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New to DE shaving and have a few questions

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Rover3618

Hi everyone! Ive been lurking on this forum for a while and finally decided to start shaving with a DE razor. The one I chose was the Rockwell 6c, and I am currently using plate 2, although i’ve only shaved a few times so far, so I haven’t tried the other settings yet.

I purchased three different soaps- Stirling Almond Creme, Stirling Sheep, and Ariana & Evans Pistachio.

My first shave was with the Stirling Almond and Creme, which turns out I cant use because it burned my face due to some reaction. Next I tried A&E Pistachio which I absolutely loved. The A&E soap felt smooth, lathered very well, smelled amazing, and left my skin feeling very smooth.

I just shaved with the Stirling Sheep, and I think either im doing something wrong, or maybe Stirling just isnt for me. With both of the Stirling soaps, they were hard to lather, and left my skin feeling rubbery when I was washing the soap off. The ‘sheep’ didn’t cause any burning but after shaving my skin felt irritated and itchy, and it didn’t leave my skin smooth like with the A&E soap. It also seemed to get into the holes of my razor and was difficult to wash out.

Im wondering if anyone experienced something similar.

A few other questions I have,

-Do you disassemble your razor after shaving to let it dry?

-Has anyone tried the A&E aftershave balm or splash?

-After shaving should I use the alum bar, and then aftershave or use aftershave before the alum bar?

Thanks!
 
Wgg2017

Wgg2017

Welcome to B&B! I’ll try to help where I can.

The burning sensation might have been from the almond scent in the Almond and Cream. It’s an irritant for some.

Regarding the Sheep, it’s not as inherently moisturizing as A&E soaps. That alone could account for the different face feel after a shave. Soaps are very much a ymmv thing depending on skin type. Some with dry skin might like a very moisturizing soap like A&E; others with neutral skin would like the Sheep; those with oily skin might prefer something like Arko. It really just depends.

For the other questions:

Brass, copper, and bronze razors I wipe clean after each shave.

Steel or plated I clean after each blade change.

Titanium and aluminum I only clean once soap buildup becomes apparent.


Alum block before aftershave.


Welcome again, and don’t take my advice as gospel. Learn what works for you. Sounds like you’re on the right track with the A&E Pistachio.
 
Hawkweber

Hawkweber

Wgg2017 said:
The burning sensation might have been from the almond scent in the Almond and Cream. It’s an irritant for some.
Click to expand...
Yes to this. It doesn't bother me, but there have been reports of almond sensitivity on the forums. I think Cella Red, maybe, is one that also has almond oil in it, and it causes burning for some. As almond isn't a well-known or prevalent irritant most companies don't give a warning about it.

Stirling soaps shouldn't be hard to lather, but they are water hogs. They are very thirsty, and you need to satiate that thirst. You also might have extremely hard water which can affect lathering. If the soap was difficult to wash out, then it might have been too dry. Rod from Stirling has a video on bowl and face lathering with their soaps:
and you can see how well they lather. One thing I have noticed is that I do not get as good lather with a boar brush than I do with my synths, but I think that my boar still needs more breaking in and just requires more soap.
 
gpjoe

gpjoe

There are many, many soaps to choose from, and every individual is different with regard to skin type, potential allergies, and tolerance.

I have at least 6 tubs (and 5 samples) of Stirling, and love both the scents and performance. If it doesn't work for you, move on to another brand.

Other than my Timeless Bronze (and one other), I do not disassemble my DE razors until I change the blade or switch to another razor. Of course this is personal decision as to how fastidious one is about their stuff.

With stainless steel, bronze, aluminum, copper, and brass the razor will easily survive a weekly blade change and cleaning, with only a rinse between shaves. The only "benefit" to disassembly between shaves might be to mitigate the development of patina on brass, copper, and bronze.

I also have one zamac razor (Parker Solo Edge) that I dry completely between shaves, hoping to keep the plating intact, and threads from degrading.

I rarely use alum, and only if I have a couple weepers. My routine is: rinse, apply alum (and allow to dry while I clean up my mess), rinse, apply aftershave.

Bottom line:

I don't think there is a "correct" answer to your questions, only personal preference. You will find yours.

Welcome to the show. 🙂👍
 
WThomas0814

WThomas0814

Ditto, ditto
Welcom aboard!

For myself:

Bronze razors get disassembled, rinsed, and dried every shave (including the blade). I leave disassembled until the next shave. Stainless steel and titanium get rinsed, shaken, and left a turn or two loose between shaves. Not really necessary with titanium, but, I do it. All of them get an alcohol wipe befor storage. Vintages get disassembled, dried (including the blade) and alcohol rinsed before storage to make sure I got into all the nooks and crannies of the TTO head.

I only use alum if I nick myself of if I’m using a new razor or blade, just to get feedback. Once you know your tools, I don’t think its necessary.

My shaves are followed by a shower, then Dickinson’s Original Witch Hazel, then aftershave.

As for soaps, my rotation is very limited. You’ll find your favorites, hopefully, before you have a lifetime supply. I heartily recommend Vitos Red + Coco. Bar none, it is the best soap I ever used. It is a croap that you buy in kilos; my last was from eBay (Originaal Shaving Company, as I recall).

Good luck and have fun, while trying not to bankrupt yourself.
 
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Blackland Razors

Blackland Razors

Welcome!

My #1 tip to keep your setup the same for as long as you can. You have good products so you should be able to get good results. If you aren't getting the lather or results you want, it's more likely to be your technique than the products. So stick with it until you get good results from what you're using. Then you can start trying different things.

For razor care, you can disassemble between shaves if you want to or you can simply loosen the head a bit to let airflow dry off the blade.
 
cajunrph

cajunrph

Welcome to the forum,

I have one Sterling soap, Executive Man, and I have no issue with it. Some it depends on your skin type, I have oily skin and therefore I can tolerate more soaps than someone with dry skin. As to the use of alum, again YMMV depending on your skin type. I use an alum block after my final rinse off, my thinking is the alum will help close up any pores that may have opened from the shave, I leave it on while I clean up my shave equipment, then wipe my face off with a towel. Next, I apply some Thayers Witch Hazel, then go about getting dressed. Next up is either a balm or some aftershave lotion, brush my teeth, then aftershave/cologne if I'm using it.

I rinse and dry my razors off as my water is fairly hard and I'd like to avoid any build-up of crud. It may be overkill, it is what I choose to do.
 
Wgg2017

Wgg2017

Hawkweber said:
One thing I have noticed is that I do not get as good lather with a boar brush than I do with my synths, but I think that my boar still needs more breaking in and just requires more soap.
Click to expand...

I don’t know why, but all my natural hair brushes (boar and badger) require noticeably more soap than my synthetics. They also take a bit longer to build lather. I don’t think it has anything to do with whether the brush is broken in or not.
 
Quaznoid

Quaznoid

Two simple solutions:

Presumably you shaved before this so use whatever canned product worked for you then.

Or, assuming you’ve washed your face with soap before now, lather with that soap. I’ve lathered with ordinary bath soap for 50 years.

As to your other questions, no do not disassemble your razor after each shave. Don’t do anything; there’s nothing to do. Set it aside for next use.

I’ve never heard of the A&E product.

Don’t use alum. I’ve never used it and am not entirely sure what it is or what to do with it. Simply rinse off, dry and splash on some aftershave. A little sting is a good thing.

There is no wrong way to shave but there are tedious, obsessive-compulsive elements that make it much more complicated than it is. Shaving is very simple if you let it be.
 
Last edited:
Albert V

Albert V

Rover3618 said:
Hi everyone! Ive been lurking on this forum for a while and finally decided to start shaving with a DE razor. The one I chose was the Rockwell 6c, and I am currently using plate 2,

I purchased three different soaps- Stirling Almond Creme, Stirling Sheep, and Ariana & Evans Pistachio.
Click to expand...

I have the Rockwell 6. Started with the 6C, loved it, then moved to the 6S as my ‘razor for life’. However, I rarely use plate 2. Plate 3 is most used and plate 4 for 2+ days. Today I used plate 5 for 3 days growth.

As for the above mentioned shave soaps. I have tried both brands in different scents, in the form of samples. Stirling mutton based soaps are the best of the Stirling Line (sheep, varen, scots pine). However, I confess that when I first started using Stirling soaps (either mutton of beef tallow), I have a hard time getting a good lather. Turned out it was mostly due to the brush. I used very soap, cheap badger. When I switched to a firmed boar brush, I got significantly better results. Ariana and Evans K2 base soaps lathered much easier and is now one of my favorites. For easy lather my top three today include Ariana and Evans, Chiseled Face, and Maggards
 
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