Hello all,
Ever since I grew hair on my neck, shaving was pretty much the bane of my existence. Horrible razor burn, ingrown hairs, and just general irritation. Once I was able to grow a semi-respectable beard, this means I pretty much stopped shaving. Right after college I moved to China (supposedly for only one year that eventually became almost 5), I had an housemate and saw him with an odd contraption one day that turned out to be a safety razor. He used it only to shave his body hair- completely dry actually. However, he still used cartridges for his face because the DE was "too dangerous" and "uncomfortable." However, being a lover (and collector) of pretty much all things "antique," I was intrigued.
One day when it was too humid and I was sick of having a beard, but without my typical trimmers, I decided to find myself a safety razor of my own, and ended up purchasing one of the Gillette Super blue three piece razors with the black plastic handle and the single blade.
Amazingly I didn’t absolutely hate it. After tedious process of using it to hack off my bushy beard with it, subsequent shaves were the least irritating I ever had (but still unpleasant). I loved the cost and the fact that using it wouldn’t create additional plastic waste. When trying to figure out how to “properly use it,” I ended up finding this forum on an internet search. At one point, I decided to try and go ATG, which was disastrous.
Especially at that time, it was incredibly inconvenient to get any “specialty” foreign product, and so I would alternate between growing a beard and occasionally shaving using whatever mildly lubricating product that was convenient and not exorbitantly expensive (oil, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, canned goop, etc…), but never tried a brush or any real shaving cream/soap.
Whenever I would see a new razor or blades (always in the back corner of some random tiny convenience store, I would buy and try it. I ended up with a plastic one piece where the top clipped on that broke after a few uses, random metal TTO’s of EXTREMELY varying quality, including one that ended up exposing the blade diagonally and only on one side and one whose doors would pop open during the middle of a shave. I think I finally ended finding a Nanjie TTO in a blue plastic case with a mirror inside that worked the best of all of them.
I would buy new blades whenever I found them, which were often bulk packaged unbranded blades in a simple paper wrapper, Gillette Super Blue, Gillette blue thins (with Vietnamese writing on the tucks), and of course all kinds of Gillette counterfeits, knock offs, and knock offs of knock offs. Many were thrown away almost immediately when it was evident that I would be better off tying to scrape my hair off with a blunt object laying around the house. I would try and stock up on Gillette thins from stores in Thailand whenever I would visit there.
Anyways, after moving back to the states, and a few years later, I have a professional job that strongly encourages being clean shaven, so I decided to explore this whole wet shaving thing again. Being a stubborn and thrifty (ie- incredibly cheap), I foolishly avoided buying a brush and still shaved with whatever random cremes, goop, or facial bar I had around the house, thinking that it "wouldn't make that much of a difference)
A few weeks ago, after getting fairly unsatisfying and irritating shaves on my neck any time I tried a second pass (XTG) or more, I broke down and bought a brush (an omega 49 I believe). After it being such a dramatic improvement, I concluded that people here really do know what they are talking about and decided to stop using my Cetaphil face bar and ordered a few sticks of Arko and a stick of La Toja (still hasn't arrived). What an unbelievable difference using an actual shave soap and a brush makes! I truly enjoy face lathering now.
Although I had previously made a bulk order of Indian Gillette blades(the Black Platinums and Wilkinson sword), I am currently on an extended trip and couldn’t bring any and so I ordered a moderate blade sampler that I am still working my way through. Considering that everything I had read on here but for some reason chose to disregard previously, I am now revisiting each of these blades individually while keeping the same setup with Brush, soap, and razor (Gillette Black tip, steel handle and baseplate, Omega brush and Arko shave stick). That being said, I did just order some modern razors from someone in the forum here, but I’m going to try and resist using them until I feel like I have my technique(s) dialed in better with my current setup and I have a better idea on how the different blades perform, rather than just what I’ve read other people saying about them.
If anyone made it through what I have now realized is probably quite the screed, I have a few questions.
1. I have a few GEM razors (which i think are gorgeous-bought in the same auction as the black tip) that I can’t wait to try once my SE blades come in. Should I resist the urge and wait to use them until I’ve figured out my lathering and DE technique first?
2. I have noticed my brush, which only now finally stopped smelling like a boar’s hindquarters when wet, constantly smells like Arko, no matter how much I rinse it after use. Is this a problem and is there any way I should/could clean it better? If it makes any difference, the water here is extremely hard, so I wonder if the soap is scumming up and isn’t getting completely cleaned out.
3. I have found that my black tip is getting extremely difficult to open, despite thorough rinsing in hot water after each use. I do notice that the exterior is getting a bit cloudy as well, so I suspect this may be soap scum forming from the hard water? Multiple long soaks in hot water with Dawn doesn’t seem to loosen it up much, if it all.
4. I feel compelled to take out my blade, rinse it off and pat dry each time after shaving (to be sure the razor and blade are thoroughly clean). Is this helpful, or just me being OCD? I feel like this allows me to better clean the razor and blade and have read that it is best to be sure the blades are completely dry after use for longevity.
5. Knowing that I have now been completely bitten buy the “research and buy things for shaving bug,” what is a good way to start trying out various soaps and/or cremes (and possibly aftershaves)? Blades are easy, considering there are so many sample packs available and even a set of 100 is rarely that expensive shipped. I don’t want to buy a bunch, especially considering minimums for free shipping before I know what I’m doing. Is there anywhere that sells sample sized portions of soaps or cremes? I’m trying to avoid developing another acquisition disorder, as I fear it’s probably already too late for razors and blades.
That being said, I was going to try and order some of the Razorock soaps on sale on Italian barber upon recommendations from another member on here this last weekend, but unfortunately by the time I picked things to check out, the sale was over.
Looking forward to hopefully eventually being able to go ATG on my neck without terrible irritation, being able to use the 1920 Gillette Old Type that apparently has been in my family for decades after it was given to my grandfather by the original purchaser but just sitting in a drawer since my father tried to use it a few times in the early 90’s, continuing to explore this hobby, and contributing where I can (hopefully not in novel form like this post).
Ever since I grew hair on my neck, shaving was pretty much the bane of my existence. Horrible razor burn, ingrown hairs, and just general irritation. Once I was able to grow a semi-respectable beard, this means I pretty much stopped shaving. Right after college I moved to China (supposedly for only one year that eventually became almost 5), I had an housemate and saw him with an odd contraption one day that turned out to be a safety razor. He used it only to shave his body hair- completely dry actually. However, he still used cartridges for his face because the DE was "too dangerous" and "uncomfortable." However, being a lover (and collector) of pretty much all things "antique," I was intrigued.
One day when it was too humid and I was sick of having a beard, but without my typical trimmers, I decided to find myself a safety razor of my own, and ended up purchasing one of the Gillette Super blue three piece razors with the black plastic handle and the single blade.
Amazingly I didn’t absolutely hate it. After tedious process of using it to hack off my bushy beard with it, subsequent shaves were the least irritating I ever had (but still unpleasant). I loved the cost and the fact that using it wouldn’t create additional plastic waste. When trying to figure out how to “properly use it,” I ended up finding this forum on an internet search. At one point, I decided to try and go ATG, which was disastrous.
Especially at that time, it was incredibly inconvenient to get any “specialty” foreign product, and so I would alternate between growing a beard and occasionally shaving using whatever mildly lubricating product that was convenient and not exorbitantly expensive (oil, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, canned goop, etc…), but never tried a brush or any real shaving cream/soap.
Whenever I would see a new razor or blades (always in the back corner of some random tiny convenience store, I would buy and try it. I ended up with a plastic one piece where the top clipped on that broke after a few uses, random metal TTO’s of EXTREMELY varying quality, including one that ended up exposing the blade diagonally and only on one side and one whose doors would pop open during the middle of a shave. I think I finally ended finding a Nanjie TTO in a blue plastic case with a mirror inside that worked the best of all of them.
I would buy new blades whenever I found them, which were often bulk packaged unbranded blades in a simple paper wrapper, Gillette Super Blue, Gillette blue thins (with Vietnamese writing on the tucks), and of course all kinds of Gillette counterfeits, knock offs, and knock offs of knock offs. Many were thrown away almost immediately when it was evident that I would be better off tying to scrape my hair off with a blunt object laying around the house. I would try and stock up on Gillette thins from stores in Thailand whenever I would visit there.
Anyways, after moving back to the states, and a few years later, I have a professional job that strongly encourages being clean shaven, so I decided to explore this whole wet shaving thing again. Being a stubborn and thrifty (ie- incredibly cheap), I foolishly avoided buying a brush and still shaved with whatever random cremes, goop, or facial bar I had around the house, thinking that it "wouldn't make that much of a difference)
A few weeks ago, after getting fairly unsatisfying and irritating shaves on my neck any time I tried a second pass (XTG) or more, I broke down and bought a brush (an omega 49 I believe). After it being such a dramatic improvement, I concluded that people here really do know what they are talking about and decided to stop using my Cetaphil face bar and ordered a few sticks of Arko and a stick of La Toja (still hasn't arrived). What an unbelievable difference using an actual shave soap and a brush makes! I truly enjoy face lathering now.
Although I had previously made a bulk order of Indian Gillette blades(the Black Platinums and Wilkinson sword), I am currently on an extended trip and couldn’t bring any and so I ordered a moderate blade sampler that I am still working my way through. Considering that everything I had read on here but for some reason chose to disregard previously, I am now revisiting each of these blades individually while keeping the same setup with Brush, soap, and razor (Gillette Black tip, steel handle and baseplate, Omega brush and Arko shave stick). That being said, I did just order some modern razors from someone in the forum here, but I’m going to try and resist using them until I feel like I have my technique(s) dialed in better with my current setup and I have a better idea on how the different blades perform, rather than just what I’ve read other people saying about them.
If anyone made it through what I have now realized is probably quite the screed, I have a few questions.
1. I have a few GEM razors (which i think are gorgeous-bought in the same auction as the black tip) that I can’t wait to try once my SE blades come in. Should I resist the urge and wait to use them until I’ve figured out my lathering and DE technique first?
2. I have noticed my brush, which only now finally stopped smelling like a boar’s hindquarters when wet, constantly smells like Arko, no matter how much I rinse it after use. Is this a problem and is there any way I should/could clean it better? If it makes any difference, the water here is extremely hard, so I wonder if the soap is scumming up and isn’t getting completely cleaned out.
3. I have found that my black tip is getting extremely difficult to open, despite thorough rinsing in hot water after each use. I do notice that the exterior is getting a bit cloudy as well, so I suspect this may be soap scum forming from the hard water? Multiple long soaks in hot water with Dawn doesn’t seem to loosen it up much, if it all.
4. I feel compelled to take out my blade, rinse it off and pat dry each time after shaving (to be sure the razor and blade are thoroughly clean). Is this helpful, or just me being OCD? I feel like this allows me to better clean the razor and blade and have read that it is best to be sure the blades are completely dry after use for longevity.
5. Knowing that I have now been completely bitten buy the “research and buy things for shaving bug,” what is a good way to start trying out various soaps and/or cremes (and possibly aftershaves)? Blades are easy, considering there are so many sample packs available and even a set of 100 is rarely that expensive shipped. I don’t want to buy a bunch, especially considering minimums for free shipping before I know what I’m doing. Is there anywhere that sells sample sized portions of soaps or cremes? I’m trying to avoid developing another acquisition disorder, as I fear it’s probably already too late for razors and blades.
That being said, I was going to try and order some of the Razorock soaps on sale on Italian barber upon recommendations from another member on here this last weekend, but unfortunately by the time I picked things to check out, the sale was over.
Looking forward to hopefully eventually being able to go ATG on my neck without terrible irritation, being able to use the 1920 Gillette Old Type that apparently has been in my family for decades after it was given to my grandfather by the original purchaser but just sitting in a drawer since my father tried to use it a few times in the early 90’s, continuing to explore this hobby, and contributing where I can (hopefully not in novel form like this post).