For Valentine's Day my wife got me a new Merkur HD which came with a Merkur blade. I knew it was coming as my new obsession with DE shavers and discovery of this site began just a couple of weeks ago, and I was not so subtle with gift suggestions. The family is about sick of hearing of new shaving soaps, creams, aftershaves, balms, colognes...
Anyway, I didn't shave yesterday, and I imagine the extra growth contributed to this morning's experience. I took a hot shower and washed my face with a new cube of Marseilles soap. I went immediately to the sink and got a good lather of Trumper's Coconut shaving soap. I began shaving very cautiously, being very timid with the angle of the razor. My first concern was that the razor wasn't getting through the stubble very easily and I thought for sure I would end up with a gash if the blade skipped. Thankfully, this never happened. I didn't bleed or weep a bit. It took a bit longer to shave with the HD. I wished I had lathered one side of my face, shaved it, then lathered the other side. It seemed the lather dried out too quickly and I wasn't getting good glide on the second half of the shave. I did relather under my nose to finish my first DE shave.
My face definitely felt different than when I used the Atra Plus 2 blade cartridge. Almost numb. I got a closer shave, despite my caution, than I ever got with the Atra cartridges. As I type tonight, I realize I have less stubble than before this late in the day. I don't think I'd need a second shave to go out at night.
My main question is which blade to I try next? One of the reasons (rationalizations?) for going DE is the cost of the blades. I was using a new Atra Plus cartridge every week. Will I be changing the DE blades as frequently? Any tips appreciated!! I expect not to return to the cartidges unless I travel. Very happy with this morning's shave!!
Anyway, I didn't shave yesterday, and I imagine the extra growth contributed to this morning's experience. I took a hot shower and washed my face with a new cube of Marseilles soap. I went immediately to the sink and got a good lather of Trumper's Coconut shaving soap. I began shaving very cautiously, being very timid with the angle of the razor. My first concern was that the razor wasn't getting through the stubble very easily and I thought for sure I would end up with a gash if the blade skipped. Thankfully, this never happened. I didn't bleed or weep a bit. It took a bit longer to shave with the HD. I wished I had lathered one side of my face, shaved it, then lathered the other side. It seemed the lather dried out too quickly and I wasn't getting good glide on the second half of the shave. I did relather under my nose to finish my first DE shave.
My face definitely felt different than when I used the Atra Plus 2 blade cartridge. Almost numb. I got a closer shave, despite my caution, than I ever got with the Atra cartridges. As I type tonight, I realize I have less stubble than before this late in the day. I don't think I'd need a second shave to go out at night.
My main question is which blade to I try next? One of the reasons (rationalizations?) for going DE is the cost of the blades. I was using a new Atra Plus cartridge every week. Will I be changing the DE blades as frequently? Any tips appreciated!! I expect not to return to the cartidges unless I travel. Very happy with this morning's shave!!
