Newbie incoming!

[SunShave]

Welcome aboard! I would probably stick with the razors you have for now until you are more comfortable. Do you have a shave brush yet? As far as soaps go, I would start with Stirling—good value and nice selection.

Just a generic brush/bowl/stand set, so I'm sure I'll get around to upgrading the brush at some point.

What colour is the tip of your Super Speed?

And a related question: what kind of blades do you use?

Silver! I've got two different blade sample packs (I think they cover 20 different blades total, gillette SB, Permasharp, Derby Extra, 7 O'Clock, Persona, Voskhod, Astra SP, etc)

For soaps I just ordered some Arko to use initially while I'm trying out different blades to try and keep those variables constant until I figure out which I prefer, then I'll grab Proraso white, Cella, and Castle Forbes for when I want to feel a little extra premium

Welcome! A Rockwell 6C, or a Razorock Game Changer, or a Henson AL13 mild are good ones to have on your radar.

I've definitely added the Henson mild to my (quickly growing) list of razors to work towards.

Thanks for the warm welcome, gents!

 

[Mike M]

Arko of course is a must. Just ask @Mike M

I wholeheartedly agree with @FarmerTan here everyone should try Arko, until they realise that no civilized person should use a soap that smells like a urinal puck.
Welcome to B&B the first thing to concentrate on is technique, spend time getting to know the way your beard grows and try a few blades to find what works. For soaps try some of the popular mass produced soaps first, Prorasso, Tabac, Haslinger, TOBS Razorock, there is a reason they are so popular. Arko August starts next month so you could use it then and get it out of your system so you can use proper soaps for the rest of your life.

 

[Eric_75]

I wholeheartedly agree with @FarmerTan here everyone should try Arko, until they realise that no civilized person should use a soap that smells like a urinal puck.
Welcome to B&B the first thing to concentrate on is technique, spend time getting to know the way your beard grows and try a few blades to find what works. For soaps try some of the popular mass produced soaps first, Prorasso, Tabac, Haslinger, TOBS Razorock, there is a reason they are so popular. Arko August starts next month so you could use it then and get it out of your system so you can use proper soaps for the rest of your life.

I may take a bath with my Arko puck tonight. Relieves stress, balances hormones, prevents crime, saves baby whales, etc.

 

[FarmerTan]

Honestly, try the stuff that I believe Dollar Tree sells for $1.25.... @Ad Astra can back me up on this. I'm going there today, still out running errands with my Queen of Arkoland, the lovely Mrs. War Department as all of her friends call her behind her back. Wonderful soap for $1.25, truly. I may use it on half my face tomorrow, with Arko on the other side.

 

[FarmerTan]

I may take a bath with my Arko puck tonight. Relieves stress, balances hormones, prevents crime, saves baby whales, etc.

This is actually true. I've been known to fight off full grown Great White Sharks while shaving in the moat around the Castle of Arko whilst helping deliver breach baby whales. True story doggone!

 

[User973]

Welcome- take your shoes off and get comfortable. This is a very nice place.

 

[Slock]

Hi welcome.
Get a boar brush. I like my Semogue 1305. Or an Omega boar. You cant go wrong with a Semogue or a Omega. I'm sure you will get a synthetic. For some reason I keep reaching for my boar brushes.

 

[dmshaver]

Welcome, glad you’ve joined!

 

[SP120K]

Hello, everyone!

I'd like to introduce myself to you fine folks. I'm 27 years old, soon to be happily married come December, and very excited to be here. After several weeks of getting bombarded with ads for supply and leaf razors, I decided to do some research and realized - I would much prefer a traditional DE Safety Razor to either of those newer alternatives (no hate intended)! I've never really enjoyed cartridge shaving, and am excited to be able to dial in a comfortable and efficient shave once the stars align with technique, hardware, and software. I love a good hobby where I get to experiment around and find a good fit.

I must have spent about two weeks combing through youtube videos, these forums, and several others on reddit to get a good idea of where to start. I finally bit the bullet and grabbed a cheap Baili 171 with some Astra SPs for a trial run. Just a few shaves in, and I'm never going back to cartridges. It already resulted in a much less irritating shave, and so far I've even managed to escape nick and cut free! After using it for a couple days, I also found a fairly good condition late 1940s super speed for around $20, and that should come in soon. I imagine I'll stick to using those for a while, testing out different blades and nailing down my technique. I'd love to build a little collection of razors to find what's best, but I shouldn't keep too many at a time or it'll get hard to justify to the soon-to-be-missus. My facial and neck hair grows evenly pretty much everywhere except my cheeks (quirky genes, I guess), and I need to shave every 1-2 days, no more than 3, especially my neck and goatee zone. From my limited experience and knowledge I've absorbed from my brief but intense lurking, I'd wager a Rockwell 3 plate would do really well, but I'd like to try a few other things before taking that path of least resistance (while I imagine I'll eventually grab one, I'm hesitant due to what I've read about the larger razor head).

My question now for you all, is where should I be prepared to go from here? Are there any must-tries for a beginner to help deduce my preferences? Which razors would you recommend looking at when it's time to upgrade? What soaps and post-shaves should be on my radar? Thank you in advance, and I'm looking forward to shaving with you!

Welcome and congratulations on getting married this Winter! I like your choice of Atra SP those give me incredible shaves. I recommend checking out a Merkur 34C razor, I get irritation free shaves with that. I used to use a 50's Super Speed but found the Merkur to be a lot better. I recommend you incorporate a proraso pre-shave into your routines. Hell go with a Proraso soap tub too, they are excellent. I normally recommend omega boar brushes but I will be soon trying out my first Synthetic brush. Post shave I recommend witch hazel always. For use all year around I also recommend an After shave balm, a couple of favorites of mine are Pre de Provence and Nivea Men.

If it's possible for you to do so I recommend shaving in the shower with use of a lighted mirror or something like that. My skin really benefits from shaving in the shower versus prepping at the sink with splashes of water or using a warm wet towel to soak my face.

 

[Vedak]

Congrats and welcome!

 

[SunShave]

Welcome and congratulations on getting married this Winter! I like your choice of Atra SP those give me incredible shaves. I recommend checking out a Merkur 34C razor, I get irritation free shaves with that. I used to use a 50's Super Speed but found the Merkur to be a lot better. I recommend you incorporate a proraso pre-shave into your routines. Hell go with a Proraso soap tub too, they are excellent. I normally recommend omega boar brushes but I will be soon trying out my first Synthetic brush. Post shave I recommend witch hazel always. For use all year around I also recommend an After shave balm, a couple of favorites of mine are Pre de Provence and Nivea Men.

If it's possible for you to do so I recommend shaving in the shower with use of a lighted mirror or something like that. My skin really benefits from shaving in the shower versus prepping at the sink with splashes of water or using a warm wet towel to soak my face.

That's two endorsements for an omega brush, I'll start perusing! My only hesitation with. a boar brush is I hear they shed something terrible at first, but I guess everything has its trade-offs.

I can't tell you how much I've gone back and forth trying to decide between grabbing either a Merkur 34c or a Edwin Jagger DE89 after I settle in on a blade or two that I like. I'm sure everyone has their own experiences and I know YMMV, and I would grab both but (for now) I'd like to avoid accumulating too many pieces that are too close in performance. It does seem like you can't go wrong with either!

 

[samking]

Not trying to sound lazy, but you’re gonna have to figure out what shave tools/blades/soaps work best for your face through trial and error. I prefer Edwin Jagger because I think they make attractive, quality stuff. I also like their sandalwood shave soap, but that’s just me. I also use Japanese Feather blades for my DE. You may not like those blades because they may irritate your face. I have coarse facial hair (and it covers a substantial portion of my face) so I need extremely sharp blades.

 

[Invicta]

Welcome to B&B.

My question now for you all, is where should I be prepared to go from here? Are there any must-tries for a beginner to help deduce my preferences? Which razors would you recommend looking at when it's time to upgrade? What soaps and post-shaves should be on my radar? Thank you in advance, and I'm looking forward to shaving with you!

Don't buy any more razors till your technique has improved and you have worked through your blade sample pack. The Gillette Super Speed is a good razor to use for a daily shave and I think a daily shave should be your aim.
Blade choice is a very subjective area and finding the ones to suit you should be high on the list. GSB and Astra SP work well for me.
Soaps and creams are really for you to sample and choose so do some research before you buy. Proraso and Cella are good choices. TfOBS do a large range of creams and are readily available.
There are many good boar brushes from Omega and Semogue and generally they do not shed. You need to decide on knot size and loft and then set a budget.
The Shave Wiki is a useful guide; ShaveWiki | Badger & Blade

 

[timetofly]

Welcome to B&B!! A lot of good advice contributed here already. Stick with what you have for now. In a matter of months you'll have a whole host of razors, soaps, brushes, and aftershaves.

 

[Mike Williams]

Hello, everyone!

I'd like to introduce myself to you fine folks. I'm 27 years old, soon to be happily married come December, and very excited to be here. After several weeks of getting bombarded with ads for supply and leaf razors, I decided to do some research and realized - I would much prefer a traditional DE Safety Razor to either of those newer alternatives (no hate intended)! I've never really enjoyed cartridge shaving, and am excited to be able to dial in a comfortable and efficient shave once the stars align with technique, hardware, and software. I love a good hobby where I get to experiment around and find a good fit.

I must have spent about two weeks combing through youtube videos, these forums, and several others on reddit to get a good idea of where to start. I finally bit the bullet and grabbed a cheap Baili 171 with some Astra SPs for a trial run. Just a few shaves in, and I'm never going back to cartridges. It already resulted in a much less irritating shave, and so far I've even managed to escape nick and cut free! After using it for a couple days, I also found a fairly good condition late 1940s super speed for around $20, and that should come in soon. I imagine I'll stick to using those for a while, testing out different blades and nailing down my technique. I'd love to build a little collection of razors to find what's best, but I shouldn't keep too many at a time or it'll get hard to justify to the soon-to-be-missus. My facial and neck hair grows evenly pretty much everywhere except my cheeks (quirky genes, I guess), and I need to shave every 1-2 days, no more than 3, especially my neck and goatee zone. From my limited experience and knowledge I've absorbed from my brief but intense lurking, I'd wager a Rockwell 3 plate would do really well, but I'd like to try a few other things before taking that path of least resistance (while I imagine I'll eventually grab one, I'm hesitant due to what I've read about the larger razor head).

My question now for you all, is where should I be prepared to go from here? Are there any must-tries for a beginner to help deduce my preferences? Which razors would you recommend looking at when it's time to upgrade? What soaps and post-shaves should be on my radar? Thank you in advance, and I'm looking forward to shaving with you!

The Merkur 34C is considered to be the bog standard, work horse of the whole traditional wet shave movement. It is also considered a very good, all around safety razor. Great for beginners and vets alike. Affordable at $40, give or take.

 

[Mike Williams]

Arko of course is a must. Just ask @Mike M .

And welcome! As @Hms123 said, this really is a fine place. Lots of true friends reside here.

And congratulations on your soon to be marriage! It has the potential to be the best decision you will ever make. If you can keep her laughing that is. That one quality has saved my life and my marriage more than I count. She is to be your helpmate, if you aren't too stupid to listen to her.

One piece of advice: tell her you love her and show it, often!

Also great advice for husbands: Seek out opportunities to keep your mouth shut.

 

[Mike Williams]

The Merkur 34C is considered to be the bog standard, work horse of the whole traditional wet shave movement. It is also considered a very good, all around safety razor. Great for beginners and vets alike. Affordable at $40, give or take. Also, the Super Speed should be a great shaver. Nothing wrong with sticking with that for a while.

 

[BigJ]

Welcome aboard!

I endorse sticking with what you have for a bit. Read through the WiKi and focus on technique. I would also work through a blade sampler or two.

Establish a good baseline before jumping down the abundant rabbit holes!

 

[SunShave]

Well we're another week in - daily shaves with the Astra SPs with no weepers yet! (Might be tempting fate by posting that, though). I haven't tried to get more than two shaves out of a blade, but I feel like I'm starting to get some form of a technique. At first there were a few areas on my chin and neck that were harder to get, but I've been able to totally cover all areas now. Even the future Mrs. SunShave has noticed the difference in shave I'm getting, so that's a good sign! I'm excited both for my sample blades to come in as well as the superspeed.

 

[Mike Williams]

Well we're another week in - daily shaves with the Astra SPs with no weepers yet! (Might be tempting fate by posting that, though). I haven't tried to get more than two shaves out of a blade, but I feel like I'm starting to get some form of a technique. At first there were a few areas on my chin and neck that were harder to get, but I've been able to totally cover all areas now. Even the future Mrs. SunShave has noticed the difference in shave I'm getting, so that's a good sign! I'm excited both for my sample blades to come in as well as the superspeed.

My recommendation is 3-5 shaves per blade. Sometimes the first shave is the least comfortable.