First DE Razor Shave Report

[Jmo713]

Joined a couple of weeks back and at the recommendation of SirChangalot and xxvaleria (thanks gents; if there's a way to tag users in posts I'd appreciate it if someone told me how) I purchased a Edwin Jagger DE89 and Taylor of Old Bond Street shaving cream. I get the addiction!

The shave felt so smooth I thought I wasn't cutting hair at first and likely made a few unnecessary passes. My facial hair doesn't grow very fast so I usually shave every other day but this shave added another day in between. I did notice a number of very fine nicks (not large enough to bleed) but that may be attributed to those extra passes I mentioned.

I also burned myself a bit with the top metal portion of the blade (who knew hot water would have that effect on metal I place on my skin). I'll try to keep the temperature a bit more moderate next go around.

Last bit of complaining I promise. When shaving I found it difficult to know which areas I had already made a pass at (mostly why I made so many unnecessary passes in the beginning). Has anyone else had this experience? Am I not working up enough of a lather?

Justin

 

[KeenDogg]

Glad to meet you, Justin. Wander on over to the Hall of Fame and introduce yourself!

You can find a lot of good info here:

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/

As far as tagging those fine gents, just put an @ symbol in front of their name.

Kindly,
Adam

 

[Graydog]

Joined a couple of weeks back and at the recommendation of SirChangalot and xxvaleria (thanks gents; if there's a way to tag users in posts I'd appreciate it if someone told me how) I purchased a Edwin Jagger DE89 and Taylor of Old Bond Street shaving cream. I get the addiction!

The shave felt so smooth I thought I wasn't cutting hair at first and likely made a few unnecessary passes. My facial hair doesn't grow very fast so I usually shave every other day but this shave added another day in between. I did notice a number of very fine nicks (not large enough to bleed) but that may be attributed to those extra passes I mentioned.

I also burned myself a bit with the top metal portion of the blade (who knew hot water would have that effect on metal I place on my skin). I'll try to keep the temperature a bit more moderate next go around.

Last bit of complaining I promise. When shaving I found it difficult to know which areas I had already made a pass at (mostly why I made so many unnecessary passes in the beginning). Has anyone else had this experience? Am I not working up enough of a lather?

Justin

If your skin is covered in lather and you shave it away ,that would be a pass. if you don't have your skin covered with lather you are risking razor burn. if you feel like you need to go over the already shaved area again make sure it is slick with lather

 

[xxvaleria]

Congratulations, Justin. I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying yourself.

 

[matwho]

[MENTION=114135]Jmo713[/MENTION] welcome, you just type @ and their user name and they will get a notification like you just did.

 

[sidpost]

Welcome! Mapping your face and beard will get better with practice so you don't cover the same area so many times.

 

[Jmo713]

Does anyone have any recommendations (hopefully [MENTION=74497]xxvaleria[/MENTION] and [MENTION=109827]SirChangalot[/MENTION] have some more gems) for an affordable razor/brush stand and a lathering bowl (if that's even the right term)? I've seen a ton on Amazon but don't know what qualities if any I should be looking for.

Justin

 

[xxvaleria]

Does anyone have any recommendations (hopefully @xxvaleria and @SirChangalot have some more gems) for an affordable razor/brush stand and a lathering bowl (if that's even the right term)? I've seen a ton on Amazon but don't know what qualities if any I should be looking for.

Justin

I don't use a razor/brush stand, and my lathering bowl is a large ceramic soup mug. While I have a lot of razors, brushes, soaps, and blades, I've never considered stands and bowls to be a big concern. You'll have to wait for the gents who are into bowls and stands to comment.

 

[alex2363]

Glad to meet you, Justin. Wander on over to the Hall of Fame and introduce yourself!

You can find a lot of good info here:

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/

As far as tagging those fine gents, just put an @ symbol in front of their name.

Kindly,
Adam

+1

 

[SirChangalot]

Does anyone have any recommendations (hopefully @xxvaleria and @SirChangalot have some more gems) for an affordable razor/brush stand and a lathering bowl (if that's even the right term)? I've seen a ton on Amazon but don't know what qualities if any I should be looking for.

Justin

my lathering "bowl" is a coffee mug from Ikea and my stand is an epsilon plastic stand. Very affordable.

 

[ackvil]

Welcome, Justin.

 

[cvargo]

Welcome to B&B

 

[LittleNicky]

Welcome to B&B.

 

[Graybeard57]

Congratulations!

 

[razorhead63]

Hi Justin! What brand of blade are you using?

I'm just curious, I enjoy reading about blades!

John H.

 

[John Rose]

Does anyone have any recommendations (hopefully @xxvaleria and @SirChangalot have some more gems) for an affordable razor/brush stand and a lathering bowl (if that's even the right term)? I've seen a ton on Amazon but don't know what qualities if any I should be looking for.

My personal preferences:

• For a first lather bowl, I'd cruise the second-hand stores (or dollar stores) for dishes at less than a dollar or three. Look for soup mugs, pet dishes, small stainless steel prep bowls, plastic salsa bowls, etc.
• I prefer a bowl or mug that is approximately hemispherical or parabolic on the inside, so that you get a decent depth without knocking the brush handle against the side. 3.5" to 4.5" diameter by approx. 1.75" to 2.5" deep is good for me. Generally, about twice as wide as it is deep.
• A bit of bumpiness or grooves inside on the bottom and sides may be useful to create some turbulence or whatever, but is not absolutely necessary. Very often, hand-made ceramic bowls have a spiral pattern inside.
• A dark-coloured interior is preferable, but not essential. It just helps to visually judge the texture of the lather.
• My favourite bowl so far is a thin-walled stainless steel bowl that will float in a sink of hot water, with the brush parked in it. It works much like a modern scuttle, keeping the lather warm. If I use a brush with a long handle though, it would capsize, so I switch to a heavier stoneware bowl that sits on the bottom of the sink, and I use less water in the sink. I put a thin silicone rubber pad under the stoneware bowl to keep the unglazed bottom from scratching the porcelain sink.
• I prefer not to have a thumb ring, because I like to rotate the bowl while I build the lather. Most people probably like them for a better grip in soapy water.

The SS bowl:


A smaller ceramic bowl, perfect to use with a Simpson Wee Scot.


A larger ceramic bowl:


For hanging brushes and razors, I was lucky enough to score one of these vintage 12-sided rubber stamp carousels at an Army Surplus store:



Since that picture was taken I've covered the metal clips with short lengths of rubber tubing to protect the handles from scratches.
It does take up a lot of real estate though, and I wish it was an inch taller.

 

[BSAGuy]

Hello and welcome, Justin. Great to have you here on B&B.

Sounds like you are off to a good start. Developing good DE technique takes 3-4 weeks of daily shaving. Hang in there. You'll get it.

 

[J-MN]

Welcome, Justin!!!

For a lathering bowl, I use a small stainless steel mixing bowl from Ikea. It's about 4 1/2" in diameter at the top, but smaller at the bottom so it's easy to hold with one hand. It works great and only costs a few dollars. I like the idea of a light weight bowl so that if it's dropped it's not going to get damaged or damage anything else on impact.

For brush stands, I just use one of the cheap plastic ones. I think mine is an Edwin Jagger.

 

[Jmo713]

Thanks for the helpful replies.
[MENTION=67730]razorhead63[/MENTION] I bought a variety of blades to try at the suggestion of the forum (picture below) but I started with the Derby blades that came with my Edwin Jagger. Open to suggestions, especially related to the assortment I already have.


[MENTION=111887]John Rose[/MENTION] thanks for the suggestions. I really like that rubber stamp holder. I think I'll make it my mission to find something similar.

Justin

 

[razorhead63]

I use 4 different brands in my rotation, but my favorite ones are the Personna Med Preps and the Astra Stainless.

The Med Preps are a pricier blade but actually not the most expensive out there . Very smooth blade.

I find them quite sharp enough and with really good longevity.

The blue Stainless and the SP Astras, are very good blades too, you can get them on Amazon for about 12 bucks per hundred.

Another good blade spoken of highly here are the Perma Sharp Supers... they are very sharp and really smooth blades .

Just a few thoughts from me my friend. Hope this helps!

John H.