Thoughts/words of encouragement

[james_rockford77]

Hello all,

It has been a long time since I've posted on here and just wanted to share some of my observations on the topic of shaving. I am one month away from my one year anniversary of wetshaving. Why is that important? Well, it will provide some perspective on what I'm about to say about my experience with the Merkur HD. Upon receiving the HD about four months into wetshaving, I couldn't wait to try it due to all of the rave reviews it gets. It was a very rough and irritating shave. As my technique improved, I opted to try it again a couple of months later. Still horrible. Just two weeks ago I decided that my technique is as good as it will ever be and gave it one more whirl with the same results. The HD is just too aggressive for me. It's not that I'm the only person in the world that this razor doesn't work for. Every now and then I'll be reading the forums and someone will mention a bad experience with the HD, but it is few and far between. I'm bringing this up for one reason: People on here will use the acronym "YMMV" and it is an important concept for this craft, but it may be very discouraging for a newbie to use a tool that everyone raves about, only to have it not work out so great. That's how I felt the first time I used it unsuccessfully. So to the new people, don't give up. If you mess around with different combinations of things, you will probably come up with your perfect shaving arsenal. Be patient. Almost everything I use and almost every technique I employ is antithetical to commonly accepted shaving knowledge. I'll give a couple of examples: If I wash my face with soap before I shave, my face will be bumpy, irritated, and sore for a while afterward. I hate Derby blades and I hate Crystal blades. I don't have an unkind word to say about Merkur blades. Also, just painting the lather on my beard area seems to work better for me than scrubbing it in with circular motions. To sum it all up, it's been close to a year and I almost might possibly be close to maybe figuring it out . I'll try to make another post soon. Thanx for reading!

P.S. Any other Merkur HD disappointment stories out there? I'd love to see them all in one place.

 

[kingfisher]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I started out with a super speed, and didn't like it much, despite all the rave reviews. Now I am using a Tech and it suits me much better.

I'm still new (about one month in) and have a lot left to figure out.

 

[james_rockford77]

Ah yes, the Tech. A fine choice indeed and the razor I use the most. I love that thing!

 

[MattR]

+1 regarding your experience with washing with soap prior to a shave. I started using a facial cleanser that was supposed to be very gentle and for sensitive skin about 4 or 5 weeks ago. About 3 weeks ago I got the most ridiculous break out of bumps you have ever seen. It was my wife who figured the problem out. Her advice was to stop using all the prodcuts I didn't "need" and trim the whole thing down to basics ( one Soap, one brush, one type of blade, and one ASB). She figured my skin had freaked out at all the crazy soaps, fragrances and other paraphanalia, produced too much oil in response and caused the folicles in my beard to block. About 1.5wks into that regime and the bumps are almost gone bar one very determined little sucker - I'll get him yet!

I shave with an HD and Astra blades and find it works fine but you do have to be careful with the angle or else it will burn you up.

 

[HerrHepcat]

I'm fortunate to have very tough skin. I started wetshaving merely for the luxury aspect of it. I've never used a Merkur HD, and probably never will. I like using vintage razors exclusively..... but.... I never even knew what razor burn was until I used a Merkur blade. Did it discourage me at all from wetshaving? Hell no. YMMV indeed. The best wetshaving experience is the new one. The combination you haven't tried before, which is why RAD, SCAD, etc. get us all.

 

[jcm03c]

The best wetshaving experience is the new one. The combination you haven't tried before, which is why RAD, SCAD, etc. get us all.

Very well stated sir.

 

[Greyfox]

Good post. Thanks for sharing your experiences. No doubt like any new undertaking it takes so time to get first hand experience regardless of how much you read or get opinions from others. Got to find out what works best for yourself.

 

[Bertilak]

P.S. Any other Merkur HD disappointment stories out there? I'd love to see them all in one place.

My first DE (not counting 40+ years ago) was a Merkur "Barber Pole" which is essentially an HD with a long handle. As a matter of fact, ALL the Merkur "Classic Guard Bar (non-slant)" style razors differ only in the handle and plating. (Merkur does have some other styles with more significant differences.)

I was happy with the Merkur until I tried a Tech and realized that the Merkur was a relatively clumsy tool. Or maybe I'm just to clumsy to appreciate it! Many people love them.

I would never recommend any Merkur for a newbie because they (the Merkurs) require a skill level most newbies won't attain for a (short) while and that might led to discouragement. I think it can be argued one way or another that the Merkurs are good/bad/great/so-so but I don't think it can be argued that they are good newbie razors. Well, anything can be argued, but not always convincingly.

 

[studman46]

TRIAL AND ERROR...that's what wetshaving is all about...YMMV sums it up.

 

[grouse79]

Been DE shaving for just about the same time and my first DE was also an HD. It has sat unused for some months until I decided to pick it up a couple of days ago and give it another go. Worked OK, one nick on my adam's apple which isn't unusual. I can see it lasting for decades, it comes in a very useful travel case and I intend to use it a bit more often.

But having discovered the Gillette Tech a couple of months back, I really wish that had been my first razor. It's not got such a solid, heavy feel to it and the blade changing is a little more involved, but it is amazingly forgiving even when I'm working quickly. Plus, it has a real retro factor and I got 3 of them for £12, which is just less than half what the HD cost.

 

[james_rockford77]

I was happy with the Merkur until I tried a Tech and realized that the Merkur was a relatively clumsy tool. Or maybe I'm just to clumsy to appreciate it! Many people love them.

I would never recommend any Merkur for a newbie because they (the Merkurs) require a skill level most newbies won't attain for a (short) while and that might led to discouragement. I think it can be argued one way or another that the Merkurs are good/bad/great/so-so but I don't think it can be argued that they are good newbie razors. Well, anything can be argued, but not always convincingly.

+1. I would also never recommend the HD for a newbie.

But having discovered the Gillette Tech a couple of months back, I really wish that had been my first razor. It's not got such a solid, heavy feel to it and the blade changing is a little more involved, but it is amazingly forgiving even when I'm working quickly. Plus, it has a real retro factor and I got 3 of them for £12, which is just less than half what the HD cost.

+1 This is the reason I'd never recommend the HD to a newbie. It seems more logical to start off with something like a Tech based on the fact that it can be found cheaper than the Merkur HD and it is much lighter and more forgiving. After you work on your technique and hammer out the other details, if you then decide you need to move up to something heavier and more aggressive, that would be the best time to give the HD a whirl. That's my opinion, anyway. Thank you guys for adding to the conversation.

 

[Myanmar Shave]

YMMV is what makes the world a great place! That's why I never want to slam a product, because it may just be the "right" product for someone else. It's a fine thing to have many options and valuable to have peoples' input on their experiences with different items.

I started with a Merkur HD and sampler pack from West Coast. I pretty much followed most peoples suggestions re: blades and technique. I have gotten good results without too many nicks and bouts with razor burn. I take my time and prep right and even working my way thru the sampler pack, have gotten good results with just about every blade.

A few months after I got the HD I found a Gold Ball End Tech in an antique store in new condition. I bought it and have really enjoyed shaving with it, as much as the HD. I find I have the best success by loading it with a yellow 7'o'clock---man that's a fine set-up. I have good results with just about every blade I've tried in the HD though. No bad experiences with any blade from the sampler yet. Go figure..

I do a week with the Tech, a week with the HD and it's great. I could be happy with this routine probably for the rest of my shaving days. I don't see how it could get any better. Of course.......YMMV!!!!

Marty E.

 

[BatNastard]

I had a similar experience with the HD, but a different outcome. I started with a 33c (Merkur classic), broke it, bought the HD because everyone raved about it, hated it, got RAD, lived on superspeeds for a while (red tip in particular). Just this weekend I figured my technique had improved enough to try the HD one more time before selling it; I got the best shave of my life, bar none.

So, back to the drawing board. My wife also pointed out that I was using too many products (wonder how that happened?) so I went back to basics: hot water, skin food, lather, rinse, AS. Voila - no irritation this week. The HD works fine if I'm very careful to A) only hold it by the knurl on the tip of the handle and B) not go over an area after I've shaved it (without relathering). It's got this very efficient, German feel to it

I wouldn't recommend it to a newbie either, but maybe for some it learns 'em good technique quick, or else

 

[Bertilak]

I wouldn't recommend it to a newbie either, but maybe for some it learns 'em good technique quick, or else

Exactly. An HD teaches you by punishing bad technique. A Tech (or SS probably -- never used one) teaches you by rewarding good technique.