Shaving! I ditched the $$$$$ Cartridges!

[walds11]

Cool Sose, let us know how your first shave goes. I gave the safety razor a shot. It's not for me, but I still use a good cream and badger brush with my Mach 3.

[bobdog377]

Nice collection of kit you have there.If you do find your first experiences fo DE shaving too uncomfortable it might be worth giving a different brand of razor blade a try,its amazing the difference in comfort between the various brands,I personally use personna red's.When I first started I used a mail order firm and had them send me a selection pack of about 20 blades from different makers.
There are also some excellent tutorial video's on you tube from mantic59 well worth a look and be careful of those booby traps

[Cato]

I gave up buying cartridges maybe 10 years ago. I spent $25 on a safety razor and bought a ton of Wilkenson razors at Target for around .79 cents for a pack of five. I only need to change the blade every week or so.

I have much less razor burn too with safety razors.

[joeychitwood]

I've been using Feather blades from Japan in my DE Merkur razor with great results. No ingrown hairs. I go with the grain as well as across it and against it for a very close shave. I've not shaved with a modern razor since the spring.

[daveathall]

I use a Merkur razor and can also recommend Geo F Trumpers and Penhaligons.

http://www.trumpers.com/

http://www.penhaligons.com/shop/home...FQJO4QodyUqrZw

[pz93c]

Found an old ABC Gillette from about 1915 in my great granddads stuff. That's become my daily DE.

Picking up the straight razor again, too.

[bobdog377]

I would kill to get hold of my late grandfathers gillette DE,sadly it must have been thrown away when his house was sold

[Sose]

So I just shaved.
I followed the basic concepts from Mantic59's introductory three-part series and used my old Fusion with a new cartridge with the new Art of Shaving products.


Me before.


The stubble. Just as an FYI, I last shaved on Monday night.


One happy Sose.


Closer look.

First impressions as I head out the door...

The AoS products smell FANTASTIC. That's for sure. The process was longer than normal overall but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Makes you really focus on the action of shaving as opposed to just mindlessly hacking at it to get it out of the way. Using the oil made a huge difference in how easy the shave felt on the face.

More later, I have to run!

[Route 66]

This thread is just amazing to me. I didn't even know that they still made twin blade razors!!

The last time I saw one of those was when I was a kid and my dad was using one...and I'm no spring chicken!

[Denver Dick]

Well, I'm 59 and I started shaving with an injector single edge razor. I also tried a double edge for a little while. Later I went to a Norelco electric razor and rotated between that and disposable Good News two-bladed razors.

Back in Christmas 2008, my niece gave me a Gillette Fusion razor (four blades plus one on the back for side-burns and tight places). I never got around to using it until a few months ago. I'm hooked on it. It is gives the best shave I've ever had. I priced the replacement cartridges at the local Target and found a 12 pak to be around $39.00 plus sales tax (8.75%). Wow, I thought that was just too much. So, I went to one of my favorite places, Amazon.com, and purchased an 8 pak for around $21.00 out the door. After using a couple of those cartridges, I thought I would stock up. So, a few days ago I purchased a 12 pak of Fusion cartridges on Amazon's subscription plan (one every 1, 2, 3 or 6 months) for $27.68, no sales tax and shipped free to my door. That's $2.31 per cartridge. That I can live with, especially since I'm semi-retired and shave only three times a week.

[mfer]

Glad to see this is alive and kicking! It is enjoyable to shave like this, but I haven't had much time to enjoy it lately with my 4month old son around.

It's worth the time guys!

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by pz93c

Found an old ABC Gillette from about 1915 in my great granddads stuff.

Terrific! I'd pay a thousand dollars for my grandfather's old razor.

[Bisquitlips]

Ah HA!!!!

I use my wife's razor!

Can anyone say..... "REVENGE"!

[mantic59]

Fate, destiny, kismet.

I've been interested in Rolex's for years (don't have one though, yet) and I finally decide to look up and join a watch forum. And what do I find? A thread about shaving that references my videos.

I think I'm going to like this place.

[bobdog377]

Originally Posted by bobdog377

I would kill to get hold of my late grandfathers gillette DE,sadly it must have been thrown away when his house was sold

Originally Posted by mantic59

Fate, destiny, kismet.

I've been interested in Rolex's for years (don't have one though, yet) and I finally decide to look up and join a watch forum. And what do I find? A thread about shaving that references my videos.

I think I'm going to like this place.

Hey Mantic59 welcome to the forum


Your videos nudged me into buying a Gillette slim adjustable with all the kit required and shaving went from a chore to a joy,


All hailwe're not worthy,we're not worthy


.

[Sose]

Originally Posted by mantic59

Fate, destiny, kismet.

I've been interested in Rolex's for years (don't have one though, yet) and I finally decide to look up and join a watch forum. And what do I find? A thread about shaving that references my videos.

I think I'm going to like this place.

Holy molly!!!
Mantic59, the celebrity, has joined us!
Welcome to the forum!!

Stevo, maybe we should have a sub-section within the forum for Shaving?

[KirkWilfred]

Incredible thread!

I'm hooked!

Ive spent the last two hours researching products and watching youtube videos concerning shaving techniques. Looking forward to getting started.

[Numismatist]

Welcome Mantic, funny how a watch forum has such a great thread on shaving!

Welcome!

[Sose]

Either a blessing or a curse, my beard grows slowly. I just shaved on wednesday and don't feel the need to shave again until maybe tomorrow (or maybe I'll just wait till Sunday!). My next shave will be with the new DE I bought and it wick be my first ever without a massively marketed pentacle blade 5000. Wish me luck!

I'll post pictures before and after. In all honesty, my fusion did a great job. I can't wait to see how zenful it'll be with a DE.

[bobdog377]

I'm much the same with regards to growth rate as apparently I have the hormones of a 12yr old, also I once read a post where the shavee said he only needed a cat to like his face once a week and he was good

[Numismatist]

Shaving thread tribute shot:

[looking to buy]

Originally Posted by rscmaine

i am old enough to remember when the safety razor you show was state of the art.

Buy a styptic pencil (or better yet a case of 'em). You'll need 'em.

Those things were replaced for good reason.

x2

[Numismatist]

Originally Posted by Rscmaine

I am old enough to remember when the safety razor you show was state of the art.

Buy a styptic pencil (or better yet a case of 'em). You'll need 'em.

Those things were replaced for good reason.

I remember when watches had mechanical movements that were state of the art, darn things weren't very accurate though...

Replaced by quartz weren't they?

[t e x]

Originally Posted by mantic59

Fate, destiny, kismet.

I've been interested in Rolex's for years (don't have one though, yet) and I finally decide to look up and join a watch forum. And what do I find? A thread about shaving that references my videos.

I think I'm going to like this place.

Welcome to TRF Mantic, I will have to view your tutorials on the youtube.

Just reading this thread for the first time and it is pretty interesting. I remember camping on the beach in La Escala, Spain as a boy, where I bascially had hooked up with german gypsy's who were also camping in their RV's. It was so cool seeing the gals lather up their men and shave them while everyone was seated at a table enjoying one anothers company.

I currently use a Linear Wet/Dry Pansonic and it shaves my skin pretty close...over the years I have used various electrics and disposables. I have tried a DE shave in the past a few times and my memories of those shaves were pretty good. I have certainly enjoyed a straight razor shave those few times that I have had them while at a barber shop

[GradyPhilpott]

This is the best razor I've ever used in all my days.

Cartridges are expensive, but for me they last for something on the order of a year. That makes them pretty damn inexpensive in my book.

http://www.amazon.com/Gillette-Fusio.../dp/B000BUW8WM

[Sose]

I just used my DE for the first time. Didn't take any pictures, sorry. I couldn't resist going out for a run on this beautiful 48 degree weather (sunny too!) so I went out for a run and returned ready for a nice shave.

First impressions with the DE are very positive. My shave was incredibly close and it wasn't as difficult (nor painful) as I thought it'd be. I only took a small piece of skin off close to my adam's apple but that was it. For my first time, I think I did pretty well. However, I had to pass the same parts more than just a few times. I think it's just a matter of learning how to best cover my face for even strokes. Most difficult zones were around my jaw line and bottom of the neck.

Using Mantic's golf analogy - I totally missed my par.

[joeychitwood]

Do any of you have a favorite cream/soap? I've been experimenting with The Art of Shaving creams, as well as one by Muhle and another from a Canadian company, The Gentlemen's Refinery. So far, they seem about equal in comparisons. I've tried several other cheaper creams but threw them away, as they did a poor job of retaining moisture or lathering with my badger brush.

[daveathall]

Geo F Trumper‘s shaving cream is expensive but lasts ages, very opulent but worth every penny.

[mantic59]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

Do any of you have a favorite cream/soap? I've been experimenting with The Art of Shaving creams, as well as one by Muhle and another from a Canadian company, The Gentlemen's Refinery. So far, they seem about equal in comparisons. I've tried several other cheaper creams but threw them away, as they did a poor job of retaining moisture or lathering with my badger brush.

If you like strong scents, Castle Forbes is *obscenely* expensive but top notch. Shaving with their Limes cream is like getting smacked in the face with a key lime pie . As mentioned above, Trumper's are also top-shelf: I like their Violets cream (doesn't smell "female" at all). Truefitt & Hill make great creams as well. BTW both Trumper's and Truefitt sell sample kits, with enough to shave with each variety a couple of times. Not to toot my own horn (too much), but you can get a 15% discount off of Truefitt products when you order online and checkout with the code manticsblog .

Some other well-known, very good brands include Taylor's of Old Bond Street, DR Harris, Speick, and Tabac. Closer to home, and a little less expensive, check out The Body Shop shave cream, Crabtree & Evelyn (I like their shaving soaps better than their creams but YMMV), and Real Shave Company (many CVS drug stores carry it).

[Rani Drama]

I have a merkur futur razor that i used after i got fed up with all of the razor bumps and ingrown hairs on my neck. It's a beautiful razor and really well made. I used to use Biotherm homme t-pur shaving cream which then just got replaced with sensitive cream by them. Still i hate shaving so i gave up on it completely and now use a norelco/phillips clipper and just keep my beard at a 2 or 1 and just clip the neck with the blades directly. Anyways i got used to having the stubble look and can't go back to a clean face yet. But when the time comes it'll probably be a DE for me. Over here though i can't find a cheap place to buy razors. Overseas i can get a pack of razors for less than 50 cents!