My search for the perfect shave....

My first post to this forum.


I've been shaving for many years, for the past 25 years + I've been using a variety of electrical shavers....but I haven't been happy with the final result.


As of late I've gone back to non electric shaving.

For the past month I've been using Gillette Sensor Three and Gillette shaver gel.

This combo is not bad...better shaves then my electric shavers have given me.

However I'm thinking seriously of going to the Double Edged shaver, I recall my father using one of these up to about the late 1950's.

He had a brush and used to mix up his shaving soap in a shaving mug.

Eventually, by the early 1960's (when I started shaving) he had gone to electric shavers.

I thought I would try the DE experience. Imagine my surprise when after a diligent and fruitless search, I was unable to find any DE shaver, shaving brush, shaving soap or DE blades in my Western Canadian city of around 700,000.

So....mail order it will have to be.

I've looked at what is available, but I'm not sure which way to proceed.

I've looked at some DE offerings from Muhle, Jenner, Parker, etc. I may have got the names wrong.

I like the idea of a stainless steel DE shaving tool.

I'm not sure which DE shaver, which blades would be the right ones for me.

I would say I've got a moderately heavy beard and also the Gillette Sensor Three blades seem to work well for me...except that I like the traditional look...and I'm guessing the feel..... of a DE shaver.

Also.....I know I may have committed a cardinal gaffe by saying this.... but do I need shaving soap...a shaving brush....a shaving mug with a DE shaver...as the Gillette Gel works very well with the Sensor Three shavers ?


Any suggestions ?

Thank you.

Les

Welcome to B&B. I am new to DE shaving also. I am using a Gillette Super Speed razor to learn with, and also a glycerin based shave cream. Just had my first shave with it last night. It is a huge improvement over my Gillette Fusion.

Make sure you do plenty of searching around the forum and ask questions. Everyone here seems to be very nice so far.

You should also make a post in the newbie section so everyone can give you a proper reception.

Since you're in Canada, http://www.fendrihan.com/ might suit your needs. They also have a discount of 10% to B&B Members – Code “B&B” according to http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Vendor_Discounts.

I wouldn't start out with a vintage razor anyway, a lot of them may have issues that will detract from the quality of the shave and turn you off from DE shaving. I recommend getting the Edwin Jagger DE89L since the price is actually pretty good from that vendor, and that particular razor seems to make a lot of people happy.

Good luck!

Are there any antique stores/malls near you, I have bought most of my collection of assorted razors, mugs and brushes from antique stores. A lot of B&B members buy a vast majority of their razors from these stores. There is nothing wrong with vintage razors, it doesn't take a genius to see if an old razor has issues. Don't forget about single edge GEM type razors, these could give you one of the closest shaves possible and many are cheaper than DE's. Injectors are also an excellent choice but they are a bit harder to find good blades for....but they are out there. Happy searching!

Welcome to the group and welcome to the world of de shaving !!

Lesmore said:

My first post to this forum.
Also.....I know I may have committed a cardinal gaffe by saying this.... but do I need shaving soap...a shaving brush....a shaving mug with a DE shaver...as the Gillette Gel works very well with the Sensor Three shavers ?
Les

Click to expand...

Hi,
My experience is similar to yours. 30 some years of electric shaving, following up with a cartridge to clean up the bad electric shave. My beard is somewhat fine although cartridge razors tug like heck and cause considerable discomfort. So a few weeks weeks ago I gave DE a serious try. It was a very nice change, close shave and no painful tugging. I used my canned gel for several days until my other supplies arrived. It works fine for me at my skill level and my relatively light beard. I tried some soaps and had similar decent results after a little practice at lathering. I tried some tube creams just 2 days ago and my very early observations are they are more slippery and give me better protection. I'm finding them a little harder to rinse off though. Still very early in my learning so take this with a grain of salt. My only point is you might as well give the brush and mug a try and compare results. For probably $30 US you can get a beginner's brush and some soap pucks and a cream to compare. For now canned gel, soap and cream all give me a decent shave. I'm sure as I gain experience, I will prefer one over the others. I was looking for an instant answer of which is best, but its just going to take time.

Welcome to B&B! You're going to have fun!

Hi there:

I would suggest going mail order as its the only way to get decent products at a reasonable price. I can't speak for vendors in Canada but I can make some suggestions that may help you:

The gillette gel I wouldn't continue to use, I find it very drying on my face although you might find it ok, depends on your skin type. I would suggest via mail order buying a cheap but reasonable shave cream and /or soap. You really can't beat Proraso or Kiss my face for cheap but excellent creams. Soap wise I'd suggest something like Col conk or Muhle shaving soap, If you can try to get hold of palmolive shaving stick (this is my current go to soap) although how available it is over the pond is up for debate (make sure its the euro version) this stuff is very cheap but produces excellent shaving lather.

To answer your final question, with creams I would suggest you use a shaving mug or scuttle as its easier to make up a decent batch of lather. With shave soaps, I tend to face lather and can get a decent lather with either of the above soaps or Mitchells wool fat soap, although I wouldn't suggest that soap until you get your lathering technique sorted.

Hope this helps.