Soon to be Newbie

[EbenezerScrews]

Hello,

First off, a thank you to everyone responsible in maintaining this wealth of collective knowledge and community. Without you guys I never would have considered wet shaving anything but a dated routine for stubborn old men who refuse to change, haha.

My first kit is still in transit, so I may return to my above opinion, haha, but having read the forum over the past 2 days I am intellectually satisfied this is a far superior way to shave. The major selling point being the use of soap/cream, brush and water to form a proper lather vs. a can of lather producing goop. To list just one of many things my mind has been opened up to. Another being the pre-shave preparation of the hair to weaken the cuticle allowing moisture in thus easing a blade through. ANyways...

I shaved regularly(every 1-3 days) from ~12 to 23 years of age. Moving from cheapo disposables to 2-3 blade cartridges. I mostly shaved in the shower. Never put any though into it, just part of my routine. Due to a change in jobs, going from a strict "No Facial Hair" policy to "Whatever man", I decided to try and grow a beard. I was shocked at what I grew after only a couple weeks. Within a month I had a full, symmetrical beard. I have thin blonde hair on my head, but the beard comes in a bit thicker and a bit reddish.

Over the past 6 years I have had an on-and-off beard. I rarely used a blade opting for a $15 electrical to keep it down. Again, zero thought.

I recently accepted a new position which, though it is not required to be clean shaven, is more of an office environment as opposed to the outdoor position I am coming from. More importantly I am sick of this facial hair.

My problem is the cartridges, specifically Mach 3, are not performing as I remembered. Not only are they not providing anywhere near a close shave, but my skin is becoming more dry and sensitive with each shave. I started to look into lotions and moisturizers when I stumbled upon the world of DE shaving.

I ordered a Merkur 38M HD Long Handle Barber Pole for my big hands. Included WCS's Everything Sample Pack of blades.

When it came to the brush, soap, cream, alum, aftercare....man, I was confused, haha. I decided it would be best to just stick with one brand to limit the number of variables. I went with RazoRock since they had decent reviews, relatively cheap, and seemed to me neutral. For the brush I got the $9 Omega boar.

I have rambled enough, haha. I will go back to reading. Actually, I watched several of Mantic59's videos before finding this forum, so I may watch a few more of those. I also really like the "whisker map" concept, this will absolutely help me organize my strokes as opposed to the random sweeping motions of my past, haha.

All the Best

[paco664]

well... glad to see you here....

remember... straight razors are fun to shave with also....

and get ready to spend all your available $ on addictions... like razors and soaps and creams and aftershaves and strops and hones....

[EbenezerScrews]

Thanks paco. Honestly I haven't even considered a straight blade. Just seems too foreign to me right now. My barber has shaved me up nice a few times with one...

As for addiction, this would join several active collections I have going, haha. I have the worst habit of jumping deep into a new hobby, I plan on taking this slow. I really want to enjoy this.

[paco664]

Thanks paco. Honestly I haven't even considered a straight blade. Just seems too foreign to me right now. My barber has shaved me up nice a few times with one...

As for addiction, this would join several active collections I have going, haha. I have the worst habit of jumping deep into a new hobby, I plan on taking this slow. I really want to enjoy this.

lol... good luck with that one bud.... this is a board FULL of enablers....

[EbenezerScrews]

ha! I already dug up my old electric kettle from the basement...uh oh...has the hoard begun?

[the_edski]

welcome to the club! Good idea on the kettle, the warmer the lather the better, it will hook you quick!

[duokun]

welcome aboard!

[bvance554]

As for addiction, this would join several active collections I have going, haha. I have the worst habit of jumping deep into a new hobby, I plan on taking this slow. I really want to enjoy this.

Welcome aboard. Your story sounds very similar to mine...except for the symmetrical red beard. I'm sure that shaving will soon become much more of a pleasure, something to think about and look forward to, and less of a chore. What are some of your other hobbies or collections?

[TheVez2]

Welcome to B&B, good job doing all the research first. That will help you greatly in the long run.

[Lamb Root]

Welcome!

[Artistik]

Welcome 2 B&B! Good luck with the ADs.

[DOLLARBILL]

Welcome
enjoy Your Shave !

[NickCutlip]

Welcome to B&B !!

[Optometrist]

Welcome to B&B, Eb!:thumbup1: You have a great starter kit en route. Familiarise yourself with one razor to begin with. Once your technique improves, then certainly experiment. You don't want too many variables at this stage.

[mandoman]

Welcome to B&B enjoy

[Sledgehammer39]

Welcome Aboard!

[mattymatt]

Welcome to B&B!

[Banjoman]

Welcome to B&B!

[Dennard]

Welcome!

[EbenezerScrews]

Thanks for the warmth everyone, very hospitable place here.


Welcome aboard. Your story sounds very similar to mine...except for the symmetrical red beard. I'm sure that shaving will soon become much more of a pleasure, something to think about and look forward to, and less of a chore. What are some of your other hobbies or collections?

"Something to think about and look forward to, and less of a chore." Yes!

Maybe collection wasn't the best word, haha. Most of the collections never quite made it to being hobbies. I would get obsessed with something, "need" the best of everything, get bored, sell/trade most of it to start another obsession, haha. I know, i know. I am much better at controlling myself nowadays, but if/when I start enjoying wet shaving...well, I can't predict the future, haha.

Home brewing was one of the few exceptions. When I first got the itch I ended up spending far too much money than a beginner should be spending, haha. And spent many hours reading and reading. Ended up with a huge set-up before I brewed a drop. Once my first beer was drinkable, followed by the wine, I was glad I already had everything I needed to continue. I recently sold my all-grain equipment, plus a couple carboys. Luckily my buddy has all the wine equipment, haha. I just stick to wine and beer kits now, just don't have as much free time anymore.


welcome to the club! Good idea on the kettle, the warmer the lather the better, it will hook you quick!

Thanks edski. I think the kettle will help. I have a fairly small well so I would prefer to not leave a faucet running. Warm lather...mmmm.


Welcome to B&B, good job doing all the research first. That will help you greatly in the long run.

Thanks Vez. Research is half the fun of getting involved in something new!


Welcome 2 B&B! Good luck with the ADs.

I had to refer to B&B Abbreviations / Acronyms (http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Abbreviations) for that, haha. Thanks. I may have to remove myself from the forum if my symptoms worsen.


Welcome to B&B, Eb!:thumbup1: You have a great starter kit en route. Familiarise yourself with one razor to begin with. Once your technique improves, then certainly experiment. You don't want too many variables at this stage.

Thanks Doc. This is my exact mindset, great to hear a vote of confidence. The blade sampler may be a problem, haha. It does have a few 10 packs. I will pick one of those to stick with until I am confident and comfortable.

PS: Thanks again everyone. ETA for my kit is tomorrow. I do have a question that I am sure has been asked, but I never ran into it during my research. Ah, nevermind haha, I'll find it.

Take care

[N2theBreech]

Welcome.

You've probably figured it out already...if a question arises, ask! There are a great bunch of people here who like to help.

[EbenezerScrews]

Thanks Jim. The question was regarding hair length, or time between shaves. Seems like most things, being a personal preference. I haven't shaved since Monday in anticipation, haha. It's only about 2mm I'd say. Considering I shaved rarely the past 6 years, should I give my skin a few days rest between shaves? I was planning on it. First one tonight, again on Sunday evening.Is there a maximum length? If I did grow another beard, could I shave as is? Or buzz it down a bit first? Or try both and find out for myself?Thanks in advance

[EbenezerScrews]

First wet shave was yesterday afternoon, and I enjoyed the experience very much. I can't thank everyone enough. It would have taken me months if not years to learn the routine I followed, and it was a very smooth experience.

I did not have a single nick. About a minute or so afterwards there was redness at the base of my neck, but this was my known trouble spot where I have two swirls on either side of my adams apple. The redness went away quickly.

I used the Merkur HD 38M Long Handle with the included Merkur blade. I showered pre-shave washing with a glycerine soap.

One question: I whipped up the lather, and I was satisfied with the consistency. The first pass went smooth. However, I put the bowl with the lather into my electric kettle(more of a pot) during the first pass. The kettle was off, and the water was just warm. For the second pass the lather was noticeably thinner. Was condensation bringing water into the lather? Or is keeping the lather too warm a problem? The second and thrid passes using this runnier lather(It wasn't watery, but thinner) felt fine. I am not going to put the lather bowl in the pot next shave to see. I am using a cheap stoneware bowl, but the heat retention seems adequate for the short time period. I want my lather warm!

Shave: I stuck with WTG passes. Well, a little XTG where I couldn't get good contact around the chin/adams apple. Actually, the redness was most likely due to going XTG into those swirls, haha. I had planned on bringing the razor upside and shaving upwards to get the swirls WTG, but I didn't feel comfortable with that move yet. I may try it next time to avoid the redness.

Post-shave: Warm water rinse. Cold water rinse. Dabbed the alum around but only got the slightest tingle from the base of my next area. Splash of Witch Hazel. Finished it off with Nivea Sensitive Post Shave Balm.

I look forward to shaving again tomorrow to begin fine-tuning the process. This was already a much closer & comfortable shave than I can get with cartridges, but I can do better. I just read that Merkur blades have very poor ratings, haha, but I already picked them as my starting blade and do not want to throw in any variable yet. If it turns out that other blades work better for me in the future, it can only get better from here!

Thanks again. I hope nobody read this whole thing, haha, I am just trying to keep it fresh in my mind so I can improve my technique tomorrow.

Later