1st DE shave

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salbev
Mr. Fidelity
Posts: 776
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2007 12:43 pm

1st DE shave

Post by salbev »

hello SMF!

my first DE shave and it was with: the slant.

i went to the door 1/2 expecting maybe...well, what day is this? wednesday...too soon, maybe tom- here it is!!!!! hoooray! oh my gosh wowzers!

i ordered this slant edge before i really had time to let all the warnings sink in. so when i finally understood, it was too late, the check was in the mail. i opened the box and pulled out a tiny tiny tiny razor. could i have ordered the travel size? no no. i didn't see any travel size slants. no no, but it's sooo small? it's sooooooo small! i laughed looking at it in the mirror between my fingertips. i decided while looking myself in the eye (in the mirror) that i would wait until the HD classic arrived to have my first DE shave. yes, i ordered an HD classic figuring i would have arguably the best first and second razor set-up...it made sense and still makes sense to me...eh? well, maybe i already have the acquiring disorder before i even shave once?

the agreement to wait lasted until i hit the top of the stairs and walked straight into the bathroom and proceeded to wet my face with hot water and taking my best badger and pre de provence out from behind another mirror where i broke "our" deal, face to face.

the shave went excellent. just one pass WTG all the way. good lather. the best thing was knowing which way the grain went EVERYWHERE on my face and neck. i made a sketch with arrows and studied it. and skin pulling with the other hand away from the blade. i was scared with the first razor "fall"....but after a few i felt the angle and it's an invisible room the blade finds: the proper angle. if i didn't find it i made sure i erred on the side of "not shaving anything" rather than "shaving my skin off/too much".

here's the thing: you guys offer such first rate top notch advice and info and photos and video that i marinated in it for a week and when it came time to actually shave i simply remembered what i read, except sometimes i washed off the blade with only one side showing lather...sometimes the DE became a SE, but that was after mach3 shaving for 10 years.

i feel great. the DE with a few recommended moves leaves me feeling no pain just refreshed. WTG feels smooth and soft. ATG feels like tiny stubble much smaller than if i did this with a mach3. i only did one pass! i keep telling myself.

letterK's sampler and the HD classic come soon. but maybe merkurs in a slant edge are all i need? just kidding.

i washed off with hot and then cold patted dry and put on curel. feel wonderful.

thank you gentlemen.
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Blue As A Jewel
Posts: 3834
Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2005 8:14 am
Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Post by Blue As A Jewel »

Hey Sal - great to hear your first shave went so well. I can't seem to get my head wrapped around my slant - but maybe I should give it another go.

BTW if you used the blade that came with the razor - ditch it and replace it with a new one - the former are usually dull from being jostled around.
- Ravi -

You can mistrust me less than you can mistrust him. Trust me.
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jrgroucho
Posts: 710
Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 10:16 pm
Location: Ann Arbor, MI

Post by jrgroucho »

Hello Sal. Welcome to SMF. (I too, am a newcomer and not sure if I am allowed to welcome you to the Brotherhood of the Lather...or is it shave? have we sorted that out yet?) Anyway welcome. I was also inspired by this forum to re-pickup my two DEs that I purchased about seven years ago, but had no one to guide me in using. So they went away. Now, after marinating in this forum for nearly three weeks, I am getting the bests shaves in fourteen years of trying. This forum is a vast resource of knowledge and a large group of enablers. I have never felt better about spending money. :P

Again, welcome and shave on.

--
Jeremy
><((((º>`·. .· `·. .· `·... ><((((º> .
· `·. . , . .· `·.. ><((((º>`·. .· `·. .· `·... ><((((º>
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jww
Woolly Bully
Posts: 10960
Joined: Sat Mar 11, 2006 10:49 am
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Post by jww »

Nirvana!

Nothing like the first time - relish it!

I think my favorite moment shaving is after I am done and am applying hot and then cold water to my face. When my hands squeek across my skin, I know that I got it right.
Wendell

Resident Wool Fat Evangelist & anglophile. Have you hugged a sheep today?
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Chaps
Posts: 1933
Joined: Tue Nov 07, 2006 9:11 pm
Location: Memphis, Tennessee

Post by Chaps »

Sal---I don't have a slant, but, to hear the joy in your post made my day :D Keep it going, buddy!

Danny
Danny

"Because I prefer the cool, clean sweep of the tempered steel as it glides smoothly--" Cary Grant as he is shaving in a scene from "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House"
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LGWapnitsky
Posts: 206
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2006 9:07 am
Location: Philly Metro Area

Post by LGWapnitsky »

I love my slant, but I'm loving my vision right now as well. The only two DE's I own, and I don't plan on any others in the near future (yeah, right)
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fallingwickets
Clive the Thumb
Posts: 8813
Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2006 11:59 am

Post by fallingwickets »

Congratulations on your decent shave. May you have many many more

Clive
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Trumperman
Bill Extraordinaire
Posts: 2893
Joined: Thu Dec 14, 2006 7:17 pm
Location: Charlotte, NC

Post by Trumperman »

Hello Sal,

We should now dub you: "Sal the myth buster"! You have defied the myths, legends, and terrors involed with the "Devil's razor". By now you have found that the slant is just another razor. Treat it with respect and you will get a respectable shave. Bravo to you. May you enjoy many more great shaves. It makes you feel like a million bucks doesn't it?

A lesson to be learned here for all. To paraphrase Nike, "just shave it"

Congratulations Sal,


Bill
Don't think......shave.
Leisureguy

Post by Leisureguy »

A great story! Thanks for sharing. Isn't it a nice razor?
salbev
Mr. Fidelity
Posts: 776
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2007 12:43 pm

thank you

Post by salbev »

gentlemen,

for the warmth and support i thank you.
here's to many more shaves and discussions!

thank you for welcoming me here
Leisureguy

Post by Leisureguy »

I just added this to the blog in the shaving posts:
The Slant Bar is handled exactly as a regular safety razor. The difference in performance is due not to any manipulation on your part but to the slant of the blade: rather than chopping directly through each whisker, the slanted blade slices through the whisker. As you perhaps know, when you are, say, chopping carrots, you don’t push the knife directly down through the carrot to the chopping block. Instead, you push it down while, at the same time, pushing or pulling it slightly: not chopping the carrot, but rather slicing it. The Slant Bar’s way of holding the blade automatically does this to each whisker. Again: you don’t wield it any differently than you would, say, the Merkur Hefty Classic described in the next paragraph. Shave with light touch and proper angle and don’t even think about the fact that it’s a Slant Bar (or Hefty Classic). The way the razor is constructed will take care of the cutting.
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fallingwickets
Clive the Thumb
Posts: 8813
Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2006 11:59 am

Post by fallingwickets »

Michael

Twenty thumbs up. Even I understand it! :lol:

Clive
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