Hello, Newbie here advice appreciated!

[Bobby YVR]

Hello everyone!

I started wet shaving 4 months ago and I truly enjoy my 15min session every morning!
I started by purchasing Henson AL13 mild razor and TOBS soap and cream and I have since experimented with several different kinds of brushes, creams and balms.

After having used AL13 for 4 months (with RK blades), I have no issue with nicks and cuts using this mild razor, I do three paths, with the grain, across the grain, and against the grain and at the end put some lather on my hand and go over areas where I may have missed or still feel a little resistence to clean up. My first two shaves I did nick some skin but since then no issue!

I decided to go with a little bit more aggressive DE razor, so after some research, I decided to buy Edwin Jagger 3ONE6 stainless steel.
I have done three shaves with it so far and every time I cut myself especially around my chin and the mustash areas, I thought that 3ONE6 is just a little bit more aggessive than the Henson AL13 mild, I want to make this one work for me.

Questions:
Is EJ 3ONE6 a significantly more aggressive razor than Henson AL13? Did I get a wrong one for my second razor?
Is it just the angle I have it against the skin? Pressure? so is it just a matter of getting used to using it?
I read the beginner guide here and it was very informative, do I need to add a step of pre-shave steps to prevent it?

If anyone has any advice would really be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Bob

 

[FarmerTan]

I've never used either one of these razors my friend, but if the second razor is too aggressive, I'd bet your angle could use adjustment. Also, maybe slow down a bit, and be VERY careful about pressure.

Welcome to Badger and Blade my friend! This is a wonderful place.

 

[Bobby YVR]

I've never used either one of these razors my friend, but if the second razor is too aggressive, I'd bet your angle could use adjustment. Also, maybe slow down a bit, and be VERY careful about pressure.

Welcome to Badger and Blade my friend! This is a wonderful place.

Thanks FarmerTan,
Ok, I will try slowing down and use much less pressure!

 

[FarmerTan]

Thanks FarmerTan,
Ok, I will try slowing down and use much less pressure!

Or not! I could be completely wrong!

BUT......if you are at ALL like me, I came to this way of shaving from a cartridge type of shaving system, and I swear, those things, the good ones anyway, make it so EASY to go fast and not watch your angle of approach that a 10 year old could probably very safely shave. So....you can go 100 mph and be sloppy and have a hangover and not get hurt.

5 or 6 years later I STILL tend to be sloppy with my angles and go too fast!

So that is just my go to answer for your type of problems, based on MY experience.

HOPEFULLY one of my SLACKER friends, with a LOT more intelligence than I, will be along shortly to give you GOOD advice.

They don't keep me around here for my knowledge. It's my incredibly handsome face that gives me a seat at the big boys table. Over 99% of the Gents on here are intimidated by my good looks. Or at least that is what my Mom tells me.

 

[Bobby YVR]

Or not! I could be completely wrong!

BUT......if you are at ALL like me, I came to this way of shaving from a cartridge type of shaving system, and I swear, those things, the good ones anyway, make it so EASY to go fast and not watch your angle of approach that a 10 year old could probably very safely shave. So....you can go 100 mph and be sloppy and have a hangover and not get hurt.

5 or 6 years later I STILL tend to be sloppy with my angles and go too fast!

So that is just my go to answer for your type of problems, based on MY experience.

HOPEFULLY one of my SLACKER friends, with a LOT more intelligence than I, will be along shortly to give you GOOD advice.

They don't keep me around here for my knowledge. It's my incredibly handsome face that gives me a seat at the big boys table. Over 99% of the Gents on here are intimidated by my good looks. Or at least that is what my Mom tells me.

Come to think of it, my first razor AL13 mild is apparently the most gentle of the DE razors with a fool proof on the angle since it gives the right angle for you…that’s why i had bought it. My new razor doesn’t have the angle set for the user so may be I ought to be much more careful and like you said, slow and easy on it! Anyways Ill try it tomorrow morning! Oh and of course your good looks Ill keep that in mind

 

[DeBladeRunner]

Some good advice from farmer tan, the EJ 3 one 6 is a nice razor..a nice medium agressive razor..The EJ 3 one 6 is going to take a little longer to get the hang of than the henson. I would be careful with the amont of pressure you apply, and slow down as said before..focus on maintaing that cutting angle..The henson does this for you.

The EJ is a nice med aggressive razor, not extremely agressive like the muhle r41. So you can rest assured you have a good razor to resume learning the craft on..

 

[FarmerTan]

Come to think of it, my first razor AL13 mild is apparently the most gentle of the DE razors with a fool proof on the angle since it gives the right angle for you…that’s why i had bought it. My new razor doesn’t have the angle set for the user so may be I ought to be much more careful and like you said, slow and easy on it! Anyways Ill try it tomorrow morning! Oh and of course your good looks Ill keep that in mind

It can't hurt.

All I know for sure is this: anytime I play fast and loose with sharp stuff I get cut. I'm glad you have joined up with us! Really, there are some gents on here that I have gotten to know over the years that I consider some of my best friends. Oh, there are a few idiots too, but they learn their lesson or disappear, eventually.

 

[spacemonkey42]

@Bobby YVR I would highly recommend to stick with your Henson and just try a sharper blade. The RK blades are very dull in my experience. Step up to a medium sharpness blade, like an Astra Stainless Steel or a Gillette Wilkinson Sword. Or go for a sharp blade, like a Nacet or Perma-sharp. I wouldn't recommend switching razors yet.

In my Henson using RK blades, I found I had to rake and rake the razor to get a good shave, which is terrible technique. Kudos to the RK for not causing irritation, but boo to them for being so dull. Switching to a sharp blade made the Henson sing and gave me a terrific shave. Give it a try!

 

[FarmerTan]

Some good advice from farmer tan, the EJ 3 one 6 is a nice razor..a nice medium agressive razor..The EJ 3 one 6 is going to take a little longer to get the hang of than the henson. I would be careful with the amont of pressure you apply, and slow down as said before..focus on maintaing that cutting angle..The henson does this for you.

The EJ is a nice med aggressive razor, not extremely agressive like the muhle r41. So you can rest assured you have a good razor to resume learning the craft on..

Thanks for giving this new friend of mine some WISE advice my friend!

 

[FarmerTan]

@Bobby YVR I would highly recommend to stick with your Henson and just try a sharper blade. The RK blades are very dull in my experience. Step up to a medium sharpness blade, like an Astra Stainless Steel or a Gillette Wilkinson Sword. Or go for a sharp blade, like a Nacet or Perma-sharp. I wouldn't recommend switching razors yet.

In my Henson using RK blades, I found I had to rake and rake the razor to get a good shave, which is terrible technique. Kudos to the RK for not causing irritation, but boo to them for being so dull. Switching to a sharp blade made the Henson sing. Give it a try!

Thanks my friend. I just LOVE the Astra SS.

 

[Chef455]

Welcome to B&B. I dabbled with an EJ 3one6 for a couple months and couldn't get it dialed in to a place that made me happy. Too much blade feel and too aggressive for me. I wound up selling it on the BST and I hope it found a happy home. It was blue and quite a looker. Anyhow, I gravitate towards mild razors and I'm OK with that.

I'm sure , as @FarmerTan stated someone will be along to give you some wisdom on the best angle and other sage advice. I'm just here to say sometimes a razor isn't a good fit.

 

[APBinNCA]

Welcome to B&B. When you get tired of amateur surgery, please come say hi over at the Henson Razor Club, we will gladly offer advise for using the Hensons to their fullest. HT to spacemonkey of course, he has the right answer. Your EJ was an interesting, possibly premature step. However, there are people here to help. Good luck!

 

[FarmerTan]

Welcome to B&B. I dabbled with an EJ 3one6 for a couple months and couldn't get it dialed in to a place that made me happy. Too much blade feel and too aggressive for me. I wound up selling it on the BST and I hope it found a happy home. It was blue and quite a looker. Anyhow, I gravitate towards mild razors and I'm OK with that.

I'm sure , as @FarmerTan stated someone will be along to give you some wisdom on the best angle and other sage advice. I'm just here to say sometimes a razor isn't a good fit.

Yep. I ain't too proud to admit I will choose a Gillette Tech over almost anything. I want to enjoy my aftershave doggone!

 

[FarmerTan]

Welcome to B&B. When you get tired of amateur surgery, please come say hi over at the Henson Razor Club, we will gladly offer advise for using the Hensons to their fullest. HT to spacemonkey of course, he has the right answer. Your EJ was an interesting, possibly premature step. However, there are people here to help. Good luck!

Yep. That EJ may end up treating him great. I LOVE the Gillette New Long Comb razor, it's all about angle. It just fits my incredibly handsome face perfectly. Some people would say that it's harsh compared to the Tech, but I honestly can't find a difference between the two.

 

[JCarr]

One thing about the Henson razors...because of the shape of the razor's head, it's almost impossible to get the angle wrong...that was built into the design. It sounds to me from your original post that you've had some success early on and that's something to be proud of.

I wouldn't get too discouraged with your new EJ razor just yet. Give it some more time and use. It may yet become intuitive for you.

 

[Bobby YVR]

Some good advice from farmer tan, the EJ 3 one 6 is a nice razor..a nice medium agressive razor..The EJ 3 one 6 is going to take a little longer to get the hang of than the henson. I would be careful with the amont of pressure you apply, and slow down as said before..focus on maintaing that cutting angle..The henson does this for you.

The EJ is a nice med aggressive razor, not extremely agressive like the muhle r41. So you can rest assured you have a good razor to resume learning the craft on..

Thanks for the comment, I’m gonna keep at it with the EJ!

 

[Bobby YVR]

@Bobby YVR I would highly recommend to stick with your Henson and just try a sharper blade. The RK blades are very dull in my experience. Step up to a medium sharpness blade, like an Astra Stainless Steel or a Gillette Wilkinson Sword. Or go for a sharp blade, like a Nacet or Perma-sharp. I wouldn't recommend switching razors yet.

In my Henson using RK blades, I found I had to rake and rake the razor to get a good shave, which is terrible technique. Kudos to the RK for not causing irritation, but boo to them for being so dull. Switching to a sharp blade made the Henson sing and gave me a terrific shave. Give it a try!

Thanks for the comments, I didn’t know that different blades have different sharpness. I was using RK with Henson mild and I use Feather blade with the EJ since it came with it in the box.
So may be this Feather blade is also sharper than the RK? May be I will use RK with the EJ and see!

 

[Bobby YVR]

Welcome to B&B. I dabbled with an EJ 3one6 for a couple months and couldn't get it dialed in to a place that made me happy. Too much blade feel and too aggressive for me. I wound up selling it on the BST and I hope it found a happy home. It was blue and quite a looker. Anyhow, I gravitate towards mild razors and I'm OK with that.

I'm sure , as @FarmerTan stated someone will be along to give you some wisdom on the best angle and other sage advice. I'm just here to say sometimes a razor isn't a good fit.

Thanks for the message, my EJ is also the blue one and I love the look and weight of it!! I hope that I can get it dialled in so I don’t have to let it go!

 

[Bobby YVR]

Welcome to B&B. When you get tired of amateur surgery, please come say hi over at the Henson Razor Club, we will gladly offer advise for using the Hensons to their fullest. HT to spacemonkey of course, he has the right answer. Your EJ was an interesting, possibly premature step. However, there are people here to help. Good luck!

Oh, I didn’t know that there is a forum for Henson razor here, I will check it out! Thanks!

 

[Bobby YVR]

One thing about the Henson razors...because of the shape of the razor's head, it's almost impossible to get the angle wrong...that was built into the design. It sounds to me from your original post that you've had some success early on and that's something to be proud of.

I wouldn't get too discouraged with your new EJ razor just yet. Give it some more time and use. It may yet become intuitive for you.

Thanks JCarr and everyone here, I feel much better about it now! I will work on the right pressure and the right angle and get work to get used to my new EJ! I have my AL13 mild to fall back on!