Back to DE after 40+ years

[aodenkou]

Well - I have had a bit of a journey with shaving. Years ago I used a DE, when I first started to shave and as the new razors came out I would switch to the new and improved Gillette razor and went from Williams soap and brush to the canned stuff - you will never get me using that canned gunk again!

Anyway, 6 months or so ago my oldest son took me into a shop in Dallas - Art of Shaving and showed me some of the things he was using. Hummmm looked interesting and then a couple of months ago in Vegas I walked into a Art of Shaving and picked up a sample size of shaving cream, oil and after shave with a little brush. So - give it a try did I and said to myself - hummm not bad, in fact that was rather pleasant. Well, I was in the UK and saw a nice badger brush and thought why not? And when I got home gave it a go and then it was even nicer. There might be something in this retro shaving kick for me.

Now comes the hook - getting on line and finding Badger & Blade - read some posts and looking around I pick up some "kiss my face" and some Shave oil from Wal Mart. Then - I decide - why not try a DE - so - here we go and I place an order for a Feather DE razor 19 bucks or so and I am thinking not a lot of money and well let's give it a try.

Waiting for the mail like a 10 year old on Christmas Eve, finally I get the mail. There I find my full order of a Feather razor, some extra Feather blades and a tube of Proraso. Thinking about all of the tales I have read about using Feather razors I am a bit more than worried that I'll need to call 911 with blood spurting from my neck. But fear is to be meet, stared in the eye and march forward into the and on we go. Shower, good scrub of the face, good thick lather and new blade inserted. The moment of truth - N2S and I am thinking - did I put a blade in this thing? I had in my mind to do only one pass, and well I just had to go for a S2N pass. Well - still don't feel like I have a blade but good sense kicks in and I stop before I cause any damage - or so I think.

I get some balm on and get ready to go out and I have one last look in the mirror and I notice these little red spots on my neck, not cuts but what I would guess members on the list call weepers.

I guess I must have used too much pressure, but I really feel like I use as light of touch as I could - but I guess I had a heavy hand. Well tomorrow will present a new challenge. A shave with no weepers, or at least fewer of them. I can't be 100% sure but as of now I am about 90% sure I will not be going back to the multi bladed razors. I can now understand why folks talk about technique, and the talk of the sharpness of the Feather razor.

Well - I better quite rambling tomorrow adventure continues. I will need to be careful about the various acquisition disorders associated with this forum.......

 

[Luc]

That's great! Welcome aboard!

 

[mdunn]

welcome back!

 

[rm71]

Welcome back to DE shaving. As for the various acquisition disorders, don't fight them-just give in

 

[New Orleans]

Looking forward to updates. Is the feather razor an aggressive one?

 

[tlanning]

Good for you The journey begins, (again)

We learn from our kids

 

[Bertilak]

Well - I have had a bit of a journey with shaving. Years ago I used a DE, when I first started to shave and as the new razors came out I would switch to the new and improved Gillette razor and went from Williams soap and brush to the canned stuff - ... etc ...

Well I could have written that! including the 40+ year part.

I don't even remember what got me started with this back in Nov-Dec 2008. I did go through the path of switching from one Gillette "new improved" razor to another over the years with occasional side trips into Schick and Wilkinson Sword territories. I think it might have been the Fusion that finally did me in. I bought one but never opened the package!

What got me hooked was finding out about all the great toys involved -- with dangerous sharp edges and all! As a bonus I even get a better shave than I used to. It helped that somehow I remembered how to do it after 40+ years and had a very short (one or two shave) re-learning curve.

I found B&B right away and signed up in Jan 2009.

 

[bonusmarple]

Have fun!!!

 

[erudolph]

Well I could have written that! including the 40+ year part.

Ditto. If not 40 years, then however long it's been since the Trac II was brought to market.

Welcome aboard to this community that has loads of great information...

 

[aodenkou]

Looking forward to updates. Is the feather razor an aggressive one?

To be honest I have no idea what is aggressive or not with a razor. I suppose I will go to one of the online vendors and purchase some various razors blades and try them. I will be going to Germany in a few months and will make an effort to search out some shops that sell razors and - god forgive me - purchase a couple. Then give them a try. I plan on picking up some other products for wet shaving.

Today will be my second shave withe the Feather razor and Feather blades. I don't have my normal growth this morning so I "plan" on doing just one pass to get a SAS. I am telling myself - no need to get a BBS the second day with the Feather combo. Take it easy and get adjusted to shaving with the DE - then a week or two down the road work on getting a BBS. Just be satisfied with a SAS for a while.

My problem is when I try something new I tend to go whole hog, and OH BOY that's not always a good idea. I have a feeling this is one of those times I should just start in the shallow end. Let's see if reason and good sense can win out over emotion and enthusiasm! Oh to be a Vulcan.........

 

[erudolph]

...I am telling myself - no need to get a BBS...

FWIW, I don't consider BBS to be necessary to enjoy the pleasures of wet shaving and get a good shave.

 

[Rufust445]

To be honest I have no idea what is aggressive or not with a razor. I suppose I will go to one of the online vendors and purchase some various razors blades and try them. I will be going to Germany in a few months and will make an effort to search out some shops that sell razors and - god forgive me - purchase a couple. Then give them a try. I plan on picking up some other products for wet shaving.

Today will be my second shave withe the Feather razor and Feather blades. I don't have my normal growth this morning so I "plan" on doing just one pass to get a SAS. I am telling myself - no need to get a BBS the second day with the Feather combo. Take it easy and get adjusted to shaving with the DE - then a week or two down the road work on getting a BBS. Just be satisfied with a SAS for a while.

My problem is when I try something new I tend to go whole hog, and OH BOY that's not always a good idea. I have a feeling this is one of those times I should just start in the shallow end. Let's see if reason and good sense can win out over emotion and enthusiasm! Oh to be a Vulcan.........

The Feather razor may not be the most aggressive, but the Feather blade most definitely is. Muscle memory from your past DE shaving experience seems to have served you well in saving you from mayhem.

In the meantime, blades such as the Crystal, also referred to as the Israeli Personna, would serve you well as you regain your technique, and are sharp enough to give a DFS.
They are widely available on the eBay and other shops on the Web. Do a search in Google.

You can also find a Gillette Tech razor or a Schick Krona for little money on eBay. They are excellent for newbies, and with the sharpest of all DE blades blade like the Feather, are capable of excellent shaves.

 

[ProphetNoir]

Welcome back! It only took me 30 years after my first failed attempts with a Hoffritz DE and a boar brush, but I gave up entirely and wore a beard for almost all the intervening time. B&B is the best forum of any kind that I have ever been a part of. You are going to love it here, and we are fortunate to have you as a member.

 

[aodenkou]

Well back from the trials and tribulations of my 2nd DE shave. I had intended to do 1 pass and be satisfied, but I just had to make the 2nd - and try something different.

Before the shower/shave I pulled out some Jojoba oil, tangerine oil, Vitamin E oil, Eucalyptus oil and Peppermint oil - with a little squeeze bottle and a few drops here and there and I had a really nice smelling concoction. After all how hard can a shaving oil be to make? What can they have in them that we may not have at home (but that's another story). So a good hot shower, washed face with a really nice rich soap and then comes the homemade shaving oil. Smells good, feels good, a nice tingle to the skin, and now for the lather.....

N-S pass gives me a comfortable shave no pulls, visible, nicks, scrapes etc. So here is where I give way to the 2nd pass. So nice rinse of the face, can still feel oil on my face, and lather up. Small light movements with a bit of a j hook and finished with a rinse and then cold water. Shaving balm and a bit of good smelling stuff after.

So - there were still some weepers, but half or less and still under the jaw line and 1 or 2 on the jaw. So there is progress. It was a SAS and not a BBS but I think that can wait. I have seen progress and give me a week or two and I think I should see major progress.

BUT - this coming Friday we have a "black tie" event and out comes the Tux and I know I'll not be able to resist trying to get that BBS. I don't know if I should wait on the DE BBS or try the old Mach 3 and try for the BBS. I guess that will just have to wait till Friday evening!

 

[Dharion]

You shaved two times in 12 hours? Even over the big pond I can feel the urge to shave
For the weepers, maybe you should feel where your grain is going. North to south shaving isn't always with the grain (WTG).

 

[curtis909]

welcome back and nice to come full circle now and again....

 

[aodenkou]

You shaved two times in 12 hours? Even over the big pond I can feel the urge to shave
For the weepers, maybe you should feel where your grain is going. North to south shaving isn't always with the grain (WTG).

I have to shave at least once a day, yesterday I was late getting cleaned up - had to muck out horse stalls and cut some grass. This morning with it being Fathers Day I wanted to look like a human being and not scare little children with my looks so it was another shave. So it was a bit closer in time than I would normally like.

Looks like you are in Germany - I'll be going over there later this year. Any suggestions on where to look for "stuff" and what kind of prices I can expect to pay? Will I find Kerkur razors in good supply or will I have to look? It would be nice to hold a few in hand to get an idea of which one (or two) I would like to buy.

 

[Stubblefield]

Well - I have had a bit of a journey with shaving. Years ago I used a DE, when I first started to shave and as the new razors came out I would switch to the new and improved Gillette razor and went from Williams soap and brush to the canned stuff - you will never get me using that canned gunk again!

Well I could have written that! including the 40+ year part.

I don't even remember what got me started with this back in Nov-Dec 2008. I did go through the path of switching from one Gillette "new improved" razor to another over the years with occasional side trips into Schick and Wilkinson Sword territories. I think it might have been the Fusion that finally did me in. I bought one but never opened the package!

Same story here. Originally shaved with one of my Dad's DE's and then injector, but switched from one razor/design after another in a futile search for the perfect shave. After 20+ years of Sensor use, I came to my senses and figured there had to be a better way. There was. I discovered B&B at the same time.

35 years later, and I'm back to using one of the razors my Dad used to use: A Gillette Slim Adjustable.

 

[aodenkou]

3rd day of using a Feather DE razor and blade. 2 weepers and a rather nice shave. Still doing 2 passes but tried a S-N 1st pass, rinsed - felt the rough areas, re-lathered and paid a bit more attention to those spots and finished off for the day. The Feather blade is still very sharp no pulling at all, still feels like I don't have a blade in the razor. I have a feeling by the end of the week I will be getting some very close shaves with little irritation, it seems my face is getting used to the DE and I may be getting lighter with the strokes.

I know it sounds a bit strange but I am actually starting to wonder what my next shave will feel like. Before it was - god I have to shave again tomorrow :-(

I guess one thing I am starting to wonder about is do I really need to order some other blades to give them a try? Or if the shave continues to improve should I just stick with the Feather?

 

[ee32]

Well, for me it's been 30 years. Enjoying every aspect of it that I forgot.

The difference is that now I'm taking my time and not rushing through the process...