Belated Probie check in, and greetings.

[KaiserKrebs]

Hello B&B members, really enjoying the site; after reading, and observing for some time I have finally decided to post. I have been traditional DE wetshaving now for a little over a month, and enjoying it greatly. I say probie as in probationary period because,although getting greatly improved results I have yet to achieve a perfect BBS shave. I have done the facial mapping deal, and admittedly my jawlines and neck were always problematic even during the days that I used an electric.

I have been doing the three pass shave WTG,XTG, and ATG with some blade buffing attempts thrown in for good measure. I have been getting good, decent shaves, but still being driven mad by the rough spots that I seem to be encountering. I re-lather before each pass as well, not using any pressure, and been virtually nick free from early on. However my face feels a little raw by the time I finish with the three passes, and touch up. I'm thinking that I am just going over the same areas too often.

I guess it will just be a matter of persistence, as I began doing this more for the nostalgia aspect rather than ease, or economy. I must say that my wife likes the results, and didn't mind my shaving gear takeover of one of the bathrooms.

So on to what brought me here....serendipity I guess, and Mantic 59. About ten years ago I found a 1975 black handled Gillette super adjustable at a Goodwill outlet, I paid my five bucks and took it home. I then purchased a pack of Gillette DE blades from my local WalMart. I ended up finding a new VP boar bristle brush at a thrift store too. I gathered it all together, and not knowing any better used a canned shaving cream, and cut my face up but good. I knew nothing about blade angle etc, so it all ended up under the bathroom cabinet where it sat dormant until recently. I recently found an old DE blade bank at a yard sale, so this was the inspiration to dig out the shaving gear and have another go. Now that Youtube exists, I happily discovered Mantic 59, and watched, and learned. Yes he really did teach me all the things about wet shaving, my dad never did. My dad was an electric man, so I ended up as well by default.

No more for me now, I've always enjoyed collecting, and antiques etc, so now I'm enjoying looking for vintage shaving gear too. At the moment I'm using the 75' super adjustable, and just found a 51' black tip super speed to use also. The VP boar brush is still going strong, and I went with Proraso cream to start, and haven't felt compelled to switch to anything else. prefer to finish that first I guess, but a good badger brush will be in my future, as well as some good shaving soap. Can't forget about the blades, after I exhausted the generic Gillettes, switched to Wilkinson Sword Classics. I'm getting about six shaves per, so since I bought 100 of them..uh i'll be set awhile. I think them to be a good blade, but of course do not have a varied comparison as yet. Using Dominica Bay Rum A/S, a dear friend gave me a bottle years ago, and could never find it again until I utilized Mantic's vendor suggestions. So that's about it, once again enjoying the forum, and my new vintage shaving adventure. Regards, Dustin.


Hopfen und Malz...Gott Erhaltz.

[kdalmand]

Welcome to B&B. Mantic's videos went a long way in teaching me also. It's amazing how it took modern computers and internet to teach so many of us how to shave the old way. Prepare yourself, though, the spending has just begun.

[SiBurning]

Welcome to B&B.

The standard advice is:
Get a blade sampler. The right blade will might a difference.
Try a glycerin soap, a tallow or oil soap, and a shaving cream.
Keep working on technique, especially a lighter touch, and keep trying out different things to find out what works best for you.

Enjoy the ride.

[thunderball]

Welcome sir!

[rm71]

Welcome aboard!

[Luc]

Welcome to B&B Dustin!

[mdunn]

welcome aboard, mate

[Gruder]

A warm welcome to B&B, Dustin. You mention something about irritation after too many passes -- how's your lather?

[NickCutlip]

Welcome to B&B !!

[DSB]

Welcome to Badger and Blade!

[thermographer]

Welcome to B&B Dustin. Enjoy the site. Your right, those Mantic videos are excellent. I just learning to shave at 41, a work in progress.

[mretzloff]

Welcome to Badger & Blade.

[Wingnut]

Welcome, Dustin!