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Greetings from NAS Pensacola

Greetings to all the members here. I suppose a brief shaving history of myself is due. In the past I would shave with a disposable (Mach III for a bit and a Schick Quattro in bootcamp) using Gillette's gel. I suppose it was a decent shave at the time, it removed the stubble appearing on my face: that was until I was browsing around Target. When I was at Target I stumbled upon Prorasso and gave that a whirl and boy was it night and day. My shave felt, smelt, and looked better. The blade glided and cut much easier. I took a brief break when I went to Marine Corps bootcamp where I would reunite with Gillette and proceed to tear my face apart because the limited time we had to shave. Now that I am a Marine and in student status I have more than enough time to get a good shave in the morning. I recently purchased Nancy Boy and utilized it this morning leaving me with a shaving experience I will look forward to tomorrow.
My father has been wanting to get an old-school (please don't thrash me if that is not the correct term, I am unfamiliar with all the shaving jargon) razor because he has been using throw-aways ever since I can recall looking in his bathroom drawers. So I purchased him the sample kit of razors from westcoastshaving and a Merkur Razor from Taize Shears.
Now I am on a quest to achieve the ultimate shave because it is very critical here. A man's credibility and image can be made or broken by his shave. So I request to know, what would be a good razor to start off and if I too should seek the sample of razors from westcoastshaving. Thank you all, I look forward to your advice and counsel.
 
Welcome. And you should definitely get a blade sampler pack. Which blade will turn out to be best for you is hard to predict---you just have to try them:

In the US: here and here.
In the UK.


By consensus, the best razor for the beginner is the Merkur Hefty Classic ("HD"): straightforward and excellent to learn with.

I think you'll enjoy the exploration.
 
PT --(name?) Welcome to B&B and a fine lifelong shaving adventure. Thanks for your service and sacrifice.

You'll do fine here, there are lots of folks who will be helpful and willing to guide you along. Since you are still looking into acquiring your kit, you would do well to first read Leisureguy's shaving blog. Also, view Mantic's shaving videos that he has posted to YouTube on the net. These are terrific resources, and I recommend that you review these 'before' making any additional purchases. Also, at the top of this forum are two postings by 'Kyle' that are stickied or 'pinned' are should be read as well.

Read a lot, post some, and enjoy your shaves.

-- John Gehman
 
After watching every video Mantic59 has posted on youtube, I have decided to definitely give a safety blade razor a shot. Does anyone have any links for building up a good lather with Nancy Boy, I understand that Nancy Boy is meant to be lathered by hand not with a brush.
 
M

modern man

Dose Gunny know you are here. :lol:

Welcome Aboard (I love saying that to Marines).

Nancy Boy Lathers just fine with a brush.
 
Nancy Boy is intended as a brushless shaving cream, but I imagine most guys on this board do use a brush to lather it up more. I do. And there are other shaving creams that definitely require a brush. Given your situation, you might want to try a soap stick---shaving soap in stick form. You rub it against the grain all over your wet beard, and then build the lather with a brush directly on your beard. Works great.

You can get shaving soaps from:

QED: http://www.qedusa.com/cat_OtherProducts.htm
Mama Bear: http://www.bear-haven.com/ShaveSticks.html
Vintage Blades: http://tinyurl.com/2mdcfa

Give one a try.
 
Welcome to B & B Marine. There's a good bunch of guys here, and have helped me a lot on my journey for a better shave. Stay motto out in Pensacola. (Former Cpl Tommy D)
 
Oorah Corporal. I've been looking at some aftershaves to start off with and have decided on the following:
1. Nancy Boy AS
2.Clubman Pinaud Virgin Island Bay Rum
3. AquaVelva - we used this stuff in bootcamp mixed with rubbing alcohol so I have never used it straight up.

Any favorites you gentlemen would recommend?
 
So I am currently doing some shopping on classicshaving.com. I have so far in my cart Pinaud Clubman Original and Bay Rum for my aftershave. I need help on the following topics:
1. Shaving Lather Mug
2. Brush
3. Preshave products

As far as the razor I am split between the Injector and the Merkur Classic. Any ideas?
 
Any brush will work.

The only mug I recommend from classicshavingis the Classic "Super Mug" , but ANY mug will do, what you are looking for is a wide mouth and short sides. An enameled coffee mug from the camping section of Walmart or other megastore will do nicely.

I'd choose the classic over an injector.

Jimro
 
I also would recommend the Merkur Hefty Classic ("HD"), and of course you definitely should get the blade sampler packs mentioned above.

I didn't find pre-shaves of any help, but you can experiment and see how they work for you.
 
So I am currently doing some shopping on classicshaving.com. I have so far in my cart Pinaud Clubman Original and Bay Rum for my aftershave. I need help on the following topics:
1. Shaving Lather Mug
2. Brush
3. Preshave products
As far as the razor I am split between the Injector and the Merkur Classic. Any ideas?
Good idea on the Clubman. Great classic scent, not too heavy. The Pinaud Bay Rum is good, but it can really put the burn on your face, especially in the hot weather. Save it for evening wear until you know how it affects your skin. If it's too strong, or you don't like the heavy clove scent, a good alternative is Ogallala Bay Rum. Sold on e-bay, but click here: http://www.ogallalabayrum.com/

I'd use just a nice bowl to lather in. You shouldn't need a special mug, unless you just want one. A generous-size coffee mug will do as well. If you get cream in tubes or tubs, just need a lather bowl, or lather on your face. If you get hard shaving soap pucks, buy the refills, not the fancy wooden bowl. Wal-Mart has 1-cup Anchor-Hocking clear bowls with a plastic snap-on lid, pack of 4 for $5. Work great for holding shaving soaps.
Lots of people here like Proraso pre-shave. I do myself, but Noxzema is easier to find locally and MUCH less expensive. Good to try, then consider Proraso if you think your beard needs it. See the thread here: http://www.shavemyface.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19001&highlight=proraso+preshave+noxzema
Brush-- Badger of course is best. I'd get a good low-end to start with, then you can look for better as your knowledge and personal preferences develop. Try this Tweezerman from ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/His-Tweezerman-...ryZ11844QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Razor-- I'm not sure what you mean by the "Injector", I didn't think classicshaving had anything like that.
The general wisdom here seems to be that the Merkur Heavy Duty Classic is the best for the beginner. There are some who would say the latest Merkur, nicknamed the Sledgehammer, is even better. The HD is #34C, the Sledge is #38C. Both razors have the same head design, differences in length of handle and total weight. Since I don't use either of those (I have Vision, Futur, Slant, and Long-Handled Classic), you should perhaps get comments from others here.
 
I'm still fairly new, but really enjoy the Merkur HD. My first impression was that it was a little small in my hand, but after a week straight of shaving, feels real good. I may want something bigger & heavier in the future, but I can see why it's recommended as a started DE. Like Leisureguy said, get the blade sampler from WestCoast Shaving. Let us know how it turns out.
 
As for a vessel in which to build lather, I simply got a three-dollar bowl at Target. It's a bit bigger than a mug -- I just measured, and it's about 5 inches in diameter and about three inches high. It's not overly slick, and it's black. It's pretty much just what I was looking for, except just a little larger.

As Mantic (Mark) said in one of his videos, a latte mug is great. That's actually what I was looking for. The disadvantage of my bowl is that there's no handle, so I'm just a little more careful to try not to drop it. It's just about the right size to hold in my hand.

I guess my point is that you don't have to spend $10 or $15 on a mug if you don't want to. Lots of different things will work.
 
Welcome to the B&B Marine. As for you shaving bowl/mug, I use a Kelloggs cereal bowl. It works fine, but could use a handle. Most people find pre-shave oils or treatments relatively worthless (there are some, however, that swear by them, so in most things around here YMMV) so I wouldn't spend too much time with that at the moment. Just get out of the shower and start shaving.

A good link for lather making is found here.
 
Does anyone know of a website that has the Merkur HD in stock. Classicshaving.com is currently out of them. Thanks again gentleman.
 
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