soon to be first timer...i think

Hi all and cheers to the New Year! I have been reading these forums for the past month or so. Was tired of shaving but something has caught me and I want a better shave! I have enjoyed skimming through the forums but I find I just get more confused on how to start and I am looking for suggestions.

Where I was: Found I could only shave about twice a week. This helped razor burn issues with the Mach 3 and Barbasol I had grown accustomed to using. Some shaves would pull off perfectly, others...ouch (I would say about 60 good/40 bad). I am tired of this.

Where I am: Being tired of the razor burn, etc and watching, hearing, and reading there is a better shave out there (thanks to some articles, youtube vids, and finally this site) I decided to at least get some better cream/soap. It was a random purchase (Disneyland family trip over Thanksgiving, wife wandered into the Body Shop, great sale) I bought some pre-shave face scrub, shave cream from the Body Shop. I have been shaving with it (no brush and no double edge, still using mach 3) and it has improved my shave. But I am still looking for more!

Transition questions?
1. Can you suggest a good brush for someone like me?
I am big (6'6" 245 lbs) and would like the brush to fit well in my hand. I am a teacher/coach--in other words, I am looking for a good buy as money can be an issue--however, I am willing to spend more if it makes that big of a difference from Pure, Best, Super, or Silvertip.

2. I would like to finish up the mach 3 cartridges before I make the full DE switch as I was just given a large pack of them and for the sake of money not sure if it is necessary...what do you think? Also, I am very nervous about the DE switch as it seems there is a large learning curve and I lose patience with this type of thing quickly. Would it be a total waste to stick with cartridges or do you think I should just move on (after they are gone)?

3. If I am using a cream, should I purchase a bowl or just use a mug or can it be done in the container the cream came in (it is not a soap)?

4. I saw a nice looking Edwin Jagger shave set on Amazon.com, are these worth it?

Thanks for all your help ahead of time...Im so new to this and just confused on what to do next but I know I need to do something.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Welcome to B&B.

PM sent.

FYI....about six months ago I had my son switch from cartridge to DE blades due to the fact that he had a lot of outbreaks on his face. Ingrown hairs and bumps and so on. I taught him how to make the switch and next thing he knew things began to improve and now he no longer has the issues. Take the leap of faith and I think you will see that you too will have similar results.

Hi Coach, Welcome to Badger and Blade. I can understand about the confused part, I spent weeks getting past the information overload.

I was a M3 user for many years and from the information from this website, I was able to improve my M3 shave as I waited for gear to come in.

I hot shower, use some conditioner on the beard area, Kyles prep making sure to massage shaving lather into beard area, hold hot towel for three min, clean off and re-lather.

My old routine was a one pass, get er done, more pressure = closer shave! Wrong. I now do reduction passes with No pressure before my final cleanup pass, and I also use the M3 blade buffing as shown in Mantic's advanced shaving techniques. Since you have sensitive skin, your results may very and you might want to see how your face reacts to several passes or blade buffing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQco5PWc2JU

I didn't use up all my M3's, I kept a few for a quick travel or when I'm in a hurry. I think I have one left. For what it's worth, I was the skinny kid who never made it up the rope hanging from the gym ceiling. Happy Shaving

Welcome!

You could do worse than an Omega Professional #49 boar brush. It's fairly soft, and great with soaps, and you can get it for less than $20 shipped.

As for the M3 carts, you might find yourself using them with your new brush while you perfect your lather. You can also keep them for travel or for days when you're in too much of a hurry for a DE shave.

Welcome to B&B! If you have large hands it wouldn't hurt for you to consider a larger brush. Outside of that I'll let the gents weigh in. They'll be sure to have you covered in no time!

SlagleRock said:

Welcome to B&B! If you have large hands it wouldn't hurt for you to consider a larger brush. Outside of that I'll let the gents weigh in. They'll be sure to have you covered in no time!

Click to expand...

+1, Welcome to B&B....Enjoy the ride!!!

Welcome aboard!

welcome! going to be a lot of advice coming your way. just stick with it, you'll get a good shave with that DE in no time.

I think you should use the rest of those cartridges while you learn how to lather up the soap or cream of your choice. So you could break up your purchases a bit if you need to. Get the brush and cream/soap, learn how to use them while you burn off the rest of the carts then get a razor and a blade sampler pack.

As far as using a mug, or bowl or whatever.. doesn't have to be fancy. A large coffee cup or small cereal bowl will do just fine.

mantic videos. watch them like game film.

Thanks for the great advice! I have a feeling I am about to be sucked into the world of shaving (gotta make it fun somehow).

Keep it coming...Please

The Body Shop cream you have is pretty well regarded here, so that's a good start. As for a brush, boar brushes are a great value, especially if you are just starting out. They are a bit different than badger, and they take a little longer to "break in." If you'd rather get badger, a Rooney 3/2 would be a good start for a larger brush. The best badger is quite nice, and the super is a bit softer at the tips, but a bit more expensive.

I would go for the DE razor as well, you can get a Merkur HD for about 35 bucks, or a vintage Gillette on the buy/sell/trade forum here. A Gillette Tech would be a nice start, it's quite mild and you can get a decent one for about 10 bucks. I would recommend you also try a blade sampler pack from West Coast Shaving. Blade preferences tend to vary widely from one guy to the next, so it's hard to say what you'll prefer without trying a few different ones.

The learning curve isn't too bad, especially if you watch the YouTube videos made by Mantic59.

Welcome to B&B!

Welcome to B&B !!

+1 on using a vintage Gillette over a Merkur HD. I started with the HD, and it's a great razor, but a little heavyhanded for a new shaver (YMMV). I have since switched to a 1948-50 Super Speed and am extremely pleased with the results. I'll go back to my HD soon, now that I've become much more comfy with DE shaving.

FiXXXer said:

The Body Shop cream you have is pretty well regarded here, so that's a good start. As for a brush, boar brushes are a great value, especially if you are just starting out. They are a bit different than badger, and they take a little longer to "break in." If you'd rather get badger, a Rooney 3/2 would be a good start for a larger brush. The best badger is quite nice, and the super is a bit softer at the tips, but a bit more expensive.

I would go for the DE razor as well, you can get a Merkur HD for about 35 bucks, or a vintage Gillette on the buy/sell/trade forum here. A Gillette Tech would be a nice start, it's quite mild and you can get a decent one for about 10 bucks. I would recommend you also try a blade sampler pack from West Coast Shaving. Blade preferences tend to vary widely from one guy to the next, so it's hard to say what you'll prefer without trying a few different ones.

The learning curve isn't too bad, especially if you watch the YouTube videos made by Mantic59.

Click to expand...

Welcome.

Good wet shaving prep and aftershave care will improve things with cartridge shaving till your DE goods come in. Mach3s are brutal on my face.

Nate.

Welcome to B&B

You could use up all of your mach 3 blades but start using the techniques learned on this site for practice. Watch Mantics videos on youtube, tons of good info.

If your on a budget i would say an omega pro would be hard to beat. Check out the review section of the forum, B/S/T is also a great place if your starting out.

Thanks to grump I have a Fat Handle Tech and some blades along the way. That makes my starter package:
1. The Body Shop Face Scrub (pre-shave)
2. The Body Shop Cream
3. The Body Shop Razor Relief (post-shave)
***above was spur of the moment purchase that got me started (great sale)
4. Fat Handle Tech + Blades (and some samples???)


I now need a brush and I was about to splurge based off reading this forum too long: Shavemac #177 23 mm!!!!

Talk me out of it. West Coast Shaving has it for $78.00. I wasn't planning on spending that much but I would love to do this right (if that is possible) and enjoy the experience. Should I go with this or go with a Omega Boar (two opposite ends) or go in the middle with something else entirely?

A good badger would be nice, if you can spare the money i would go for it. Personally if i spend more that $50 i'm making sure its a silvertip though.

I think that my next brush is going to be a penworks silvertip. They look very nice and get good reviews around here.

The best part of the omega pro is that its easy to add a $11 item to an order of blades/soaps and justify it since it will make your order qualify for free shipping.

That's an advanced B&B trick to justify buying more stuff .

yeah, well the wife shot down the Shavemac idea unintentionally when she reminded me our car registration is due. Just ordered the Omega Stripey for $24.00.

You'll love the omega, its a great brush.