After a ton of research, store visits, forum lurking and web-surfing, I took the big D/E plunge today.
SCORE-
Me:1 Styptic Pencil:0
Here's my SOTD:
Hot Towel
C&M Almond Shave Oil
Heavy Ceramic Cereal Bowl
Turnback Traveler Super Badger Hair Brush
T&H 1805 Shaving Cream
Merkur Double-Edge Travel Razor
C&M 1752 Almond-After Shave Balm
First thoughts- Wow! Why haven't I been doing this all along. Here's a timeline of my shaving experience by age:
15- First cheap electric razor
18- Switched to disposable razor & SC can
25- Reusable cartridge razor
37- Full-on wetshave, added D/E razor today
How's that for backwards evolution?
About 2 months ago, I bought a cheap boar brush (the one with the red and beige handle) and a bar of Williams shaving soap from Wal-Mart. I wasn't happy with the results, but I knew I was onto something. Shortly thereafter, bought the basic kit (oil, cream, AS balm) in almond from the local C&M.
During a recent trip to Las Vegas, I stumbled onto the T&H store in Ceasar's. They were very helpful. I bought the travel brush there and loved it. Will (employee) was very helpful and (smartly) gave me some samples of T&H 1805 SC to take home.
I discovered this forum too late to take anyone's advice about buying stuff, but here's my verdict on what I own:
The Turnbull Travel Brush- I love it. Based on all the research I've done since I got it, it is the perfect brush for me to start with, since I travel so much. One caveat, I payed WAY too much for it (by a factor of 2) buying it at T&H. Do your homework. I've seen it much cheaper since then. Also, do others have problems with losing 5-8 bristles a day out of a brush that they've been using for only a month?
The C&M kit- I'm glad I started with this stuff so that I know how junk products behave. I agree with reviewers who say that the oil is just unpleasant to use. I tested the T&H oil while I was there and it is much lighter. The cream never has given me any good lather. I thought it was me, but after trying samples of T&H 1805, I got "shave porn" lather with my brush. QED, the C&M stuff is garbage. The AS balm appears to be fine and does a fair job moisturizing, but after my experience with the oil and cream, I now believe there to be better products out there.
T&H 1805 Cream- wonderful stuff. A dime sized spot in the bottom of a ceramic cereal bowl gave me great lather. I must experiment with how much water I have in the brush to see if I can do better.
The Merkur Double-Edge Travel Razor (Merkur blades):
I was disappointed when I open the package this came in. The finishing on it was mediocre and I could clearly make out casting lines that could have been ground down better. In fact, I was so skeptical, I scratched the inside of the razor head with a pocket knife to see if it was a chromed base metal finish. It wasn't. hmm.... Shaving with it was another story. I was genuinely scared of the blade, so I went very slowly. I found that the light touch technique I had been practicing with my MACH 3 the last few weeks was the perfect way to handle this razor. Watching the YouTube videos was also very helpful. All in all, a darn good shave right out of the gate. Bottom of the chin is still a little rough, but other than that, I am hooked.
BTW, this razor breaks up into a pouch so small, it fits into the change pocket on my jeans. I even think I have a solution for keeping TSA off my back when I travel with it. I'll let you know how that goes.
So, next acquisitions:
1) A soup mug and a electric coffee cup warmer from local super store. (Today!!!) The spousal unit will freak if she sees me using cereal bowls to shave. I like the idea of using a wider mouth, so I think a soup mug will get me started cheaply. I saw someone's SOTD had a coffee cup warmer for keeping the lather warm. Ugg. Me want warm lather.
2) T&H Shave oil and Almond SC- I'm through with this C&M stuff. So must call T&H this week to place order. Will told me if I call the store directly, I can get free shipping. Let's try that out.
Thanks for reading my shave epic. Weeks of bottled up lurking have boiled over with my first successful D/E shave.
Special thanks to all the folks who put posts, videos, instructions, and newbie tips on this forum. You've opened my eyes and saved me some needless bloodletting.
SCORE-
Me:1 Styptic Pencil:0
Here's my SOTD:
Hot Towel
C&M Almond Shave Oil
Heavy Ceramic Cereal Bowl
Turnback Traveler Super Badger Hair Brush
T&H 1805 Shaving Cream
Merkur Double-Edge Travel Razor
C&M 1752 Almond-After Shave Balm
First thoughts- Wow! Why haven't I been doing this all along. Here's a timeline of my shaving experience by age:
15- First cheap electric razor
18- Switched to disposable razor & SC can
25- Reusable cartridge razor
37- Full-on wetshave, added D/E razor today
How's that for backwards evolution?
About 2 months ago, I bought a cheap boar brush (the one with the red and beige handle) and a bar of Williams shaving soap from Wal-Mart. I wasn't happy with the results, but I knew I was onto something. Shortly thereafter, bought the basic kit (oil, cream, AS balm) in almond from the local C&M.
During a recent trip to Las Vegas, I stumbled onto the T&H store in Ceasar's. They were very helpful. I bought the travel brush there and loved it. Will (employee) was very helpful and (smartly) gave me some samples of T&H 1805 SC to take home.
I discovered this forum too late to take anyone's advice about buying stuff, but here's my verdict on what I own:
The Turnbull Travel Brush- I love it. Based on all the research I've done since I got it, it is the perfect brush for me to start with, since I travel so much. One caveat, I payed WAY too much for it (by a factor of 2) buying it at T&H. Do your homework. I've seen it much cheaper since then. Also, do others have problems with losing 5-8 bristles a day out of a brush that they've been using for only a month?
The C&M kit- I'm glad I started with this stuff so that I know how junk products behave. I agree with reviewers who say that the oil is just unpleasant to use. I tested the T&H oil while I was there and it is much lighter. The cream never has given me any good lather. I thought it was me, but after trying samples of T&H 1805, I got "shave porn" lather with my brush. QED, the C&M stuff is garbage. The AS balm appears to be fine and does a fair job moisturizing, but after my experience with the oil and cream, I now believe there to be better products out there.
T&H 1805 Cream- wonderful stuff. A dime sized spot in the bottom of a ceramic cereal bowl gave me great lather. I must experiment with how much water I have in the brush to see if I can do better.
The Merkur Double-Edge Travel Razor (Merkur blades):
I was disappointed when I open the package this came in. The finishing on it was mediocre and I could clearly make out casting lines that could have been ground down better. In fact, I was so skeptical, I scratched the inside of the razor head with a pocket knife to see if it was a chromed base metal finish. It wasn't. hmm.... Shaving with it was another story. I was genuinely scared of the blade, so I went very slowly. I found that the light touch technique I had been practicing with my MACH 3 the last few weeks was the perfect way to handle this razor. Watching the YouTube videos was also very helpful. All in all, a darn good shave right out of the gate. Bottom of the chin is still a little rough, but other than that, I am hooked.
BTW, this razor breaks up into a pouch so small, it fits into the change pocket on my jeans. I even think I have a solution for keeping TSA off my back when I travel with it. I'll let you know how that goes.
So, next acquisitions:
1) A soup mug and a electric coffee cup warmer from local super store. (Today!!!) The spousal unit will freak if she sees me using cereal bowls to shave. I like the idea of using a wider mouth, so I think a soup mug will get me started cheaply. I saw someone's SOTD had a coffee cup warmer for keeping the lather warm. Ugg. Me want warm lather.
2) T&H Shave oil and Almond SC- I'm through with this C&M stuff. So must call T&H this week to place order. Will told me if I call the store directly, I can get free shipping. Let's try that out.
Thanks for reading my shave epic. Weeks of bottled up lurking have boiled over with my first successful D/E shave.
Special thanks to all the folks who put posts, videos, instructions, and newbie tips on this forum. You've opened my eyes and saved me some needless bloodletting.
