Hi all, been lurking for a couple of weeks so I thought I'd de-cloak, register and say Hi!
I'm a long time Mach3 user (although with shaving soap and a brush) and I suppose I got fed up of mediocre shaves and the cost of the replacement blades. If I left it three days I'd get a good shave. Two days and I'd get an OK shave and if I shaved daily I'd suffer ingrowing hairs, bumps and irritation.
A friend suggested a DE razor so... I think I have developed a new obsession. It started about a fortnight ago.
Initially I got a Merkur 33c on recommendation and used it for the first week. Then a 37c turned up - better for my thick stubble. Then a Gillette Slim Twist came as part of a vintage shaving travel pack that caught my eye on eBay. And a selection of blades. And some more soaps. And some more creams...
None of this was making my shaves better though - practice would.
I had some stern words with myself on Sunday and since then I've been shaving daily. Sunday's shave was a two pass with the slant into four day growth and was amazing - the type of shave I wanted to achieve. A day later I was still stroking the smooth smooth skin - incredible.
I got lucky. Monday's shave felt like it was done using a broken bottle (two pass - 37c and then 33c). Tuesday's was better (two pass with the slant) and allowed my face to heal a little. Wednesdays was better still (slant then 33c) and this morning's was a step backwards slightly - the first pass with the slant was clumsy and caused damage. The second pass (33c) and the final polish (Twist) were far better controlled - I can judge my angle now by the noise the blade is making against my stubble.
I've not noticed anyone mention this - if the handle is at too shallow an angle so only the guard and blade are in contact with my face I hear a rough, scraping noise. As I raise the handle relative to my skin the noise softens and it sounds more like the blade is ringing. Carry on raising the handle and the noise suddenly cuts off. So I try and make the blade ring - is this right?
From my experiences so far I think I need to spend more time on my prep, as the second and third passes seem smoother. I can only assume from this that the longer the soap is on my face the softer my stubble is becoming.
My current philosophy is therefore to try and use the soap (Arko) to soften the hair chemically by leaving it there as long as practical before I shave.
I shower before my shave and apply shaving soap to my face and lather up while in the shower after washing my hair. I then re-lather on leaving the shower (same brush load) and clean my teeth. Then I rinse my face, fill the sink with warm water and re-apply my shaving soap and build up a fresh lather.
Then I shave. Does this seem a reasonable approach? I'd like to avoid hot towels etc if I can still get a reasonable shave without just down to the "admin" during the week - obviously I'll try them on a weekend at some point!
Thanks all for such a rich and informative site by the way!
I'm a long time Mach3 user (although with shaving soap and a brush) and I suppose I got fed up of mediocre shaves and the cost of the replacement blades. If I left it three days I'd get a good shave. Two days and I'd get an OK shave and if I shaved daily I'd suffer ingrowing hairs, bumps and irritation.
A friend suggested a DE razor so... I think I have developed a new obsession. It started about a fortnight ago.
Initially I got a Merkur 33c on recommendation and used it for the first week. Then a 37c turned up - better for my thick stubble. Then a Gillette Slim Twist came as part of a vintage shaving travel pack that caught my eye on eBay. And a selection of blades. And some more soaps. And some more creams...
None of this was making my shaves better though - practice would.
I had some stern words with myself on Sunday and since then I've been shaving daily. Sunday's shave was a two pass with the slant into four day growth and was amazing - the type of shave I wanted to achieve. A day later I was still stroking the smooth smooth skin - incredible.
I got lucky. Monday's shave felt like it was done using a broken bottle (two pass - 37c and then 33c). Tuesday's was better (two pass with the slant) and allowed my face to heal a little. Wednesdays was better still (slant then 33c) and this morning's was a step backwards slightly - the first pass with the slant was clumsy and caused damage. The second pass (33c) and the final polish (Twist) were far better controlled - I can judge my angle now by the noise the blade is making against my stubble.
I've not noticed anyone mention this - if the handle is at too shallow an angle so only the guard and blade are in contact with my face I hear a rough, scraping noise. As I raise the handle relative to my skin the noise softens and it sounds more like the blade is ringing. Carry on raising the handle and the noise suddenly cuts off. So I try and make the blade ring - is this right?
From my experiences so far I think I need to spend more time on my prep, as the second and third passes seem smoother. I can only assume from this that the longer the soap is on my face the softer my stubble is becoming.
My current philosophy is therefore to try and use the soap (Arko) to soften the hair chemically by leaving it there as long as practical before I shave.
I shower before my shave and apply shaving soap to my face and lather up while in the shower after washing my hair. I then re-lather on leaving the shower (same brush load) and clean my teeth. Then I rinse my face, fill the sink with warm water and re-apply my shaving soap and build up a fresh lather.
Then I shave. Does this seem a reasonable approach? I'd like to avoid hot towels etc if I can still get a reasonable shave without just down to the "admin" during the week - obviously I'll try them on a weekend at some point!
Thanks all for such a rich and informative site by the way!
