After spending some time reading these forums I decided to give wetshaving a try. I ordered a 55 Aristocrat from Golfhacker, a sample pack of blades from letterk and wenestvedt was kind enough to send me a sample of Fraser's shaving cream since I mentioned that I was interested in trying it. I also emailed Trumper's and a couple of other places inquiring about samples. Friday afternoon in the mail I received the razor, the sample of Fraser's, and some samples from Trumper's. Almost everything I needed to get started, but no blades yet.
Saturday I was anxious to try out my new gear, but didn't figure I'd get a very close shave from any razor w/o a blade. I didn't know of anyone in my area who carried any of the higher end blades, but I had read some posts about the Personna blades from WalMart. It seemed that about half the people that tried them liked them, and half the people that tried them hated them. Logically I knew this would not be the best blade to start off with. Quickly tossing logic aside, I hopped in the car and went and bought a pack of blades from WalMart. I'd already bought a cheap brush so I figured I was ready to start. I had about 5 different cream samples available to choose from, and I was pretty anxious to try the Fraser's. Remembering some people saying it could be a little tricky to lather right, I decided to hold off since I'd never used a proper cream before. So I started with the Trumper's lime.
I was amazed at how much lather the tiniest amount of cream produced, and thought I was doing pretty good right from the start. The lather was wonderfully creamy and slick when compared to any can 0' gunk I'd ever used. Lathered my face and proceeded to start shaving. It was pretty tricky to get the blade angle right, and I was being extremely careful not to apply any pressure. I kept working at it, and finally started applying just the slightest bit of pressure. I was cutting whisker's but I definitely didn't have everything correct yet. The blade was pulling a fair amount. I kept working on getting the angle right and muddled through. Got to the left side of my face, and the razor started catching on the skin. Suddenly realized I'd been so focused on the razor, I hadn't noticed the cream had dried on my cheek, and in the cup. I stopped and rinsed my face with warm water. Added a little more cream and a good deal more water to the cup and started building the lather again. This definitely came out better than the first time. Rinsed my face again with warm water, applied the shaving cream and pressed on. I knew better than to press my luck so I only did a couple of passes with the grain and called it quits. Time to assess the damage... No cuts, that's a good start. A fair amount of razor burn on my neck, but I get that just opening a pack of Mach 3 cartridges so nothing to really worry about. Definitely not the best shave I've ever managed though. A lot of my face was smoother than I'd ever get using only a couple with the grain passes from the Mach 3, but I've got lots of patches of stubble left. Guess I can see the areas, where I'm really going to have to concentrate on the angle. I find it a little interesting to note that these are not the same areas where I typically have trouble with the Mach 3. I'll have to try some other blades before I have a real opinion, but I also think the WalMart blades just aren't very sharp.
Day 2. I decided to try the Fraser's this morning. I took a little more time building the lather and used more water than yesterday. I'm pretty impressed with the Fraser's though. The result is easily comparable to what I got with the Trumper's, and the scent seems kind of comfortable. Very mild scent and nothing I would rave about, but I like it. I made sure my face was good and wet and applied the shaving cream. Grabbed the razor and started trying to focus on everything I'd read. Things definitely went better. I still have to really pay attention to angle, but I'm starting to be able to achieve and recognize the correct angle pretty easily. Really focused on not applying any pressure today. I managed one pretty good nick when the razor skipped as it hit a mole on my cheek. Haven't done that in about 5 years. This time I did 2 with the grain passes, and then feeling a little more confident went back and did some very light passes on my new trouble areas slightly across the grain being very careful about blade angle. I feel the razor burn less today, but I've got a couple pretty red areas on my neck. Overall a very passable shave. Not BBS yet, but progressing nicely.
I can't wait to try the other blades, and the no-name boar brush I bought is already starting to shed like mad. I didn't figure it would last long anyway, but I wanted something cheap to help figure out what I would like in a brush. I think I've settled on getting a Shavemac. I'm really debating between a couple different brushes in the Handmade Finest line. Soon as I come to a decision, I'll order one. I really like the razor I bought, and I've got enough cream samples to get me by for a little while until I make a decision there. Overall I'm off to a pretty good start and I'm sure it'll only get better from here. Many thanks to everyone on this board who have posted so much valuable information.
I'm trying to make my purchase decisions carefully and be vary careful to avoid any of the disorders that are so prevalent on this board. After all, I only need one razor and brush right. A decent supply of blades, and a cream I like. So how come Trade and Sell is one of the first categories I hit when I check this site? And what's with all the razor's that show up in recently viewed items when I'm on Ebay:?: I hope these aren't warning signs of spending sprees to come.
Charles
First couple of shaves with a DE
Re: First couple of shaves with a DE
avenger wrote:After all, I only need one razor and brush right. A decent supply of blades, and a cream I like. So how come Trade and Sell is one of the first categories I hit when I check this site? And what's with all the razor's that show up in recently viewed items when I'm on Ebay:?:
Charles
Woohooo! Ha ha ha ha! Thanks I really needed that one. Gosh, my eyes are watering. That is a good one, no really!
Besides splashing hot water on your face what other prep do you do? Hot towels?? pre shave cream??? This is mostly done to soften the beard. It helps me quite a bit. Nordstrom, Saks 5thAve and Art of Shaving stores are located in Dallas in case you need to get high end products like T&H and Castle Forbes and AOS. All of these stores are located in the Galleria. Also C&E at the Galleria.
There is a store here in Austin that carries Taylor's and Trumper's products.
There is a store here in Austin that carries Taylor's and Trumper's products.
"A well lathered face is only half of a good shave"
I got a few quick pictures that I think show what you're looking for.2clfrwrds wrote:Charles,
A '55 Aristocrat? Would you consider posting a picture or two? I'd like to see how the vertical bar inside the silo doors is notched.
--Glenn
There are more in the thread where it was put up for sale- http://www.shavemyface.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9888
If that doesn't show the detail you're interested in, let me know and I'll see if I can't get a better picture.
Charles
No special prep. I've always either showered first or splashed hot water on my face. This time I did add a hot towel for 2 or 3 minutes. I've looked at some of the pre shave's, but thought I'd see how I do without them. If I continue to have problems with razor burn I'll definitely look into something, but I think that will improve as my technique does.Scorpio wrote:Besides splashing hot water on your face what other prep do you do? Hot towels?? pre shave cream??? This is mostly done to soften the beard. It helps me quite a bit. Nordstrom, Saks 5thAve and Art of Shaving stores are located in Dallas in case you need to get high end products like T&H and Castle Forbes and AOS. All of these stores are located in the Galleria. Also C&E at the Galleria.
There is a store here in Austin that carries Taylor's and Trumper's products.
Thanks for the tip about the stores in Dallas, I didn't think about them carrying shaving products. I don't make it to Dallas very often, and the best I've found in any of the stores here in Fort Worth has been some higher end brushless products.
Charles
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mparker762
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You might want to swing by Target and pick up a Proraso boar brush. It's light years ahead of the one you've got (which sounds like it's a Surrey/Van der Hagen), will lather nearly as well as a badger brush, and will last for many years. And it's like $15. In the cosmetics section oddly enough, next to the other proraso shaving products.