to get the garbage out on the street for the trash pickup. I rolled it to the curb, and went back in to get some beer bottles for the recycle bin. While trying awkwardly to manage them witha bandaged thumb, one slipped, fell to the concrete, shattered, and cut my foot open.
Sigh. It's not my week.