I decided to give DE shaving a go to feel more "in the moment" and bring a little pampering to what has otherwise been a chore since I was a teenager. It's been fun reading, trying some creams and generally trying to master things.
I've been at this DE thing for about 6 weeks now and have just about tried all of the blades in my first sample purchase, favouring the Feathers above all others. The general approach has been hot shower, apply Proraso menthol pre-shave, apply TOBs creme, then WTG, ATG and then a clean-up and the results have been...okay. Not great, but okay. A little bit of irritation here and there, the occasional weeper and a nick or two now and again. I've been contemplating going back to my Mach3s as so far the experience has resulted in about the same shave quality when all goes well, but taking a lot longer. I do like the TOBs creams though so I figure I'd keep that part of the routine regardless.
So, in spite of the advice to keep all variables constant for a while, I decided to park up the Merkur 34C I've been using and I bought a Muhle R41. I figured it would either change my view or confirm I should stick to cartridges (or possibly kill me if the reviews are anything to go by!).
I used it this morning with the Muhle blade it ships with and did the same WTG, ATG and clean-up passes. The first pass did a surprisingly good job, and after the 3rd pass I thought "oh, oh wow. Now I see what everyone is talking about". By far today was the cleanest shave I've ever had. I haven't been this smooth since I was a kid. It's stupid, but here I am 10 hours later stroking my face thinking "still pretty smooth" and smiling like an idiot. And while I had a couple of weepers, it was on par with what I got with the 34C and the Mach3s before it...
Of course, I have no idea if it's the razor, the blade, technique or just dumb luck, but I'm going to enjoy the feeling and figure it out whenever my beard decides to stop cowering in fear and show itself again. I'm going to try the Muhle again, but does anyone have any recommendations of which blades to try next in the R41?
Is the Muhle blade decent? So far I've used (in order of preference in the Merkur 34C):
Feather (these were the only ones that gave me an okay shave but I might struggle to use daily)
Wilkinson Sword (these felt sharp and I was thinking might be my go-to for daily shaving)
Derby Extra (these were okay, I felt like they gave an irritation-free passable shave)
Astra green (I ended up have to go over and over to get a passable shave)
Gillette Platinum (I don't remember why I didn't like them, but I didn't)
Merkur (struggled to get it to cut, it felt like the blade wasn't in contact with my face)
Parker Premium Platinum (hated these and contemplated pitching them)
Also is this photo ridiculous? I feel like I'm one step away from an episode of Hoarders.
I've been at this DE thing for about 6 weeks now and have just about tried all of the blades in my first sample purchase, favouring the Feathers above all others. The general approach has been hot shower, apply Proraso menthol pre-shave, apply TOBs creme, then WTG, ATG and then a clean-up and the results have been...okay. Not great, but okay. A little bit of irritation here and there, the occasional weeper and a nick or two now and again. I've been contemplating going back to my Mach3s as so far the experience has resulted in about the same shave quality when all goes well, but taking a lot longer. I do like the TOBs creams though so I figure I'd keep that part of the routine regardless.
So, in spite of the advice to keep all variables constant for a while, I decided to park up the Merkur 34C I've been using and I bought a Muhle R41. I figured it would either change my view or confirm I should stick to cartridges (or possibly kill me if the reviews are anything to go by!).
I used it this morning with the Muhle blade it ships with and did the same WTG, ATG and clean-up passes. The first pass did a surprisingly good job, and after the 3rd pass I thought "oh, oh wow. Now I see what everyone is talking about". By far today was the cleanest shave I've ever had. I haven't been this smooth since I was a kid. It's stupid, but here I am 10 hours later stroking my face thinking "still pretty smooth" and smiling like an idiot. And while I had a couple of weepers, it was on par with what I got with the 34C and the Mach3s before it...
Of course, I have no idea if it's the razor, the blade, technique or just dumb luck, but I'm going to enjoy the feeling and figure it out whenever my beard decides to stop cowering in fear and show itself again. I'm going to try the Muhle again, but does anyone have any recommendations of which blades to try next in the R41?
Is the Muhle blade decent? So far I've used (in order of preference in the Merkur 34C):
Feather (these were the only ones that gave me an okay shave but I might struggle to use daily)
Wilkinson Sword (these felt sharp and I was thinking might be my go-to for daily shaving)
Derby Extra (these were okay, I felt like they gave an irritation-free passable shave)
Astra green (I ended up have to go over and over to get a passable shave)
Gillette Platinum (I don't remember why I didn't like them, but I didn't)
Merkur (struggled to get it to cut, it felt like the blade wasn't in contact with my face)
Parker Premium Platinum (hated these and contemplated pitching them)
Also is this photo ridiculous? I feel like I'm one step away from an episode of Hoarders.
not hoarding
