It happened more than once. I'm a slow learner 
Why did you start shaving with a DE safety razor?
- Thread starter 4everPup
- Start date
Like most I turned to traditional wet shaving to save money from buying carts. I'd previously changed to brush and soap, Omega boar and Williams, about 10+yrs before actually before giving up carts but it was a very good choice as since 2016 even with recently purchasing a Wolfman Ti 1.25DC and 2yrs ago a Ti Blackbird the math has worked out in my favor and I'm already ahead of what I'd have spent to this point!!
One morning I was shaving with a Harry's razor and I had one week of growth. The razor kept clogging and I got furious with the frustration of a clogging and tugging cart. I got online and looked at shaving alternatives and saw this video Why safety razors are best, gentlemen's gazette. I ordered a Merker 34c and was amazed, so I never looked back. I have NEVER had a safety razor clog once, even mowing through beard growth. Of course I went down the rabbit hole, but I have actually enjoyed shaving ever since.
+100. Hate, hate, hate the clogging...
Never was a regular clean shaver. As far back as a teenager, I'd have 5 o'clock shadow within hours. Even had people accusing me of lying to them when I said that I shaved that morning. 'You need to step closer to the razor!' 
Also, cartridges were expensive for me and I quickly realized they were only good for two shaves. I tried stretching the amount of shaves, but it resulted in disappointing and poor looking shaves.
Most of my life, I'd not shave for a few to several weeks, then break out the clippers and cut it down to stubble, then do a razor and shaving cream shave. Sometimes I'd keep it up and I'd stay clean-shaven for a few days. Then I'd stop shaving for weeks, and do it all over again.
Ended up getting Braun electric shaver in the early 2000's and used that for the random clean shave days.
Grew a huge beard and my hair for about 10 years. Cut it all off in 2019. A friend was telling me about DE safety razors and how it changed shaving for him. I got an EJ89 and some blades, then found out there was nothing to fear, and these things blew cartridge shaving out of the water.
I still did some beard growing after that. But then for some reason started shaving my head with the DE razor and thought it was cool.
Eventually, last Spring I got a Futur. Then joined here shortly after that. Now, four months later, I've got an additional 8 razors, 10 years worth of razor blades, and probably several years of shave soap and cream.
I actually still have a Costco bulk pack of Mach 3 blades that are unopened. Probably bought them in 2002-3.
Right now, I am on the longest daily shave streak of my 4 decades of needing to shave. Been shaving daily since late April.
Long story, but that is how I got into it.
Also, cartridges were expensive for me and I quickly realized they were only good for two shaves. I tried stretching the amount of shaves, but it resulted in disappointing and poor looking shaves.
Most of my life, I'd not shave for a few to several weeks, then break out the clippers and cut it down to stubble, then do a razor and shaving cream shave. Sometimes I'd keep it up and I'd stay clean-shaven for a few days. Then I'd stop shaving for weeks, and do it all over again.
Ended up getting Braun electric shaver in the early 2000's and used that for the random clean shave days.
Grew a huge beard and my hair for about 10 years. Cut it all off in 2019. A friend was telling me about DE safety razors and how it changed shaving for him. I got an EJ89 and some blades, then found out there was nothing to fear, and these things blew cartridge shaving out of the water.
I still did some beard growing after that. But then for some reason started shaving my head with the DE razor and thought it was cool.
Eventually, last Spring I got a Futur. Then joined here shortly after that. Now, four months later, I've got an additional 8 razors, 10 years worth of razor blades, and probably several years of shave soap and cream.
I actually still have a Costco bulk pack of Mach 3 blades that are unopened. Probably bought them in 2002-3.
Right now, I am on the longest daily shave streak of my 4 decades of needing to shave. Been shaving daily since late April.
Long story, but that is how I got into it.
Flintstone65
Imagining solutions for imaginary problems
I chose the "save money" option, but that ship sailed, hit a giant RAD Iceberg, and promptly sank to the bottom of the deep sea. I really started investigating DE/SE options because I didn't like my shaves....I was fine when I first started shaving with "one blade holds the whisker, while the other cuts it cleanly away" (aka the Gillette twin carts). As time went on, and blades kept being added -- I got off the train somewhere around "one blade holds the whisker, while 27 others cut it cleanly away" (perhaps a slight exaggeration) -- and I noticed my shaves weren't comfortable, plus my skin looked (and felt) like someone had hit me in the face with a bag of pennies every time I finished a shave. So I investigated "unorthodox" options....and the rest is history. I'm now an official collector/hoarder of shaving razors -- the number is close to, if not north of, 100.
While I didn't "technically" get myself a cheaper shave, I did (and do) get an infinitely better shave. DE, SE, AC, Sextoblade, Wedge (Lather Catcher) or Straight razor....I'll use anything but a plastic cartridge with tiny bits of metal stuck in it.
While I didn't "technically" get myself a cheaper shave, I did (and do) get an infinitely better shave. DE, SE, AC, Sextoblade, Wedge (Lather Catcher) or Straight razor....I'll use anything but a plastic cartridge with tiny bits of metal stuck in it.
Facebook pal posted a pic of his modern Superspeed clone.
Hyperfixation on Happy Razor Fun Time started immediately.
Hyperfixation on Happy Razor Fun Time started immediately.
I stumbled on safety razors somehow after searching for mroe natural shaving creams. Had been using cartridges for the past several decades but was sick of the junk in a can, so made the switch to various Cremo and Pacific Shaving creams. I'm not sure how, but one evening was looking at various shaving creams and one thing led to another....ended up watching videos of geofatboy, the Shavenation dude, and that is when I began my descent into the rabbit hole.
Like many others I suspect, bought a tried and true 34C and went from there once I realized that it really does give a better shave and once figured out, is quite enjoyable.
Slowly at first, but once I realized that there are a ton of awesome soaps out there and not just creams, my journey began in earnest.
Yeah, and then I found B and B
As the SAD winds down now I find myself looking more and more at vintage Gillettes....when will the madness end??!!
Sept Grume just around the corner
Like many others I suspect, bought a tried and true 34C and went from there once I realized that it really does give a better shave and once figured out, is quite enjoyable.
Slowly at first, but once I realized that there are a ton of awesome soaps out there and not just creams, my journey began in earnest.
Yeah, and then I found B and B
As the SAD winds down now I find myself looking more and more at vintage Gillettes....when will the madness end??!!
Sept Grume just around the corner
If I want to make myself do something, I have to make it fun.
To make myself make notes and journal, I bought myself a fountain pen and a good journal. I then had a solid case of Ink, Pen and Journal Acquisition Disorder for a while.
Shaving was just a chore, so I decided to try something interesting, and I picked a DE razor, got myself some good soap and a brush, etc. and now I look forward to shaving every morning.
Currently the only disorder I'm suffering from is ASAD, so I don't think I've done too badly!
To make myself make notes and journal, I bought myself a fountain pen and a good journal. I then had a solid case of Ink, Pen and Journal Acquisition Disorder for a while.
Shaving was just a chore, so I decided to try something interesting, and I picked a DE razor, got myself some good soap and a brush, etc. and now I look forward to shaving every morning.
Currently the only disorder I'm suffering from is ASAD, so I don't think I've done too badly!
Hi,
Dad gave me his old pre war Tech back in 1976 when I was 15. Shared his Yardley, and later, Old Spice. And, that was that. Oh, I tried carts and stuff in cans. Didn't much like either.
Stan
Dad gave me his old pre war Tech back in 1976 when I was 15. Shared his Yardley, and later, Old Spice. And, that was that. Oh, I tried carts and stuff in cans. Didn't much like either.
Stan
I got tired of the carts. I used Edge Shave gel and a two-blade cart and got tired of the darn thing getting clogged, plus the whole experience was just a chore. No joy at all.
I started off wet shaving as a teen circa 1972 and started back in 2013. Never looked back - the wonderful products make what was a chore into something I look forward to!
I started off wet shaving as a teen circa 1972 and started back in 2013. Never looked back - the wonderful products make what was a chore into something I look forward to!
My Dad only used electric razors as well... He passed away quite a few years now and my mom left us last September.... 3 days before her 90th birthday.... I said this to say that after my Mom passed, my brother was sorting through the stuff at her place and found around 15 electric in various states of disrepair. My Dad evidently had an electric razor rabbit hole. <eg>
I started out with electric razors but they always left me with a burned feeling. I never did get one I enjoyed using. I think all mine were the rotary Norelcos. My mom would buy a new one for me and put it in a Christmas stocking every year for a few years running, based on TV commercials I watched. LOL I did borrow my Mom's Schick injector a few times as well as her TTO Gillette, though I don't remember the model.
When I got back home from Indonesia in 1973, I started using a Trac II and bought most every cartridge model Gillette released over the years. I was getting what I thought were great shaves with my Fusion Power.... the vibrating handle really did help with the surface tension. Our youngest son gave me a RazoRock Lupo aluminum last year in February accompanied with 100 Astra Super Platinum "Green" blades.... I used it once and had a horrible shave. But I had been bitten by the shaving gods and started watching YouTube videos. Somehow, I found Brian Mulreany who used to own the Executive Shaving Company in Scotland and got the newly released Claymore Evolution AC.... I was a total newbie.... I knew nothing about brushes, soaps and/or razors. Then a few weeks later, I found B&B along with several other shaving forums sites. B&B had the most posts per day so I sort of settled in here. It's been and continues to be a blast.
I decided to shave my head one day, I had a long beard then. For the face I had used carts , electrics and later throw aways and I did not like shaving. So I trimmed my head, tried an electric wet and then dry.....results were bad and painful, then used a new disposable....which gave me and OK finish with irritation and some missed spots. Not happy at all with the results, I discovered that DE's were available, watched some vids and read some; then ordered my first DE razor a Merkur Progress 510 with a ("kit: soap/bowl and brush = all horrible), and then used the razor w the blade in the kit.....and that was the start of my journey.....and spiral down the hole. Mind you I used the cheapest disposables before....and I found my first razor (Gillete Atra at my moms house). It has been an amazing journey....and now I shave my face, too.
I have my dad's electric rabbit hole in a Rubbermaid container in my garage. All the old(er) ones that are pre-1990's are in my possession. All are Norelco and all of them work!
My dad's still alive but for some reason he's given them all to me. I'm sure he feels an attachment to his old stuff and he'd rather have me keep them than throw them away. At least he knows that someone "his son" is looking over them!
I started shaving my peach fuzz at 15 or 16 using my dads Gillette Blue tip and Williams shaving soap, and have used a DE razor ever since.
All the money I’d save… to date I’m pretty far in the red 
I voted for save money. It’s also nostalgia. I remember my dad’s butterfly razor. TBH I don’t know the brand of it. This was in the mid 70’s. I use to open and close it as a kid. I knew I wasn’t supposed to mess with it but I got away with it. When I started to shave my peach fuzz in the early to mid 80’s I used a cartilage and shaving cream. Likely a Bic but I don’t remember. I do remember my sister picking on me for shaving my peach fuzz. I did know that in order for a beard to grow thicker, you had to shave it more often. So I shaved off my peach fuzz. I was able to grow a full beard at in a few years. I don’t remember my dad using soap and a brush. I do remember shaving cream cans in his bathroom. And I’d squirt some out and put it on my face when I was a kid.
As time progressed I tried many electric razors. My first one was the Remington Razor. American made. The literature with the electric razors said you have to train the beard. Give it time. I did. And never got a good shave. Always looking like 5 o’clock shadow in a few hours. I’d switch back and forth from Cartridge razors to electric razors. Progressing through Norelco, Braun and Remington. When one would loose battery capacity, I’d switch back to cartridges. I’d get intrigued by the “technology “ of the electrics. How the claimed to gone a better shave. In truth I never did experience a closer shave with electric razors vs any cartridge razors. I also, like others mentioned, despised the clogging of the cartridge razors.
I came to wet shaving back in 2010. Partly for the money, partly for the nostalgia and also for all the different soaps and paraphernalia required to have an excellent shave. My first razor came with Feather Blades. I don’t know what sadistic person decided that was a good choice for beginners. I sliced the chit out of my face. Likely a combo of me coming from cartridge razors and pushing too hard as well as the sharpness of the feather blades. I found BnB and other resources and learned there were other blades better suited to my shaving. I never got RAD the first go round of wet shaving. I did have a few soaps and creams. About 10 in total. One razor and two bowls. My AD didn’t kick in then.
I grew a full beard a few years after my divorce and really stopped shaving then. Just touched up with water and a disposable razor. Occasionally I’d shave off the beard leaving a goatee and just use the disposable razors and shaving cream. I eventually started to use soaps and a brush with the cartridge razors.
Fast forward to a month or so ago. I shaved off the beard again. Leaning a goatee. I did my shaves with the soap, bowl and brush I had lying around. I ran out of cartridges and had to get a replacement. The last ones I used were Harry brand. I stopped by Target to get some more. The prices are ridiculous. I decided to find my safety razor. No luck. I had a few emails from Henson about their razor. Made in North America and aerospace engineering. Sounded good. After researching it on YouTube and seeing the mild was perfect for a new or returning wet shaver one was ordered. Then more research and YouTube videos. What followed was a tsunami of wet shaving supplies that still haven’t stopped coming in. This is just over two weeks of me wet shaving. I do get a much better shave. My technique is improving and I now have 5 razors to choose from and untold number of soaps, creams and blades to choose. Not to mention a handful of brushes. I am saving significant amounts of money on the blades themselves vs the cartridges. It’s all the other wet shaving products that’s putting me in the red. But the shave is BBS and my wife likes the new scents. All is well.
As time progressed I tried many electric razors. My first one was the Remington Razor. American made. The literature with the electric razors said you have to train the beard. Give it time. I did. And never got a good shave. Always looking like 5 o’clock shadow in a few hours. I’d switch back and forth from Cartridge razors to electric razors. Progressing through Norelco, Braun and Remington. When one would loose battery capacity, I’d switch back to cartridges. I’d get intrigued by the “technology “ of the electrics. How the claimed to gone a better shave. In truth I never did experience a closer shave with electric razors vs any cartridge razors. I also, like others mentioned, despised the clogging of the cartridge razors.
I came to wet shaving back in 2010. Partly for the money, partly for the nostalgia and also for all the different soaps and paraphernalia required to have an excellent shave. My first razor came with Feather Blades. I don’t know what sadistic person decided that was a good choice for beginners. I sliced the chit out of my face. Likely a combo of me coming from cartridge razors and pushing too hard as well as the sharpness of the feather blades. I found BnB and other resources and learned there were other blades better suited to my shaving. I never got RAD the first go round of wet shaving. I did have a few soaps and creams. About 10 in total. One razor and two bowls. My AD didn’t kick in then.
I grew a full beard a few years after my divorce and really stopped shaving then. Just touched up with water and a disposable razor. Occasionally I’d shave off the beard leaving a goatee and just use the disposable razors and shaving cream. I eventually started to use soaps and a brush with the cartridge razors.
Fast forward to a month or so ago. I shaved off the beard again. Leaning a goatee. I did my shaves with the soap, bowl and brush I had lying around. I ran out of cartridges and had to get a replacement. The last ones I used were Harry brand. I stopped by Target to get some more. The prices are ridiculous. I decided to find my safety razor. No luck. I had a few emails from Henson about their razor. Made in North America and aerospace engineering. Sounded good. After researching it on YouTube and seeing the mild was perfect for a new or returning wet shaver one was ordered. Then more research and YouTube videos. What followed was a tsunami of wet shaving supplies that still haven’t stopped coming in. This is just over two weeks of me wet shaving. I do get a much better shave. My technique is improving and I now have 5 razors to choose from and untold number of soaps, creams and blades to choose. Not to mention a handful of brushes. I am saving significant amounts of money on the blades themselves vs the cartridges. It’s all the other wet shaving products that’s putting me in the red. But the shave is BBS and my wife likes the new scents. All is well.
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