Hi all,
New wet shaver here since this August... prior to that I had a beard for 10 years, and before that, 10 years with an electric razor. After lurking on this forum for some time I've picked up heaps of good advice and have been settling into things nicely! Here is a brief summary of where I've come in the last four months.
I have one brush (Kent BK2) and one cream (TOBS Sandalwood). I can whip up what seems to me like an acceptable lather, though it's never quite what I hope for. It seems I can either get it dense and less slick (less water, less mixing time), or airy and slick (more water, more mixing time)... but not dense and slick. I'm nearly at the end of the TOBS and will be trying a Saponificio Varesino soap next.
As for razors. I have dense, tough whiskers (and so shave every day) but apparently also tough skin. I started out with a Merkur 34C for two months, and pretty quickly got to a point where there was no blood. However, anything other than straight WTG (which is pretty complex with my beard pattern) was a no-no, leading to severe irritation especially on the neck. After reading about rigidity on here, I figured out that part of the problem was probably blade flexing. So my second razor was a Fatip Piccolo which supports the blade much better and was immediately MUCH less irritating and smoother - now I could do both WTG and XTG, though ATG was still a step too far. Best DE blades for me seem to be Feather, Nacet and 7 o'clock Yellow.
After a month with the Piccolo I picked up a Gem 1912, I think 50's Aussie version with aluminium hex handle. Now this was more like it - closer and more even shave on the neck and finally something I could do ATG with, at least above the neck line. However, not wholly a step forward - more weepers and neck irritation with the 1912 than the Piccolo... I could feel the blade catching and chattering in the really tough parts of my whiskers.
So now, after a month with the 1912, I've just stepped up to a Micromatic Open Comb in really great condition. It's a clear improvement on the 1912. I'm not sure it's much more efficient, but it's a much smoother and less irritating shave for me, no weepers or redness. It could be the extra weight of the handle (the aluminium 1912 handle weighs nothing) or maybe because the blade is held more rigidly, since it's supported right to the edge. I'm only a week in with the MMOC, and while I'm still not going ATG below the neckline, I've found that one pass WTG, then one XTG, then a steep WTG pass (riding the comb) gives a great irritation-free result. I think I'm just going to keep on with the MMOC for a couple of months now and see where it gets me.
Anyway, thanks for a great and very informative forum, probably I won't post much here but wanted to check in to say hello and thanks, and any thoughts or suggestions would be gratefully received!
New wet shaver here since this August... prior to that I had a beard for 10 years, and before that, 10 years with an electric razor. After lurking on this forum for some time I've picked up heaps of good advice and have been settling into things nicely! Here is a brief summary of where I've come in the last four months.
I have one brush (Kent BK2) and one cream (TOBS Sandalwood). I can whip up what seems to me like an acceptable lather, though it's never quite what I hope for. It seems I can either get it dense and less slick (less water, less mixing time), or airy and slick (more water, more mixing time)... but not dense and slick. I'm nearly at the end of the TOBS and will be trying a Saponificio Varesino soap next.
As for razors. I have dense, tough whiskers (and so shave every day) but apparently also tough skin. I started out with a Merkur 34C for two months, and pretty quickly got to a point where there was no blood. However, anything other than straight WTG (which is pretty complex with my beard pattern) was a no-no, leading to severe irritation especially on the neck. After reading about rigidity on here, I figured out that part of the problem was probably blade flexing. So my second razor was a Fatip Piccolo which supports the blade much better and was immediately MUCH less irritating and smoother - now I could do both WTG and XTG, though ATG was still a step too far. Best DE blades for me seem to be Feather, Nacet and 7 o'clock Yellow.
After a month with the Piccolo I picked up a Gem 1912, I think 50's Aussie version with aluminium hex handle. Now this was more like it - closer and more even shave on the neck and finally something I could do ATG with, at least above the neck line. However, not wholly a step forward - more weepers and neck irritation with the 1912 than the Piccolo... I could feel the blade catching and chattering in the really tough parts of my whiskers.
So now, after a month with the 1912, I've just stepped up to a Micromatic Open Comb in really great condition. It's a clear improvement on the 1912. I'm not sure it's much more efficient, but it's a much smoother and less irritating shave for me, no weepers or redness. It could be the extra weight of the handle (the aluminium 1912 handle weighs nothing) or maybe because the blade is held more rigidly, since it's supported right to the edge. I'm only a week in with the MMOC, and while I'm still not going ATG below the neckline, I've found that one pass WTG, then one XTG, then a steep WTG pass (riding the comb) gives a great irritation-free result. I think I'm just going to keep on with the MMOC for a couple of months now and see where it gets me.
Anyway, thanks for a great and very informative forum, probably I won't post much here but wanted to check in to say hello and thanks, and any thoughts or suggestions would be gratefully received!
