Some questions

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mattyb240
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Post by mattyb240 »

Wow some great information, especially about the long handles razors.

Is there any benefit of soap over cream? I know it has been stated about personal preference, but I mean more from a factual point of view? The Palmolive Classic shaving cream looks fantastic from the price.

I have never been a fan of strong smells, so mild creams and soaps would be ideal.

I will keep an eye out for the gillette razors, it just seems that there is so many available on places such as ebay. These starter kits seem to save a great deal over the RRP's on theres and a lot of other websites? So it would seem more logical for me to get it as a set and then experiment around that, I am looking forward to trying all of these different products!
notthesharpest
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Post by notthesharpest »

mattyb240 wrote:Wow some great information, especially about the long handles razors.

Is there any benefit of soap over cream? I know it has been stated about personal preference, but I mean more from a factual point of view? The Palmolive Classic shaving cream looks fantastic from the price.

I have never been a fan of strong smells, so mild creams and soaps would be ideal.
From a factual point of view, a cream is only a particular kind of soap that happens to be soft because of its formula. Don't buy because it's cream or because it's soap - buy because it sounds like it will give you the best shave. There are many many discussion threads on the various shaving products, and the best you can do for yourself is read some of those threads. At some point in your reading, you'll start to say to yourself, "That product sounds like it's for me".

Some inexpensive products are very good, and I think Palmolive Classic might be one of those, though I've never tried it. And some expensive products perform poorly, due to misguided formulation.

Sometimes what one person calls a strong scent, another doesn't mind; but if you're choosing a cream or soap separately, I'll suggest a couple of my favourites (all hard soaps) that I think are not strongly scented:

- D.R. Harris hard soap - any scent (EXCEPT Marlborough which is pretty strong smelling)

- Trumper's hard soap - any scent - well, maybe not rose, again due to scent level

- Truefitt & Hill hard soap

- Mitchell's Wool Fat soap (some people find this one difficult to lather, which may depend on your local water quality)

- Kent soap (from the Kent Brushes company) (Note that this is simply re-labelled Mitchell's Wool Fat soap and the same caution applies)
bernards66
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Post by bernards66 »

And I will add some mildly scented, and excellent performing, classic English shave creams:

The Almond scented creams from any of the top shelf firms; Trumpers, T&H, D R Harris's, and Taylors.

Trumpers Limes shave cream

Taylors Lavender

Regards,
Gordon
Flash G
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Post by Flash G »

bernards66 wrote:
Taylors Lavender
Not T&H Lavender?
Eric
gsgo
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Post by gsgo »

A + to Wendell's suggestion on Palmolive Shaving Cream and Shaving Soap stick. Especially if they are available in your area. Good value entry level products that you could easily use for a long long time.
Good shaving,

Gary
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Post by brothers »

Matty, welcome! You're being given some sound and generous advice. One important thing is to study the hundreds of threads you see here on SMF and as someone already said, pretty soon you'll find yourself saying, now that's something I think I might like to try. You gotta start somewhere, so, in the words of Glenn Ford in an old movie I once saw: "you gotta make up your mind what you want and go get it!" Pretty straightforward advice, and it works! Good Luck!
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
mattyb240
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Post by mattyb240 »

brothers wrote:Matty, welcome! You're being given some sound and generous advice. One important thing is to study the hundreds of threads you see here on SMF and as someone already said, pretty soon you'll find yourself saying, now that's something I think I might like to try. You gotta start somewhere, so, in the words of Glenn Ford in an old movie I once saw: "you gotta make up your mind what you want and go get it!" Pretty straightforward advice, and it works! Good Luck!
Thanks a bunch to everyone taking the time to input into this thread! Its just hard looking at all the soaps and creams available on different websites, however a lot of the reviews I see are "good" or just "Lathers well" no actual vivid description of the products!

I am currently trawling through many pages of threads all over here! But its god and interesting, especially if I can find a regime that fits. Even better the girlfriend has offered to buy me a kit. The only catch being I have to wait until the 24th of this month! But it allows me more time to research at least.
mattyb240
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Post by mattyb240 »

Well annoyingly, the 34c seems to have sold out everywhere! Rubbish! What is the Merkur 1904 like in comparison? I am having trouble finding it on this forum?

Thanks,

Matt
notthesharpest
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Post by notthesharpest »

mattyb240 wrote:Well annoyingly, the 34c seems to have sold out everywhere! Rubbish! What is the Merkur 1904 like in comparison? I am having trouble finding it on this forum?
All closed-comb Merkurs (that are not slant heads or adjustables) are the same. The 34C handle probably has a better grip than the more slippery 1904, but the shave should be indistinguishable. (And the smoother handle would not be a real problem 99% of the time anyway.)
mattyb240
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Post by mattyb240 »

Well….

My girlfriend decided she would buy me my first shaving kit as a birthday present, and subsequently I have had to wait untill now!

In the end I have gone for the Merkur 38C long handle, upgraded my brush, and gone for the Edwin Jagger Soap. I had my first shave a couple of days ago and wow! Its learning all over again! My first attempt was not bad, but I came out with a few nicks. I think this was due to added pressure on my part, I love the weight and the balance, but holding it, and the angle I'm not used to!
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maskaggs
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Post by maskaggs »

Well, Matt, you've already got one thing going for you - the approval of your significant lady is a definite plus when beginning the DE journey :wink:

You've already hit the nail on the head with one thing: pressure. Don't use it. Don't push, don't nudge, don't even let the thought of applying force come into mind. Let the razor and the blade do the work - the razor itself is a pretty heavy instrument, and that blade is...well..razor sharp :oops: They can do the heavy lifting - you just provide the up and down, back and forth movement!

As far as angle goes (and you've probably already learned this elsewhere on SMF) - the best way to get the angle down pat is to set the razor upside down on your arm (so the handle is pointing to the sky). Then, slowly rotate the handle toward your arm. As soon as the blade contacts your skin, you've found the angle at which you need to shave (of course by now the razor is upside down, but you can adapt :D ).

All in all, it sounds like you really enjoyed your first outing, with many more to come! Just remember - patience, and enjoy every minute. Don't go for baby butt smooth every time - relax, maybe gently release the OMMMMMMMMMMM meditation, and enter the superbly soothing universe of DE wetshaving.
Regards,
Mike
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GA Russell
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Post by GA Russell »

Welcome Matt!
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mattyb240
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Post by mattyb240 »

Thought I was overdue an update:

I love it, shaving is now therapeutic if not a little bit obsessive trying to get it all perfect. The first few times I had great results, and then I slipped.

My lather technique deteriorated, which in turn meant my shave went down the pan to. So I went back to square one and looked over videos on youtube. My lather is now back up to par (or so I believe), and my shave is better because of this.

One thing I am confused about is passes, I usually do two or three, one WTG, one XTG, and one ATG but gently. When I tend to go ATG I get a little bit of razor burn is this normal?

I am struggling to get part of my neck smooth, specifically between my adams apple and chin. Is there a good method?

And last but not least, how smooth should I be?:p Should you be able to feel smooth WTG and ATG?
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druphus
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Post by druphus »

A belated Welcome to you Matt. The DE is wasted on no man!
Regards,
Andy
mattyb240
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Post by mattyb240 »

druphus wrote:A belated Welcome to you Matt. The DE is wasted on no man!
Thanks, I'm already looking at new blades and wanting a bigger softer brush :lol:
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