Advice for a newbie

Just joined the forum yesterday. I've been shaving with a Schick Quattro Titanium w/ Barbesol original shaving cream up until now. I'll be shaving with my new DE (merkur classic, long-handle w/ merkur blade) in the next few day's. When I shave now I take two passes. The first wtg, then the second atg. This works well except for the minor razor burn I get just under my jawline. Just curious what you guy's recommend for the first time with a DE razor. Any tips are welcome.

i.e. I'll be using an omega shaving brush with taylor of old bond shaving cream.

If you're getting good results with your current routine, stick with it. As far as the jawline irritation goes, watch your pressure (especially ATG) and/or try a milder pass than ATG - either a second WTG pass or XTG.

Watch your blade angle. That and pressure were my two big enemies. Also don't rush through it. Take your time.

Lots of Merkurs come with a Merkur blade in the package with the razor. Don't use that blade. The blade that came with my HD was not in good shape. Use a fresh blade.

Burt

drburt said:

Watch your blade angle. That and pressure were my two big enemies. Also don't rush through it. Take your time.

Lots of Merkurs come with a Merkur blade in the package with the razor. Don't use that blade. The blade that came with my HD was not in good shape. Use a fresh blade.

Burt

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+1 on the blade.

Welcome to B&B!!

Agree - pressure and angle. Learning them may take time and it's different for each person. And, light means lighter than you probably have in your mind right now.

Only thing I'll add is to make sure you have a really good lather - not too dry but rich and slick. Really slick!

Welcome to the forum!

I agree with the above advice and suggest a blade sampler from WCS or Bullgoose!

drburt said:

Lots of Merkurs come with a Merkur blade in the package with the razor. Don't use that blade. The blade that came with my HD was not in good shape. Use a fresh blade.

Click to expand...

Under no circumstances do you want to use the included blade. It has had at least two trips through the mail to get bashed around the box, and is guaranteed to be super dull as a result.

Merkur blades on the whole are pretty disliked around here, so you should probably order a blade sampler pack as soon as possible.

+1 on the Mekur blades ....run from them!!!
Happy Shaves

Had my first DE shave this morning. Went better than I pictured in my head. Two slight nicks on my chin and one on my lower neck. Nothing bad at all, the blood stopped very quickly. I did get some razor burn on my lower neck, but I know this was probably a result of wrong angle and too much pressure. I found it hard not to press down. I'm so use to feeling each whisker being tugged then cut. This shave was remarkable in that I hardly felt anything. At first I didn't even think the blade was hitting my skin, but then I realized that it was in fact shaving. Felt really really weird to me. I guess that's what 15 years of cartridge shaving will do to you. Also, I've got a tub of TOBS coming, but I got the razor yesterday and wanted to use it, so I used it with my Barbesol shaving cream. This might have contributed to the nicks and razor burn. All in all not bad for my first time. I know that some more practice will cure these slight problems. Thanks to everybody associated with this site, I really would have hacked up my face if if I didn't read many of the tips found here.

Yep, Merkur blades don't get much love around here. I've not used them but don't get discouraged by a bad shave if you use them. They may be the first thing to change. I did WTG, ATG on my first shave and it went great although now I do three passes, WTG, XTG and ATG as I found shaving every day, this gives me the best results.

Welcome to B&B!

Welcome to B&B!

Pete

+ 1 on an XTG pass. Welcome!

Welcome to B&B !!

Welcome to B&B!

Congratulations and welcome to B&B!

Welcome to B&B!

I believe your question has been answered so I will just welcome you to Badger & Blade.