Jumile
02-21-2008, 09:43 AM
Hi all,
For those of you who read another popular shaving forum, this will seem like deja vu. So I apologise in advance for the lack of originality.
I've just signed up, having found this forum as a recommendation from Mantic's videos on YouTube, which I originally found via this Lifehacker article (http://lifehacker.com/353912/shave-like-your-grandpa).
I'm in my mid-30s and have shaved with a cartridge razor and pressurised shaving foam/gel since I first began shaving - except for a disastrous 6 months about 10 years ago when a friend talked me into getting a Philishave (it ate me alive, but I gave it a chance). I discovered the pleasure of brush and soap about a year ago when I was given some by a girlfriend, but went back to the goop when it ran out (didn't want to waste it - blame my mother's upbringing :rolleyes: ). The goop recently ran out so I've just bought some proper shave soap, and intend to stay with it. As luck would have it, it's Millett's Wool Fat - I love it! (Expecting a mixture of support and flames now...)
When I found the above Lifehacker article I began looking into shaving with a safety razor. After watching Mantic's excellent videos and doing some more reading, I found a nice vintage Gillette safety razor (http://i18.ebayimg.com/02/i/000/d7/f5/5b3f_1.JPG) on eBay (with original metal box) and I've been using it since Saturday. This morning was my 6th shave with it, the first two being with an Elios blade and the remainder being with an Astra Superior. (The Elios was not a good experience and the Astra has been brilliant - but it's hard to tell with any confidence whether it's solely because of the blades or my improving technique).
I also purchased a pair of straight razors from eBay this week (one of which has a tiny nick that I need to learn how to remove), but I'm a long way off trying them. I was nervous enough starting with the DE. Either way, I definitely need to buy a badger brush soon...
So, it's good to be here - hope to learn lots and contribute. I've already seen a bunch of threads I want to join in (not all shaving related), so thought I'd get the introductions out of the way sooner rather than later. :smile:
For those of you who read another popular shaving forum, this will seem like deja vu. So I apologise in advance for the lack of originality.
I've just signed up, having found this forum as a recommendation from Mantic's videos on YouTube, which I originally found via this Lifehacker article (http://lifehacker.com/353912/shave-like-your-grandpa).
I'm in my mid-30s and have shaved with a cartridge razor and pressurised shaving foam/gel since I first began shaving - except for a disastrous 6 months about 10 years ago when a friend talked me into getting a Philishave (it ate me alive, but I gave it a chance). I discovered the pleasure of brush and soap about a year ago when I was given some by a girlfriend, but went back to the goop when it ran out (didn't want to waste it - blame my mother's upbringing :rolleyes: ). The goop recently ran out so I've just bought some proper shave soap, and intend to stay with it. As luck would have it, it's Millett's Wool Fat - I love it! (Expecting a mixture of support and flames now...)
When I found the above Lifehacker article I began looking into shaving with a safety razor. After watching Mantic's excellent videos and doing some more reading, I found a nice vintage Gillette safety razor (http://i18.ebayimg.com/02/i/000/d7/f5/5b3f_1.JPG) on eBay (with original metal box) and I've been using it since Saturday. This morning was my 6th shave with it, the first two being with an Elios blade and the remainder being with an Astra Superior. (The Elios was not a good experience and the Astra has been brilliant - but it's hard to tell with any confidence whether it's solely because of the blades or my improving technique).
I also purchased a pair of straight razors from eBay this week (one of which has a tiny nick that I need to learn how to remove), but I'm a long way off trying them. I was nervous enough starting with the DE. Either way, I definitely need to buy a badger brush soon...
So, it's good to be here - hope to learn lots and contribute. I've already seen a bunch of threads I want to join in (not all shaving related), so thought I'd get the introductions out of the way sooner rather than later. :smile: