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What I have learned- If I was starting over what would I do differently?

This is a great thread. As a newbie, I want to say thanks to all who shared information I find so valuable in my foray into traditional wet shaving:thumbup1:.

Jeff


X2

Being fairly new and reading this post. I've learned some good info and have re-evaluated some things that I have been doing.

Thanks to all for the advice and keep it coming.:ouch1:
 
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Great Post! If I could go back in time I would tell myself to spend more time on each set up. There were a lot of things I put to the wayside because I thought they were no good, when it was my technique that was poor. I love variety but if I only had these in my arsenal I would be very happy indeed.

DE Razor- Gillette Slim
Blades-Red Personnas
Straight- 5/8 Full Hollow J.R. Torrey
Brush- B&B (Omega) Boar
Soap- Tabac
Cream-TOBS Jermyn street
Aftershave- Alt-Innsbruck
 
One thing many newbies do (including myself when I started wetshaving), despite veteran advice to the contrary, is buy an adjustable razor. I bought a Futur thinking the adjustable made more sense for someone starting out. I quickly discovered the experts were correct. I gifted it to a friend and have been happily using non-adjustables ever since
 
I'm quite happy with just a Gillette Slim, W.H. Morley and Sons 5/8 straight, Astra blades, deluxe VDH soap/bowl/brush and the entire Pinaud line of aftershaves along with The Real Shaving Company aftershave balm. I use witch hazel, styptic pencil and an alum block.

Paddle strop, inexpensive hones.

It all works great and is inexpensive.
 
I started with an HD Barberpole, but I would start with a DE89L.
I started with a variety of soaps and creams, but I would start with KMF Lime.
I started with various blades, but I would start with Super Iridium or Medical Personna.
I started with a variety of brushes, but I would start with a basic boar brush.
I started with hot prep, but I would start with warm or even cold shave.
I started with BBS as an objective for every shave, but would start with CCS, then DFS and then only occasional BBS.
I thought I started slowly (lol), but I would start slowly for real.

I would try SE and Injectors sooner.
I would try the R41 and Dorco blade combo sooner.
I would revisit blade samplers often as my technique improved.
I would learn making really excellent lather sooner.
 
I don't know about starting over (after my first electric razor died I started with the DE using my grandfather's razor and a couple of packs of Schick Platinums he left behind when he passed, I bought Schick blades for years as I needed them and the learning curve with them wasn't actually that steep but at that time I hadn't ever used a disposable to get those bad pressure habits from) but I would have searched for DE blades as soon as I bought my first home computer in 2005. I had recently been unable to find blades and was forced into using disposables for a few years. I think B&B was just starting out then but looking back I would think there were a couple of retailers online even then selling what I really needed. Unfortunately I hadn't even thought of Googling for shaving supplies at that time. I honestly don't remember how I found this forum but I am glad I did. I suppose I regret not doing a Yahoo (Google didn't exist at that time) search in the mid to late 90's when I was working at the university and had daily internet access there as well.
 
I would pay closer attention to the advice of members with more experience and knowledge. On the other hand trial and error is more fun.
 

JCinPA

The Lather Maestro
I would have followed the advice given by many in this thread already ... settle down while learning. Having six razors, a dozen blades, even more lather products steepens the shaving learning curve tremendously. And probably causes more than a few to give it up prematurely. After about two months of DE shaving, then is the time to start collecting and experimenting.

1. Buy one razor. Going against the traditional search for the "ideal" learning razor, there isn't one. It really does not matter what razor you get in the beginning as long as you stay away from the really aggressives like the R41 or Slant. Also stay away from the adjustables. Edwin Jagger DE89, Merkur HD are the obvious new razor choices. Gillette tech, NEW combed razors, flare tips (any, even the red is not too aggressive), aristocrat. It really makes no difference, as long as you stick to one razor for a full two months of shaves to hone your technique.

2. Buy one brush. If money is no object, buy an expensive one, as has been said, you can always sell it on the B/S/T. That said, I like moderate brushes, and do yourself a favor and stay away from the cheapies. Yes you can break them in eventually and they may be OK, but why start your journey with a stiff, scritchy VDH? It may be a beautiful brush about the time you finish your two months of shaves.

3. Buy one soap and one cream because you will want to buy both. Your curiosity will overcome you so the advice to buy two lather products springs from this acknowledgement of human nature. But do not buy 18 lather products. As has been said, learn to master one lather (or in this case two) for two months, then move on to full-blown acquisition disorder. I recommend Cella for the soap and Taylor's Mr. Taylor for the cream. Both are inexpensive, superior, and more importantly, easy latherers and give great shaves.

4. Against the traditional advice about blade samplers, don't. Until you have two months of honing your technique you won't be able to discern between blade differences and inconsistent technique anyway. Feathers are great blades but awful for learning, and this is not a YMMV thing. As a martial arts instructor for years, I can tell you that learning fine motor coordination (or gross motor coordination) takes repitition to lock in. It's the way our bodies learn. Being punished for inconsistent technique will not help you learn faster. I like Feathers, get some after your two months is done. I'll argue with those who think Feathers are good starters in another thread. They are not. Great blades, lousy learners, anectdotal evidence seemingly to the contrary. The majority of shavers will have issues honing technique with them. Astra SP or Personna Reds, or almost any Gillette 7 O'Clock (skip the yellow for same reason as Feathers), or Sharks are fine choices.


Ideal initial setup?

  • Edwin Jagger DE89 or Merkur HD razor
  • An Edwin Jagger or Parker best badger brush in the $30-35 range
  • A hundred Astra SP blades
  • A tub of Cella and Taylor's Mr. Taylor cream


Watch every Mantic59 and GeoFatboy Youtube video you can. Several times. Don't ask too many questions here in the first two months (unless you really get stuck), we'll have a tendency to give you too much information and it may confuse you. :wink2:

After two solid months with this setup, go nuts on the B/S/T and build an extra bathroom for your shave den! :001_tt2: For two months, lock it down.


P.S. I forgot about prep. If I had it all to do over again, I'd skip all the scalding hot towel stuff, I think it can irritate the neck. Shaving over red, scladed skin, as you might imagine, is not ideal, and that level of heat is simply unecessary. Temperature really makes no difference in shave prep, IMO. There are the advocates of putting a Rival HotPot in the bathroom or a microwave to heat their wet towels. And there are the ice cube freaks. My advice would be this.

Use what comes out of the tap. Warm if you like it, cool in the summer if you prefer, it will make no difference in shave quality. I highly recommend showering before shaving though! At least for the first two months, so if you don't shower in the morning, then shave after your evening shower. Most agree this is the best possible prep.

If you must shower at night and shave in the morning, here's an alternative. Wet your face, lightly load the brush and put on a coat of thin, wet lather. Wipe your lips with a towel and go get a cup of coffee, let the thin lather sit on your face for a few minutes. Then you can either rinse it off, or simply load up and face lather right over it. This should do very nicely.
 
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Wet your face, lightly load the brush and put on a coat of thin, wet lather. Wipe your lips with a towel and go get a cup of coffee, let the thin lather sit on your face for a few minutes. Then you can either rinse it off, or simply load up and face lather right over it.

That sounds like a solid idea... I'm a night shower/morning shave guy. I usually prep by washing with Nivea pre-shave face scrub, but I'm going to give John's idea a try.
 

JCinPA

The Lather Maestro
That sounds like a solid idea... I'm a night shower/morning shave guy. I usually prep by washing with Nivea pre-shave face scrub, but I'm going to give John's idea a try.

That actually is not 'my idea'. Was posted in the straight forum a long time ago, I do not remember who. But it does work!
 
John that was awesome. I'm pretty new and wish I'd found this before I started. I think I may still try two months of no changes to really figure out how to do this better.
 
I'm still a newbie - but I'll pitch in with a few months or so of learning.

1) I wouldn't have started with feather blades. They do teach you proper technique - but they are awfully unforgiving.
2) I would have tried cold shaving earlier. The "super hot prep" isn't for everyone
3) I would have tried different techniques earlier. For me a sliding motion is 1000X better than straight pulling.
4) I would not have assumed face lathering is fine. Goo is way different than creams. Bowls are handy...
5) WTG XTG and then stop. That's all you need. ATG just leads to nicks and irritation. 2 passes with a little buffing on tough spots is a guarunteed DFS, almost baby smooth.
6) If you get a bad shave - skip a day and let things heal. Don't tough it out and "keep at it"

Kongar
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
I would have started with a red tip vintage super speed. Mine is an A3 date code and I'm falling in love with it more and more.

Shaving with one blade brand consistently for an extended period of time is important. I've tried 30+ different blades and now I can't even remember what blade I liked.

I would have found a shaving forum to frequent to help with my journey.

I've learned I don't always need BBS.
 
I've definitely not been at this long enough to offer advice; but I've already had some things I would change:

Instead of getting creative, try things as standard as possible.
What I mean is, instead of getting a huge sampler pack of blades and multiple different soaps for the experimentation, begin with the standards of the trade.

Like, start off with Astra SPs, with a Merkur 34c, and Proraso Shaving Cream, and a standard perhaps Rooney 3/1 shaving brush. Avoid getting Feather blades, or Acqua di Parma, and jumping into the mix n' matching of razors.

Also, I would have avoided that AoS store, with its overpriced everything.
 
Four years late but ... buying quality the first time is the ONLY way to fly. I wanted to get into espresso and read everything on coffeegeek.com. And noticed that most everyone bought a cheapie and then an upgrade and then another upgrade and finally the ultimate machine. Lotsa time and expense. So I skipped the intermediate stage and went straight to my "final" machine. Better espresso, better experience, and less money overall. I can't imagine it's different in the DE shaving world.
 
Wet your face, lightly load the brush and put on a coat of thin, wet lather...let the thin lather sit on your face for a few minutes. Then you can either rinse it off

Honestly, I think this is great advice whether you shave before, after or in the shower. I've been doing a variation of this for years and swear by it. Until I bought a brush, I used cheap canned stuff to soften my beard, then rinsed it off. (Even then I'd typically shave with better product.) Now I do as you describe, and I shave in the shower. I've also recently tried Cremo as the preshave lather, and it works fine--not great, but fine. I'd also suggest using soap/cream you aren't crazy about, but don't' want to toss, for this initial lather.


YMMV, of course.
 
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