Guff
02-07-2012, 12:19 PM
At the behest of various friendly forum members in my first post, I offer observations following my first three DE razor shaves.
Equipment and accoutrements: Merkur Futur razor, Merkur blade (came with the razor), Col. Conk Model 1001 brush, D.R. Harris Marlborough shaving soap, Art of Shaving sandalwood shave oil, Art of Shaving sandalwood aftershave lotion, eShave alum block.
Face prep (the same every time): Hot shower. Apply hot water to my face at the sink, then apply a thin coat of the shave oil. Load the brush and whip up a good bowl lather (thanks to the videos and helpful hints on this site). Apply lather with brush.
Day One: I dialed in the lowest setting (#1 - least aggressive) -- and literally used just the ample weight of the Futur razor. I did one pass with the grain, then another pass across the grain on most of my face. I followed this with a once-over from the alum block (which is awesome), applied the sandalwood shave oil, then the aftershave lotion.
The results were slightly worse than my Mach III. I purposely used the most conservative approach on day one, so, given my hellishly thick whiskers, this result was expected. I did not, however, draw any blood. A moderate success, in my estimation.
Day Two: Given the mediocre results from Day One, I dialed the Futur to setting #2 -- and repeated the procedure outlined above. The shave was much better than the first: moderately better than my Mach III. I did have one tiny (pinhead-sized) spot of blood about ten minutes after the shave. Is that called a "weeper?" Another moderate success -- improvement over Day One.
Day Three: Same routine as before, except put the Merkur on setting #2.5. I also used a firmer grip on the razor, still using just its weight (or maybe slight pressure -- hard to tell). That's more like it! I got a much closer shave than I have in years -- far closer than the Mach III. Also, no bleeding at all! My patience seems to be paying off.
I have not achieved the venerable "baby-butt-smooth" shave, but I'm getting closer each time. That's not my goal, anyway. I have not been able to shave every day (without red, raw, inflamed skin & ingrown whiskers) since 1979. Now I'm able to get a close shave every day -- and have the healthiest skin of my life.
Conclusion: DE shaving is outstanding! I've been missing out for over thirty years, but I'm on board now. I'm confident that my technique will improve over time -- as will my results. However, even if the experience did not improve, I'm thrilled with the results -- as is.
Also, part of the improvement in results is from my practice whipping up an appropriate lather. My first few lathers, it turns out, were pretty dry. I'm getting closer and closer to the shiny whipped cream (with peaks) consistency you fine gentlemen at Badger & Blade have demonstrated in both pictures and video.
I welcome comments and suggestions. Thank you. You have given me excellent advice already.
:biggrin1:
Equipment and accoutrements: Merkur Futur razor, Merkur blade (came with the razor), Col. Conk Model 1001 brush, D.R. Harris Marlborough shaving soap, Art of Shaving sandalwood shave oil, Art of Shaving sandalwood aftershave lotion, eShave alum block.
Face prep (the same every time): Hot shower. Apply hot water to my face at the sink, then apply a thin coat of the shave oil. Load the brush and whip up a good bowl lather (thanks to the videos and helpful hints on this site). Apply lather with brush.
Day One: I dialed in the lowest setting (#1 - least aggressive) -- and literally used just the ample weight of the Futur razor. I did one pass with the grain, then another pass across the grain on most of my face. I followed this with a once-over from the alum block (which is awesome), applied the sandalwood shave oil, then the aftershave lotion.
The results were slightly worse than my Mach III. I purposely used the most conservative approach on day one, so, given my hellishly thick whiskers, this result was expected. I did not, however, draw any blood. A moderate success, in my estimation.
Day Two: Given the mediocre results from Day One, I dialed the Futur to setting #2 -- and repeated the procedure outlined above. The shave was much better than the first: moderately better than my Mach III. I did have one tiny (pinhead-sized) spot of blood about ten minutes after the shave. Is that called a "weeper?" Another moderate success -- improvement over Day One.
Day Three: Same routine as before, except put the Merkur on setting #2.5. I also used a firmer grip on the razor, still using just its weight (or maybe slight pressure -- hard to tell). That's more like it! I got a much closer shave than I have in years -- far closer than the Mach III. Also, no bleeding at all! My patience seems to be paying off.
I have not achieved the venerable "baby-butt-smooth" shave, but I'm getting closer each time. That's not my goal, anyway. I have not been able to shave every day (without red, raw, inflamed skin & ingrown whiskers) since 1979. Now I'm able to get a close shave every day -- and have the healthiest skin of my life.
Conclusion: DE shaving is outstanding! I've been missing out for over thirty years, but I'm on board now. I'm confident that my technique will improve over time -- as will my results. However, even if the experience did not improve, I'm thrilled with the results -- as is.
Also, part of the improvement in results is from my practice whipping up an appropriate lather. My first few lathers, it turns out, were pretty dry. I'm getting closer and closer to the shiny whipped cream (with peaks) consistency you fine gentlemen at Badger & Blade have demonstrated in both pictures and video.
I welcome comments and suggestions. Thank you. You have given me excellent advice already.
:biggrin1: