Formulating my opinions

[jtyson]

I've been wet shaving with DE's and straights for about 6 months now. I'm going to use this as my sort of log to keep track of what I like, what I don't, and what I'm looking forward to. Hope it isn't a bother to anyone, and as always, I encourage response!

I had always wanted to learn how to shave with a straight. Mostly because I'm cheap and wanted to stop paying for carts. I'm a head shaver, so that gets expensive. I started out with a Dovo straight. I couldn't get it right away, so I quickly got into DE as well.

I'm the sort of person who is never satisfied. I'm also an obsessive hobbyist. These things have led me to hunt for new shaving gear to try out. Ultimately, I just want to find what works well for me. I actually don't care to collect. I'd like to have a couple good DE's, a couple good straight razors, a decent boar brush, a decent badger brush and a couple soaps that perform well for me.

My reflections

Razors

Gillette Flair Tip - Felt awkward. Not comfortable
Gillette Slim adjustable - I like the length of the handle. I just couldn't find a good setting for me.
Gillette Milord - A bit light. But I like the way it feels. Wish the handle was longer.
Merkur 39c - I'm enjoying the size of the razor. The slant is a bit strange, but I'm going to give it some time before deciding if it is for me or not. So far, it has bit me a few times, but most likely that is my fault. I prefer the TTO. Aligning the blade with this razor is difficult.

Dovo 5/8" straight - I started out this shiny new Dovo 5/8" that was given to me for Christmas. Needless to say, I wasn't able to whip out awesome head shaves with my straight right away. I can get it done, but not without irritation. My straight razor was honed professionally, and it performed very well the first shave. I made my own strop. I think my strop making skills, my stropping skills or potentially both are the reason I can't get the edge right again. I'd really like to find someone local to me that can show me what I need to do and tell me if my strop is no good.


Blades

Derby - Cheap. Fair shave. Don't really irritate my skin much, but they don't feel ultra sharp.
Wilkinson Sword - At this point, I'm not impressed. Actually like them less than Derby.
Lord - Not bad. Not great. Pretty much felt the same as Derby, although didn't seem to shave quite as close.

Soaps

VDH - Super cheap. Once milled, performs very well. Neutral scent is a benefit since I have a sensitive nose.
Razorock XXX - I do not like the smell at all. Lather is okay. No better or worse than my VDH.
Razorock Fresco - I enjoy the scent of this one. Very mild. Lather also on par with VDH.
Tabac - Terrible scent. Awesome lather. Torn about what to do. Gives me headaches but awesome shaves.
Martin de Candre Fougere - Scent is okay. Lather is okay. For the price paid, I don't care much for it.
LA Shaving Co Vanilla/Eucalyptus/Mint - I sort of like the scent. Very minty. Unfortunately, it does not lather well at all for me.

Brushes

VDH Brush - Performs okay. Sheds way too much.
Semogue 620 - Performs alright. Still sheds a couple hairs per shave. Bought it used so I thought that wouldn't be as much of an issue.
Semogue 1305 - Performs okay. Not shedding which is nice. But the handle...sucks. Nice feel in hand, but finish is chipping off.

I'm mostly looking for the right soaps at this point. I'd really like to try Cella, MWF and Proraso. Also looking for a Kamisori, a decent used strop, a feather straight and a heavier/well built DE that isn't a slant.

Future posts shouldn't be so long and rambling!

 

[DigJazz]

Hello and welcome to the forums! I can recommend Mike's Natural Soaps, and a Mühle razor. Cheers!

 

[BSAGuy]

Good post. Thanks for sharing your experiences. The AD's that come with wet shaving can be powerful.

 

[econjoe]

Nice writeup. Have you looked at any open comb DEs? Gillette made a few TTO OC models, but they tend to be more expensive than the 3-piece OC razors.

What is the top quality you're looking for in a soap? Easy to lather, slick, or type of scent? This could help narrow down recommendations. Also, are you open to creams?

 

[Ron Scott]

3 things happen to many of us over time:

1. Our opinions change: I used to hate my flair tip, now its pretty good.
2. The experimental stage gets boring and we find a few items we like and stick with.
3. We can't blame the quality of our shave on our equipment anymore.

 

[jtyson]

Yeah ultimately as I get better, I'm sure my opinions will change.

I've mostly had TTOs at this point. The Merkur is the first razor I've had otherwise. I like how it shaves, the heft of it and the look, but I don't care for the blade alignment part. I far prefer my Gillette for that. Are all 2 and 3 piece razors that way as far as having to hold the blade perfectly in place while tightening it up?

As for soaps, good lather and mild scent. I've got a very sensitive nose. I really like the lather of tabac, but the scent is so off putting. I was suggested by someone to leave it open to the air for a while and hopefully the smell dissipates some. I like the scent of the razorock fresco, but that lather isn't all that impressive. I'm not opposed to creams, but I'd have to learn more about them. I'm a face latherer as well, so I'd have to change technique.

 

[J743]

I all ready love my straights, but I get the learning curve thing. I believe technique is everything, but there are a lot of other subjective factors that play into "the perfect shave"

 

[jtyson]

I've probably got about 20 straight shaves under my belt at this point. None were even slightly reminiscent of perfection. But that is to be expected so early on. I'd love to keep practicing, but until I figure out stropping and maintaining, I won't be able to make any more attempts with the straight.

 

[hecticXx]

I recommend weber. Just go straight for a weber. For me, these outperform others. YMMV. I also really like my slim and get great shaves from it. So this might not be the best for you but it is for me and quite a few other people

 

[econjoe]

Yeah ultimately as I get better, I'm sure my opinions will change.

I've mostly had TTOs at this point. The Merkur is the first razor I've had otherwise. I like how it shaves, the heft of it and the look, but I don't care for the blade alignment part. I far prefer my Gillette for that. Are all 2 and 3 piece razors that way as far as having to hold the blade perfectly in place while tightening it up?

As for soaps, good lather and mild scent. I've got a very sensitive nose. I really like the lather of tabac, but the scent is so off putting. I was suggested by someone to leave it open to the air for a while and hopefully the smell dissipates some. I like the scent of the razorock fresco, but that lather isn't all that impressive. I'm not opposed to creams, but I'd have to learn more about them. I'm a face latherer as well, so I'd have to change technique.

I haven't used a Merkur, so I'm not sure how the blade sits in it compared to all of the Gillettes I've used. Send me a PM if you're interested in trying a Gillette New OC. I have a user grade one lying around that I wouldn't mind loaning out.

Barrister & Mann makes an unscented soap that I thought worked well. Mike's and Stirling also work well, but I haven't tried their unscented. Although, they have plenty of scents to choose from. The first cream I tried was Taylor of Old Bond Street (TOBS). A little more expensive than the soaps above, but easy to lather and good performance. Going from soap to cream isn't too big of a change. I actually find creams to be a little easier to lather since you don't have to worry about loading for the right amount of time.

 

[jtyson]

Thanks for the soap recommendations! I have a ton to look into. I've got 3 more to try out before I put the ones I have tried and don't care for up on the BST.

Soap I added was - LA Shaving Co Vanilla/Eucalyptus/Mint - I sort of like the scent. Very minty. Unfortunately, it does not lather well at all for me. I edited my first post to include it. Not sure how long I can edit the original post.

Added a semogue 1305 to the first post as well.

I've seen a lot of ToBS products well reviewed. I may give them a try on my next go round.

 

[jtyson]

This evening, I lathered up with Mama Bear's Rosemary Mint. I actually really like how this one smells. Very cool too. However, I'm not thrilled with how the soap lathers up. I test lathered it a few weeks back when I picked it up, and I couldn't get much out of the puck, so I milled it down and packed it into a small container. Milled, it performs much better, but still, not fantastic. Relatively slick shave though. Tonight was only a face shave. I'll probably try this one again in a couple days for a head shave.

Blade for the evening was a Crown. I was surprised, it felt pretty decent. Not crazy sharp, but not too dull.

I went back to my VDH brush. I don't care much for it, but the two Semogue brushes I bought weren't what I was hoping for. Any suggestions for relatively cheap brushes for face lathering? Synthetic, boar, badger, horse it doesn't matter to me. I have sensitive skin, but not too bad.

 

[econjoe]

It won't be much help unless you want to re-knot a vintage handle, but so far my favorite face brush is one that I used The Golden Nib's (TGN) finest fan set relatively deep. It was a 22mm knot, but at the handle the diameter measured 24mm and I set the height at 45.5mm. It's firm, but not harsh on your face.

 

[econjoe]

Have you tried using one soap for a week or two straight? I've found that it may take me a few shaves to get everything just right for a new soap to lather like it should.

 

[jtyson]

I'm not really all that interested in brushes honestly. I just want something that performs well. Appearance means nothing to me. I really just want something that lathers well and doesn't shed. I'm not sure if searching for something old to re-do is what I should be doing, or just looking for something new to buy/trade for.

At this point, as far as soaps go, I'm narrowing down scents more than anything. I have a really sensitive nose. Most fragrances give me headaches, so finding what I can tolerate in that department is what I'm working on. Once I find something that doesn't bother me, as long as I don't hate it right off the bat, I'm setting it aside to try more of later on.

For tonight, I gave Mama Bear's Sandalwood a go. Not a fan of the scent. Don't think it lathers as well as the Rosemary Mint either, but that could be me. Either way, it is out.

The crown blade that I used last night that I was mildly impressed by, has also been kicked. It couldn't make it through a 2 face shaves and one head shave.

 

[dgreene120]

I'm not really all that interested in brushes honestly. I just want something that performs well. Appearance means nothing to me. I really just want something that lathers well and doesn't shed. I'm not sure if searching for something old to re-do is what I should be doing, or just looking for something new to buy/trade for.

At this point, as far as soaps go, I'm narrowing down scents more than anything. I have a really sensitive nose. Most fragrances give me headaches, so finding what I can tolerate in that department is what I'm working on. Once I find something that doesn't bother me, as long as I don't hate it right off the bat, I'm setting it aside to try more of later on.

For tonight, I gave Mama Bear's Sandalwood a go. Not a fan of the scent. Don't think it lathers as well as the Rosemary Mint either, but that could be me. Either way, it is out.

The crown blade that I used last night that I was mildly impressed by, has also been kicked. It couldn't make it through a 2 face shaves and one head shave.

For a brush, you might want to look into a Whipped Dog Synthetic. It's super soft, which may be good for your sensitive skin, and is very reasonably priced. I have one and I really enjoy it. It lathers well.

For soap, you might want to try Proraso White. For a cream, Proraso Blue. Of the Proraso line, I have only tried Red. Very easy to create a thick, slick lather, but the Red may be too strong a scent for you.

Good luck!

 

[musicman1951]

It seems like the popular blades over the past year or so have been Med Prep/Lab, Gillette Blue or Black, Feather, Astra SP, Polsilver and perhaps a couple of others I'm forgetting - none of which are on your list. You might consider spending a little time on the blade forum and putting together your own blade sampler.

 

[Shmuel]

You might want to try Mitchell's Wool Fat, an excellent performer with a mild scent. Also Mike's makes an unscented soap as do other top producers.

 

[jzuzphreek]

Let me offer a bit of temptation... since you're "the sort of person who is never satisfied."

If you're interested in soaps, I would highly recommend Haslinger's Schafmilch. It's a lanolin soap that requires so little work, it's almost funny. The scent is very mild... maybe a bit "natural and grassy." My 60 gram puck just gave up the ghost at 59 shaves, so it lasts a while (loading only 5-10 seconds resulted in enough lather for 4 passes for all 59 shaves). It leaves the face feeling soft and fresh.

MWF (Mitchell's Wool Fat) is a similar soap that comes in a lot bigger puck. The smell, to me, is a little stronger than the Schafmilch. It's a bit tougher to work up than Schafmilch... but it's not really as difficult as some people seem to report.


I see the only blades you've tried are Derby, Wilkies, and Lord. Have you considered any of the Gillette DE blades? My personal favorites are Silver Blues and 7 O'Clock Blacks. They're very sharp yet smooth, and work well in a variety of razors.

Can't wait to see your list 6 months from now!

 

[jtyson]

I've actually been considering a purchase of proraso white, green, red soaps and blue cream. I don't have any experience yet with creams. I'm not sure I'll like the proraso red though as I didn't care for the Mama Bear's sandalwood scent. I have a sensitive nose, but it doesn't seem to be bothered by all scents. Unfortunately, the more manly scents bother me. But the floral ones, as long as they aren't overbearing don't give me trouble.

MWF has been on my radar for a while too. I'll have to add Haslinger's Schafmilch as well.

I've seen a lot of Whipped Dog products mentioned. I've been considering buying a strop from them for my straight as well, so maybe I'll see about one of their brushes.

I bought a blade sampler on eBay. The Derby, Crown, Lord and Wilkinson are the ones I've tried so far. I still have Lord Platinum, Treet, Treet Platinum, Shark SS, Shark Super Chrome, Big Ben, Astra Super Platinum, Super Max Super Platinum, Asco, Feather Hi Stainless, Dorco Platinum ST300 and Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Stainless to try. I figure once I run through one or two of each of these blades, I'll buy some more to try out.

I've been shaving with my Merkur 39c for a week or so now and I'm not sure if I like it or not. I really like the weight and size. I like the long handle. I'm still not used to the blade alignment being such a pain. But ultimately what bothers me about it is blade angle. It is rather picky. If it isn't in just the right spot, it doesn't cut. On the face this is pretty easy to manage. But on my head, it is a bit of a pain. My Gillette TTO is not that way at all, but my problem with it is how little the handle is. I have large hands and it just doesn't have enough weight to it for me to decide on it being my daily shaver.