Good evening gents and ladies! (I assume there are ladies who are also into wetshaving, yes?)
My name's Nathan. I live in Franklin, TN. There's a lot to say (everyone, whether they know it or not, have rich and varied lives, the telling of which would consume years and volumes were we to devote the exhausting amount of energy it would require to the telling of it), so I'll just hit the basics and the pertinent bits.
I began shaving in November or December of 2001, at the age of 15. Prior to that, I had lived in Pakistan as a missionary kid (my dad is American and my mum is Sri Lankan.) Having a beard is quite a big part of Islamic /Pakistani culture, and my dad and the other adult males I knew all had full beards. Certainly the native-born Afghans and Pakistanis I knew did. So, shaving was not a huge part of growing up. I had a scraggly mustache and beard, which, while I wouldn't be seen in public with it today, served its cultural purposes for the time being. I fit in, because a lot of the Pakistani youth had equally scanty facial hair.
We left Pakistan in September/October of 2001 (yes, 9/11 had a lot to do with it), and spent some time in Germany. It was here that my parents noticed the facial hair was getting a little too apparent. So, my birthday present (November 26) that year was a grey 2-bladed Gillette Sensor and some Barbasol. Apart from a terrible half-job that left me looking like Charlie Chaplin's "brother that no one talks about", I honestly didn't have bad razor burn or a plague of ingrown hairs. Those have never been a big issue for me.
Over the years, I got several different razors, seemingly always as birthday presents. I've used a Mach 3, I have a Phillips Norelco electric and a Wilkinson Sword 3-blade. These didn't see much action, as I always fancied myself with a beard and mustache, but I'd keep getting them as my parents really disliked the beard and mustache.
Cut to October 2012. My sister's fiancée came back from a missions trip with a full on, Sam Beam-style beard. So she decided that all the males in the wedding party would have beards. Bride gets what the bride wants. I grew out the beard (more like a goatee) and mustache, but I decided, because I was doing some more serious growing, that I would do some serious shaving to take it off. I began researching and that's where I found out about wetshaving in general and B&B in particular (I've lurked for a while). I scored a 1959 Fat Boy off eBay and got a Merkur Futur just a few days ago. Etsy supplied the soap and aftershave, as well as a gorgeous handmade scuttle; Amazon, an H.I.S. Synthetic brush.
That leads me to another reason I got (am getting, rather) into wetshaving. As I mentioned, I never had much problem with conventional shaving. I hope no one will lose interest in me if I admit that my initial attraction to wetshaving was mostly aesthetic. I've always liked old things- I collect antiquarian books, majored in history, and have been known to sport an antique walking stick. I'm the sort of person J. Peterman writes for. I'm attracted to shaving as a hobby and I'm not self-conscious about calling it that.
So, what else? I read a lot, I like baseball (Cubs, but I don't want to hear about it) I'm vegan (any other vegan shavers out there?), and I'm here to have a good time! My aftershave and puck of soap just arrived this evening , so tomorrow should be good for the maiden voyage!
My name's Nathan. I live in Franklin, TN. There's a lot to say (everyone, whether they know it or not, have rich and varied lives, the telling of which would consume years and volumes were we to devote the exhausting amount of energy it would require to the telling of it), so I'll just hit the basics and the pertinent bits.
I began shaving in November or December of 2001, at the age of 15. Prior to that, I had lived in Pakistan as a missionary kid (my dad is American and my mum is Sri Lankan.) Having a beard is quite a big part of Islamic /Pakistani culture, and my dad and the other adult males I knew all had full beards. Certainly the native-born Afghans and Pakistanis I knew did. So, shaving was not a huge part of growing up. I had a scraggly mustache and beard, which, while I wouldn't be seen in public with it today, served its cultural purposes for the time being. I fit in, because a lot of the Pakistani youth had equally scanty facial hair.
We left Pakistan in September/October of 2001 (yes, 9/11 had a lot to do with it), and spent some time in Germany. It was here that my parents noticed the facial hair was getting a little too apparent. So, my birthday present (November 26) that year was a grey 2-bladed Gillette Sensor and some Barbasol. Apart from a terrible half-job that left me looking like Charlie Chaplin's "brother that no one talks about", I honestly didn't have bad razor burn or a plague of ingrown hairs. Those have never been a big issue for me.
Over the years, I got several different razors, seemingly always as birthday presents. I've used a Mach 3, I have a Phillips Norelco electric and a Wilkinson Sword 3-blade. These didn't see much action, as I always fancied myself with a beard and mustache, but I'd keep getting them as my parents really disliked the beard and mustache.
Cut to October 2012. My sister's fiancée came back from a missions trip with a full on, Sam Beam-style beard. So she decided that all the males in the wedding party would have beards. Bride gets what the bride wants. I grew out the beard (more like a goatee) and mustache, but I decided, because I was doing some more serious growing, that I would do some serious shaving to take it off. I began researching and that's where I found out about wetshaving in general and B&B in particular (I've lurked for a while). I scored a 1959 Fat Boy off eBay and got a Merkur Futur just a few days ago. Etsy supplied the soap and aftershave, as well as a gorgeous handmade scuttle; Amazon, an H.I.S. Synthetic brush.
That leads me to another reason I got (am getting, rather) into wetshaving. As I mentioned, I never had much problem with conventional shaving. I hope no one will lose interest in me if I admit that my initial attraction to wetshaving was mostly aesthetic. I've always liked old things- I collect antiquarian books, majored in history, and have been known to sport an antique walking stick. I'm the sort of person J. Peterman writes for. I'm attracted to shaving as a hobby and I'm not self-conscious about calling it that.
So, what else? I read a lot, I like baseball (Cubs, but I don't want to hear about it) I'm vegan (any other vegan shavers out there?), and I'm here to have a good time! My aftershave and puck of soap just arrived this evening , so tomorrow should be good for the maiden voyage!
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& Blade!
