Cut-throat shaving

alfablue

alfablue wrote:

This thread has prompted me to take the plunge with DE. Fed up with expensive rubbish cartridge razors.

I bought this Parker 99R Heavy Duty Barberpole with Butterfly Opening.

It arrived this morning!

I used a Palmolive Shaving Soap Stick (50p at Tesco), a Wilkinson Synthetic brush (I don't want animal hair, £4.50 at Tesco) and a Wilkinson Sword DE blade (£2.00 for 5 delivered next day, off eBay). The Feather blades haven't arrived yet.

So, my first attempt - Amazing! More comfortable, closer, smoother, no cuts, better skin afterwards, and the razor worked brilliantly, nice weight, easy to use, butterfly opening is slick, and it felt safe. I'm a convert! Why did it take me more than half my life?!? :roll:

Not only is the experience more pleasant and less painful and the result far better than the cartridge razor, it will also save a lot of money. I was paying £0.50 per shave using a triple blade cartridge; if the DE blades last only once the cost is £0.20p (or better if I buy in bulk), but by all accounts they are probably good for 2, 3 or even 4 shaves.

Costs so far, razor £22, soap £0.50, blades £2.00, brush £4.50. I also have the Feather blades on the way, and will buy a sample pack of other blades, and I have ordered a brush stand (small Kent brush stand £2.60).

Fireblade96

Never mind razors, while browsing one of the links above I found this !

alfablue

Fantastic! Looks like its adjustable

pangolin

That is how Bane came about.

craprider

pangolin wrote:

That is how Bane came about.

Fireblade96

Available on a well-known e-commerce store - but just read the comments !

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B002JUNF8I/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

FJJ

I shave with a cut throat (a Dovo Bismarck) most days, if I'm in a hurry I use a Merkur Futur DE with a Feather blade. It's fantastic, used to get really bad razor burn and bumps but now it's all plain sailing and I really enjoy shaving (used to hate it). Truefitt and Hill Ultra Comfort shave cream is great - applied, of course, with a badger.

The worst cuts I've had have been with a Gillete and a DE but I once picked my glasses up,and put them on with an open straight razor in my hand just after it came off the hones! Felt it brush my ear but luckily didn't cut, gave me a fright and I decided never to hone a razor after a fill of beer again :oops:

pangolin

Open comb or closed?

kiwimatt

alfablue wrote:

Why did it take me more than half my life?!?

I have hesitated to be this effusive in 'public' but have said to my younger brother who introduced me to DE shaving a number of times that I regard it as one of the most revelatory things I have done in my adult life - seems totally OTT and daft for something as mundane as shaving but after years of razor burn/spots/cost/aggro etc on what is your 'face' to the world in all senses it has been a game changer. Here endeth the sermon....

merkin

Regarding the shaving brushes, how essential is it to use badger hair? It seems to me that I would prefer boar hair on the basis that I guess it is a byproduct of the meat industry whereas I assume nobody eats badgers and that they are killed just for their fur. I can't imagine a badger allowing someone to shear it without putting up one hell of a fight. (If anyone does eat badger meat I would have thought it tastes pretty foul)

UndercoverElephant

merkin wrote:

Regarding the shaving brushes, how essential is it to use badger hair? It seems to me that I would prefer boar hair on the basis that I guess it is a byproduct of the meat industry whereas I assume nobody eats badgers and that they are killed just for their fur. I can't imagine a badger allowing someone to shear it without putting up one hell of a fight. (If anyone does eat badger meat I would have thought it tastes pretty foul)

Actually, the badgers used are Asian badgers, from China, and yes, they do eat badger over there (I know, I know, it's a dodgy euphemism ) . Boar hair brushes are OK, but the bristles are, well, bristly, compared to the badger brushes which are really quite soft, they don't lather as well either. Make sure, whichever you choose to get a good quality one, and a stand of sorts to dry it on, otherwise the hairs *will* drop out and clog up your sink.

Underscore

merkin wrote:

Regarding the shaving brushes, how essential is it to use badger hair? It seems to me that I would prefer boar hair on the basis that I guess it is a byproduct of the meat industry whereas I assume nobody eats badgers and that they are killed just for their fur. I can't imagine a badger allowing someone to shear it without putting up one hell of a fight. (If anyone does eat badger meat I would have thought it tastes pretty foul)

I've got a badger brush that stays at home and a boar brush that I pop in the wash-bag for my travels. The boar is a cheap Omega: it has taken a lot of shaves to soften up and, initially, had a slight smell of wet dog to it. Anyway, it has now lost the smell and (after 50-100 shaves) it is beginning to soften up nicely. Is it as good as the badger? No, not really... but it is a perfectly good brush for shaving. If you're happier with boar, you'll be fine in the end; just don't expect a great brush out of the box...

_

P.S. FWIW, and unlike Mr Elephant, I don't use a stand to dry my brush after use. I simple squeeze out any excess water, brush it on a towel to remove a bit more water, then stand it on its base and let capillary action deal with the rest. My Vulfix 404 lasted well over 10 years as my only brush with this treatment and, since I don't spend a lot on a brush, I'm happy with that.

Underscore

pangolin wrote:

Open comb or closed?

If that is a general question, then I'll have a go at answering. Open combs (OC) vary a lot. The Merkur OC is apparently very, very mild whereas some say that the new Muhle OC is more likely to do you physical harm than if you were shaving with a straight while being chased by a rabid tiger. The only OC I've shaved with is a Gillette "New" from the early 30s and it is definitely more aggressive than either of my closed comb razors, but not unusably so.

So, bottom line, while you may end up getting an OC at some point, I would suggest getting a closed comb to start as, in my limited experience, they tend to be less extreme (in either direction), which is probably a good thing when first making the switch.

_

pangolin

Cheers Underscore, that's what I was after.

craprider

mine arrived today, off to dubai for a week tomorrow but wil post updates when back!

flimflam_machine

merkin wrote:

Regarding the shaving brushes, how essential is it to use badger hair? It seems to me that I would prefer boar hair on the basis that I guess it is a byproduct of the meat industry whereas I assume nobody eats badgers and that they are killed just for their fur. I can't imagine a badger allowing someone to shear it without putting up one hell of a fight. (If anyone does eat badger meat I would have thought it tastes pretty foul)

I'm unconvinced by the need for a brush at all. I've used one for several years now and have a very nice Geo F. Trumper Super Badger brush so I've given them a fair crack. A couple of years ago I suddenly had less time and needed to shave more often so I went for some of this as a fast alternative, you just lather it up on your stubble and get shaving. I was quite surprised to find that it was just a better shave all round, faster, smoother, closer, more comfortable etc. etc. Now I use my shaving brush if I've got time at the weekend simply because I've got some brush-specific shaving soap/cream to use up, but once it's finished I'm not sure I'll bother continuing.

I don't shave that often now, twice a week maybe. So the cost of Mach 3 blades is not too oppressive for me, but those double sided safety razors are quite nice things.

cyclingprop

Close to topic, but not on it: any decent (but not overpriced) barbers in London Bridge/SE ?

mouth

Cancel all razor orders. What we all need is this stuff:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Magic-No-Razo ... 071wt_1037

Probably won't use it on my nob or b******s though.........

tailwindhome

What's the benefits of using a brush v shaving gel/foam

mouth

TailWindHome wrote:

What's the benefits of using a brush v shaving gel/foam

I don't really know but I started using a brush and soap a while ago and get less shaving rash and a cleaner shave as a result. One theory I read somewhere is that using a brush somehow lifts the 'whiskers' from the skin.There are apparently lots of different types of soaps (for use with different skin types etc etc etc etc) for use with a brush. Using a gel or foam takes out the guess work of finding the right one and is a 'one size fits all' model.

If you really want to confuse yourself different brushes do different things and all require lots of pre-care and aftercare. It almost seems easier to just stick with my cartridge razor and can of shaving gel but I'm gonna give a DE a go but using a brush/soap has benefits even with cartridge razors.

As an aside, I bought some Bic single disposables the other day and by God* do I now know how forgiving a pivot headed Gilette is.

*Please feel to replace with relevant deity.

Jehannum

Futur users!

Is one side of your razor keener than the other? On mine, the side with the index mark is noticibly more enthusiastic than the other side. It's quite useful, as my neck doesn't need the same closeness and is more sensitive.

I use wilkinson sword black blades, oil and foam.

J.

craprider

It's amazing. starting slowly and doing dominant hand side cheek only.
so much smoother and less iritation!

walkingbootweather

The Shaving Room is essential bike radar for wet shavers. Lots of useful tips, reviews, discounts and inane banter.

I ended up making a purchase from the Traditional Shaving Company which is based in Leeds, allows you to build discounted starter kits and accepts a discount code of tsr to give 10% off what are already pretty competitive prices.

alfablue

Jehannum wrote:

Futur users!

Is one side of your razor keener than the other? On mine, the side with the index mark is noticibly more enthusiastic than the other side. J.

I don't (yet) use a Futur, but looking at the design I would suspect there is a slight innacuracy in manufacture.

I am considering a Futur (like the design and adjustability) or a Goodfellas, which looks amazingly well made and minimalist.

Greg T

OK then . . .

I am a convert . . .

One question . . . I bought myself this fella . .

http://connaughtshaving.com/merkur43c.html

So - I am still learning how it all works but I have one question . . . .

post shaving at work on Friday, I put the razor back in my wash bag, put my hand in to get my toothbrush - and took the top of middle finger off by half a mm . . .

It bleeds a LOT.

Is there any clip on style guard I can use to protect the blade and my fingers from wash bag related injury?

UndercoverElephant

http://www.executive-shaving.co.uk/leat ... -cases.php

Like lederhosen for your razor. To be honest, you won't do it twice anyway.

Jehannum

alfablue wrote:

Jehannum wrote:

Futur users!

Is one side of your razor keener than the other? On mine, the side with the index mark is noticibly more enthusiastic than the other side. J.

I don't (yet) use a Futur, but looking at the design I would suspect there is a slight innacuracy in manufacture.

I am considering a Futur (like the design and adjustability) or a Goodfellas, which looks amazingly well made and minimalist.

Yeah, I realised that it's caused by something being off-centre slightly, just wondered how common it was. I actually love the razor as it is.

J.

Fireblade96

OK, I've joined the club with an Edwin Jagger DE89L.
So for so good, only a couple of nicks out of my neck...!

UndercoverElephant

Fireblade96 wrote:

OK, I've joined the club with an Edwin Jagger DE89L.
So for so good, only a couple of nicks out of my neck...!

A very fine choice, Sir. You'll find that the nicks on your neck will stop when you get a little more skilled.

FJJ

The secret is exerting no pressure (just the weight of the razor) and stretching the skin slightly helps avoid nicks too (stops the razor 'skipping' up and down and also gives a closer shave).

(Straight Razor and DE shaver)