Newbie from Yokohama

[Quaiti]

...and i lived in sangenjaya myself. see? you're surrounded.
for starters, kick up the software (i.e. cream/soap) quotient of your equation. i, for one, would be happy to serve as an address recipient and re-sender of supplies to you.
oh, and it's okay to check out those feather disposables.

Hi Sanpaku,

Thanks for the offer, and I may take you up on that someday. For now, though, I'm hoping that my occasional trips to Europe for work will yield some shaving-related opportunities.

Also, Royalcrown set me up with several soaps... I'm just using one right now because, as suggested in the forums, I want to reduce the number of variables involved until I bring my skill level up.

Q.

 

[SirArthur]

Welcome to a great site with wonderful people eager to answer questions and help.

 

[tvphotog]

Welcome to the board. Have a great time.

 

[Chuckaluck]

I love Tokyo, but my favorite city is Kyoto! Check it out if you can. Take the bullet train!

 

[crankymoose]

Welcome to B&B, enjoy

 

[petr]

Well this sounds like an adventure of the highest order. I see a lot of train rides in your future.

I assumed, maybe wrongly, that you would have most of the world's products at your finger tips in Tokyo. Although the prices might be prohibitive enough to stop that development.

I lived in Misawa for two years, but was suffering in ignorance back then and used whatever was around.

Honestly, when I was in northern Honshu the trip to Tokyo was several hours so I planned four day weekends to Hong Kong and Singapore for many of my shopping needs. It was a lot of fun too.

So what about Tokyo for wet-shaving supplies?

Welcome to B&B!

 

[kevtex]

Welcome to B&B

 

[Quaiti]

Well this sounds like an adventure of the highest order. I see a lot of train rides in your future.

I assumed, maybe wrongly, that you would have most of the world's products at your finger tips in Tokyo. Although the prices might be prohibitive enough to stop that development.

So what about Tokyo for wet-shaving supplies?

Hey Petr,

I'm sure there are places in both Tokyo and Yokohama to buy shaving supplies. Through Royalcrown, I already know that Tokyo Hands has some stuff (that plastic Feather razor I have, for instance, as well as shaving bowls, basic soaps, brushes etc.). Drugstores here also carry razor blades (Feathers, from what I've seen) for about half the price of Tokyo Hands. Department stores usually have a TINY wetshaving section with a minimal selection of overpriced razors, blades (I've seen EXPENSIVE Merkurs here), stands, bowls, etc.

In the thread I first posted in, there was also a website mentioned (http://www.kamisoriclub.co.jp/), so I will assume that there are also a few brick-and-mortar places: it's just a questions of knowing how to search for them.

As I find things, I will post them back to B&B for other shavers in Japan.

Q.

 

[bones59]

Gassho

 

[Quaiti]

Oh yeah,

And thanks, everyone, for the warm welcome.

Shaves # 3 and 4 have been completed. I'm learning that I need to do it at night, and while my wife isn't home or otherwise distracted, or I simply can't take the time I need to do it properly.

3 & 4 weren't as good as #2, and I decided to replace the blade for the next time. I'm still doing a poor job on my neck-- a few nicks, I don't mind, but the shave is not even remotely clean... Am going to try 4 passes when I do shave #5.

Cheers,

Q.

 

[ktulu64]

Welcome!

You might try only a WTG pass on the neck for a while until you get your blade angle figured out. That, holding the skin of your neck taught and applying "almost no pressure" will hopefully make for a bloodless shave. If you haven't watched Mantic's YouTube videos you owe it to yourself and your face/neck. (and prep, prep, prep...)

 

[Quaiti]

Welcome!

You might try only a WTG pass on the neck for a while until you get your blade angle figured out. That, holding the skin of your neck taught and applying "almost no pressure" will hopefully make for a bloodless shave. If you haven't watched Mantic's YouTube videos you owe it to yourself and your face/neck. (and prep, prep, prep...)

Hi Ktulu64,

Yes, I've watched the Mantic videos. They've been very helpful-- I'm sure I'd have a bleeding wreck of a face without them, but I've always been an uncoordinated, slow learner when it comes to physical things. For instance, it took me two months of practicing for 2 - 4 hours or more a day in order to be able to strum a guitar and sing at the same time. Seriously. Usually I compensate with hours and hours of practice... not quite so easy with something I can only do once every couple of days.

However, I plan to persist-- even if it takes me a year to get this right!

Shave #5 today-- before reading your advice... chopped the hell out of my neck again, but was at least rewarded with a closer shave. (Maybe had to do with the fresh Feather.) Will continue working on WTG, as per your advice.

Question: holding skin taut. How? I can do it for the area just under my ear, but for my neck, my fingers just slide around; I can't seem to get a grip. Any tricks for how/where to grip the skin?

Q.

 

[royalcrown]

For the sake of clarity, all directions I give are how the razor moves for a WTG pass, For the area of jaw to adams apple (SE) I up and push up on the cheek of the side I am shaving. If that is impractical looking up away will tighten one side pretty well.

For the adams apple area (E) 4 fingers behind my neck and pull with the thumb or the heel of my hand (like you are giving yourslef a neck rub). Or if I am not getting any purchace that way thumb and pointer on opposite sides of the thoat jsut above the scapula and push in and down (you should look like you are going to gently choke yourself....only look like

I generally try and pull opposite to way the hair grows. I also go cheeks /everything under the Jawline/around the mouth, one leads to the other for where I need to pull from.

For the new feathers, if may be worth it to cork them before you use a fresh one. I havent tried this but have been meaning to as first shave shave with a new blade tends to be less forgiving.

 

[Quaiti]

...For the adams apple area (E) 4 fingers behind my neck and pull with the thumb or the heel of my hand (like you are giving yourslef a neck rub). Or if I am not getting any purchace that way thumb and pointer on opposite sides of the thoat jsut above the scapula and push in and down (you should look like you are going to gently choke yourself....only look like

I generally try and pull opposite to way the hair grows. I also go cheeks /everything under the Jawline/around the mouth, one leads to the other for where I need to pull from.

For the new feathers, if may be worth it to cork them before you use a fresh one. I havent tried this but have been meaning to as first shave shave with a new blade tends to be less forgiving.

Hi Royalcrown,

Awesome advice, as usual. Thanks!

I didn't mean that the Feather had cut me because it was new. Actually, I ripped myself a lot more with the one I'd switched out. I meant that the closer shave was due to the fresh blade. The ripping was entirely me being uncoordinated and aggressive.

Q.

 

[Quaiti]

This AM: 7th shave. Not BBS by a long shot, but only two nicks, no razor burn, and I actually managed an 4th (ATG) pass on the upper half of my face.

I'm sure this is just an oasis before I go back to chopping myself up again, but it at least means that I can do it, and I can maybe look forward to the day when I consider this to have been a bad shave!

Conclusion: still green, but definitely on the right highway, mixing metaphors all the while.

Thanks, guys!

Q.