New member

I'm new to the site and I love what I see here: A community of people who are friendly and helpful to newbies and pros alike. Thanks in advance for the welcome.

I've used a badger brush to apply shaving cream for about a year now and loved the results from that change alone. Now, I've purchased a safety handle, some blades and some nice soap to get started. I'd like some feedback on anything you see in my setup.

Merkur 180 Long Handled Safety Razor
7 a.m. blades
Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood shaving cream bowl
The brush came from a gift set by The Art of Shaving

I'm shopping around for a better brush, but I'm not sure where to start. I've reviewed the differences between 100 percent pure badger, super badger and silvertip, but I'd rather not spend more than $40 for now.

Either way, I'm looking forward to becoming a part of this community.

Welcome to B&B!

Great set up you got there, the razor and cream you choose are excellent and the brush should be more than sufficient at whipping up a great lather

If you find yourself having a hard time with those 7am blades I might suggest getting a sample pack of blades from westcoastshaving.com or razorbladesandmore.com

Otherwise, enjoy the process, take your time and ask lots of questions along the way.

Welcome to B&B!

Consider investing in a blade sampler, too.

Welcome to B&B.

Welcome to B&B

Welcome to B&B!

Welcome.

Thanks, gaj. I'll check those out. The Merkur is still coming in the mail, so we'll see how the blades perform. Unfortunately, I confused these with Gilette's 7 O'Clock blades. Maybe it'll be OK.

mandoman said:

welcome to b&b

Click to expand...

+1

Welcome to the B! Ditto on a sample pack. You can learn a lot about technic simply trying out different blades.

Look on the BST forum for a brush ... on occasion there are some great handmade badgers in your price range. I had one of those AOS brushes for quite a while. I'm glad to have expanded my horizons.

Eric V said:

Welcome to the B! Ditto on a sample pack. You can learn a lot about technic simply trying out different blades.

Look on the BST forum for a brush ... on occasion there are some great handmade badgers in your price range. I had one of those AOS brushes for quite a while. I'm glad to have expanded my horizons.

Click to expand...

I'll dig around and see what they have on there. I looked around eBay, but sometimes I wonder about used brushes. Should I?

Welcome to B&B.

Welcome to B&B!

There's no problem getting a used brush, if it's not already cleaned, or you want to clean it youself just to be sure you can follow this cleaning process: http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php?title=How_to_Clean_a_Shaving_Brush_-_Brush_Care

And for some good advice starting shaving with a DE you can look here: http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php?title=Interactive_Guide_to_DE_Razor_Shaving

Good luck with your shaves!

Welcome to B&B !!

Welcome!
I have two of the same items, the Mercur 23C or 180 and the TOBS Sandalwood (both good choices, if I do say so myself), and I completely agree: go for the blade sampler. Totally worth it, you get to try out different blades - and they really ARE different - and you'll find a great fit for your razor.

Good luck!

welcome to b&b

Hello, and welcome. Good to have you here, enjoy this site.

I also went through some of the other threads and learned a little about corking. Should that only be done before you shave, or anytime when you get the blades?

Welcome to B & B. I'd cork a blade just before loading it. But very, very few people find a need for corking.

Used brushes can be easily cleaned. If you go to the brush forum, look for the sticky on cleaning a brush. Here is the link.

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php?title=How_to_Clean_a_Shaving_Brush_-_Brush_Care

Welcome aboard! You might look at the Vulvix line of brushes. Reasonably priced and a decent enough brush.

Mike