*Long post warning*
So, i’ve been a member here for some time but a long time stalker/lurker of general shaving awesomeness. I have been wetshaving for many years now and thanks to the knowledge and collective experience from this forum, most of the shaves have been nothing short of bliss. MOST of the shaves.
I work as an army officer in the swedish army so shaving for me is a balance between necessity and joy. I need to shave daily because of army standards but my skin lends itself badly for daily shaving. At least one part of my neck. More on that later. Still, it has to be done. We are allowed to arm ourselves with glorious beards as long as it is kept groomed and un-santa-like. Great. Now if I try to grow a beard, it will end up looking like a homeless beard wearing a fake beard. So, I shave.
This was my gateway to wetshaving. I had/have two main issues. Shaving in the field and neck-growth akin to Beelzebubs ballsack. My beard has no intimacy issues with my neck. Closer than close (Thank you BeeGees). I also have a bermuda-event horizon-spiral next to my Adams apple. That…thing has been the bane of my shaving.
No matter what I did, how I shaved, gear, prep, passes, prayers, virgin offerings, I would get some sort of irritation on THAT spot. Also I can’t shave ATG on the neck. Ingrowns.
That spot kind of ruined the whole experience. Don’t get me wrong, I love this strange hobby but my enjoyment was always subdued…because of stupid growth patterns.
For a time, RAD and every other disorder totally consumed me. Trying to find shaving ”fu” and that special piece of metal that would save me from my horrid inconvenience. Alas, no magic razor to be found. So I just accepted my dark reality and tried to enjoy all the other aspects of wetshaving. An itch, slight burn, redness still always reminded me that things could be better, like that scottish warrior in ”Braveheart” who kills the english lord whilst disguised as a british soldier, ”rrrrremember meee?!”.
RAD took me (as darkness took Gandald) but instead of me weaking up as the white wizard I woke up as that disfigured orc general. And so it went on for a good couple of years. Razors I’ve tried and owned over the years:
Merkur 34C
EJ DE89
R41
SLOC
GC .68/.84
Timeless.95(TI and SS)
Karve CB (all of the plates basically)
Karve Overlander
AS-D2
Rex Ambassador
Charcoal Goods Everyday
Alpha Outlaw
Fatboy
Slim adj
Tatara Masamune/Muramasa
…and so on. I am not trying ”show off”…with my…razor collection, just trying to make a point.
None of them ”worked”. No matter how good the shave was…”rrrremember mee?!”.
I probably did not give most razors a fair shot because of that.
That 10% of discomfort was still there. Until the white wizard awoke in the form of the humble Merkur 37C.
Before you ask. Prep and after care is on point. At least I believe so. My wife is a dermatologist so a good skinnare routine has been nagged to daily completion. Tried cold water, and every other tip and trick known to BB at least for a week before deciding to continue doing it or reject it. I have no ”general” issue. Just that spot. I think I have good technique (always learning tho) and I could lather Williams using hard water.
So after trying just about everything except selling my soul at the crossroads the 37C comes along and slayes the balrog. For ME and my skin, needs and technique that thing just works.
Yes I tried slants before and no, not THAT slant. Stupid right? It is after all ”THE” slant. I dont want to debate the logic and ins and outs of slants but all I know is that I now can shave daily with zero issues. That thing just works for me. Now, I’m a degenerate. I Wanted something ”cooler” to be my ”journey-razor”. But at this point, I dont care. I still use my other razors which right now are the Rex Ambassador, AS-D2, Muramasa and the Vector. But the 37C is my safe word.
So, why the long writeup and rant? I think I want to say that RAD can be fun, and not so fun. Know what you need not what you want or try to combine. This is ofcourse if you see the razor as a tool and dont want/need a collection or a rotation. Give everything a fair shot. Dont buy the hype. Enjoy your shaves and Journey.
Thank you for reading and thank you 37C.
So, i’ve been a member here for some time but a long time stalker/lurker of general shaving awesomeness. I have been wetshaving for many years now and thanks to the knowledge and collective experience from this forum, most of the shaves have been nothing short of bliss. MOST of the shaves.
I work as an army officer in the swedish army so shaving for me is a balance between necessity and joy. I need to shave daily because of army standards but my skin lends itself badly for daily shaving. At least one part of my neck. More on that later. Still, it has to be done. We are allowed to arm ourselves with glorious beards as long as it is kept groomed and un-santa-like. Great. Now if I try to grow a beard, it will end up looking like a homeless beard wearing a fake beard. So, I shave.
This was my gateway to wetshaving. I had/have two main issues. Shaving in the field and neck-growth akin to Beelzebubs ballsack. My beard has no intimacy issues with my neck. Closer than close (Thank you BeeGees). I also have a bermuda-event horizon-spiral next to my Adams apple. That…thing has been the bane of my shaving.
No matter what I did, how I shaved, gear, prep, passes, prayers, virgin offerings, I would get some sort of irritation on THAT spot. Also I can’t shave ATG on the neck. Ingrowns.
That spot kind of ruined the whole experience. Don’t get me wrong, I love this strange hobby but my enjoyment was always subdued…because of stupid growth patterns.
For a time, RAD and every other disorder totally consumed me. Trying to find shaving ”fu” and that special piece of metal that would save me from my horrid inconvenience. Alas, no magic razor to be found. So I just accepted my dark reality and tried to enjoy all the other aspects of wetshaving. An itch, slight burn, redness still always reminded me that things could be better, like that scottish warrior in ”Braveheart” who kills the english lord whilst disguised as a british soldier, ”rrrrremember meee?!”.
RAD took me (as darkness took Gandald) but instead of me weaking up as the white wizard I woke up as that disfigured orc general. And so it went on for a good couple of years. Razors I’ve tried and owned over the years:
Merkur 34C
EJ DE89
R41
SLOC
GC .68/.84
Timeless.95(TI and SS)
Karve CB (all of the plates basically)
Karve Overlander
AS-D2
Rex Ambassador
Charcoal Goods Everyday
Alpha Outlaw
Fatboy
Slim adj
Tatara Masamune/Muramasa
…and so on. I am not trying ”show off”…with my…razor collection, just trying to make a point.
None of them ”worked”. No matter how good the shave was…”rrrremember mee?!”.
I probably did not give most razors a fair shot because of that.
That 10% of discomfort was still there. Until the white wizard awoke in the form of the humble Merkur 37C.
Before you ask. Prep and after care is on point. At least I believe so. My wife is a dermatologist so a good skinnare routine has been nagged to daily completion. Tried cold water, and every other tip and trick known to BB at least for a week before deciding to continue doing it or reject it. I have no ”general” issue. Just that spot. I think I have good technique (always learning tho) and I could lather Williams using hard water.
So after trying just about everything except selling my soul at the crossroads the 37C comes along and slayes the balrog. For ME and my skin, needs and technique that thing just works.
Yes I tried slants before and no, not THAT slant. Stupid right? It is after all ”THE” slant. I dont want to debate the logic and ins and outs of slants but all I know is that I now can shave daily with zero issues. That thing just works for me. Now, I’m a degenerate. I Wanted something ”cooler” to be my ”journey-razor”. But at this point, I dont care. I still use my other razors which right now are the Rex Ambassador, AS-D2, Muramasa and the Vector. But the 37C is my safe word.
So, why the long writeup and rant? I think I want to say that RAD can be fun, and not so fun. Know what you need not what you want or try to combine. This is ofcourse if you see the razor as a tool and dont want/need a collection or a rotation. Give everything a fair shot. Dont buy the hype. Enjoy your shaves and Journey.
Thank you for reading and thank you 37C.