P
PortsmouthDavid
Gents --
I first got into wet shaving (brush, DE, shaving soap) back in the 70s, so I have a long track record with this process. I've tried other stuff along the way, but always gravitated back to the DE / wet shave.
This year, after internet reading including Badger & Blade, I started trying all sorts of variations and permutations on razors, blades, creams, soaps, etc. to try to boost my DE performance.
Despite having been at this for a long time, I think I've found my new "sweet spot."
FWIW, I have the classic worst-case shaving scenario -- extremely thick, tough beard, UNBELIEVABLY, RIDICULOUSLY sensitive skin, and a job that requires me to shave every day.
So, here's where I'm settling in for now. It doesn't mean I'll never try another product (because I'm sure I will), but unlike some folks here I don't like switching everything every day. I like more consistency. So here's my present line up.
1) Razor -- 1947 Gillette Aristocrat. A thing of beauty. A very mild-mannered but effective all around DE. I prefer it to the Merkur HD I had been using previously. Feels very solid and traditional, and shaves like a dream. Very close and comfortable and almost impossible to nick myself with.
2) Blade -- Swedish Gillette. I think I tried everything on the market this year. Before this process I'd been using Merkurs and American Gillettes, but recently I've tested Derby, Israeli Personna, Feather, and Wilkinson Swords. I still use the Israelis sometimes, as an extra-mild option (especially if my face needs a little respite). But for me the best all-rounder is the Swede. It's extremely sharp, extremely consistent, very long-lasting, and somehow quite kind and forgiving as well. Works great for me.
3) Soap. D.R. Harris (Arlington). This is a superb product, and gives me a great shave. No irritation at all, and it's very fast and close. Works much better for me than (for example) Williams or the other mass-market soaps. Smells nice too.
4) Cream. Nancy Boy. I really like this stuff better than the English creams I've tried. The pepperminty smell is way-cool. The "cushion" is out of this world. It gives me a great and super-comfortable shave for days when I want a cream instead of a soap. (My only gripe is the sort of in-your-face gay marketing aspect . . . i.e., the "Nancy Boy" name, the blog on the web-site with its gay politics, the "tested on boyfriends not animals" statement, etc. But I'll overlook all the silly sexual politics because the product is so great.)
All of the above are changes/refinements to the DE regimen I'd followed in the past. What I didn't change was my brush (a fairly large-ish super badger no-name brush that someone gave me a few years ago when my 1970s vintage "pure" badger brush that I bought in Europe for a few dollars finally cracked up and gave up the ghost!). It works fine and I haven't seen the need to go through a lot of testing of new brushes. (But I still miss my little dark-gray "pure" badger brush).
So that's where I'm settling in. These are really Primo products that seem to do a terrific job for me. I can really see the difference in more consistent, less-irritating shaves. Funny how, after all these years, a few tweaks to the line-up has really boosted the performance!
David
I first got into wet shaving (brush, DE, shaving soap) back in the 70s, so I have a long track record with this process. I've tried other stuff along the way, but always gravitated back to the DE / wet shave.
This year, after internet reading including Badger & Blade, I started trying all sorts of variations and permutations on razors, blades, creams, soaps, etc. to try to boost my DE performance.
Despite having been at this for a long time, I think I've found my new "sweet spot."
FWIW, I have the classic worst-case shaving scenario -- extremely thick, tough beard, UNBELIEVABLY, RIDICULOUSLY sensitive skin, and a job that requires me to shave every day.
So, here's where I'm settling in for now. It doesn't mean I'll never try another product (because I'm sure I will), but unlike some folks here I don't like switching everything every day. I like more consistency. So here's my present line up.
1) Razor -- 1947 Gillette Aristocrat. A thing of beauty. A very mild-mannered but effective all around DE. I prefer it to the Merkur HD I had been using previously. Feels very solid and traditional, and shaves like a dream. Very close and comfortable and almost impossible to nick myself with.
2) Blade -- Swedish Gillette. I think I tried everything on the market this year. Before this process I'd been using Merkurs and American Gillettes, but recently I've tested Derby, Israeli Personna, Feather, and Wilkinson Swords. I still use the Israelis sometimes, as an extra-mild option (especially if my face needs a little respite). But for me the best all-rounder is the Swede. It's extremely sharp, extremely consistent, very long-lasting, and somehow quite kind and forgiving as well. Works great for me.
3) Soap. D.R. Harris (Arlington). This is a superb product, and gives me a great shave. No irritation at all, and it's very fast and close. Works much better for me than (for example) Williams or the other mass-market soaps. Smells nice too.
4) Cream. Nancy Boy. I really like this stuff better than the English creams I've tried. The pepperminty smell is way-cool. The "cushion" is out of this world. It gives me a great and super-comfortable shave for days when I want a cream instead of a soap. (My only gripe is the sort of in-your-face gay marketing aspect . . . i.e., the "Nancy Boy" name, the blog on the web-site with its gay politics, the "tested on boyfriends not animals" statement, etc. But I'll overlook all the silly sexual politics because the product is so great.)
All of the above are changes/refinements to the DE regimen I'd followed in the past. What I didn't change was my brush (a fairly large-ish super badger no-name brush that someone gave me a few years ago when my 1970s vintage "pure" badger brush that I bought in Europe for a few dollars finally cracked up and gave up the ghost!). It works fine and I haven't seen the need to go through a lot of testing of new brushes. (But I still miss my little dark-gray "pure" badger brush).
So that's where I'm settling in. These are really Primo products that seem to do a terrific job for me. I can really see the difference in more consistent, less-irritating shaves. Funny how, after all these years, a few tweaks to the line-up has really boosted the performance!
David
