Gift from a girlfriend who knows nothing

[Steelforge]

I also read the articles that I was refered to. Great stuff. The well shaved gentlemen even has a full set for the starter...

"DOVO 5/8 Complete SUPER Straight Razor set w/ 2 Strops !!"

that sounds great. I am sending him on to this site to see what he thinks about the whole thing. I guess in the end, he will have to choose between safety razor and straight.

Tony's products are superb quality and very good value, you wouldn't go far wrong starting your boyfriend on one of these sets.

You might also want to check out the DVD made by Lynn Abrams, it's not expensive and is packed full of everything he would need to know. That and one of Tony's sets and he'd be sorted.

http://www.straightrazorplace.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7412

Here's a short clip of Lynn doing a shaving demo, the DVD is much better quality than this.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7466711741780429878&q=straight+razor

As well as B&B, suggest he also checks out the forums at http://www.straightrazorplace.com/forums/ which are more focussed towards straights.

Iwan

 

[Limey]

Prodgirl - my daughter shaves her legs with an old Gillette Blue Star I got for her on Ebay. She also uses the C&E $35 brush and some Mama Bear soap. She loves her set but her friends seems to think she is talking in a foreign language when she describes it all to them.

I have also gotten my wife away from the canned goo to where she now uses Kiss My Face (KMF) Lavender on her legs and underarms. She has tried the saftey razor and brush a few times as well but has not made the full time transition....yet.

 

[TightLines]

You're a good woman prodgirl, thinking of your man in such a fashion. Welcome to B&B.

 

[Doc4]

I am sending him on to this site to see what he thinks about the whole thing. I guess in the end, he will have to choose between safety razor and straight.

You and he may also want to look at the threads for the Feather AC razor, a Japanese straight razor that takes special disposable blades, so there's no honing and stropping.

Also, if you go to Classicshaving.com you will find a DVD for sale on 'how to' for straight razors ... worth the $20.

 

[Barbelus maximus]

A Good woman ! Are you insane man, my missus has been looking at my DE stuff for a few weeks now and this morning I actually caught her touching and feeling one of my superspeeds, clearly with a view to 'borrowing' it, I should coco - Poor misguided soul, I have obviously corrected her and when I let her out of the coal shed I am sure she will see the error of her ways, besides, the pile of ironing is getting in the way now!

 

[prodgirl]

After reading around about shaving soaps, I think I am going with Mama Bear's. I like small businesses like hers and the reviews are fantastic. The soaps are also a better price than I have seen on many other sites...

I'm even getting one for myself, though I think I will stick with my disposible razors for my legs.

Crabtree and Evelyn is a bit pricey here in Montreal, but the best badger brush seems like a good deal compared to some other places in Canada. The Super Badger Brush is way too expensive, but the Best Badger Brush is very reasonable. I agree the soap is too much compared to mama Bear's though.

I can't wait for my love to be clean shaven and smelling like Mama Bear's!

 

[FloppyShoes]

If you're in montreal you may want to check out a store called Vasco. It's on St.Catherine, on the north side, between Crescent and Montagne. They have nice brushes and razors there. The price is midrange, but at least you can view/smell what they have before you buy.

 

[prodgirl]

I know the place... Forgot they have stuff like that. I live nearby as well so that is perfect! Thanks for the tip!

 

[Kirk]

prodgirl

Tell your boyfriend he is a lucky man. Someone else mentioned the idea of purchasing both a straight and a safety razor. I would like to second that idea. I have been told you can pick them up cheep at antique stores. Sometime under $10. Just make sure it is in good condition.

Unless he has loads of free time a straight razor is more of a weekend thing. or until he gets the hang of it. I am not speaking from experience just what I have read on the forum.

 

[Juaquin]

I just started shaving with a DE (double edge, AKA safety razor), and I think it's a much better way to go (at first) than a straight.

I second LeisureGuy's suggestion about the sample blades - blades are a very personal and specific thing. Some guys here curse Merkur blades while others love them, etc.

Also, definitely go for the Crabtree and Evelyn brush. Contrary to what someone said earlier, they have a very nice brush for $35 (it's highly recommended to beginners here): http://store.crabtree-evelyn.com/acc130147.html

As far as your own razor goes, I suggest trying the Mach3 or Fusion. I finally got my g/f to stop using disposables and she's been very happy with the cartridges (although I still haven't gotten her to touch a DE). Since disposables are made to be thrown away, they're generally not as sharp or as good a blade.

 

[m00t]

Ack! Sorry about that advice, then... They're so reasonable in the states, I thought they would be about the same over there... absurd!

Anyway, Queen_of_Blades has used a straight and DE, so you might want to send a PM her way. My girlfriend recently used my gillette travel DE on her legs, and found it about the same as a cartridge. She thinks that there's a possibility to reduce weepers on her knees with a bit of practice, and perhaps a longer handle ^_^

And it's definitely the Best Badger C&E brush that receives all the hype... the Super Badger looked a bit huge to me when I saw it in person...

Also, be advised that if you get a straight razor: it will need to be honed prior to use as a shaving implement. Antique store razors are no different - It should still be incredibly sharp, but they lose their edge over time, probably to oxidation. To see if an antique razor is worth buying, lick your thumbnail and run the entire edge of the blade over it *without* applying pressure - it shouldn't snag up at any points. If it does that's a sign that the blade is nicked and will need more time-consuming work to be done to get it back to shaving condition.

Antique store safety razors, on the other hand, often just need a thorough cleaning and new blades to be perfect shavers.

-m00t!

 

[Juaquin]

My girlfriend recently used my gillette travel DE on her legs, and found it about the same as a cartridge. She thinks that there's a possibility to reduce weepers on her knees with a bit of practice, and perhaps a longer handle ^_^

Yeah, the Merkur Classic Long is probably perfect for girls who want to do their legs. I'll have to convince the g/f first though...

 

[ZiggyDeath]

If you're in montreal you may want to check out a store called Vasco. It's on St.Catherine, on the north side, between Crescent and Montagne. They have nice brushes and razors there. The price is midrange, but at least you can view/smell what they have before you buy.

ooh i might have to check that out, im in the area almost every day

*... thats literally beside my school

Ack! Sorry about that advice, then... They're so reasonable in the states, I thought they would be about the same over there... absurd!\

the mark up rate in canada is still based off of a less favorable exchange rate, with the exchange rate hovering at 0.85USD per CAD it means that a lot of stuff is now more "expensive" relatively speaking than it was a few years ago when the CAD was doing so horribly

for example the xbox 360 costs 500 CAD which right now is about 431 USD, making it more expensive, but at .80 USD to 1 CAD it's equal, the Canadian dollar hasn't been that low since the mid 2005, about 6 months before the xbox 360 was released (ie the base price was fixed at the rate when the price was disclosed)

but things like brushes and stuff, which is "considerably older"... prices tend to not fluctuate, hence the grossly inflated price for C&E products... blah

 

[prodgirl]

So today I have the day off and my boyfriend and I went looking for shaving stuff. We went to Vasco's on St Catherine here in Montreal. They have quite the selection of brushes, lotions, soaps and balms as well as cartridge, safety and straight razors.

After all my reading yesterday I realized I would have to spend about 50$ Cdn for a good brush. We got an Edwin Jagger Best Badger Shaving Brush for 50$ and a bar of Kent Shaving Soap in a nice wooden bowl we can reuse. I have some mama bear's on the way too.

We were going to get a stand, but the woman helping us recommended we wait until we bought the razor to see what size it would be. That proved to be good advice. We then went to a vintage shop on Notre Dame and found quite a decent selection of safety razors under 15$.

We ended up with a nice gillette that cleaned up beautifully for under 10$ (we bargained down along with another item) and it was so much cheaper than buying it in the retail store. They were selling a plastic safety for 10$ and steel ones for 55$-85$.

If anyone has some tips on cleaning the textured handle that would be great. The head is pristine though.

Now we have to get a stand so everything can stay clean and dry.

I want to thank everyone who was so helpful in guiding me through the very confusing world of wet shaving. I look forward to coming back when he finally decides to go with the straight razor.

 

[michaelskar]

I'm glad it all worked out so well! there are many threads here about cleaning a razor...if you do a quick search I'm sure you'll find lots of info (water/vinegar ratio, to boil or not to boil, scrubbing bubbles, etc.)

 

[Kirk]

prodgirl

I am glad to hear you guys found a good deal on the razor. For sterilizing boiling it in water is probably the best thing you can do. Most to all bacteria and viruses die at 165 degrees.

Now cleaning is fairly easy. I take a metal cleaner or a kitchen grade cleaner like scrubbing bubbles, and scrub it with a tooth brush. To clean any oxide I would use warm oxi clean bath and then a Mr Clean Magic eraser. After that I would use some metal polish on a rag. Clean it up real well with water when you are done. You don't want to get a rash from any chemicals.

I have used this technique on many metal items that needed to be sterol. It works very well

Kirk

 

[ouch]

My boyfriend has recently expressed a great deal of interest in using a straight blade razor. As I am fed up with his scritchy beard growing for a week before he shaves (and then having less than a day of smooth faced kisses) I am ready to get him set up as a gift.

He has been using the super expensive multi blade crappy disposable razors, and they irritate his very sensitive skin. His beard also grows every which way. Apparently this makes shaving a real pain to do. He also gets ingrown hairs very easily.

My goal is to get him shaving more often. His goal is to not have all the regular problems the old razors give him, and to maybe have a bit more fun shaving.

Here’s the question. What do I get him? I don’t want to buy him a 300$ straight blade as he may hate shaving that way. I am happy to pay up to 150$ for the razor though… that seems like a reasonable amount. I also don’t know which one to buy. What length? 5/8? 6/6? I also don’t want any real ivory as that stuff is harvested badly. I worry wood will not do well in the moisture of the bathroom, but I am not sure.

Any ideas as to what I should get for a man’s first foray into straight blade shaving would be great. A Canadian connection so I don’t have to ship over the border would be fantastic.

Thanks in advance for all the help!

I think the only reason you haven't received multiple proposals of marriage after posting this is that many of our members have fainted.

 

[TheNovice]

I recently received a gillette that needed cleaning from a friend and I found that in addition to all the other advice, the best thing for cleaning the textured handle was a potato scrubber. The bristles on the toothbrush I tried were simply not stiff enough to get it done. If you'll go into any store that sells basic kitchen stuff, you should be able to find a scrubber for a dollar or so. It cleaned the handle up in less than a minute.

Matt

 

[hedliniv]

Unless he has loads of free time a straight razor is more of a weekend thing. or until he gets the hang of it. I am not speaking from experience just what I have read on the forum.

Then why are you making this comment? Please stick with personal experience when giving advice...

 

[Smedley]

Now I want to visit Montreal for all these stores.