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My 34C arrived along with the usual assortment of blades. I have to say this thing lives up to it's reputation. Solid as a rock and gentle as a kitten. I had some Creamo on hand that worked well with my Mach 3 so I started with that. My beard is pretty light and undemanding so I had some excellent shaves with the 34C/Derby Extra/Creamo combination. It worked so well I could stop right there but I'm not.
I then acquired some VDH "luxury" soap and their cheap boar brush. It was less than satisfying. Compared to the Creamo it didn't lubricate and left my skin feeling dried out. It was dirt cheap but not worth the price. I'm learning to do the whole lather thing with it so that's something.
I love perusing theses forums and reading about the plethora of products out there. Based on that I'm constructing a wish list of soaps and brushes and will pull the trigger on something soon.
 

Chef455

Head Cheese Head Chef
Glad the 34c performed as you'd hoped. I just revisited mine and agree with you're "kitten rock" statement. I began my DE journey with a VDH boar brush, TTO and soap as well. I did not find anything in their offerings to be "bad" at all. Definitely everything could be improved on but for the accessibility I couldn't knock it.

I digress. It's funny your 2nd razor is a 34c. It was mine as well. I'm afraid you'll be shaving with a Timeless in no time, sir.

I can't steer you towards a boar brush that I'm excited about as I moved on to synthetics and have been happy ever since. That being said, both the VDH badger and boar served me well after they gave up their initial shedding and funk. Don't give up on the brush or the soap yet.

Welcome back with your 34c in hand! Happy shaving!
 
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Boar brushes are cheap so hard to determine what the problem is. I would suggest trying some test lathers to get that soap and brush combination to work; load more soap and add more water to deliver the creamy and slick lather you seek.
 

Chef455

Head Cheese Head Chef
Boar brushes are cheap so hard to determine what the problem is. I would suggest trying some test lathers to get that soap and brush combination to work; load more soap and add more water to deliver the creamy and slick lather you seek.


This. I edited my post above after reading Invicta's.
 
I, too, have the VDH brush. Got it super cheap as a VDH starter kit with a bowl and a puck of soap. It sheds quite a bit. Wasn't thrilled with it. While visiting my son in Italy I picked up a Proraso/Omega boar and I like it much better. Lathers better than the VDH and no shedding.
 
Thanks for the input. My lathering technique is improving and the brush is getting broken in. I'm starting to like it. Creamo as a pre-shave helps a lot too.
 
Glad you're off to a good start. Sticking with the DE and not giving up is the most important hurdle. The good thing is you have nothing but upward momentum from where you are now. A lot of us start out with VDH (I did too) and have tried Cremo.

In my case I found B&B because I wasn't getting what I wanted out of those first products. Cremo just doesn't lather, and VDH lacks performance, imo. At this point I wouldn't even recommend them to someone new to wet shaving. There is a huge uptick in performance away from the drugstore soaps/creams. (Don't flame me Williams guys).

Get some soap and cream samples from some of the respected brands here...you'll be happy you did.

As far as boar brushes the Semogue 1305 and 620 are very well liked. I can't speak for them, cause I switched to a badger brush after that first VDH boar brush and never looked back.
 
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Glad you're here. Lots of good advice here, I suggest reading & practicing. The best way to improve is to shave. Isn't that great? We get to practice shaving every time we shave! Enjoy!
 
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