The tools vs. the shave.

[Ron Scott]

From my perspective, it’s lots of fun to talk about shave products, but the specific razors, blades, brushes and soaps most of us use have little importance to the resulting shave. Once a man has begun using products with some minimum standard of quality most easily achieve, buying more or “better” products might be enjoyable for him personally but it’s not about a better shave.

My review of research on the web and this board re: what is required for the best shave you can get is as follows. Like house painting and sundry seductions, more than half the job is prep.

1. WASH AND HYDRATE: Clean the face thoroughly, rubbing in face soap for 2 minutes or more, removing skin oils and dead skin, which enables the beard to effectively soak up water. Then “rinse and repeat”, for another minute.

2. LATHER AND HYDRATE: Without rinsing off the soap after the second face washing, work a thick and moist lather well into the beard with circular motions of the brush. Leave the lather on for a minute or longer before shaving.

3. SHAVE: Shave with a reasonably sharp blade at a 20-25 degree angle (the first eighth of an inch of the head of the razor should touch the skin). Minor skin stretching is OK, but not too much. Don’t press down hard on the razor. Shave with the grain and, if desired, across the grain, not against it. Long, relatively slow strokes. For additional passes make sure the skin is wet/moist, with lather.

4. FINISH: Rinse thoroughly with water. Apply styptic or alum as necessary, and aftershave or lotion as desired.


Where I'm headed with all this personally is to start winding up the product experimentation and settle on 1-2 razors, brushes, and soaps going forward: focusing more on the shave and less on the tools.

I’d like to hear your opinions.

 

[Eeyore]

Where I'm headed with all this personally is to start winding up the product experimentation and settle on 1-2 razors, brushes, and soaps going forward: focusing more on the shave and less on the tools.

Stop reading this forum then

 

[Ron Scott]

Stop reading this forum then

HAHAHA

Hello out there?
I know you're there!
Somebody, anybody, who doesn't secretly want their bathroom to look like the shave section of Pastuer's Pharmacy?
Somebody who can't honestly use a different combination of razors, brushes and soaps every day for 6 years without repeating a combination?
Somebody whose wife has more crap in the medicine cabinet than they do?

 

[aihpcfl]

I think minimum quality is very debatable. I think any razor, blade, brush, and soap is adequate, but adequate is not enough. I have used what I would now call a barely acceptable soap, used it for years, then switched to an ok soap and thought I was using a great soap. Then I switched to what I believe is truly a great soap, and maybe it is great. My minimum quality is now set at the soap I'm using now, not at adequate.

I think prep is hugely important, but technique is equally important. I think when a person is learning they don't have the skill to recognize the differences between different razors, blades, etc. I keep saying all the blades I've used are ok, but the fact is maybe I just can't tell the difference, though I don't doubt that there is someone who can tell.

Long strokes are fine if they work for you. I think most would do better with short strokes.

Overall, yes, focusing on the shave instead of the tools is a good idea, in my opinion. But at some point you will be doing the best you can with your tools and feel you could do better, and maybe you can.

 

[jim9112]

HAHAHA

Hello out there?
I know you're there!
Somebody, anybody, who doesn't secretly want their bathroom to look like the shave section of Pastuer's Pharmacy?
Somebody who can't honestly use a different combination of razors, brushes and soaps every day for 6 years without repeating a combination?
Somebody whose wife has more crap in the medicine cabinet than they do?

I'm with you on this one. I shave everyday and have found the best way to consistently shave well is to be consistent with the tools. I use the same setup mostly every day the only thing I change is what scent of Mikes soap I use. Though I must admit I have been playing with my Feather AC SS on days I don't work.

It's fun to try new stuff but I have had great success keeping my Den small.

 

[bosseb]

It's fun to try new stuff but I have had great success keeping my Den small.

Oh well, I'm working on keeping the den small. Have had thoughts of enlarging the bathroom, wouldn't that be about the same?

​

 

[OMEN]

It's what matters to the person, really. I like to soak myself in a shower, use my pre-shave oil, lather up and shave, then use post-shave products. Oddly enough an alum block is still missing from my toy box. I enjoy having variety as I've just come off the Fusion and gel stuff in a can, and no matter what company sold it to me, they all smelled the same (awful). Now I have many great smelling creams and enjoy picking out what I'm going to use. I know I'll settle down after a few months (my OCD will enforce that) but for now I'm just enjoying the experience.

 

[Mick]

Where I'm headed with all this personally is to start winding up the product experimentation and settle on 1-2 razors, brushes, and soaps going forward: focusing more on the shave and less on the tools.

I’d like to hear your opinions.

I find I can get a perfect shave with anything I pick up, DE, SE, injector, or straight. It makes no difference in the final results.

I would never "settle down" to a few tools and products. I enjoy shaving every day with a different razor, a different brand of blade, using a different brush, a different shave bowl, a different soap or cream, and a different aftershave.

I may go as long as a month or more before I use the same tool or product a second time. I may go as long as 3 years before I use the exact same combination of razor, blade, brush, bowl, soap/cream, or aftershave a second time

 

[Eeyore]

I'm with you on this one. I shave everyday and have found the best way to consistently shave well is to be consistent with the tools. I use the same setup mostly every day the only thing I change is what scent of Mikes soap I use. Though I must admit I have been playing with my Feather AC SS on days I don't work.

Actually I do agree. Minimizing the variables makes for an easier life; less choices before the shave

I also must admit that I only have two soaps (DVH stick and Palmolive stick), and one cream (Palmolive Classic) open.
I have one home brush, and one travel brush. And I stick to one blade and razor most of the time.

 

[Bentley72]

I find that with most things technique is key. In photography terms, a good photographer can take a good picture with an iPhone, and a bad photograper can take a bad picture with a D3.

Sometimes the tools make it easier and more enjoyable though.

 

[mistercitizen]

HAHAHA

Hello out there?
I know you're there!
Somebody, anybody, who doesn't secretly want their bathroom to look like the shave section of Pastuer's Pharmacy?
Somebody who can't honestly use a different combination of razors, brushes and soaps every day for 6 years without repeating a combination?
Somebody whose wife has more crap in the medicine cabinet than they do?

This is sort of a goal of mine.

Ben

 

[Chadao]

I am somewhere between you and Turtle, probably leaning toward Turtle. This is a hobby, and part of the fun is trying different things. When I started I never imagined there could be anything as wonderful as Mike's soaps...well, and I wouldn't have known how to lather it, either. I am pretty comfortable with my present gear but I will always keep trying new things. Who knows what awaits me around the shave bend.

 

[Brokenshadow]

Personally, I still consider myself a relative newb. I am still at the stage where I know I have to refine my technique, so eliminating variables is a plus for me. However, I'm of the opinion that if you do stick with just one thing, you never know what you might be missing. I'm also of the opinion that after a while, the same things get boring, dull, and bland.

Currently, as razors go, I have 1 vintage DE, 1 modern DE, and a vintage SE. I think that's enough options for me currently. Brushes, I've limited myself to one boar, and one badger that I feel are pretty good. Blades, well, I'll always love a good blade sampler. But soaps, cremes, and aftershaves are where I like my variety, and there's a simple solution to my bathroom not looking like the shave section of a drug store. Buy a soap, creme, stick, or aftershave, and use it up. Then go for a different one. YMMV is purely subjective, and there's always something out there that might work better; or if not better, then perhaps equal with a twist.

 

[musicman1951]

From my perspective, it’s lots of fun to talk about shave products, but the specific razors, blades, brushes and soaps most of us use have little importance to the resulting shave.

I agree that technique is more important than equipment.

I am personally losing much of my AD as it provided me with the necessary experimentation to find the hardware that works best for me. I'm down to one razor and seriously considering only one cream. But I don't think that gives me a shaving advantage over someone with a huge den. Many excellent shavers here have tons of equipment. YMMV. Minimalism is a choice, not necessarily an advantage.

Having said that technique is most important, I disagree with the above quote. The razor, cream and especially the blade have what I consider a significant influence over my joy of shaving. I could still shave with the stuff on my reject list - but my joy would not be complete.

 

[Emanon]

I started wet shaving/DE a few years back and was really into it. Equipment, purchases etc. Then after about 3 years it lessened. At that point I wasn't into all the fancy stuff or trying to get the best shave or any of it. I was just shaving. It was like brushing my teeth, showering or putting on deodorant. Just routine...I showered and shaved with no big fanfare. My shaves were good and I looked presentable.

Then this April, I was looking for some Bay Rum and suddenly shaving sites started to pop up in my Google searches and my interest was peaked again. Now, two months later and I have purchased new blades, swapped my Merkur HD of five years for a Muhle R41, switched from cream to soap and the list goes on. However, after two months of this I am settling down and I realized something after extensive testing of these products. It doesn't matter much really, and it only matters to you. If you enjoy it great, but as far as "a shave" goes...most DE products will work just fine.

I had been getting great shaves from my Merkur HD for years with Derby Blades. Suddenly in the last two months I switched to Astra. Wow...that was better. Then to Feather and that was better still. Then comes the R41 razor (because better isn't good enough...now I need Nirvana). Ohhh yea, now we're talking close and with less passes. But wait! Closer? How close? And why? Well because I am a wet shaving psycho and I feel my face and head every ten minutes all day long. A great shave by any standards, with what seems like not a nub to be found anywhere may suddenly be ruined and deemed "not close enough," if after feeling every inch of my face over end over for hours reveals one tiny hair!!! "Oh noooo! That razor sucks or that blade is no good!" Is what happens next. What? C'mon, that is a great...fantastic...shave by anyones standards and only a magnifying glass and a hand carefully inspecting every last bit of skin would ever notice a damn nub or two.

I have been shaving with the idea in my head that "what happens if a woman decides she wants to lick my neck? Ohhhh yes....this shaving thing has gotten out of hand. No woman is going to be close enough to even see my neck other than my wife and she thinks my shaves are just fine. It is only me (and some of you) the nut job who can tell that there is one hair still not short enough. No one else would ever know. So I switched back to my Merkur for an experiment and popped in an Astra SP. BBS baby. Oh but wait. After feeling my face every ten minutes for the next few hours I discover that if I stand on one leg, hold my breath, face due east, keep my elbow parallel to the ground and put my finger just to the right of my Adams apple, moving it slightly upward as I also slide it diagonally I can feel a slight growth.

Screw that....that is a great shave. I have just been going (wayyyy) overboard lately. Trying to perfect the perfect. For what? Just in case a get grabbed by the shave police and held down for a surprise shave inspection?

It's time for me to relax. My shaves are good. My Merkur is good. I get no irritations or burn or have any shave issues. I have just been chasing a ghost.

I'm back!!