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

[abershaver]

I have loved the journey overall. Shaving is no longer a terrible and painful chore. However, I made a few mistakes in hindsight!

1) I first bought a plastic DE with a cheap metal head from Boots the chemist. For only a little more I could have bought a vintage Tech. I didn’t realise how cheap the vintage market was back then (2008/9).

2) I would definitely start with a synthetic brush. So much easier to maintain and use in my view.

3) I would skip any ‘balm’ product and go straight for (Nivea) moisturiser as an aftershave. My dry skin needs more than a light balm. I would also use witch hazel from the start before applying moisturiser.

4) I tried many creams/soaps to begin with. Many were average or poor. I should have spent more time researching what would work for me (moisturising stuff like TBS Maca Root and MWF) rather than just buying everything I saw!

5) Seems obvious, but I didn’t know about sample packs of blades. What a difference that would have made when I was a newbie!

 

[Tulsa1977]

Love this thread. It deserves a bump.

I started my wet shaving journey searching for a new electric razor as a graduation present for myself. Searching for “best electric razor” gave poor search results and so I tried to search for “best razor” instead. Up popped this weird “badger and blade” site. I was hooked. Within a day, I had order green Proraso cream, a MerKer HD razor, tweezerman badger brush (horrible), a pack of Astra’s. A great starting kit with the exception of the brush.

Early on, I got bit by BAD and didn’t have a lot of cash. I purchased a junk brush and ordered a large two-band knot from Golden Nib. Read everything I could about the process: cut the bristles off with a razor - check! Drill out the old knot - check! Use a smaller drill bit to drill out the bottom of the brush to accept the larger knot - check, check! Drill all the way through the handle into my hand holding the brush… wait, that wasn’t on on any list I found… but it happened anyway. Ah, the memories.. I still have that brush and it’s one of my favorites! Last step, add lead fishing weights to the inside/bottom of the handle to make it heavier. Yeah, not sure I would do that step again either.

After more than 12 years wetshaving (a kid next to some of the fine folks on here), the kit I use today is similar.

Razor: most days is an older Ikon DE Razor with a “wave handle”
Blade: either Gillette 7’oclock Black or Personna Med Prep
Soap(s): Proraso is in the cabinet and used on summer occasions, but mostly Cella brick and a few artisan soaps with or without tallow!
Brush: Drilled out home made brush


The advise on this thread is sound. Buy a few items (one razor, 1-3 different blades, one/two soaps), stick with what works, change one item at a time, and learn the technique that works for you. Read and listen to the member advise about slowing down on the ‘AD’s and enjoy the process.

Thank you to all the members who have patiently answered my questions over the years, sold me great kit on the BST, and made shaving into a little slice of heaven for me every day.

Warmest regards Gentlemen!

 

[steelwindmachine]

if I had to start over or start a new person I'd encourange them to purchase the following:

• Gillette Tech Razor with various blades (Feather, Dorco, Sharp, Gillette) - mild and great, safe tool to learn angles before determining whether or not to move up to something more aggressive
• Yaqi synthetic brush - because they're cheap and perform well
• Top Tier soap that excels in protection, slickness and post-shave moisturization (Grooming Dept., Zingari Man, Ariana & Evans, etc.). Just take the potential for lack-luster, ancient grand-dad soap out of the equation. Protect your skin first, develop your technique, then later you can play with old school products.
• Witch hazel or Nivea Sensitive Balm - gentle products to cope with potential post-shave irritation

From here, I'd direct them to read through the Forum Wiki and watch several of Mantic59's videos on how to shave.

And mostly importantly, AVOID looking at other gear until at least after 2 month of using the initial group of stuff. The costs for most are low and the volume of stuff is high and this certainly plays into peoples' desires to obtain more stuff before they've actually learned how to wet shave properly, let alone be able to evaluate other stuff.

Of course this doesn't circumvent those people who are inclined to collect or hoard whatever the new shiny thing is, but that's a psychoanalysis for another day

 

[Phoenixkh]

I don't think I'd change my journey any, looking back... I was lucky... started out with a mild but efficient AC razor I used for the first 5 months, as I learned how to shave with single razor edge instead of a 5 blade Gillette cartridge.

I loved learning about brushes. When I first showed up on B&B, I had one brush with zero experience. It took me a while to find the right person/persons to guide me in my brush search but it wasn't long before I met Jim/ @Chan Eil Whiskers . With his guidance, I'm happy with my few brush purchases.

Soaps are probably the only thing I'd change along the way, but that's because I have skin issues that didn't pop up until after I had selected quite a few great soaps. I was able to pass those on and am only buying unscented soaps now.

Razors... like I said.. I used one razor for 5 months before I started exploring other razors in both AC and DE designs. I've had a blast doing so. Again, I found a couple people who guided me on my razor selections. That cut down on buying razors that didn't work for me... The current problem? Both @Mr. Shavington and Larry/ @LRod have purchased razors that interested me. They are two of my shaving buddies here... mentors, really. Every purchase I've made on their recommendation have been too excellent to sell. My top razor list is growing.... I have more great razors than I thought I'd ever have.. all of them in rotation. Definitely a first world problem. <eg>

With most shaving gear, you don't know until you try it.... but if you are following someone who likes the same things you like.... the risks are reduced significantly...

 

[LRod]

I don't think I'd change my journey any, looking back... I was lucky... started out with a mild but efficient AC razor I used for the first 5 months, as I learned how to shave with single razor edge instead of a 5 blade Gillette cartridge.

I loved learning about brushes. When I first showed up on B&B, I had one brush with zero experience. It took me a while to find the right person/persons to guide me in my brush search but it wasn't long before I met Jim/ @Chan Eil Whiskers . With his guidance, I'm happy with my few brush purchases.

Soaps are probably the only thing I'd change along the way, but that's because I have skin issues that didn't pop up until after I had selected quite a few great soaps. I was able to pass those on and am only buying unscented soaps now.

Razors... like I said.. I used one razor for 5 months before I started exploring other razors in both AC and DE designs. I've had a blast doing so. Again, I found a couple people who guided me on my razor selections. That cut down on buying razors that didn't work for me... The current problem? Both @Mr. Shavington and Larry/ @LRod have purchased razors that interested me. They are two of my shaving buddies here... mentors, really. Every purchase I've made on their recommendation have been too excellent to sell. My top razor list is growing.... I have more great razors than I thought I'd ever have.. all of them in rotation. Definitely a first world problem. <eg>

With most shaving gear, you don't know until you try it.... but if you are following someone who likes the same things you like.... the risks are reduced significantly...

I'm very honored at the "mentor" designation but I wouldn't take it that far. We've been doing this for around the same time Kim. I think we've all learned together. The term: Larry has been an "enabler" to me sounds more like it, Lol!!

 

[Mr. Shavington]

If I was starting again with everything I’ve learned the main differences would be that my pre-shave prep would be much better (washing my stubble with glycerine or clay soap to strip any oils), my lathering technique would be much better (most shaving soaps are good and any of those will do), and my razor technique would be much better (so I wouldn’t need to buy any aggressive razors to compensate for poor technique).

I think I would still want to have a wide selection of brushes - badger, boar, horse and synthetic - but I would focus more on softer brushes with high loft and less backbone, since that’s what I eventually decided I prefer. Variety is nice with brushes, though, and they can be quite beautiful things.

In my opinion there are few razors as good as the disposable plastic Bic Metal (why is it called “metal”?), so I could just use those and save money. But it’s also nice to have a few of the beautifully machined and polished, efficient but gentle DE and SE razors that I found I liked.

 

[LRod]

In my opinion there are few razors as good as the disposable plastic Bic Metal (why is it called “metal”?)

The safety bar is made of metal. I guess that was enough metal (and the blade) to make them consider that name, LOL!
And you have to admit that it makes for a catchy cool name for a razor!
I wouldn't personally say it's one of the best razors (I find the head way too narrow for daily use). But it's by far the
best disposable. One that usually goes with me on most trips!

 

[Ranyart Finn]

I started my DE journey about 2 months ago when I decided to shave my head. I'd had a beard for a year, and before that been using crappy cartridge disposables. Given that shaving my head would require a regular shaving routine, and I'm not a huge fan of electric razors, I decided to investigate options for wet head shaves. I found a Wilkinson Sword Classic DE at Walmart, plus a brush, plus some shaving soap, and decided to give it a try.

Little did I know I'd kickstarted a new hobby that I've really enjoyed getting into and exploring. I've accumulated a decent little collection of DE razors, including a Fatboy and a Slim, along with a Rockwell 6C, Viking's Blade Emperor Meiji, a Leaf, and a Pearl Flexi. My technique is improving (I shave daily, head every other day), and I'm learning more about what suits me from a shave perspective, and how to get an irritation-free, extremely enjoyable shave.

I'm fortunate enough to have some disposable income for shaving gear, and the way I look at it is the way I look at food.

Eating is a necessity, and given it's essential for life, it's best to enjoy eating as much possible, eat well, eat good quality, and avoid cheap processed rubbish which, while it may get the job done, isn't necessarily a pleasurable experience.

As shaving is something most adults do on a frequent basis - be it face, head, legs or other areas - it's best to approach it the same as one should approach food. Good quality, avoid the cheap stuff, and enjoy your time spent in the activity. Variety is also good: so when I look at my razor collection instead of thinking, "why the hell do I need all these razors?" I know that I can use a different razor each day, with a different blade, different soap, different brush, for a different experience. Just like I can enjoy variety in my meals. And I make time to enjoy the experience. Before, shaving with the crappy disposable, I was done in about 5 minutes and always had a crappy shave. Now, I take at least 20 minutes, have 3 passes, and feel fantastic as a result. Looking forward to the next day's shave is a great feeling - almost as good as how I feel after a nice, comfortable shave.

Favourite combo

Rockwell 6C, 3 plate, or Gillette Slim 1964 (setting 5)
Classic Edge Barbershop shaving cream
Wilkinson Sword brush
Home-made shea butter balm for post-shave.

It's a terrific journey.

 

[TOVT]

Knowing what I know now:
I'd have skipped buying the Merkur Futur and Merkur 24G.

Possibly would have skipped buying the Blackbird Satin Brass with the additional Lite plate.

Another possible skip would be the 3-blade leaf, but it does what I hoped, it shaves my head easy and well.

May have bought the Henson again but in a medium rather than mild.

Instead of the Merkur's and Brassbird, I wish I got a polished stainless or Titanium Blackbird.

Likely would have skipped all the Clubman products other than the Citrus Musk Cologne and No Bumps Gel.

Would have skipped the Prorasso Green and Red line-ups for the Blue Super Aloe and Vitamin E.
Nothing wrong with the first two, and I loved them at first as I was ramping up my DE practice/game.
I find myself not reaching for them in favor of the Blue or other stuff in my line-up.

I love the LEA Classic line from shave cream, to aftershave lotion, to aftershave balm. Great performance and fragrance. The exact same thing goes for the Cella Red program. No complaints whatsoever with fragrance or performance.

Sticks. I really, really like the Derby Premium puck-in-a-cup. So much so I chased down some Derby sticks being offered on Ebay from UK. Ended up being $42 shipped for 10 sticks and an Omega Boar brush.

Unfortunately, I didn't stop there. Ended up with 17 sticks of ARKO. There are also 12 Jikoryen sticks being shipped from Turkey still. So far these all lather well and work good for me. More than likely I didn't need as many. I could have stuck with a few Derby Premium pucks and same for ARKO sticks.
I just don't see me going through 40 sticks, especially when I like using other creams I have.

Razor blades. Now I have close to 2000. No complaints about any of them.
In hindsight, I wish I'd gone exclusively with Personna USA and Derby Premium.
There have been great shaves with LADAS, Rapira PL, Voskhod, Permasharp, and German made platinum blades.
For simplicity’s sake and cost control, I would have liked to stay with only two or three brands/type. The Personna are made in USA and the Derby Premium are forgiving blades.

Probably would have skipped the alum blocks and two of the bowls I bought also.

So if I could do the previous two plus months over on DE shaving purchases:

It'd be a polished stainless Blackbird or Titanium Blackbird with regular safety comb plates.

Personna USA blades with some Derby Premium.

The Fine Lather Bowl, Prorasso plastic mug with a knob, and the Marvy Plastic Mug.

For creams, aftershaves, and colognes:

The TOBS Eton College and Mr. Taylor's, shave creams, aftershaves, and colognes are the ones I'm drawn to use most of the time.
Right next to the TOBS offerings would be Noble Otter Neon Sun. I love the smell of that line and the cream works great. I've got a puck of Neon Sun in my Marvy mug and love going with that.
The Captains Choice Nor'Easter aftershave is out of this world.
Clubman Citrus Musk is another favorite for me that I'd also add to a 2nd chance.

Don't get me wrong. All that other stuff I bought helped me find my way, and I look forward to using it during the coming years. But if I were doing it over, it'd look different than I've done.

 

[LRod]

Possibly would have skipped buying the Blackbird Satin Brass with the additional Lite plate.

Curious, what didn't you like about the Brass BB and lite plate?
Asking because it's the only BB I've considered buying!

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

I’ve learned that making lather from creams or soaps using a brush is not leaps and bounds better than using canned goo, like Barabasol, for example. It’s more work than it’s worth at this stage in my life. Maybe when I’m retired I might enjoy it but not now, no time and energy for it.

I feel the same way about razors. I spent a small fortune experimenting with DE blades and razors, and I use a Mach3 now more than ever….like I did for years before I found this place and went down the hole.

 

[TOVT]

Curious, what didn't you like about the Brass BB and lite plate?
Asking because it's the only BB I've considered buying!

Several guys here have said they had the brass and stainless Blackbirds, but when they got the Titanium they didn't really look back. Even got rid of the others.

I'm actually liking my Brass-bird even better after todays shave. The growing patina also has me intrigued.

I don't need the Ti. But I've caught myself thinking about it. And I tell myself, if I hadn't bought a lot of that other stuff I could justify the purchase of the Ti.

There's no problem with the Lite plate, and I have the regular plate too, but haven't tried it yet.
The Lite plate is doing me justice with every day shaves since I first got it a couple weeks ago.

Suggesting I'd skip the Lite plate on a second go round is just about saving money and time.

 

[LRod]

And I tell myself, if I hadn't bought a lot of that other stuff I could justify the purchase of the Ti.

Thanks for the info!
And if I hadn't spent what I've spent so far, I could've had 10 Wolfman's, LOL!!
That's the way it goes. In order to try, you've gotta spend and then you always run into something that's shinier and more expensive. And sometimes in the end, you still end up buying it regardless!!

 

[Phoenixkh]

I would suggest... avoid what I did..... Sell 11 razors and 8 brushes to pay for a Wolfman.... That I would do differently, perhaps, but my curiosity was satisfied. As much as I felt a loss when I sold those razors, I doubt I'll ever buy them again. The three vintage Gillettes made in England ended up looking spectacular after Chris Spencer of Back Roads Gold fame replated them. I would have had to buy handles for them: an investment not exactly possible at the time. I didn't care for even the "fat" handles. The diameter wasn't big enough to feel comfortable in my hand.

 

[Ron R]

Not sure I would change much on my traditional wet shaving learning curve. Still plugging along learning small bits of information.
1st year my collection of razors and brushes was very small and a few common soaps from Razorock or Italian barber.
1st year spent about $200-300 Canadian dollars on basic hardware and software products and did a lot of reading.
My main objective was to save some money & when I did save some money trimming my own hair and not buying cartridge blades and gel I just bought some more shave gear.
I found that over the years I have accumulated a lot of brushes and razors and a few soaps paid for by trimming my own hair and not buying cartridge blades and gel, I can grab almost any DE or SE razor and with in a few minutes crank out descent shaves with no issues. All my equipment and shave products are paid for by changing my grooming ways of just doing it myself and just enjoyed this hobby a lot has been my conclusion(all my gear still gets used and displayed).
My advice when buying shave products stay disciplined with in your budget and just enjoy a couple of nice brushes + a few razors & soaps & work on refining your technique making you set for the rest of your life with any shave system you finally settle on using.
Make sure to map your beard grain direction right at the start to make shaving more a enjoyable experience!

 

[Manye]

If I had my time over, I would have splashed on a Blackbird and an SV brush and then stopped buying unnecessary razors and brushes!

 

[Manye]

Having said the above, it has been fun!!!

 

[Gentleman in Japan]

I wish I hadn't tried so hard to hone my first Dovo(which I kinda messed up). Got it sorted by Adam at Invisible edge and he sent me a telling off email. I deserved it though lol.
since then I've bought two more Dovos and they have stayed super sharp with the aide of a balsa strop.
so wish I got a balsa strop early on. Learnt about it here on B&B.
Wish I had joined B&B.
I started out with TOBs which worked well at the beginning. I used to rotate between Floris no.89 range and DR Harris Arlington when I had some money to play with.

I started out on my Goodfella. if starting again I would just get merkur blades as Feathers were a bit too sharp for a newbie.
I don't regret my choice of brush starting out as I wrecked it by "swirling" too much ,....I know.....before someone starts on that I think it was more about me not drying it off properly before setting it in a stand. Until a trip to TOBs in Jeremy street where a gentleman taught me how to care for brushes.

but there are still so many soaps and creams to try. My biggest regret was Trumpers soap. It was such a let down

 

[ZeelandsRoem]

My biggest regret is buying a lot of soaps, aftershaves and pre-shaves and ending up throwing about half of them after a few uses. They simply did not perform well, despite some of them being praised by many. I tried different brushes (softer or stiffer), blooming, starting with a brush which is just moist and slowly adding water, swirling for 2-3 minutes, and so on. The lather quality was poor no matter what. I am giving away the products that I find to have an average performance though. Eventually, I settled for some less popular soaps which I find to have a top performance. Also, some soaps start to build a good lather after loading more product.

Brush wise, I only regret using synthetic for about 7 years before buying badgers. It's good to have a selection of knots, each one having different characteristics which will better when paired with certain soaps.

As for bowls, I still have regrets as I did not find one which really ticks all my criteria's. I am thinking to ask a customer maker to make the one I have in mind, even if I have to pay a few hundreds (or a thousand) bucks for it.

DE razors: I wish I wouldn't have paid for zamak and get proper solid brass/titanium/stainless/aluminium from the beginning. I knew I would end up buying them one day, but I was hoping a zamak razors would do the job fine and last many years. I was wrong and disappointed. "You go cheap, you go twice."

DE blades: not much, I found my favorite blade rather quickly.

When it comes to straight razors, I don't really have regrets as this was one of my latest step in my journey. If I would have to be very critical, I'd add I should have bought less razors with solid metal scales if I wanted to use them often. And it took me years to find out that I prefer quarter/half wedge grinds.

Stones: don't buy Jnats based on their labels, take the risk and it's likely that the cheaper stone (without labels) will perform just as good as the "collector grade" ones if they are equally hard and fine.

Also, I apologize for the possible grammatical mistakes. I am not native and I had a coffee on my empty stomach, so my head is a bit dizzy and my hands are already shaking.

 

[Goblin]

I have been traditional wet shaving about 14 years now. I have absolutely had my share of the ADs. I went down the straight razor rabbit hole and amassed quite a collection but eventually moved back from them. I always wanted my straights to be as sharp as possible and I just didn't have the time to maintain a rotation of shave-ready razors. I also tried a variety of different types of DE, including open combs, slants, etc. Over the past few years I have added several CNC machined stainless steel DE razors to the stable (these didn't exist when I started) plus brushes in several materials and sizes. However, for most of my 14 years I have mainly stuck with the same small selection of kit for daily shaves, and it turns out I wasn't missing all that much.

I don't regret trying all the different products that I have - it's how I know what I know. Also, the range and variety of products has grown significantly since I started wet shaving. If I were starting today I might end up skipping a lot of the razors that made up the earlier parts of my collection and moving more quickly to my "endgame" stainless steel razors, but you can only buy the products that are available at the time.

One thing I noticed. In 14 years my beard and face have both changed a lot, so my technique has had to adapt too. When I started with wet shaving I was a 30 year old who could pass for 25. Now I am a mid-forties guy who looks his age, with a lot of thick, grey hair. My hair definitely got tougher, and things I could get away with when I started wet shaving don't work now. I have had to refocus on technique and change how I approach my passes on several occassions. So, if you have been wet shaving for a few years and your shave quality seems to be dropping off, or you are getting irritation where there was none before, don't just stick with the same routine and expect it to get better - seek solutions. It's easy to get stuck in a rut by thinking we have it all worked out, but sometimes even old dogs need to learn new tricks. By the same token, don't justify the cost of that once-in-a-lifetime Gucci razor thinking it'll be the last razor you ever need to buy - it might not be!

Razors: For most of the time it has been a 34c (old version - my first DE razor and still going strong) or Fatip Grande. For the past couple of years I have been switching between a few different CNC razors, but I still love my old 34c and could be entirely happy with it. If they had made a 34c in stainless with the old head geometry I would probably have just bought one of them and called it good.
Brushes: Started as a one-brush-guy with boars. Ran the gamut of badgers and synthetics, now mostly back at boars.
Soaps: I prefer traditional, hard soaps and cheap everyman "euro" creams. Artisan soaps aren't worth the money to me.
Blades: I mostly used Feather exclusively with the 34c. Nowadays I tend to use slightly milder blades in slightly more aggressive razors.