W
wilberfan
Hey, guys!
After tiring of paying God-knows-how-much-and-God-knows-how-often for Mach III replacement blades, I decided there HAD to be a "better, simpler way". I poked around Amazon and stumbled on what has to be one of the most helpful customer reviews ever: http://amzn.to/ghdxvl
Santa brought me the Merkur 180, a good quality brush, and some English Soap from a company that's been in business since 1863 or something...
I wear a full beard, but my first attempt at shaving my neck and cheeks resembled a crime scene. (Hey, don't laugh--I'll bet it happened to a lot of you!) Where do we go in the 21st Century to learn a new skill? Say it with me, "YouTube!".
After watching a barber-given tutorial, my 2nd attempt was an improvement--but still required the use of toilet paper to staunch the bleeding...
Prior to my 3rd attempt, I happened to go for a haircut and out of curiosity asked my (female) barber for some shaving tips (she always shaves the back of my neck with a straight razor).
She gave me what was new to me, but is probably quite "old-school" advice--the "lather, hot towel, relather, shave-with-the-grain, relather, shave-against-the-grain, don't-press-hard, finish-with-cold-water" routine... (And the "completely-dry-your-blade-and-apply-some-mineral-oil-to-it" thing, too.)
I tried it the next morning, and HUZZAH!! It worked just as advertised!
: It was the closest damn shave I've had--maybe literally ever?! Sure, it took longer, but I could see getting into the "Zen" of it. And I'm assuming that I'll get more physically skilled moving the razor around--there's definitely a learning-curve here! 
After tiring of paying God-knows-how-much-and-God-knows-how-often for Mach III replacement blades, I decided there HAD to be a "better, simpler way". I poked around Amazon and stumbled on what has to be one of the most helpful customer reviews ever: http://amzn.to/ghdxvl
Santa brought me the Merkur 180, a good quality brush, and some English Soap from a company that's been in business since 1863 or something...
I wear a full beard, but my first attempt at shaving my neck and cheeks resembled a crime scene. (Hey, don't laugh--I'll bet it happened to a lot of you!) Where do we go in the 21st Century to learn a new skill? Say it with me, "YouTube!".
After watching a barber-given tutorial, my 2nd attempt was an improvement--but still required the use of toilet paper to staunch the bleeding...
Prior to my 3rd attempt, I happened to go for a haircut and out of curiosity asked my (female) barber for some shaving tips (she always shaves the back of my neck with a straight razor).
She gave me what was new to me, but is probably quite "old-school" advice--the "lather, hot towel, relather, shave-with-the-grain, relather, shave-against-the-grain, don't-press-hard, finish-with-cold-water" routine... (And the "completely-dry-your-blade-and-apply-some-mineral-oil-to-it" thing, too.)
I tried it the next morning, and HUZZAH!! It worked just as advertised!
: It was the closest damn shave I've had--maybe literally ever?! Sure, it took longer, but I could see getting into the "Zen" of it. And I'm assuming that I'll get more physically skilled moving the razor around--there's definitely a learning-curve here! 
Enjoy your shaves and have fun!
