Would you do it differently, knowing what you know now?

[Brandon P K]

Feeling a bit reflective this grey winter afternoon. Like a shave nerd, I was sitting at my desk thinking about this first year of wet shaving. I wondered, would I change the journey I have been on, now that I know (a little) better? Or is making mistakes and learning by trial part of the fun of it? I'm sure I made some financial blunders that I would like to have avoided. Maybe I jumped on too many "awesome deals" I saw in the B/S/T, but then again, those big boxes of miscellaneous products helped me realize and refine what worked for me (so important in this heavily-YMMV hobby). I was able to come across many scents and varieties of soaps and creams, blades, and brushes. Would I wish to have simply jumped to my current Semogue boar, Cella/MWF, Merkur HD set-up? I don't think so. Someone could've told me just to go to the "big hitters" that seem to work well for everyone, but then I wouldn't know WHY I like them better than others. I wouldn't know WHY I prefer boar over badger, or soap over cream, or face-lather over bowl, etc, etc. One thing I think I can say, I would've waited (or simply skipped) my big dollar foray into the world of straight razor shaving. But even with that, I now know it's not for me, and I'm not tempted to go back. =}

What about you? Are there any key experiences or choices you would do differently? Maybe some sage advice that all newbies could adhere to?

Such as, don't buy a case of something before you know you like it (instead just get some samplers, even though, it's true, you don't get as much for your $ that way...)

Throw some thoughts out there & let's see what sticks!

 

[WhippingPost]

I haven't been on this journey very long yet, but I'd do one thing different: I'd start earlier. Had I known that the close comfortable shave I'd been seeking came from a single-bladed razor instead of the 12 bladed wonder cartridges, I'd have started long ago.

 

[Demaskee]

The problem with finding your ideal products the first time out is you don't know what your ideal products are without a basis for comparison. It's a trap no matter what way you go. You either get lucky and hit a home run right off the bat, then spend money and hours chasing unicorns, or you strike out initially and have to buy and experiment your way to hitting long-balls.

That being said, if I could do it all over again I would have gotten a blade sampler that had more than one pack of each type of blade in it. Five blades per brand is not enough to get a good assessment when your technique is still sketchy. Granted there are some blades I knew instantly wouldn't work, but there are about 5 or so brands I know I would have liked to have spent more time on.

I also would have started with a $15.00 boar instead of a $20.00 pure badger. The quality for the price is no comparison.

 

[Argonaut]

I would have started with a silvertip instead of the "best" brush that I had. Once I discovered the silvertip, the best sat until it was pif'ed.

 

[JHCC]

I only know what I know now from the lessons I learned from the mistakes I made.

 

[Beerhunter]

I always was a reg de razor user with canned goo since I was taught to shave by my dad this way sure I dabbled with a atra and some gillette carts but hated them. De shaving was all I knew.
So what I would do differently?
With all the variables and options of products to be found online instead of playing it safe with my reg shaving routine. I think I will experimental in my use of products that I can find online. Who knows might p/u a few high end de razors or toy with the notion of using a straight.

 

[MrLara]

yes, i wish i had discovered this when i turned 21.

do you know how many brushes and razors i would have acquired by know if i started at 21? i don't know either, but i'm sure it would be a lot of them.

i was also single at the time, so i could have spent as much as i wanted on razors and such.

 

[KCee]

I wish I had started this earlier as well. I got into this strictly because of ingrown hairs; it would have saved me a LOT of trouble. In 4 months I have 5 razors (2 more on the way), quite a few soaps/creams and a variety of blades and maybe I shouldn't have accumulated so much so quickly, but I am enjoying trying so many different things.....and razors and soaps are far cheaper than the golf clubs and balls I've bought & sold so it's a cheaper addiction!

 

[gash]

I would have paid more attention to the products that very experienced shavers preferred, and I would have bought those products earlier. I still would have tried other stuff, but the experienced shavers flock to certain products for a reason.

 

[Beerhunter]

Gash I like your thinking. Is there already a thread regarding the "experienced shavers" and their products they choose?
I would love to read it.

 

[Mad Man]

I would have made my "jumps" into the "top-end" of products (hardware/software) much more aggressively instead of acquiring incremental improvements in performance.

Also, I would have read the "What's your soap today?" "What's your brush today?" etc forums a LOT more closely to see what the high post-count guys are using. The trends and patterns are VERY enlightening.

 

[CharlieFoxtrot]

Like the above, I don't regret experimentation but I wish I would of stuck to a highly recommended soap or two for the first six months. One razor, a quality sampler, and a good soap is all someone needs. My newb technique was too poor to be able to differentiate between the nuances of products. I see to many folks with no experience, chasing the perfect shave without the baseline knowledge of what their current setup is capable of doing. It's a classic trap that many of us that fell into, including myself. Additionally, a $20 boar beats the snot out of a $20 badger.

 

[KyMash]

Looking back, I wish that I would have paid as much attention to soaps as I did creams. While I still have a fair selection of creams, I have come to use soaps to the point of exclusivity. I do love a selection however, so it's not all bad I guess.

 

[WindyShaver]

The journey has been interesting and enlightening so I don't have many regrets. I do wish I would have gone with a good boar brush to start. Soaps benefit from a little more backbone. I would have avoided purchasing a full blade sampler and read the boards for 3-4 blades folks were using with my razor and just purchased those. Unfortunately some of those blades from the sampler seemed to be filler and not worth a darn in any razor.

 

[SteveWY]

I probably would have heeded the advice (had I seen it) to stay with one razor, one blade brand, one soap, and one brush for at least 3 months instead of changing up everything in the hunt for a better shave. The better shave had very little to do with those items and more to do with prep, technique, and practice. IMO.

 

[barko78]

If you ask my wife, she probably would say 'you should have just bought the refills'.

I would probably have purchased more samplers.

 

[Mick]

Would I do anything differently?

Well after selling $2k in shaving goods that I have acquired after joining B&B and still having way too many razors and brushes to use once a month in rotation......

I SHOULD have stopped when I bought that first 100 blade carton of Astra blades, kept using my super adjustable (that I have used for the past 40+ years) and not joined B&B...

 

[jansob]

I'd have stuck with one razor until I got skilled. Spent too much time changing razors and not enough on technique.

 

[cb91710]

My collection would be significantly smaller.
I have actually USED only two of my 7 or 8 DE razors. I would still have bought the birth-quarter Slim, but I would have stopped with the 38C and R41. The R41 gave me the confidence to make the move to straights.

I would only have half of the straights that I have now.
I would be short 3 brushes.
There's a couple of soaps and creams I would not have bought, but that's minor.

 

[NCJack]

Only some small regrets, this is a very inexpensive hobby compared to many. I would say that if you find something that works REALLY well, there's no need to experiment further right now. Use that until you're bored with it, then buy just one replacement. Put the savings(?) toward trying a new restaurant