Ok, so I have only had 4 wetshaves with my Merkur HD. However, the last was the absolute best! The first 3 were not bad mind you....a few weepers, and BBS on one. However, I always had a tiny bit of razor burn. I came back to the trusty B&B and read up more....heck I thought I had read everything....no pressure, face prep, good lather, WTG, XTG, only ATG with caution. I did all that!
What I think I have found key for me however, is in the way I hold the razor. I was holding it more as I did with a cartridge razor, albeit with what I thought was little pressure. I was wrong. Last night, I used a fingertip grip on the end of the razor and voila!. Very nice shave and no burn! I really think the fingertip hold on the HD is key for any newbie.
My setup:
Merkur HD(Merkur blades)
C&E Badger
AOS Sandalwood Cream
Nivea AS and AOS Sandalwood AS
Sampler blade pack on the way
Severum
What I think I have found key for me however, is in the way I hold the razor. I was holding it more as I did with a cartridge razor, albeit with what I thought was little pressure. I was wrong. Last night, I used a fingertip grip on the end of the razor and voila!. Very nice shave and no burn! I really think the fingertip hold on the HD is key for any newbie.
My setup:
Merkur HD(Merkur blades)
C&E Badger
AOS Sandalwood Cream
Nivea AS and AOS Sandalwood AS
Sampler blade pack on the way
Severum