Good article I ran across this morning: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...275598292.html?mod=WSJUK_hpp_MIDDLESecondNews
Ben
Ben
Nice Wetshaving Article in The Wall Street Journal
- Thread starter mistercitizen
- Start date
Great read! Thanks for posting
The trend is moving to more traditional ways of shaving(des and straights). How many blades can they put in a cartridge? Theyre up to 5 now, but all you need is 1 and how to use it as well as all the products that go towards a great shave. Goop in a can, and $5 cartidges that I couldnt get 2 shaves on and every hair felt like it was being pulled out. I was 39 before I couldnt take it anymore. Im 47 now.
I agree, I feel many men are realizing that shaving can be a enjoyable experience and at a bargain bottom price compared to the cost of goop and carts.
Having just started using a straight razor, it was nice to read about the experience at the hands of a trained professional. It seems I have a long way to go!
This article reminds me of how I got started in wetshaving. Like the author I started out at T&H (not in London, here in Toronto). It was so awesome I went home and started researching how to do it myself at the first chance possible. It took me a couple years (didn't actually start until just this past August) but I'll never go back.
Cheers,
M.
Cheers,
M.
I was thinking as I read the article and a few of the responses here about trying to get more and more people into traditional wetshaving. I feel like one of the biggest obstacles to moving people into wetshaving is the issue of time (ignoring the fact that you can get a great shave in ten minutes after some practice...it does take more time at first). I think sometimes it would be helpful to get people's toes wet by suggesting wetshaving as a luxury...to be enjoyed on the weekends if you will. This is how I got my brother into it. I told him (after sending him a starter kit and linking him to some Mantic videos), "just try it on weekends to spoil yourself. Just give yourself that 30 minutes of quite time." And he did. The funny thing is, now that he has the hang of it and sees how enjoyable it is, he shaves this way everyday. I think sometimes removing some of the obstacles can make it an easier transition. Just a little aside.
Nice read. Seems like these articles are appearing more often.
This one is a good promotion for the "man-treat" of a barber shave.
This one is a good promotion for the "man-treat" of a barber shave.
Thanks for sharing, Ben.
Good read. Thanks!
I've read multiple articles online that say the movie Skyfall has resulted in a sudden increase in wet shaving particularly the straight razor market. Did that scene in the movie bring new members to B&B?
Good article. I have to agree that seeing Skyfall was one of the reasons (combined with an article on the Art of Manliness), were the two primary reasons that brought me to classic wet shaving. I'm two months in to DE shaving and hope to give straight shaving a try at some point this year after I feel that i've mastered my DE shaving form. Needless to say, i've now acquired over 20 vintage Gillette razors (in two months) and full blown RAD has set in!
I wanted to do the same as you and "perfect" my DE shaving before moving to straights. Having moved to straights part time now (whenever I have a bit of extra time) I've found that straight shaving is completely different than DE shaving. The only skills you'll transfer over is lathering. If you want to get into just move over once you feel good about your lathering.
It's fun! Also, check out the Hobbyist/Vendor subs, there are some great deals on straights there.
Cheers,
M.
I used to shave every 2-3 days because I hated it so much. So when I did shave, I would have to change a cartrdige in the middle of the second shave. Yes that is a fact, I was there, you were not. Maybe I could have hacked myself for a month on the same *** cartridge and power washed all the lather and stubble. But thats too much work. Im past that now. And I would grow a beard before I went back to carts. I have used straights since october. And I strop em every day. And I get BBS every day.No ingrowns, no blood, nice and easy just the way I like it. I didnt care how much they cost, I was willing to pay in time and money for hones, and straights strops etc for the comfortable shave that I wasnt able to get with a cart.
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Okay, one problem- what straight razor owner stops at one? And two- don't shave against the grain. Baaaaah.
WTG only is for sissies!
I also could get 2 shaves max from the gillette and shick carts before they started to really tug and shred my face, and they were never particularly comfortable shaves even from the first use of a fresh cartridge. I endured whole lot of irritation, ingrowns, clogging cart heads and a fortune in cash spent. The more blades added the worse these problems became so I pretty much didn't ever use anything over a 3 blade more than a few times. I also had very little luck with the low to mid price electrics, they always felt like the majority of the whiskers were just being yanked out.
One day whilst disposing of one of these pricey carts all irritated of face and mind I determined I needed to find at least a more cash efficient way of shaving if not more comfortable or just let the beard grow (I had generally done this from time to time due to unpleasant shaving experience but it never grew in a way that allowed me to keep it groomed and tidy looking).
Initially I started investigating the higher end of electric shavers as an option and wondered if they would be more comfortable and effective than carts which would cost me over $40 a month for a horrible daily shave on blades alone. It was when I started trawling the internet for information on 'comfortable electrics' that I stumbled onto the fact that I might get less irritation from the DE razors that were still being made and blades were still readily available. That led me here and I have been enjoying the benefit of that little decision to lower my costs ever since. I still get the occasional nick, ingrown or bit of irritation but I am a hell of a lot happier now with shaving than I have ever been.
So I can find this gentleman's statement totally credible as his experience is very similar to mine. I can also believe that many people get a goodly amount of good shaves from a cartridge and are happy with their shaves, but dismissing his statement as supposedly untrue because as you have a different experience is not very nice. Always remember YMMV.
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+1 Bad robot. Im sure there are people that get 1 month and bbs from a cartridge. Im not one of them. The reason people go to more traditional shaves is because they either had ingrowns, unsatisfactory shaves, too expensive etc. If we had an easy time with a cart and bbs, and long lasting, Im sure we would still be shaving that way. I dont know anyone personally who shaves with a straight razor or a de for that matter and I know a lot of people. My friends think Im a nut when they ask to see some of my straights. Anyway YMMV as always, Im glad Im where Im at right now.
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