ByMyBeard's Journey is about to begin

[ByMyBeard]

Well, after a couple of weeks of research, I finally jumped in and made my purchase last night. I ended up purchasing from Maggard Razors to start with, knowing that I will eventually upgrade my razor and possibly brush as well.

But before going on a journey, we must first know where we've come from. Like most people, I started using a cartridge razor and canned "goo". Gillette's marketing team was kind enough to send me a Sensor Excel and can of goo for my 16th birthday. I was hooked, eventually upgrading to the Mach 3 Turbo Power (which utilized the original battery, then was just a fatter Mach 3). I grew tired of purchasing expensive replacement cartridges, and due to the fact that I had grown a beard anyway, just started buying disposables (usually Gillette Good News). However, I've grown tired of throwing those away due to clogged blades after 1 or 2 shaves (usually shave 1-2/wk).

So here I am. I posted a couple of potential "starter kits", but decided to buy from Maggard. I liked that I would be supporting a small business, and that I could one stop shop for everything I needed. Also, after using a spreadsheet to price things out (I'm nerdy like that) they seemed the most economical. I ordered last night, and received a note that they would ship things out today. So, here's what I'll receive:

5 Blade Build Your Own Sampler (Derby, Red Personna Plat, Sharp Stainless, Gillette 7 O'clock, Big Ben Super Stainless)
Maggard Budget Starter Kit:
Maggard MR1 Razor (blade gap similar to EJ DE89)
Omega 10049 Brush
Proraso Red Tube cream
Astra Superior Plat blades
Shark Super Stainless blades
Alum block
Edwin Jagger Brush stand

So, my journey is about to begin. If anyone would like to suggest a blade progression for me to go through, I'd appreciate it. I was thinking of starting with the Derby when things come in. I figure it's probably best to start with the lower sharpness and work up. Thanks for all the help you likely didn't know you were giving, and I'll try to post periodically how things are going.

 

[Andy]

Greetings, looks like a great starter kit!

 

[xxvaleria]

Looks like you're off to a good start, Evan. Good luck with the kit.

 

[jazzguy]

Good start. Happy Shaving!

 

[ByMyBeard]

Ok, quick question before I begin. Would it be best for my first DE shave to have a pretty fresh start? I typically go 2-3 days between shaves. On one hand, I can see this being helpful due to double checking growth direction as I go. On the other hand, it seems to make a little sense that having less growth to remove could result in a better first experience. Any thoughts on that?

Also, does anyone lather up only part of their face to start with? In other words, lather up one area with similar growth direction, shave it, then lather up a seperate section with a different growth direction?

 

[Floor]

Nice kit.

My suggestion would be to lather up your whole face and let it sit there for at least 2 minutes. Also start with no pressure and 1 WTG pass. That should give you a good start.
Remeber, its a marathon, not a sprint!

Floris

 

[MrSpeedy]

Best of luck, and let us know how it goes!

 

[ByMyBeard]

I'm happy to report that I received my shave gear yesterday! However, all I did was unpack it. I had about 4 days of growth, and thought perhaps I should start my journey a little smoother than that. I did go ahead and load a Derby blade onto the MR1 (which was a little shorter than I imagined). I'm surprised at how THIN the blade is, and how nervous I was handling it. Luckily, no cuts and the blade seems to have installed easily with a consistant gap. I took a coffee mug out of the cabinet to hold the razor in while I'm not shaving. It doesn't give much room to lather in with the Omega 49 brush, but I hope to face lather anyway. I'll probably wash the brush out and make some lather tonight to let it sit and "break in". Perhaps I'll get my first go at it on Saturday. That'll give me time to heal if there are any unfortunate incidents before work.

One other thing I thought was odd. My alum block included directions to use as a deodorant. Does anyone do that? Not sure I'd want to rub it under my arms, then across my freshly shaven face though. I just thought it was an interesting note.

 

[ByMyBeard]

Well, I had my first "wet shave" this weekend. My head is still securely attached to my neck, so obviously it was a success! Since I have little to compare it to at this point, I'll stick to listing my experience versus my pre-conceived notions. First things out of the way. I did have a few small drops of blood on my neck. One was due to a small skin tag I didn't realize was there. Not sure on the others. Also, I will be trying again soon. I just performed a single WTG pass, trying to get a comparison for where that would get me since it's all I used before with carts/disposables.

Pre-shave: Just a hot shower. I used a Neutrogena Razor Defense face scrub. I also used some shampoo on my face/neck as well. Note: I have a full beard, so was just shaving my upper cheeks and my neck.

Razor: I definately enjoyed the feel of holding the metal safety razor as compared to cheap plastic. I found that the blade angle not to be as scary as I thought, meaning that it felt natural. I probably got a little sloppy/cocky/rushed on my neck, but that will come. I did have a little issue at first with the razor getting "gummed up". I either need to rinse it more frequently, or perhaps it was my lather. Also, I really enjoyed hearing the razor slice through the beard. I'd say the shave was pretty close in "smoothness" to what I got with a disposable on a single pass. This is good, as it means I can get away with that for regular occassions if time is an issue.

Lather: I think I had it too dry. I decided to face lather, as it seemed more efficient than using a bowl. Perhaps that's not the best place to start, but I went with it anyway. Since I used a single pass, I didn't attempt to re-lather. I think I needed more water, as the lather didn't seem to "grow", and it started to get a little dry towards the end. I will say that I was a bit surprised at the lack of scent. Perhaps Proraso Red isn't a strong scent, but I really didn't notice anything. Also, I went with Red over Green because the reviews for Green mentioned how mentholly/cold it was. The Red is supposed to be muter, but I didn't feel ANY. Could be poor lathering, just an observation.

Blade: I had no distinguishable issues with the Derby blade. I also have nothing to compare it too. I will say that I'm not sure the blade was on 100% straight. I had it straight, showed it to my Dad who was visiting (and is also thinking of getting a safety razor), and he unscrewed it and fooled with it. I guess I thought he lined it back up.

Post-shave: I just wet an alum block with cold water and rubbed that over the shaving areas. It had a mostly mild stinging around the areas that bled, to be expected. I then followed up with a Neutrogena Razor Defense lotion. I think I want a different product here, as it felt a bit greasy. There was a little redness on my neck, along with small bumps from the bleeding culprits, but that went away fairly quick.

So again, I'd say the trial was a success. I will say that I did NOT enter "shaving bliss". I doubt that I will, and that's ok with me. I do wonder if the higher $$$ razors are better at simply dropping a blade in and not worrying with alignment. I can easily see upgrading razors at some point, and perhaps even to stainless. We'll also see how the razor "gumming up" develops. I'm guessing a larger blade gap would improve that, and possibly an open comb as well. Any insight/thoughts/recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[ByMyBeard]

Another update: Had my best shave so far this weekend. I used a little more of the Proraso Red, and actually smeared it on my face a bit instead of putting it directly on the brush. I got what I considered to be good lather for my first pass. It was so good, I attempted a 2nd, but the lather wasn't there. I seemed to need more product, but instead just worked with what I had. I did an XTG pass on my cheeks and they still feel good.

I am still having minor issues with my neck. I think part of the problem is that I noticed the grain on my neck actually moves diagonally away from my chin, then at some point starts to grow S-N. This means my N-S AND S-N passes are neither WTG. For some reason, probably a lesson from my Dad, I am very hesitant to shave diagonally across my neck. When doing a N-S pass, it feels like a little tugging. For what it's worth, I'm still using my initial Derby blade and it has 3 or 4 shaves on it by now. Maybe it's time to change, but it feels fine across my cheeks and across my neck where the growth is more S-N. Any insights would be appreciated. Thanks guys.