New to DE from UK

[Rekab Mit]

New to DE the journey starts, nearly...
So I ordered a EJ from Amazon last Sunday, it arrived without the promised blades. Visited ASDA and the chemist no razor blades, went to Wilko they only sold WS blades with a razor. ASDA only do Gillet cartridges now it seems; despite flogging me WS and Bulldogs over the years.
So ordered Derby Blades (50) on Amazon, they arrive today!
So what to expect, I have for many years used Taylors Soap and a Kent Badger Brush. Was Given Burts Bees soap by a Vegan friend at Christmas. Smell OK but no lather. I assumed it was my old Kent brush being the problem, as it has lost a little hair since first use in 1999 !
Bought new Kent, my vegan friend will be pleased as its a BK2 replacement that is synthetic, but this is no better if anything it is worse then my 23 year old Badger. Realise now the issue has not been my old bashed Kent brush but this Burts-Bees soap.
Have a new tub now of my favourite Taylors and can use either brush. I await my blades.
Weirdly excited, will first shave be cuts and rashes, but smooth; or will it be ineffectual due to me being nervous of the cuts. It will probably be a mixture as I can be a bit Bull in a China shop, I get nicks with my three blade Bulldog.

 

[SalS]

People equate thick, creamy, white lather with a great shave. My opinion on this is that it is purely physiological. It is fun, nostalgic and comforting but has questionable value. I have a brush and a decent supply of traditional creams and soaps that are now retired in exchange for a “cream” that goes on no heavier than facial moisturizer with stellar results and simplicity. Lather is not the holy grail, IMO.

 

[JWCowboy]

Welcome! The UK is home to some outstanding wet shaving products. Couple of my favorite soap makers are Castle Forbes and Phoenix and Beau. Also check out the Gentleman's Groom Room in Aberdeen, Scotland. They have some really nice exclusive soaps and gear. And for many of us, the vintage made in England Gillette razors represent the "Holy Grail" of DEs.

 

[Phoenixkh]

First of all, welcome to the B&B community.

Our youngest son gifted me some blades and a RazoRock Lupo Aluminum DE razor.,The blades got to our place a week or so before the razor so I can identify with the wait.

Coming from over 50 years of Gillette cartridge shaving and a few DE and/or Schick shaves with one of my mother’s razors when I first started shaving as a young teenager, I had zero experience and had a horrible first shave.

Over the last year and two months, I’ve learned a lot and have so much more to learn and experience.

Enjoy the journey. This place is wonderful, lots of fun and the people here are great.

 

[cryhavoc]

Welcome to B&B!

 

[BigJ]

Welcome aboard!

 

[Rekab Mit]

People equate thick, creamy, white lather with a great shave. My opinion on this is that it is purely physiological. It is fun, nostalgic and comforting but has questionable value. I have a brush and a decent supply of traditional creams and soaps that are now retired in exchange for a “cream” that goes on no heavier than facial moisturizer with stellar results and simplicity. Lather is not the holy grail, IMO.

Well I cant abide waste, 1/4 inch of tea in the cup, gulps of beer, and shaving soap included. So will continue to use the Burts Bees with homeopathic foam, which incidentally gives a ecru to yellow foam. Maybe we don't need foam, but then if not may as just well use hand and face soap. I do feel rather guilty now though of giving Kent a bad review of the new brush when its clearly this Bay Rum Burts Bees soap at issue.

 

[Hms123]

Welcome to a great center of civility on the web.

 

[tjsgarden]

Welcome to the B&B community!

 

[Alum Ladd]

New to DE the journey starts, nearly...
So I ordered a EJ from Amazon last Sunday, it arrived without the promised blades. Visited ASDA and the chemist no razor blades, went to Wilko they only sold WS blades with a razor. ASDA only do Gillet cartridges now it seems; despite flogging me WS and Bulldogs over the years.
So ordered Derby Blades (50) on Amazon, they arrive today!
So what to expect, I have for many years used Taylors Soap and a Kent Badger Brush. Was Given Burts Bees soap by a Vegan friend at Christmas. Smell OK but no lather. I assumed it was my old Kent brush being the problem, as it has lost a little hair since first use in 1999 !
Bought new Kent, my vegan friend will be pleased as its a BK2 replacement that is synthetic, but this is no better if anything it is worse then my 23 year old Badger. Realise now the issue has not been my old bashed Kent brush but this Burts-Bees soap.
Have a new tub now of my favourite Taylors and can use either brush. I await my blades.
Weirdly excited, will first shave be cuts and rashes, but smooth; or will it be ineffectual due to me being nervous of the cuts. It will probably be a mixture as I can be a bit Bull in a China shop, I get nicks with my three blade Bulldog.

Welcome to B&B from London!

Is that the EJ Kelvin you picked up? That was my first razor from Amazon, short handle. It was a good deal for £14 I think. Still used and a good razor!

Some branches of Wilko sell the WS 10 blade packs individually. I use my old Ebay seller for blades on his business website. I will give you the link if interested.

Have fun!

 

[Invicta]

Welcome to B&B.

Weirdly excited, will first shave be cuts and rashes, but smooth; or will it be ineffectual due to me being nervous of the cuts. It will probably be a mixture as I can be a bit Bull in a China shop, I get nicks with my three blade Bulldog.

It takes a little time to improve technique with the DE razor but you will be rewarded with great shaves. Blades experiences can be subjective so try a sample of blades. The Wiki here is a good resource for technique; ShaveWiki | Badger & Blade
Blades from supermarkets are very limited but the K.C. Gillette blades are good but extremely expensive so buying other blades online is your best option.
Unfortunately Amazon and Ebay UK have changed their policy of sales of DE blades online to comply with UK legislation so online vendors like Connaught shaving, may be your best option.
TfOBS creams and Cella or Proraso soaps are good performers for shaving but hard water means you need to load more soap to get the desired lather.

 

[Eric_75]

Hello and welcome to B & B!

 

[NickCutlip]

Welcome to the forum !!

 

[lasta]

Welcome!

@Alum Ladd , seems like the UK blade trade has moved underground! I feel your pain.

 

[Rekab Mit]

Welcome to B&B from London!

Is that the EJ Kelvin you picked up? That was my first razor from Amazon, short handle. It was a good deal for £14 I think. Still used and a good razor!

Some branches of Wilko sell the WS 10 blade packs individually. I use my old Ebay seller for blades on his business website. I will give you the link if interested.

Have fun!

Thanks yes wanted a British made Razor and had a £10 voucher so it only cost me £14. It seems nice first shave went well had a couple of ? weepers , by corner of the mouth. I have 100 Derby delivered so will be good for blades for a while.
Second shave, I work from home and shave at lunch, no nicks or cuts at all but was very carful at the mouth only going with the grain.

 

[Rekab Mit]

Welcome to B&B.

It takes a little time to improve technique with the DE razor but you will be rewarded with great shaves. Blades experiences can be subjective so try a sample of blades. The Wiki here is a good resource for technique; ShaveWiki | Badger & Blade
Blades from supermarkets are very limited but the K.C. Gillette blades are good but extremely expensive so buying other blades online is your best option.
Unfortunately Amazon and Ebay UK have changed their policy of sales of DE blades online to comply with UK legislation so online vendors like Connaught shaving, may be your best option.
TfOBS creams and Cella or Proraso soaps are good performers for shaving but hard water means you need to load more soap to get the desired lather.

Yes TfOBS, has been my favourite with the cartridges and I doubt that will change with the DE. I might give my Burts to my nephew as he and wife are vegan so will use despite its performance.
Amazon delivered asked age, took aback by that as although I don't quite look my age I certain look 50!

 

[Alexland]

Welcome to the DE community.
I'm in the UK and wouldn't bother looking in general shops as there isn't enough consumer demand to justify them stocking much if anything especially with the extra compliance requirements.
I have found La Barbiera to an excellent supplier of blades with attractive volume pricing and fast free postage. I used to buy from them via Ebay UK before all the DE blade listings were removed so now buy direct using Paypal and no problems. Good luck with the Derby Extra they sadly never satisfied me so I used to include a few tucks in my unwanted razor listings to get rid of them. I hope they are now all gone as I can't face (no pun intended) using them again and can no longer sell them.

La Barbiera

La Barbiera

labarbiera.co.uk

I've also found it's well worth signing up to the email list at The Shaving Shack as they sometimes email 30% off everything codes which can be combined with their other promotions with a particular sweet spot if you are looking to spend 50 GBP+ on a variety of shaving products. They also have some good clearance prices and give you 1GBP of loyalty points for each review you leave. Stacking these promotions can give some really big discounts. It's great to get a big varied box of stuff from them to try out at a low cost per unit. Trawling their whole website building a basket takes a bit of time as they show a lot of items out of stock but I have found it worthwhile.

Shaving Supplies & Products for Sale Online - Shaving Time

Buy shaving equipment online today, including shaving soap, cream, razors, brushes, fragrance and more. Free UK Shipping & Returns Service, EU IOSS Shipping and International VAT Free Shopping

www.shaving-shack.com

 

[Phoenixkh]

When I first started, I bought a number of excellent products from the Executive Shaving Company. The shipping costs to the States was manageable when buying several items.

I’m pretty sure they have free shipping in the UK if you meet their requirements.

 

[dmshaver]

Glad you’ve joined, welcome!

 

[BusterBLX]

Welcome to the DE community.
I'm in the UK and wouldn't bother looking in general shops as there isn't enough consumer demand to justify them stocking much if anything especially with the extra compliance requirements.
I have found La Barbiera to an excellent supplier of blades with attractive volume pricing and fast free postage. I used to buy from them via Ebay UK before all the DE blade listings were removed so now buy direct using Paypal and no problems. Good luck with the Derby Extra they sadly never satisfied me so I used to include a few tucks in my unwanted razor listings to get rid of them. I hope they are now all gone as I can't face (no pun intended) using them again and can no longer sell them.

La Barbiera

La Barbiera

labarbiera.co.uk

I've also found it's well worth signing up to the email list at The Shaving Shack as they sometimes email 30% off everything codes which can be combined with their other promotions with a particular sweet spot if you are looking to spend 50 GBP+ on a variety of shaving products. They also have some good clearance prices and give you 1GBP of loyalty points for each review you leave. Stacking these promotions can give some really big discounts. It's great to get a big varied box of stuff from them to try out at a low cost per unit. Trawling their whole website building a basket takes a bit of time as they show a lot of items out of stock but I have found it worthwhile.

Shaving Supplies & Products for Sale Online - Shaving Time

Buy shaving equipment online today, including shaving soap, cream, razors, brushes, fragrance and more. Free UK Shipping & Returns Service, EU IOSS Shipping and International VAT Free Shopping

www.shaving-shack.com

I’m in UK and used La Barbiera too - good deals on blades and easy to recommend. There are discounts too but I can’t remember where put card/code.

I get quite a lot of my soaps and aftershaves etc from Shaving Time (he’s based Essex - good guy highly recommend). All my Stirling soaps and A/s and register for the VIP thing and you get points equating 10% off future purchases … it’s a bonus
Plus they also have a 5% off if you buy recommendations listed under the product you might if wanted.

I’ve bought couple razor and soaps from the english shaving company (basically they’re Edwin Jagger)
Connaughts are ok too - there’s a code for 10% off spend over £50 … TSR50

You don’t tend to get a great deal of good choice in chemist or shops.
Occasionally you’ll see things in TK max if you want TABAC for example.

I’m a big fan of Stirling (and matching up the scents) so bought a fair amount lately.

Ps .. I’ve recently bought / discovered Gillette Platinum Blades - they are excellent for me. I’m happy to use feather as well but they let you know you’re using them !!