Please allow me to introduce myself...

woofer · Post by **woofer** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 11:07 am

In the 50s and 60s, I saw my dad shaving every day with, I think, a Gillette Tech, a mug of Williams soap, and a tan-colored brush. He also kept a straight razor in a brown leather case, and a strop. Even though these strange instruments were fascinating for a small boy, I didn’t use those in my teen years. An electric Remington was more appropriate for a bad case of acne. Then, I grew a beard for about 10 years. Only at the end of the 70s did I borrow one of my dad’s Techs, with a blue Gillette blade. I scraped my face many times over two weeks, till I realized that you had to change the blade! Ah, that felt much better. At the time, I was using Tom’s of Maine Honeysuckle cream: that was my favorite alternative to Old Spice and Palmolive. Good and clean shaving.

That was shortlived, for in the 80s, I jumped onto the plastic bandwagon: Trac, Sensor, canned foam, gel, whatever. I also found some good cream too, like EarthScience. But I tended to cut myself so often that some people started giving me a ‘nick’-name: Scarface. I didn’t have the right technique, obviously going too fast, shaving compulsively. I often wore a band-aid under an ear.

I was always using the Sensor till a couple of years ago, when I decided to do something about all those cuts. Changing creams for Alba or Zhyr only made the problem worse. Using Castile soap wasn’t really it. For a moment, I thought about going for the new multiblades, then I realized how gimmicky those were compared to the basic double-edge razors. Where was the original Gillette?

Stumbled upon the shaving forums, and learnt plenty, thanks to you guys. I ordered a beginner’s kit from Tryphon: Weishi, blade sampler, brush. I dared to experiment with Merkur and Feather blades, and found them much smoother than what people said about them. By and by, I acquired a small collection of vintage Gillette razors on eBay, and re-learnt how to shave well. Many more cuts later, I got it: good soap, a good blade, short strokes, go slow and be patient. Make it a ritual: that’s the whole point that we tend to miss with the gimmicky-plasticky units. A ritual means that you pay much more attention to what’s going on, and the nice smells of the creams and oils give you another incentive to enjoy and relax your moves. It’s more sensuous than Sensor.

Now, I decided to go a notch further and to limit my collection to one or two razors: a Futur and an Edwin Jagger 89L. I like them both equally. I’ve never had such high quality razors before. Using them is so much fun. I don’t know yet which one I’ll keep, maybe both of them. A good shave oil helps my skin to stay supple every morning, and the other creams and soaps add to the variety of smells and experiences.

paperpundit · Post by **paperpundit** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 11:16 am

Welcome, Woofer...I guess the big dog is in the house!
(Sorry, couldn't resist...I'll now slink away...

)

Leisureguy · Post by **Leisureguy** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 1:00 pm

Welcome, and it sounds as though you're well into traditional shaving enjoyment.

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 1:08 pm

thanks for the good read, and welcome to the land of the living

clive

ChemErik · Post by **ChemErik** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 1:10 pm

Woofer, welcome to SMF!
Is the user name related to canines or audio?

divotmax · Post by **divotmax** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 1:29 pm

Woofer, welcome and a really nice post. Good reading and you most certainly have gotten right into the process and experience. Continued good results.

swarden43 · Post by **swarden43** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 1:40 pm

Welcome!

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 2:12 pm

Welcome woofer!

Where do you live?

woofer · Post by **woofer** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 2:47 pm

Thank you all for this great welcome.

I live in Montreal, Quebec (just added this detail to my profile), and my name doesn't refer to a dog (I'm a cat lover) but to the groovy bass of a musical beat.

Yeah, why did I choose a name like "woofer"? If I had chosen "YMMV" instead, I'd be the most popular guy ever on this forum...

desertbadger · Post by **desertbadger** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 3:46 pm

Welcome Woofer! Glad to have you on board!

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:00 pm

Welcome aboard Woofer.

i_shaved_something · Post by **i_shaved_something** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 7:18 pm

Welcome woofer,
I'd say you're in the right place!

Big Swifty · Post by **Big Swifty** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 7:49 pm

Welcome to the board Woofer!

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 9:41 pm

Welcome to SMF. It's nice to hear about someone learning the ropes here, even though we didn't know you were one of us.....until now. I suspect that there are quite a few more gents like you...lurkers who benefit from what's here even if we never get to 'meet' them.
Regards,
Gordon

CMur12 · Post by **CMur12** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 9:48 pm

Welcome, woofer, from a fellow cat lover who is your same approximate age!

- Murray

bavi · Post by **bavi** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 6:46 am

Welcome woofer, cool read.

See ya around

Jonnieboy61 · Post by **Jonnieboy61** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 7:16 am

Welcome Woofer

Hope you enjoy your stay here, look forward to your posts.

All the best

Thalay Sagar · Post by **Thalay Sagar** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 7:47 am

Woofer, welcome!

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:32 am

Hi Woofer, great to have you here, not as just a lurker, but a participant. You're going to fit right in. Thanks for the well-written intro.

woofer · Post by **woofer** » Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:39 am

Woo-hoo. Being welcomed by such experienced shavers here feels totally awesome!