I have been lurking for a while here and at other forums for quite a while. I decided to take the plunge kind of out of the blue. I have been shaving for many years with carts, disposables and electrics. My usual was to shave with a cart, M3 power and then some off brand five blade thing to fill whatever razor handle it was I had ,at the beginning of the week and using the electric the rest of the week. I did not shave on my days off from work unless there was some type of an event. My goal was to get in and out of the shave as quickly as possible because I hated every moment of it. I have never had problems with ingrowns or bumps really, but I would get quite a bit of burn on my neck and under my chin if the cart wasn't pretty new. The electric just tore me up if I tried to get close so I didn't really.
So I got to reading about this whole wet shaving business. I liked what I read so I went to eBay. I hadn't really ever used eBay so I was a bit unclear on the process. As a result I now own a 40's Gillette Super Speed ('47 apparently as there are no notches in the middle bar). a '57 SS flare tip and a Schick Krona. Meanwhile A Gillette Tech and a travel Tech are on their way to me.
I practiced wet shaving using cart, along with Bigalow menthol cream and a makeup brush that was suggested in one of the threads. I have to say the cart did not work well with the lather (kept getting clogged) and I was making a pretty terrible lather.
Finally the SS got here. After washing a bit of the gunk off, I filled it with a Shark Super Chrome and got down to business.
The First Shave
I suppose "abomination" is too strong a word to use here, lets just say it didn't go that well. I had switched to TOBS Avocado cream which made a pretty good lather. I discovered that unless I concentrated on each stroke of the blade like a cat waiting for a laser dot to move, I would forget and put pressure on it and nick myself, or feel the blade too much I guess. Blade angle was a constant concern. Im pretty sure I had it wrong more than I had it right. I ended up with a crappy shave, a couple of nicks and some razor irritation on my neck and under the chin. This seemed pretty familiar territory. I have to say I was a bit despondent.
The next day, it was with more than a little trepidation that I approached the sink. Maybe I just wasn't cut out for this, maybe I was just a guy who would either have to grow a giant beard, or be miserable for the rest of my life.
This time, I had too much water in the mix so I added a bit more soap, BOOM, like magic, crazy lather. I lathered up the grill and went to town. This time, blade angle seemed a bit more achievable, everything really seemed a bit more easily done. After two passes, one wtg and one atg and a little xtg under the chin, and a little clean up, I ended up with a pretty damned good shave. one nick (or weeper, I don't really know what the difference is) on the adams apple and a tiny bit of irritation that the AS took away immediately and I was on my way to work with a good shave and a positive outlook.
two shaves in and I am hooked. A couple of questions though (if anyone is still reading this over long post)
What do I even do with the area under my nose? It's just a nest of vipers that I have no idea how to tame.
How do others deal with the maelstrom of swirling hair under the chin and on the neck? This seems to be the number one thing that had tortured me over my shaving career.
Cheers,
Ed
So I got to reading about this whole wet shaving business. I liked what I read so I went to eBay. I hadn't really ever used eBay so I was a bit unclear on the process. As a result I now own a 40's Gillette Super Speed ('47 apparently as there are no notches in the middle bar). a '57 SS flare tip and a Schick Krona. Meanwhile A Gillette Tech and a travel Tech are on their way to me.
I practiced wet shaving using cart, along with Bigalow menthol cream and a makeup brush that was suggested in one of the threads. I have to say the cart did not work well with the lather (kept getting clogged) and I was making a pretty terrible lather.
Finally the SS got here. After washing a bit of the gunk off, I filled it with a Shark Super Chrome and got down to business.
The First Shave
I suppose "abomination" is too strong a word to use here, lets just say it didn't go that well. I had switched to TOBS Avocado cream which made a pretty good lather. I discovered that unless I concentrated on each stroke of the blade like a cat waiting for a laser dot to move, I would forget and put pressure on it and nick myself, or feel the blade too much I guess. Blade angle was a constant concern. Im pretty sure I had it wrong more than I had it right. I ended up with a crappy shave, a couple of nicks and some razor irritation on my neck and under the chin. This seemed pretty familiar territory. I have to say I was a bit despondent.
The next day, it was with more than a little trepidation that I approached the sink. Maybe I just wasn't cut out for this, maybe I was just a guy who would either have to grow a giant beard, or be miserable for the rest of my life.
This time, I had too much water in the mix so I added a bit more soap, BOOM, like magic, crazy lather. I lathered up the grill and went to town. This time, blade angle seemed a bit more achievable, everything really seemed a bit more easily done. After two passes, one wtg and one atg and a little xtg under the chin, and a little clean up, I ended up with a pretty damned good shave. one nick (or weeper, I don't really know what the difference is) on the adams apple and a tiny bit of irritation that the AS took away immediately and I was on my way to work with a good shave and a positive outlook.
two shaves in and I am hooked. A couple of questions though (if anyone is still reading this over long post)
What do I even do with the area under my nose? It's just a nest of vipers that I have no idea how to tame.
How do others deal with the maelstrom of swirling hair under the chin and on the neck? This seems to be the number one thing that had tortured me over my shaving career.
Cheers,
Ed
Last edited:
