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Holy wow, how did I use store razors for so long?!

Haha, just got a sort of kit from The Art of Shaving's brick and mortar here in San Francisco, and the fantastic sales lady pointed me toward this site after I was still apprehensive about all the things I needed to know lol. She said this is where she comes to learn as well =p So props to the community! People are talking :D

Anyhow, I'm really reaaaallly happy with my purchase. I walked out of getting my hair cut and decided it was time to finally shave after about a month of working too many hours and letting my beard and hair take over my face.

So I walked past The Art of Shaving, and just had to stop in and pick her brain. She was not kidding about the lack of irritation! I've had the set for 2 days now, and this is the first time I've ever been able to shave 2x in a row without destroying my face. I would always shave, and then let it grow out for 3-4 days and then shave again, if at all. It was always such a bummer to walk in to work looking like I'd spilled kool-aid all over my neck from the razor burn haha.

So here's the kit (I splurged a bit =p). Also, disclaimer: I'm not a salesperson for the art of shaving or anything, I'm just excited about this awesome "new" way to shave ha.

I snagged 5 things:

Simply titled "Safety Razor" on the site, I believe it was a Merkur?
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I loved the weight of this thing, feels solid, although I found myself, during the first shave (I've since stopped noticing), but I found myself getting a hand cramp. I think I was just terrified of slicing my face off =p

I'm going with Merkur here because those are the blades I got as well:
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Love this package ha, You can tell I'm a newbie because even the cool blade dispensing packaging was a ooh and ah factor for me.

Pure Badger Brush, with a fancy "Chrome Collection" in the title Ha!
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Holy wow, what a great brush. I loved how the heat was still screaming after I shaved, and then re-lathered to shave the other direction (the other direction o_O!! I would have never believed someone had they told me I would be doing this, that was blasphemy to me with the crazy vibrating 100 blade razors haha). It's not their expensive brush, but she did tell me it'd still last 5-8 years, and I'd love it. She did not lie ha. It looks fantastic in the stand as well. Oh and totally loved the smell of this thing, its definitely an animal smell or something, but it was great :D I was all smiles lathering up.

Which brings me to the stand. Gotta keep the sink looking somewhat decent =p

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Good solid weight, and catches most of the water from the brush. The sales lady told me that they don't carry any Merkur stands (ok, thinking back, I definitely got a Merkur razor), but they carry some that work well. Looks fantastic with the whole chromey set.

And then the products:

Sandal wood scent (oh man I totally fell in love with this classic scent) Pre-shave (made my beard look great before I took it off haha, I laughed at myself because I was almost sorry to see it go at that point, but no regrets after lol):

Pre shave oil:
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Annnd shave cream:

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I almost snagged their soap, which came in this great old world teak wood bowl, but I figured that if I would have to work that much to get a lather going, I probably wouldn't use it everyday, and fall back into my old habits of looking like the sloppy web developer that I am =p

But still, very cool none-the-less:
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Anyways, very very happy with the purchases and excited to dive into the community here. I'm not sure how you pro's look at the art of shaving stores, but for me it was an amazing introduction to the black art of straight and safety razor shaving haha. Even cooler that she pointed me right to you guys, wrote it on a piece of paper and threw it in the bag and everything!

I gave the products a go as soon as I got in to the house, heeding the warnings of the sales lady to start with the top of the razor against the skin, and rolling in until the blade touches my skin, and then using no pressure at all. She kept re-iterating: "Glide glide glide, do not press it into your face like its a store bought razor." I made it out alive, and with the best shave of my life, and zero irritation! Even got several compliments that night on the smell and, after a lucky kiss, my "smooth as a baby's bottom" face rofl. All around win of an experience for a first time newbie haha!

Happy to have a place to geek out with you guys about, apparently, everything that is manly and enjoyable here (read the B&B Confidential), and looking forward to bugging you all with my gazillions of questions I'm sure I'll have haha.

Thanks!
-Ken
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
Welcome to B&B!

I would recommend getting a razor blade sample pack. The Merkur blades are ok but nothing great.
 
Hahaha, yeah bindibadgi, I just watched Mantic59's stuff on youtube, and I cracked up when he said wash it with some dog shampoo. I thought it smelled like my pup after a backpacking trip ha, which totally smelled like home or something to me.

Also, I just watched his lather tut, and wow... I totally need to work on that haha. Can't wait till the morning to give it a better go this time around. I was totally just tossing it in the brush (thats what the lady showed me) and going at it, but I'm gonna grab a coffee cup and work it up this time around. My lather looked nothing like his haha.

Thanks for the advice Luc, any links handy?
 
Welcome to B&B! Seems you had an excellent start into the art of wetshaving! Congratulations!

Oh, and that stand looks really nice!
 
Thanks oversaturn! I'll have to post a pic of the whole setup tomorrow and toss it in the shave of the day. I feel a liiittle silly though, because its all straight outta the art of shaving and not put together selectively like most of the guys here, but it was a pretty killer newbie "kit" if you will haha.
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
Hahaha, yeah bindibadgi, I just watched Mantic59's stuff on youtube, and I cracked up when he said wash it with some dog shampoo. I thought it smelled like my pup after a backpacking trip ha, which totally smelled like home or something to me.

Also, I just watched his lather tut, and wow... I totally need to work on that haha. Can't wait till the morning to give it a better go this time around. I was totally just tossing it in the brush (thats what the lady showed me) and going at it, but I'm gonna grab a coffee cup and work it up this time around. My lather looked nothing like his haha.

Thanks for the advice Luc, any links handy?

Depending on where you are, you might want to try a local vendor.

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Shopping_Links_-_By_Vendor

Westcoast shaving sells a good sample pack. If you can try blades such as Derby, Personna, Astra and Feathers that would be a good basic startup. It doesn't have to be those specifically but one of them should suit you.
 
Welcome to B&B! Your enthusiasm is awesome, I feel the same way. I love my morning routine now, it makes me feel better about myself every morning when I wake up.
 
Welcome aboard! +1 on trying other blades. If you think you like shaving now, wait until you find a really great blade and razor combo -- I think you'll melt the keyboard!!
 
Welcome. You start with some high quality stuff. Be aware that many think the Merkur blades are worthless. I personally think they're middle of the road quality wise but too expensive for what they are. Definately try a different blade (for example Red Personna or Feather) sometime!
 
Westcoast shaving sells a good sample pack. If you can try blades such as Derby, Personna, Astra and Feathers that would be a good basic startup. It doesn't have to be those specifically but one of them should suit you.

+1 John/letterK over at Westcoast shaving is a member here and a great vendor. I got my first sample pack from him. Most of us probably did. :biggrin1:
 
AOS is a fantastic way to start.
Love that Sandalwood.

Good luck and let us know how you're doing.

Also,
+1 on the blade sampler pack.
 
Welcome to the B&B! Glad that sales lady was kind enough tom direct you here. Be sure to read the stickys and such- there's amazing info to be had on this site!
 
Let it be hereby known that for the first time in history, an AoS sales person referred a customer to the B+B rather than make up some nonsense on the spot!


Good deal, by the way. For future reference, when it comes time to buy more soap, blades, lotions, etc., you can save at least 50% by buying from online vendors who advertise here. Aos sell quality products, but their markups are killer!
 
Welcome!

You are really off to a good start. I don't like the wooden bowls either. No place for the soap you are mixing except all over your hand or the sink. Your soap is an excellent quality. After you get some time in, you'll be tempted to try other soaps and creams. Give in to that temptation. After the best shave in the world, the nicest thing about wet-shaving is the scents or fragrances in all the "software" available to us.
 
Welcome to B&B Ken... from another Ken.:biggrin1:
Looks like you got a great start...and I like the Sandalwood as well.:thumbup:
 
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