Hello everyone. I have been wet shaving now with a DE for 4 months and I enjoy it very much. I have come a long way from not enough lather and razor burn to a great shave day after day. I want to say thanks to all of you on this forum who have helped me out along the way. It is because of all the PIF gear that I was able to learn and grow.
I have a selection of DE razors now and here is how I rank them from best to not used much:
Lord Merkur Tech (I love this razor, best one I own period)
57 Gillette SS
1941 Gillette Tech (shaves very well but MUST watch that blade angle)
GEM 1912 (afraid to use it LOL)
Here in order of use are my brushes:
2 Tweezerman badgers (use them day in and day out, they simply work)
EverReady T100 with synthetic knot (very soft like a paint brush)
AOS travel badger (works fine but small knot and handle)
EverReady C40 worn out badger (do not use it)
Here is a list of my soaps from favorite to worthless:
VDH Deluxe (it does not get better than this stuff)
Irish Moos shave stick (I like it for something different)
CO Bigelow cream (I love it when I superlather with VDH)
The following soaps irritate my skin thus I do not use them much if at all:
Real Shave Co. Sensitive
Neutrogena for men
DR Harris
You may be wondering where the listing for Williams is...well let me put it this way...Williams is only worthy of placing on my bathroom mirror to keep it from fogging up. It is terrible stuff. Yes you can make it lather after a bunch of learning and time, but why do all that work when VDH will do a better job without all the effort?
Here are the DE blades that I like from best to worse:
Red box Personna IP's (my favorite blade period)
Feathers (these would be #1 if they were not 4x the price of IP's)
Derby
Blades that are simply horrid on my face include:
Merkur
Lord
Big Ben
Lazar
Dorco
Astra
I have learned that good prep is key to a good shave. You must learn how to build a good lather in order to get a good shave. Shaving is about hair reduction thus several passes are required. You must take your time and enjoy the shave. You can not rush a DE shave. Once you find the correct blade angle you will know it and things will fall in to place. You can not use any preasure on the razor, simply let its own weight provide the preasure. I have also learned that just because you buy a gourmet shave cream does not mean it will shave any better than a $1.50 puck of VDH.
I really enjoy my shaves now and have enjoyed the learning process. I do encourage the newbies to stick with it and keep trying. It took me a while to get my lathering down. I do not build a lather in a bowl at all. I load my brush and lather on my face, that works the best for me. Thanks again to all of you who have helped me and for all the great PIF gear.
I have a selection of DE razors now and here is how I rank them from best to not used much:
Lord Merkur Tech (I love this razor, best one I own period)
57 Gillette SS
1941 Gillette Tech (shaves very well but MUST watch that blade angle)
GEM 1912 (afraid to use it LOL)
Here in order of use are my brushes:
2 Tweezerman badgers (use them day in and day out, they simply work)
EverReady T100 with synthetic knot (very soft like a paint brush)
AOS travel badger (works fine but small knot and handle)
EverReady C40 worn out badger (do not use it)
Here is a list of my soaps from favorite to worthless:
VDH Deluxe (it does not get better than this stuff)
Irish Moos shave stick (I like it for something different)
CO Bigelow cream (I love it when I superlather with VDH)
The following soaps irritate my skin thus I do not use them much if at all:
Real Shave Co. Sensitive
Neutrogena for men
DR Harris
You may be wondering where the listing for Williams is...well let me put it this way...Williams is only worthy of placing on my bathroom mirror to keep it from fogging up. It is terrible stuff. Yes you can make it lather after a bunch of learning and time, but why do all that work when VDH will do a better job without all the effort?
Here are the DE blades that I like from best to worse:
Red box Personna IP's (my favorite blade period)
Feathers (these would be #1 if they were not 4x the price of IP's)
Derby
Blades that are simply horrid on my face include:
Merkur
Lord
Big Ben
Lazar
Dorco
Astra
I have learned that good prep is key to a good shave. You must learn how to build a good lather in order to get a good shave. Shaving is about hair reduction thus several passes are required. You must take your time and enjoy the shave. You can not rush a DE shave. Once you find the correct blade angle you will know it and things will fall in to place. You can not use any preasure on the razor, simply let its own weight provide the preasure. I have also learned that just because you buy a gourmet shave cream does not mean it will shave any better than a $1.50 puck of VDH.
I really enjoy my shaves now and have enjoyed the learning process. I do encourage the newbies to stick with it and keep trying. It took me a while to get my lathering down. I do not build a lather in a bowl at all. I load my brush and lather on my face, that works the best for me. Thanks again to all of you who have helped me and for all the great PIF gear.
