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Old School Shaving

Euthyphrus

New Member
The Art of Shaving items certainly aren't bad, but they seem to be expensive only because they're cashing in on those drawn to atavism. If you're allured to older ways like myself, I'd follow Scoober's example and get a safety razor that's affordable. The replacement blades being dirt cheap add to this point, and are a nice extra.

Something I haven't seen mentioned here yet, but works quite well for me, is using ice cold water. I can hear the shouts through my monitor already, but I am not trying to make you cut up your face. On the contrary, using cold water has given me my closest shaves. If you have a really thick beard because you wanted to go lumberjack for a while, or were simply lazy for a month, I'd use an electric shaver to get the excess off before moving on to a razor. Excess hair from beards tends to clog the Mach's and the safety razors. The reason for cold water rather than hot water or hot lather is that the latter softens the hair. Some people here seem to want that, but when softened, the hair give less resistance, which in turn makes it harder for the blade(s) to slice. Warm water also softens the skin and the razor will pull the skin more. It's worked for me, I'd say give it a couple tries. Also, if you're planning on getting a safety razor, practice at night so by the time you wake up in the morning and mistakes will be healed and you wont be bleeding on your way to work.

Straight razors? My hat's off to you, Scoober; I tend to enjoy paying to let someone else do it for me.
 

Sheepdip

Active Member
Contributor
15496d1221840641-unknown-gillette-safety-razor-gillette-razor.jpg


I use a gillette safety. Check out badgerandblade.com
 

scoolbubba

Brett327 gargles ballsacks
pilot
Contributor
You've pushed me over the edge, gents. Just ordered a Merkur and a variety pack of safety blades....we'll see how this goes. The neck irritation is what constantly pisses me off; any combination of gels, balms, razors and I still get red bumps. Less to some degree, but they're always there.
 

OscarMyers

Well-Known Member
None
You've pushed me over the edge, gents. Just ordered a Merkur and a variety pack of safety blades....we'll see how this goes. The neck irritation is what constantly pisses me off; any combination of gels, balms, razors and I still get red bumps. Less to some degree, but they're always there.

I had the same problem on my neck. Using the safety razor forced me to map out the different grain directions on my face and be mindful of shaving with it. Now I only get the irritation when I half-ass the prep.
 

brad_wp

Registered User
None
I'd forgo the merkur and go with a vintage Gillette adjustable. Look for one that is in good mechanical shape. Finding one from the late 60's with some cosmetic blemishes will keep it in the $20 range and not interest the collectors. Ever hear the phrase, "they don't make 'em like they used to?" Many folks (myself included) find they've made a $50-$80 mistake on a new merkur when you can spend $20-$30 on a 50 year old razor and get a MUCH better shave. If you go the vintage route you'll probably want a set of automotive feeler gauges (if you don't already have them) to check your blade gap and make adjustments if need be.

A boar hair brush and soap is better than the can, but when you make the switch to badger (even a cheaper one) you'll be amazed.

My favorite soap is Prorasso original. It gives you a nice cooling tingle during and after. A tub of it lasts me 6 months or so.

A great place for research and help when you're getting started is the Badger and Blade Forum.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
 

Pags

N/A
pilot
Second the badger and blade forum. That's where I did my research. In the end the Merkur seemed like a good place to start and I haven't had a reason to move on since then. Since the guys on B&B can be a bit over the top (45min for a shave? WTF?), I had to take their recommendations with a grain of salt.
 

scoober78

(HCDAW)
pilot
Contributor
Just a quick product review...

I decided since I've been so happy with my Jack Black shaving brush that I'd give one of their soaps a try. It's a glycerin based soap with a light minty (think tea tree oil) scent to it. It's a nice, oversized round hunk of soap. Presoak and lather up are as normal with it. I normally build the lather on my face (heh, that's what she said) and it really lathers quickly with less than normal amounts of work and water. Good cushion and plenty of slick for even a tough beard. My only downgrade on it is that the lather, like most glycerin soap lather in my experience, doesn't hang around too long. I'd say you've got maybe two minutes before you really ought to re-apply. The only time it's really an issue for me is with straight shaves, as for obvious reasons, I go a bit slower. It's not a deal breaker, but if you are used to traditional soaps, it will come as a bit of a shock.

Overall? 3.5/5 blades...lol.
 

yakboyslim

Well-Known Member
None
Just pulled the trigger on a Merkur 34C. Got a Van Der Hagen kit (not the best brush, supposedly, but comes with a bowl, stand, and soap to start with), a sample pack of blades and some Prorasso pre and post products as well.

Tired of mauling my face only to get a shave that isn't even close enough to make it through the day. Finally decided to get serious and get a better shave. Hopefully it's worth it.
 

scoolbubba

Brett327 gargles ballsacks
pilot
Contributor
Been using my new merkur recently. Nice close shaves and less irritation on my neck. The shave takes a while, but I think I've got my routine down. Hot towel to start, throw the preraso on after the hot towel, gel up a section with king of shaves alpha gel, shave with the grain, water up and shave against the grain if I really need a full day out of the shave. Afterwards a hot water rinse, and sometimes a little bit of proraso after, but I always use straight tea tree oil on my neck and face, with a squirt of the art of shavings citrus aftershave gel. Cold water rinse somewhere in that whole section. The neck looks much better and I haven't had that crinkly paper dry face feeling, which is a plus.

Plus blades are like 8 cents...jackpot.
 
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