Convince me

[Jhass]

Gentlemen:

I’m brand new to B&B. I am intrigued by the promise of DE wet shaving, and may dive in. But the truth is, I am getting excellent results using an el-cheapo twin-blade, pivot-head cartridge razor from Dollar Shave Club (5 cartridges a month for $3 including shipping), and an all-natural, latherless shave cream from Raw Materials. I get my beard nice and wet with hot water, but I don't do any hot towel. One WTG, one ATG and I'm damn close to BBS every time. It is fast, virtually nick free, and I rarely have any irritation.

And yet . . . I can't stop thinking that a DE razor, hot towel, badger brush, and shaving soap would get me an even better shave.

So, all you DE devotees: what am I missing? If I learn to do a proper wet shave with a DE, will I really get a better shave? I'm not being facetious; I genuinely want to learn from your asquired wisdom. Thanks in advance.

 

[BRITD]

Cartridge shaving is like driving a car with the sole purpose of getting from A to B. DE shaving is a more technical driving experience, where every road is different and where you arrive in style. Welcome to the forum and good luck with your decision.

 

[dcobranchi]

One WTG, one ATG and I'm damn close to BBS every time. It is fast, virtually nick free, and I rarely have any irritation.

Really, it's not likely to get any better than that with a DE. But the experience might be completely different. You'll have a huge selection of razors, soaps, creams, aftershaves, brushes, etc. to choose from.

 

[ksb63]

Start by adding good soap and brush, makes shaving better even with a cheap disposable.

 

[Mick]

Welcome to B&B

"Better" is a subjective term. I would say "more enjoyable" would be a more appropriate term to use when talking about the quality of a shave

If you have not already done so, stop into the Hall of Fame and tell everyone a little about yourself

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/forumdisplay.php/30-Hall-of-Fame

 

[Nomad1600]

I think you need to approach this differently. Sure, shaving with a cartridge or disposable razor gets you a close to BBS shave with less effort and in less time. So from that approach, DE shaving won't make much sense, since it requires more time, and more effort to get a quality shave (defined however you wish... "close", "DFS", "BBS", etc).

DE shaving is more of an experience. The pre-shave prep, the lathering with a brush, the multiple passes to get the quality of shave you desire, the post shave. You experiment with different techniques, with different razors, with different blades, with different soaps, cremes, aftershaves. Sure, you get get nicks, cuts, and sometimes blood just appears, but you change your technique and even that becomes a part of it all. You develop favorites and you really develop an enjoyment in the process. In other words... the experience of shaving.

We, it takes me 20-30 minutes to shave. I am relaxed and enjoy every minute of it, where previously I viewed it as drudgery and something to do as quickly as possible, to just get it over with. I also take more pride in my appearance, since I worked to make it better. Heck, I even enjoy smelling a bit better (my wife would give me bottles of cologne that I shoved in the back of the cabinet)... now, I at least wear aftershaves.

Should you get into DE shaving? Will you get better shaves? Perhaps, but you definitely will get a better shaving experience.

 

[Megamanfre]

I was part of the dollar shave club for long enough to get 2 sets of the executive razor and it was ok. I switched to a DE shaver last week since its almost always less than a dollar a blade, and I don't think I'll be turning back any time soon.

I feel like I get a closer shave and it's by far the least irritating shave I've ever had.

If your razor gives you an irritation free shave and is close enough for you I wouldn't switch. I switched just because I always seemed to have razor burn and irritation with cartridge razors, even more so in warm weather when I'd sweat. It didn't matter how I shaved or what kind of after shave I used. I hated shaving and only did so since my job sort of requires a clean shave.

 

[SpookyPistolero]

Coming from a relative newcomer, shaving used to be a pain in the neck (sometimes literally). Now it's something I look forward to. And using an item as elegant as the EJ DE89 is like cruising down the road in a '67 Chevy. Style, class.

 

[Megamanfre]

Coming from a relative newcomer, shaving used to be a pain in the neck (sometimes literally). Now it's something I look forward to. And using an item as elegant as the EJ DE89 is like cruising down the road in a '67 Chevy. Style, class.

+1
I use the same razor and take my sweet time cause its "fun" now. Plus all the doo dads you can get are kinda cool and a fun thing to buy. Just bought an old Gillette slim adjustable to try something different.

 

[Nomad1600]

Cartridge shaving is like driving a car with the sole purpose of getting from A to B. DE shaving is a more technical driving experience, where every road is different and where you arrive in style. Welcome to the forum and good luck with your decision.

Great analogy. I was thinking a different one... you can catch a lot of fish with a simple rod, spinning reel, and bait like salmon eggs or powerbait. Or, you can take up flyfishing using your own hand-tied flies. The first approach is a lot easier and probably catches you more fish, especially early on. The latter takes a lot more time, learning new techniques that require practice and a whole lot of trial and error. But when you do catch the fish on the flyrod, using your own fly design? Wow. Its not even comparable.

 

[Myosin]

Are you satisfied with the quality of your shaves now? If you're even moderately satisfied with what you have now, you will be disappointed with DE shaving.

There is a large start up cost and the learning curve is significantly higher, meaning you're going to have a good number of really bad to mediocre shaves until you learn how to use the DE razor properly.

As far as cost per shave goes, DE shaving is significantly cheaper over the long run, but the large start up cost somewhat skews this in the beginning.

To be honest, I was actually satisfied with using fusion cartridges. They worked great, but they were so expensive that I had to squeeze as many shaves out of them as possible and that led to lots of irritation. They were great when they were fresh, but at the time I couldn't afford to buy them as often as I needed to get consistently good shaves. That was what led me to DE shaving.

I hated it at first because even after watching lots of Mantic's and others videos, I still got bad shaves. It took almost a year before it became second nature. Now, for the first time in my post puberty life, I can actually shave everyday because DE shaving doesn't irritate my skin and I can change the blades every three shaves.

DE shaving will be more enjoyable than what you're using now and is cheaper over the long run, but you have to work to get there, and learning how to shave AGAIN as an adult is not fun at first.

 

[Jhass]

Nomad1600:

That is a good analogy. I prefer fountain pens over ballpoints, stick-shift cars over automatics, sailboats over motorboats, and I ride a hand-built steel bicycle instead of a mass-produced carbon-fiber bike. So I think I'm a good candidate for DE razors.

 

[Jhass]

Great idea. I've been thinking the same thing.

 

[Megamanfre]

It's a fun start. My girlfriend said I was like a kid with a new toy when I got my razor and started the whole process of shaving that night. And I look forward to showing and teaching my son how to shave with it one day. I just wish he was more than a month old so I wouldn't have to wait so long lol

 

[rebos]

Razor blades are more environmentally friendly.

It's fun to collect old DE razors.

Brushes are a pleasurable experience when swishing nice lather all over one's scruff.

There are so many lovely soap & cream scents

 

[Niles]

The reasons I do it: 1) the tradition- my grandfathers shaved with these tools so it's fun to have a connection with the past. 2) comfort- the short time I used other methods of shaving were very uncomfortable for my skin. 3) money- I am able to avoid the high cost of cartridge razors and spend that money on soaps, creams, aftershaves, blades and brushes. If these things don't appeal to you and you like the way you shave, then you should continue doing it. We're here to answer any questions you may have about wetshaving.

 

[alex2363]

Cartridge shaving is like driving a car with the sole purpose of getting from A to B. DE shaving is a more technical driving experience, where every road is different and where you arrive in style. Welcome to the forum and good luck with your decision.

Great example, and dont forget to add that a car that gets you from point A to B would do a great job what about safety features. Would we rather have a A/B car that is not good in reliability and safety or a higher end safer car. The disposable has been a great invention for a fast and unsafe shave. But if you look at close up pics of disposable blade edge compared to a double edge safety blade then you would not even ask this question.

would you shave with this disposable blade edge scraping against your skin?

This is a Double Edge razor blade, much smoother

 

[treewhale]

http://www.italianbarber.com/dollar-a-month-shave-kit $24.00
http://www.italianbarber.com/100-astra-superior-platinum-de-blade-20-packs-of-5-100-blades $16.99
http://www.italianbarber.com/omega-10086-new-bigger-bambino-100-boar-brush-white $7.99
http://www.italianbarber.com/vitos-extra-super-shave-cream-1000ml $27.99

Forget Three bucks a month for disposables, that is $64.97 (free shipping) for a Razor you could use the rest of your life, a four year supply of blades (using 2 per week) a brush that will last probably for years, and what is probably about a 2 year supply of shaving soap. All good quality gear.

So you get your razor, your blades, your brush and your soap for $2.70 per month over 2 years, with blades left over for another two years. Pretty good.

That's the cost argument.

Quality? I shave with cartridge razors when I travel with only a carry on bag, and the difference is night and day. My face is smooth longer, and it feels better after shaving with DE.

Fun? You might get hooked on any one of the common "Acquisition Disorders", soap, aftershave, razor, brush, etc, but unless they become extreme, it is a pretty cheap hobby. It is fun to find a selection of products you might like to try and have a go with them. the RazoRock house brands are a great value and just keeping up with their new releases keeps me in more shaving soap than I can reasonably use.

Go for it. What does it cost you?

 

[Lothar101]

http://www.italianbarber.com/dollar-a-month-shave-kit $24.00
http://www.italianbarber.com/100-astra-superior-platinum-de-blade-20-packs-of-5-100-blades $16.99
http://www.italianbarber.com/omega-10086-new-bigger-bambino-100-boar-brush-white $7.99
http://www.italianbarber.com/vitos-extra-super-shave-cream-1000ml $27.99

Forget Three bucks a month for disposables, that is $64.97 (free shipping) for a Razor you could use the rest of your life, a four year supply of blades (using 2 per week) a brush that will last probably for years, and what is probably about a 2 year supply of shaving soap. All good quality gear.

So you get your razor, your blades, your brush and your soap for $2.70 per month over 2 years, with blades left over for another two years. Pretty good.

That's the cost argument.

Quality? I shave with cartridge razors when I travel with only a carry on bag, and the difference is night and day. My face is smooth longer, and it feels better after shaving with DE.

Fun? You might get hooked on any one of the common "Acquisition Disorders", soap, aftershave, razor, brush, etc, but unless they become extreme, it is a pretty cheap hobby. It is fun to find a selection of products you might like to try and have a go with them. the RazoRock house brands are a great value and just keeping up with their new releases keeps me in more shaving soap than I can reasonably use.

Go for it. What does it cost you?

This post says it all Would have convinced me when I first stated thinking it over.

 

[Nomad1600]

Nomad1600:

That is a good analogy. I prefer fountain pens over ballpoints, stick-shift cars over automatics, sailboats over motorboats, and I ride a hand-built steel bicycle instead of a mass-produced carbon-fiber bike. So I think I'm a good candidate for DE razors.

We think along the same lines... I have a Bridgestone MB-3 (that when I did finally go to suspension, I added an Alsop suspension stem) and a Lemond Buenos Aires, steel is real (though in full disclosure, I also have a Cannondale SV2000 and the Lemond has a carbon fork ). Welcome to DE shaving... you will enjoy the ride.