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[PistolPeets]

Hello all. My name is Josh. Here's a bit of shaving history about myself. (long post ahead warning!) I've recently taken up the art of wet shaving after about 10 years of using an electric foil razor. I was growing tired of the same old electric shaving routine and was searching for something more satisfying, and all of my wet shave Googling kept bringing me to Badge and Blade. So I figured I might better join the community! The reason for using the foil razor was due to some pretty severe irritation (razor bumps/burns) on my neck area from when I first started shaving with a cartridge razor. So the electric razor seemed to pretty much cure that issue. About a two years ago, I purchased a few cartridge razors to try to transition back to wet shaving, but experienced the same bumps and burns from years ago, so I purchased my first safety razor. A Merkur long handle 23C. I had not read much into the technique of using safety razors, so my shaves were pretty bad with lots of bloodshed and irritation. After a few weeks of failed shaves, I returned to the foil razor (Braun Series 7- 790cc) for the past two years. A couple of weeks ago, I've tried the safety razor again and after reading some tips on pressure/blade angles, I was able to get slightly better results, but still getting irritation. I figured that razor might be a bit aggressive for a newbie, so I ordered the VIKINGS BLADE "The Chieftain" TTO razor and it seems to be quite a bit milder. So much so, that it doesn't seem to shave hair very well and still leaves me with irritation and an unshaven look... I start with a WTG pass, then try a couple of XTG passes to try to minimize the burn/bumps. Hopefully my skin will adapt to this new style of shaving.

Anywho, that's a little bit about myself and my experiences thus far. I'm quite committed to making this work now since I've been investing in some soaps/brushes/blades. Hopefully I can perfect my technique and beat the irritation and get some quality shaves.

Thanks for reading!
-PistolPeets

 

[BSAGuy]

Hello and welcome, Josh. Great to have you here on B&B. Wander on over to the Hall of Fame and introduce yourself.

 

[bahomebrew]

Hey Josh, Welcome to B&B. Keep working on technique with the razor, with the soaps and creams, with the prep. Try to eliminate variables for each shave. Meaning stick with the same razor and blade for a bit as you tinker with soap. If you feel you have a go to soap, use that when trying new razor or new blade. The more you can pinpoint what is a factor in an undesirable(or desirable for that matter) shave, the better able you'll be to change it. Happy shaves!

 

[PistolPeets]

Hello and welcome, Josh. Great to have you here on B&B. Wander on over to the Hall of Fame and introduce yourself.

Thank you BSAGuy. I have just done that!

 

[PistolPeets]

Hey Josh, Welcome to B&B. Keep working on technique with the razor, with the soaps and creams, with the prep. Try to eliminate variables for each shave. Meaning stick with the same razor and blade for a bit as you tinker with soap. If you feel you have a go to soap, use that when trying new razor or new blade. The more you can pinpoint what is a factor in an undesirable(or desirable for that matter) shave, the better able you'll be to change it. Happy shaves!

Thank you bahomebrew! That seems like a very logical approach. I'll try just that.

 

[Graybeard57]

Welcome to B&B, Josh. Stick with one razor and one blade brand for now. Keeping your variables to a minimum helps you to perfect your technique, your angles, and your general feel for your face and neck. Start with a good lather; that cannot be emphasized too much. Use a light touch, go slowly, and be patient with your progress. It's a new set of skills that takes time to master.

 

[PistolPeets]

Welcome to B&B, Josh. Stick with one razor and one blade brand for now. Keeping your variables to a minimum helps you to perfect your technique, your angles, and your general feel for your face and neck. Start with a good lather; that cannot be emphasized too much. Use a light touch, go slowly, and be patient with your progress. It's a new set of skills that takes time to master.

Graybeard, thank you for the reply. That seems to be a good approach to take. I'll give that a try.

 

[drwevil]

Welcome Josh there so also a Blade Pass It Forward for lurkers in the blade forum. So make yir you renter that.

 

[matwho]

Welcome to B&B. Good luck with your shaves.

 

[sandstone]

Welcome Josh! Great advice above. With a little practice you'll find that your shaves will improve greatly, so go slowly at first, stay with it and keep us posted.

 

[Billski]

Welcome to Badger and Blade, Peets.

 

[ackvil]

Welcome to B&B, Josh.

 

[maybe smith]

Welcome to B&B.
After some practice you will develop a technique and it will become second nature.

 

[adamchur]

Hi Josh, welcome to B&B

 

[NickCutlip]

Welcome to the forum, Josh !!

 

[PistolPeets]

Thanks everyone! My mornings are a little tight on time, so I've just shaved this evening and it seemed quite comfortable! I tried a new shave soap (Proraso Red Sandalwood) and it seems to have performed much much better than my Vikings Blade sandalwood cream. Still a few bumps, but those were leftover from my Monday shave. Hopefully, my Vikings Blade TTO razor paired with a Gillette 7 O'clock blade, Lather and Wood pre-shave oil, and Proraso Red soap is the winning combo, though it's a bit early to tell. As you guys have suggested, I'll stick with these tools before making anymore changes.

 

[GlazedBoker]

Welcome aboard Josh..... You're in the right place.

 

[alex2363]

Thanks everyone! My mornings are a little tight on time, so I've just shaved this evening and it seemed quite comfortable! I tried a new shave soap (Proraso Red Sandalwood) and it seems to have performed much much better than my Vikings Blade sandalwood cream. Still a few bumps, but those were leftover from my Monday shave. Hopefully, my Vikings Blade TTO razor paired with a Gillette 7 O'clock blade, Lather and Wood pre-shave oil, and Proraso Red soap is the winning combo, though it's a bit early to tell. As you guys have suggested, I'll stick with these tools before making anymore changes.

Welcome to B&B

 

[KeenDogg]

Nice to meet you, Josh!