Hello again one and all. Apart from a recent post in the B/S/T forum, I havent been here in quite a while. However, I intend to rejoin the world of traditional wet shavers, I say rejoin as my first attempt wasnt a massive success. I think the problem was a common one, that I was trying to run before I could walk. Well, Im slightly older and wiser now and my approach this time will (hopefully) be more consistent. One of the problems you face when you start out is that of choice. After years of being stuck with whatever your local supermarket had on their shelves youre suddenly exposed to an amount of choice youd never dreamed existed. And I, like many before and many after, went completely MAD. I got all the ADs possible and skipped from one razor to the next, acquiring products like there was no tomorrow. If the world of traditional wet shaving were an ocean, I was a stone skimming across its surface, not actually getting into it at any great depth but thinking I was. In the end, I burned out and put my DE razors away, returning to the zero concentration needed Gillette Sensor and thinking that all that trad stuff probably wasnt for me.
The odd thing is that all the time I spent on the forums must have actually done some good, I must have taken some of it on board. As time passed my technique (even with the Sensor) actually improved. For so long I had been the type of person that hated shaving, which was why I got into all of this in the first place. Now I was finding that whilst not actually loving shaving, I seem to have made my peace with it. I also found that I had learned my limitations, I dont get the closest shave these days but I also dont make a mess of my face. It isnt BBS but I also dont get razor burn, nicks, cuts or folliculitis either.
So its time to return to the fold but first I need to assemble my tools of the trade. Ive owned some fantastic razors but if Im honest with myself, they just didnt suit me. I wish they had but they didnt. My preference is for slightly longer handles and my first thought was to go for a long handled Progress but Im now leaning more toward getting a Schick Krona or a Feather Popular. I also have a Schick Injector which has survived the many shave den purges Ive had (Im embarrassed to say that I cant even remember if Ive owned/used some of the razors that are out there). So, a couple of DEs and my Injector and a selection of one or two mild blades and I think Ill be ready to start all over again.
One difference this time round is that I no longer have the disposable income I had before as any income I have gets disposed of for me by my wife and two young children. Whats left of my shave den will have to be sold off or be traded (in fact if anyone has a NOS/Mint/VGC Schick Krona going spare I have 40 Gillete Swedes spare if that would persuade you to part with it).
So here we go again... as always any advice is welcome. Wish me luck.
The odd thing is that all the time I spent on the forums must have actually done some good, I must have taken some of it on board. As time passed my technique (even with the Sensor) actually improved. For so long I had been the type of person that hated shaving, which was why I got into all of this in the first place. Now I was finding that whilst not actually loving shaving, I seem to have made my peace with it. I also found that I had learned my limitations, I dont get the closest shave these days but I also dont make a mess of my face. It isnt BBS but I also dont get razor burn, nicks, cuts or folliculitis either.
So its time to return to the fold but first I need to assemble my tools of the trade. Ive owned some fantastic razors but if Im honest with myself, they just didnt suit me. I wish they had but they didnt. My preference is for slightly longer handles and my first thought was to go for a long handled Progress but Im now leaning more toward getting a Schick Krona or a Feather Popular. I also have a Schick Injector which has survived the many shave den purges Ive had (Im embarrassed to say that I cant even remember if Ive owned/used some of the razors that are out there). So, a couple of DEs and my Injector and a selection of one or two mild blades and I think Ill be ready to start all over again.
One difference this time round is that I no longer have the disposable income I had before as any income I have gets disposed of for me by my wife and two young children. Whats left of my shave den will have to be sold off or be traded (in fact if anyone has a NOS/Mint/VGC Schick Krona going spare I have 40 Gillete Swedes spare if that would persuade you to part with it).
So here we go again... as always any advice is welcome. Wish me luck.
