I like the ritual of preshave oil (just some olive oil with a drop of peppermint oil in it), getting a good shave with one of my creams and soaps (usually in combination), and finishing up with alum and one of my aftershaves. Having all my kit to pick from and enjoy a good shave is one of my satisfactions in life.
Why did you start shaving with a DE safety razor?
- Thread starter 4everPup
- Start date
Disbelief, yep that's me. The change from yellow plastic razors and canned foam to a comfortable shave with various products has been a revelation.
I started for save some money but now I have a razor rotation that can buy 10 year cartridge I can shave 
I started with Bic disposables.
The shaves were good but I wanted to get away
from producing so much plastic trash.
I switched to Remington electric.
The shaves weren't as close, but I didn't care at the time.
I wore out 1 or 2 amazingly expensive microscreens
and then I couldn't find them anymore.
Switched to Braun.
Same problem with the microscreens.
I was also getting ingrown hairs which I didn't attribute to the electrics
until I noticed that they went away after I stopped using electrics.
A 1948 style Gillette Super Speed really has no problems associated with it.
You can still get them cheap in good shape
even though they don't make them anymore.
Blades are cheap too.
Some of the 3 piece guys are wary of the relative mechanical
complexity of the Super Speeds and their ability to withstand being dropped,
but what they don't realize is that the Super Speeds just don't get dropped.
I've seen a lot of 3 piece razors with drop damage,
but never a Super Speed.
The shaves were good but I wanted to get away
from producing so much plastic trash.
I switched to Remington electric.
The shaves weren't as close, but I didn't care at the time.
I wore out 1 or 2 amazingly expensive microscreens
and then I couldn't find them anymore.
Switched to Braun.
Same problem with the microscreens.
I was also getting ingrown hairs which I didn't attribute to the electrics
until I noticed that they went away after I stopped using electrics.
A 1948 style Gillette Super Speed really has no problems associated with it.
You can still get them cheap in good shape
even though they don't make them anymore.
Blades are cheap too.
Some of the 3 piece guys are wary of the relative mechanical
complexity of the Super Speeds and their ability to withstand being dropped,
but what they don't realize is that the Super Speeds just don't get dropped.
I've seen a lot of 3 piece razors with drop damage,
but never a Super Speed.
I voted nostalgia. But DEs were the main thing in the late 1960s. It just took me a couple years to get there.
My dad used Gillette adjustables. He didn't do anything to get me started shaving.
So looking to the future, I bought myself a Techmatic as my first razor. And nodding to the past, while rejecting aerosol everything (except for pirating some of his foam when hurried), I got a cheap boar and a puck of Williams.
The Techmatic was a minor fiasco, so I rebelled even further and got a Schick injector. Wait, still no DE! And not much nostalgia.
Then, I rebelled further than further and split for the coast. On a trip home my mother gave me her father's NDC Old Type. No point rebelling against a beloved grandad. So I looked to the past (a fine razor and the cheapest blades in the grocery store) and rolled with that until I passed it to my nephew. Needed a 'new' razor or, courtesy of B&B enabling, maybe a few dozen.
My dad used Gillette adjustables. He didn't do anything to get me started shaving.
So looking to the future, I bought myself a Techmatic as my first razor. And nodding to the past, while rejecting aerosol everything (except for pirating some of his foam when hurried), I got a cheap boar and a puck of Williams.
The Techmatic was a minor fiasco, so I rebelled even further and got a Schick injector. Wait, still no DE! And not much nostalgia.
Then, I rebelled further than further and split for the coast. On a trip home my mother gave me her father's NDC Old Type. No point rebelling against a beloved grandad. So I looked to the past (a fine razor and the cheapest blades in the grocery store) and rolled with that until I passed it to my nephew. Needed a 'new' razor or, courtesy of B&B enabling, maybe a few dozen.
My grandfather died when I was very young. But when I got a little older, I was fascinated with some of the things he left behind. These included a couple old-fashioned (to me) safety razors, an Old Spice mug, a brush and my great-great-grandfather's straight razor and strop.
Fast forward quite a few years...I came across a Van der Hagen set with the soap, bowl and boar brush at Walmart. I dropped the $12 bucks on it...and realized I liked that better than I did the canned goo.
Not long after that, I saw a couple razors in an antique shop. I passed on them. But soon after, the guy from Pawn Stars started doing those commercials.
That's when I found Badger and Blade.
I ordered myself an Edwin Jagger DE89 based on the suggestions from here. Then I started picking up vintage razors.
I now have Grandpa's injector razor (that I do occasionally use) and Great-Grandpa's straight and strop. Oh...and the brush and Old Spice mug...
Fast forward quite a few years...I came across a Van der Hagen set with the soap, bowl and boar brush at Walmart. I dropped the $12 bucks on it...and realized I liked that better than I did the canned goo.
Not long after that, I saw a couple razors in an antique shop. I passed on them. But soon after, the guy from Pawn Stars started doing those commercials.
That's when I found Badger and Blade.
I ordered myself an Edwin Jagger DE89 based on the suggestions from here. Then I started picking up vintage razors.
I now have Grandpa's injector razor (that I do occasionally use) and Great-Grandpa's straight and strop. Oh...and the brush and Old Spice mug...
Why did I START shaving with a DE safety razor? Cost savings.
Why did I STAY with DE/SE shaving? Closer shaves with no nicks/scrapes (comfort), nostalgia, the pure enjoyment of shaving (it's my mini-facial spa in the mornings!).
Narrator's Voice (Morgan Freeman's voice): He did not save any money. He spent much, much more.
Why did I STAY with DE/SE shaving? Closer shaves with no nicks/scrapes (comfort), nostalgia, the pure enjoyment of shaving (it's my mini-facial spa in the mornings!).
Narrator's Voice (Morgan Freeman's voice): He did not save any money. He spent much, much more.
We don’t know that. If you were not DE shaving you might have wasted hundreds on electric razors and each new generation of cartridge razor seeking the perfect shave.Why did I START shaving with a DE safety razor? Cost savings.
Why did I STAY with DE/SE shaving? Closer shaves with no nicks/scrapes (comfort), nostalgia, the pure enjoyment of shaving (it's my mini-facial spa in the mornings!).
Narrator's Voice (Morgan Freeman's voice): He did not save any money. He spent much, much more.
Costs mainly because I was a couch surfer for a while but also, I really don’t like using plastic and I am quite environmentally conscious.
Recently I have been finding it harder and harder to find Sensor cartridges locally, started to wonder if there would come a time that I couldn't even find them online.
So I went ahead and bought a RR GC that was 2 weeks ago.
Still not 100% sold that the DE is better than my Sensor for a one pass shave and I don't want to get into 3 pass stuff, 2 max or 1 and touch-up.
But at least now I have options.
So I went ahead and bought a RR GC that was 2 weeks ago.
Still not 100% sold that the DE is better than my Sensor for a one pass shave and I don't want to get into 3 pass stuff, 2 max or 1 and touch-up.
But at least now I have options.
Carts/disposables were not invented when I started shaving back in the early '70's. My father ran with a slim and being a rebellious youth I had to be different and decided to start with a Schick L-1 injector. That got me out of high school, in college I bought a black handle 88 and saw the error of my ways. Got lazy with Trac-2 disposables for about 15-20 years along the way, utilitarian/crappy shaves every morning. Glad to say I am back and enjoy getting a good shave again.
I voted ‘nostalgia’ because of memories of my lost youth.
I learned to shave with a hand-me-down Slim (wish I still had that one)! I moved to carts, electrics, etc. in a desire to be ‘modern.’ Eventually, I tired of following every ‘improvement’ that was more expensive but no better.
Now, I am back to where I started!! Older and wiser!!
I learned to shave with a hand-me-down Slim (wish I still had that one)! I moved to carts, electrics, etc. in a desire to be ‘modern.’ Eventually, I tired of following every ‘improvement’ that was more expensive but no better.
Now, I am back to where I started!! Older and wiser!!
When I started shaving, there wasn't much choice other than a DE razor. Dad bought me a brand new Gillette Slim, which I still have. I also still have Dad's Fat Boy.
Marketing brainwashing is powerful. Glad to have B&B so I can learn from the experience of others.
The poll would not let me check every box.
I wanted to try it for a long time. I've always thought the cartridge razors system was wasteful and it had become very expensive. When I started looking at DE I realized it had a lot of other aspects that appeal to me. I've always liked antique technological items, old cars, bicycles etc, so there is that aspect. I've been using a brush and shaving soap for a long time so I already knew I'd like that. Now I'm experimenting with different blades, I bought an adjustable razor and have two more collectible Gillettes on the way after buying them online. It's a start, two brushes - one a boar my ex-wife's sister gave me 33 years ago and a new badger I just bought for myself, and four razors. It's an interesting hobby. I've had to shave every day for most of my adult life so I guess I should make it into something that I can enjoy.
I chose 'other'. I got a haircut a few years ago and the shop sold Rockwells; picked up a 2C solely for curiosity's sake (a cartridge guy previously) to see how it shaved, and liked it.
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