budget BBS

alright. i just got done shaving. and a got a BBS (hence the title) but what really amazed me, is wat the BBS is from, the VDH set (brush and bowl) Williams soap (sucks to be you Michiganlover, you're getting out lathered by a 15 yr old (yes that's a challenge))
and a Gillette ballend tech (thanks luvmysuper. my second favorite razor and the second best shaver i've got the best shaver isn't even my favorite though, but that's another story) and "sharp" blades. (those blades don't usually agree with me)
so, i guess the question here is, what is the minimum you need to get a BBS or DFS shave? (plz, don't say an obsidian spearhead and dove soap )

Obsidian spearhead and Dove soap.

Seriously, I believe skills are more important than things. Assuming the razor, blade and whatever you're putting on your face aren't total crap in the first place. I'll bet you could do it with single blade disposables and dollar store shave gel.

ZJ68 said:

Obsidian spearhead and Dove soap.

Seriously, I believe skills are more important than things. Assuming the razor, blade and whatever you're putting on your face aren't total crap in the first place. I'll bet you could do it with single blade disposables and dollar store shave gel.

Click to expand...

i agree totaly, my freind. with propertechnique, you can get a great shave with anything. i guess i should have made my point more clear
the point of this thread was to give people ideas on what other people use to get good shave. to give "noobs" an idea on what more experienced members use (i'm not sure if i discribed that right)

I got dfs with walgreens blades that I'd never used before and a synthetic brush loaded with soap not meant for shaving. It's really not that hard, just pay attention. Also when youre young your beard isnt as coarse or dense as it will be one day, no matter how manly you feel you already are

For me face is a lot easier to shave than the neck and I usually get a BBS for the face with minimum effort and I try J-hooking and Buffing with my DE once a week in order to maintain a certain level of skill. I think that some time in the future I would be able to do a BBS shave if I combine the knowledge of my necks stubble with the knowledge of how to shave like a DE ninja. After cardridges I´ve been using Merkur 39C and now I dont really pay attention to the price since I´ve gained a deeper understanding, a stronger sense of self and how to remove stubble with a powerful somersault.

I've gotten a BBS shave with a dollar store 15c cartridge and a nickel sized amount of olive oil. (Don't ask me why I did this please lol)

Was it enjoyable... not really; was it irritation free... nope.

If the goal is the most economical route to a BBS, there are many options. My goal is a DFS, irriation-free shave that is filled with enjoyment and luxury.

A Lada will take you to the grocery store and back, so will a Maserati; if I had no choice I'll take the Lada, if I had a choice... well, you know

tvldatsi said:

I got dfs with walgreens blades that I'd never used before and a synthetic brush loaded with soap not meant for shaving. It's really not that hard, just pay attention. Also when youre young your beard isnt as coarse or dense as it will be one day, no matter how manly you feel you already are

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+1 on that. Wait til you're in your 50's and see how rough your beard can be.

When I was 15 or maybe 16, I think I used some kind of disposable and got BBS without even trying very hard. Heck, I didn't even really know what I was doing, but I was shaving by-golly! My mother, (dad used an electric) said I could just use some soap or if I wanted she would buy me some shaving foam next time she went to the grocery store. That first shave lasted nearly a whole week and stayed BBS for way over a day. I remember thinking how my upper lip must feel just like that baby's butt in that Ricardo Montalban commercial.

Now days I need a very sharp blade to get BBS. Fortunately that does not mean spending a lot of money. I use 10 cent Red Pack IP bades in my 40's style Superspeed, a $10 Omega boar brush, and a variety of soaps and creams from low cost performers to high end premium super performers. However, I will not waist any of my shaves on Williams and have even written off VDH (mostly because I use it up too fast). There are way too many really good performing lathering products that don't cost much per shave to ever spend my time on a ho-hum shave regardless of whether or not it is BBS.

For me, BBS lies in the prep, the sharpness of the blade and technique. The lathering products aid in this, but are not nearly as critical as the other three. I could get BBS (and have) using Ivory soap, but it does not bring me as much shaving enjoyment and can cause discomfort.

I love rich luxurious lather mostly because it just feels so good to have it on my face. I have often seen fellows say that the only thing that matters is the thin layer that contacts the skin and whiskers. I say this is bunk, as a thicker lather just plain feels better and the extra lather keeps the thin layer on the skin and whiskers from drying out. Also, I believe a thick lather must hold in some heat, perhaps this is why it feels so wonderful.

So, yes, BBS can be had without spending a lot of money and I highly recommend things like the VDH starter kit, the Omega 49 Pro boar brush and cheap little old Red Pack IP blades. Lathering products have WAAAY too much YMMV to say everyone should love this one or hate that one, (with very few exceptions, I'm thinking Caswell-Massey before the latest reformulation ), but I will strongly recommend trying more than VDH and Williams, as truly great shaves await once you do.

I will, however, participate in the occasional Williams bashing thread just because it is fun.

OK, I'm a noob not an experienced wet DE shaver yet, for the 2nd time. (1st time was 40 years ago- don't encourage me)

I'm using the cheapest gear I could find partly because I'm a curmudgeon, partly because I'm a frugal Yankee. 3rd part 'cause the technology is mostly the same and I already have it.

My 40+ year old black handle DE Gillette Super Speed 40 year old w/Personna blade from same era or 60 year old SE GEM lightweight with an original blade
CVS kit- boar brush and VDH deluxe soap, lather built on my face
Witch Hazel

I could get a BBS shave, but I've always gotten ingrown hairs (40 years ago) when indulging in ATG, so I'm only going WTG and XTG. It's a pretty darn good shave from either razor.

I believe it's technique and just letting the razor do it's job that gets the job done w/o weepers and worse. Letting the fingers guide the razor in it's path but letting the razor do the work.

And I've been at it a whopping week, but it comes back pretty quick.

Next: blades for the old Valet from 190x and see how that shaves.

flight567 said:

alright. i just got done shaving. and a got a BBS (hence the title) but what really amazed me, is wat the BBS is from, the VDH set (brush and bowl) Williams soap (sucks to be you Michiganlover, you're getting out lathered by a 15 yr old (yes that's a challenge))
and a Gillette ballend tech (thanks luvmysuper. my second favorite razor and the second best shaver i've got the best shaver isn't even my favorite though, but that's another story) and "sharp" blades. (those blades don't usually agree with me)
so, i guess the question here is, what is the minimum you need to get a BBS or DFS shave? (plz, don't say an obsidian spearhead and dove soap )

Click to expand...

Well it depends on your equipment and more importantly your face. The tools that can provide a BBS shave are too numerous to mention, but you only have the one face to shave. When I around 12 my face needed to be shaved daily because my beard was thick. I could get away with a lot as far as lack of tools and technique because my face was young and taut. Now I have been shaving 35 years, my face, though still fairly smooth and more youthful looking compared to others my age, has a lot more areas that cause problems. My beard, which was always stout, is much thicker and harder (like wire) than when I was young. My face has grown thicker so the angles are more tricky than they were when I was young. I have a few ridge lines on my lower neck that require more care and less aggression than in my youth. So there are times that a BBS shave is not always a good thing because you can get too aggressive and cause yourself problems. Things like technique is important, and solid skills are good to have at your command, but wisdom requires the refinement of time and experience.

So enjoy your young face and easy BBS shaves, because as the old blues song says, "If you live, your time will come!"