Hi All,
Looks like a found a very cool community here at Badger & Blade. Looking forward to reading up! Been DE shaving for about 5 months. I switched from the ubiquitous Mach 3. I got a shave soap molded into a glass as part of gift basket and that peaked my interest. Unfortunately, I peeled off the label at the bottom that probably had the brand on it so I have no idea what kind of soap it is but I really like it. Sort of an almond and nutmeg smell but very faint. Anyway, that's how I started with DE shaving and now just love the ritual of it all. Plus it just killed me how much I was spending on those damn cartridges. I felt I was getting suckered every time I bought a package - usually from Costco and that was $10 cheaper than elsewhere.
The first razor I got was a chrome Baili TTO/Butterfly for like $15. I still use it. After about two months I got a Parker 98R because I wanted a longer handle and was curious to see what a step up felt like. I really like the Parker. The weight is great.
Then earlier this month I got a Merkur 25c because I wanted to try an open-comb design. I'm still trying to figure this Merkur out. It's way more mild than I expected and much lighter than I expected. It leaves rake marks which at first made me think I was doing something wrong but now I think that's just part of the open-comb design. I'm trying to work the right angle and also have tried slightly twisting the bottom to get a little more of a gap between the blade and comb but it seems to slip all the way open after a few strokes. So I keep it tightened but not super tight. That's where I am with the razor sitch.
As far as soaps go, to try something new and since I needed a bowl and brush, I got the Van der Hagen starter kit which included one of their deluxe soaps, a wide boar brush, a bowl, and a stand. Since then I've used Van der Hagen Luxury, Proraso green, Williams, and an Arko puck. I love the Arko. I pretty much face lather expect with Williams which I find works better for me lathering in a bowl separate from the puck.
As for blades, I've bee rotating between Derby, Baili, Astra, and Parker. The Parker and Baili razors came with blades and I bought larger packs of Astra and Derby.
And for brushes, I have my first one, the Van der Hagen that came with the kit, an Omega S Brush (10018 Red), and a red Semogue 820. I really dig the Semogue. Plus it looks so damn good. I use that one most of the time.
In general I feel I need to perfect my technique before spending more money of blades, soaps, and razors though.
My current challenge is to figure out how to shave ATG on my neck without getting razor bumps. The hair on my neck grows up from the bottom of my neck on the left and right, but down my neck from my chin - until the very bottom where it also grows up. Just about all the shaving videos I've seen, the guy shaves down from his cheeks and continues down his neck. That would be ATG for me on the left and right sides of my neck which causes irritation. I'm going to try stretching my skin and do three passes - WTG, ATG, then XTG. I love how smooth my neck gets after shaving ATG but as you know, the irritation is going to be the deal breaker. I read somewhere one guy reminding readers that shaving is reducing the beard not removing it so if I have to skip the BBS I will but I'm still "researching."
A question I wanted to ask about shaving direction is: does the direction of the last pass you use determine the direction the hair grows in? If so, that would mean if I end the shave on my neck WTG then I should avoid in-growns right?
So that's my story morning glory. And thanks all for the welcome!
Looks like a found a very cool community here at Badger & Blade. Looking forward to reading up! Been DE shaving for about 5 months. I switched from the ubiquitous Mach 3. I got a shave soap molded into a glass as part of gift basket and that peaked my interest. Unfortunately, I peeled off the label at the bottom that probably had the brand on it so I have no idea what kind of soap it is but I really like it. Sort of an almond and nutmeg smell but very faint. Anyway, that's how I started with DE shaving and now just love the ritual of it all. Plus it just killed me how much I was spending on those damn cartridges. I felt I was getting suckered every time I bought a package - usually from Costco and that was $10 cheaper than elsewhere.
The first razor I got was a chrome Baili TTO/Butterfly for like $15. I still use it. After about two months I got a Parker 98R because I wanted a longer handle and was curious to see what a step up felt like. I really like the Parker. The weight is great.
Then earlier this month I got a Merkur 25c because I wanted to try an open-comb design. I'm still trying to figure this Merkur out. It's way more mild than I expected and much lighter than I expected. It leaves rake marks which at first made me think I was doing something wrong but now I think that's just part of the open-comb design. I'm trying to work the right angle and also have tried slightly twisting the bottom to get a little more of a gap between the blade and comb but it seems to slip all the way open after a few strokes. So I keep it tightened but not super tight. That's where I am with the razor sitch.
As far as soaps go, to try something new and since I needed a bowl and brush, I got the Van der Hagen starter kit which included one of their deluxe soaps, a wide boar brush, a bowl, and a stand. Since then I've used Van der Hagen Luxury, Proraso green, Williams, and an Arko puck. I love the Arko. I pretty much face lather expect with Williams which I find works better for me lathering in a bowl separate from the puck.
As for blades, I've bee rotating between Derby, Baili, Astra, and Parker. The Parker and Baili razors came with blades and I bought larger packs of Astra and Derby.
And for brushes, I have my first one, the Van der Hagen that came with the kit, an Omega S Brush (10018 Red), and a red Semogue 820. I really dig the Semogue. Plus it looks so damn good. I use that one most of the time.
In general I feel I need to perfect my technique before spending more money of blades, soaps, and razors though.
My current challenge is to figure out how to shave ATG on my neck without getting razor bumps. The hair on my neck grows up from the bottom of my neck on the left and right, but down my neck from my chin - until the very bottom where it also grows up. Just about all the shaving videos I've seen, the guy shaves down from his cheeks and continues down his neck. That would be ATG for me on the left and right sides of my neck which causes irritation. I'm going to try stretching my skin and do three passes - WTG, ATG, then XTG. I love how smooth my neck gets after shaving ATG but as you know, the irritation is going to be the deal breaker. I read somewhere one guy reminding readers that shaving is reducing the beard not removing it so if I have to skip the BBS I will but I'm still "researching."
A question I wanted to ask about shaving direction is: does the direction of the last pass you use determine the direction the hair grows in? If so, that would mean if I end the shave on my neck WTG then I should avoid in-growns right?
So that's my story morning glory. And thanks all for the welcome!
