What Got You Started?

[Latherati]

I think it would be fun to hear about all of the many different reasons we all got started in this hobby.

What got you started? For me, I loathed using cartridge razors, they felt like sandpaper, and I got horrible irritation...just thinking about it makes me cringe.

What was your first shave setup in this hobby? I started with an Edwin Jagger DE89, 22mm Silvertip Whipped Dog and TOBS Sandalwood.

Let’s hear your stories!

 

[rbscebu]

I have always used a brush and soap for shaving, except many years ago when I tried canned goo. After a few shaves with the canned goo I give it to the poor.

In my teens I started with a Gillette Slim then onto carts until late last year. I was never happy shaving with carts but it got the job done - kind of.

Late last year I decided I wanted to try something new with shaving, so bought my first SR. Then I joined B&B only to learn that my first SR was a RSO (thanks to @Slash McCoy).

From there I got my first true SR. It was nothing flash but after reading and applying the Method, I was able to get that first SR to actually shave. From there, it has all been up and down hill.

Traditional wet shaving, particularly with a SR, has been a great learning experience and I am now really enjoying every shave. If only I had started shaving as a teenager with a SR, my whole life would have been more enjoyable.

So, in a nutshell, I started traditional wet shaving (with a SR) because I wanted to learn a new skill. I did and I love it!

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Getting started with DE:

I was in my late teens in the early '90s. I had nipped out in my lunch hour fo get some cartridges for a razor I'd been bought, either for Christmas or a birthday, and was staring in disbelief at the prices, working out how many beers that equated to. On the same pegboard was a black plastic Wilkinson Sword Classic razor with 5 free blades, and individual packs of 10 blades. That razor and 15 blades, worked out at less than 5 cartridges for my existing razor. I decided to give it a go, and ended up getting better shaves as well as saving money.

Branching out:

Coming from Sheffield, I decided I wanted to try and get an old Sheffield made razor. I bought a straight, and a Darwin hollow ground. I then added a Rolls Razor, and a Wilkinson Sword Empire. None of them were shave ready, just novelty items, and I dumped them in a box in the wardrobe, and forgot about them. At the same time I discovered there was a modern Sheffield razor, some company called Edwin Jagger that I'd never heard of. I bought one of those and a Parker butterfly opener, as I knew my Grandfather had a buttefly opener when he was alive. The Jagger became my primary razor.

Coming to Badger & Blade:

I stumbled across the box of old stuff in the wardrobe, and decided to try and shave with them. That meant finding out how to get them usable. Joining a shaving forum seemed like a good idea.

Today:

I don't use the old stuff, and the Jagger is still the primary razor. I have tried a few other bit and bobs, but the only excess shopping I've done was with blades. I faced several blade droughts in the early years, and was forced to keep using old spent blades until I could find more. Once I'd discovered 100 blades could be had cheap online, I stocked up so I'd never face a blade drought again.

 

[KQY61]

Hi,

1976. Age 15. Dad said here is a razor and you can use my soap and brush. The razor was a Pre War Fat Handle Tech. I still have it. And that brush.

Stan

 

[NPK]

Up until 9 months ago I was an electric razor user, using them for over 30 years. Tired of paying for razor cartridges, getting ingrown hairs/razor burns and simply not enjoying the shaving experience I gave DE a whirl and won't be looking back.

DE shaving is 100% everything that electric razors isn't.

 

[Rustyshackelford]

Cost was my driving factor, but no the only one. While left to my own devices to acquire shaving implements as a teen, I found a few old disposable Bic single blade razors that were out of production, but gave me great shaves and the single blade meant no irritation.

I accepted that these types of razors didn’t exist for years and just made due with schick or Harry’s multi blade carts and some goo for a good while. One day I just got fed up and looked around to see what my options were and I discovered DE razors and this forum. I read a few things here that were google search results and made a decision to switch. I ordered a merkur progress and a bowl of Tabac, a small Parker boar brush and some Parker blades.

I jumped in with both feet once all my gear arrived and before I was done with my first pass, I was a convert.

I still use the Tabac and the Parker blades a good bit. The razor is set aside as I’m on the fence if I want to sell it or trade away, and the little Parker boar brush was gifted to a family member to try their hand at a boar brush.

Pre DE shaving, I waited as long as I could professionally between shaves and used my carts well beyond their usefulness because they were so pricey. Now, I shave 5-7 times a week instead of 1-2 times.

 

[BigJ]

I was looking to return to DE after years with assorted carts.

Found B&B while researching razor options! The rest is history (and many ADs)!!

 

[ackvil]

When I started shaving cartridges weren't around yet. My father gave me his old Tech razor, a brush I got from a Rexal pharmacy, and some soap chips he got from a barber. After a year I bought my first new razor: a Fat Boy or Adjustable as it was called then.

 

[JCarr]

My search for the perfect Bay Rum aftershave got me into it.

 

[Dcshaves]

Oddly, the Coronavirus epidemic is the sole reason for me beginning wet shaving. Alot of time at home and a small bit of extra income that wasnt needed on daily bills led to me trying out a new DE razor and a single soap to see if I would like it.

That small bit of extra income could quickly turn into more expenditure. Theres a rabbit hole to go down at every turn in this game but that's half the fun!

 

[Sinnbad11]

I hated multiblade carts. No matter how many different ways I tried to shave I couldn't seem to get it right. I also thought straight razors looked cool. I was at college and I jumped in both feet first with a whipped dog shave ready straight razor and tobs sandalwood soap. I bought a coticule but I could not seem to get a shaving edge with it. After damaging the edge of the poor straight I got for a few months I tried DE shaving. I liked that a lot and used one for a while, and picked up quite a few others. Finally moved out of dormitory syle housing and into an apartment and picked up straights again as well as a a JNAT from tomonagura on etsy. JNAT honing worked well for me and after a couple of attempts where I dulled the edge I started getting better at sharpening them and now I can get a hair popping edge off the stone. I have only used straight razors for about 3 years now, with the occasional exception while traveling.

 

[Doorcube]

Neck irritation has been an issue for me. Most of the time I kept a very light stubble. Came across a few articles extolling the many benefits of DE shaving in 2014. That same year I took a solo vacation to Turkey where I had my first straight shave at the hands of a 12 year old barber. Santa delivered a Merkur 34C, Omega 10048, and a tub of Arko that December.

 

[Latherati]

Thank you for sharing your stories and journey that has led you here. I have enjoyed reading them all. Keep the stories coming!

For those like @BigJ who began DE shaving to later turn to carts, what made you decide to leave the DE behind and turn to carts?

 

[BigJ]

Thank you for sharing your stories and journey that has led you here. I have enjoyed reading them all. Keep the stories coming!

For those like @BigJ who began DE shaving to later turn to carts, what made you decide to leave the DE behind and turn to carts?

For me the issue was that I was young and foolish (also swayed by the desire to be ‘modern’ and up to date.) Gillette marketing magic!!

 

[dotKomo]

I started shaving with a DE way back in the day. Then switched to a Trac II along with the rest of the world. After moving out on my own, I still used cheap brushes and shaving soap - a Surrey mug (that I still have) and mostly Colgate and later VDH.

Fast forward to 2013. I was really frustrated with the cost of replacement cartridges and that they were so prone to clogging. My oldest son suggested going "back in time" to wet shaving, as his roommate at the time had done so. So, I got a starter kit for Christmas - a Merkur long handle, brush and Proraso green.

Have never looked back. Today - too many razors, soaps, brushes and creams!

 

[Scaramouche]

Actually, I started with DEs as well - a Gilette Fat Boy, my Dad's. Switched on and off to carts (when I could afford it), and to SE, then to electrics. Back to sometime DE a decade or two ago, now switch between all of them. Haven't tried a straight, but maybe someday - still time! Shaving is a journey, not a destination....

 

[Latherati]

Its very interesting to hear that some of you started with DE shaving. If that had been me, it would have saved several years of irritation and frustrating shaves. For those who have been wet shaving for a while, were DE blades always cheaper than carts?

 

[Sabre]

My hobby started when I picked up a Wilkinson Sword Profile, I then began collecting razors.

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

In December of 2018 I had a horrible shave from a cart of which I don’t even remember and a can of gel just the same.

I started researching dollar shave club yet somehow ended up here, and the rest is history. First razor was a VDH TTO, Arko, and an Omega 49. Light years ahead of the cart and gel yet nowhere near the current RR OC, Tabac (And Arko Too), wide variety of great DE blades, and a synthetic brush.

 

[MntnMan62]

My wife is to blame. One year she decided she wanted to get me a travel kit from Art Of Shaving. We were walking around the mall and she said we should stop in. They did their thing showing us how to use a brush. So she walked out with my present, a medium sized travel kit in Sandalwood. I then started googling how to use a brush which led me to this website. A generous member pif'd me a RR razor and I was hooked. That was more than 4 years ago. Over 30 razors, 17 brushes, 50+ creams and soaps, 6 lather bowls, a bunch of aftershaves and hundreds of blades. I've only recently decided I have what I need in terms of hardwear. I'll always be looking for new scents, creams and soaps but I need to finish some stuff before I allow myself to buy any more. I think my last "want" item is a Rudy Vey Persian Jar faux ivory handle brush. Not sure what type of knot to get. I'll know when I know. Besides my wife's initial present, this site is responsible for the various Aquisition Disorders I've experienced. Of course I was already predisposed to them. Thank you B&B.