Hi All,
I've been lurking for a while and thought I'd check in with a success story
Last Spring after my grandmother passed away I came across an old GEM Featherweight in one of the travel trunks stored in her garage. Although the thing was probably 60 years old it looked like it had never been touched. I had never shaved with anything except a cartridge razor, but it piqued my interest so I ran down to the drug store and found some blades for it. I lathered up with some cream from a can and had a REALLY CAREFUL SHAVE. It was kinda' exciting, but I came away with enough razor burn that it went in the drawer and I forgot about it for almost a year.
A month or so ago I ran across it again and decided to give it another try. This time I had a little more confidence and things were monumentally worse! Haha! I decided to hit the internet and figure out what I was doing wrong. I found the forum and started reading up.
I decided to take a break from the GEM and bought an Edwin Jagger DE89 (with the cool barley handle!). Since then I've been watching videos, working on making good lather and trying new blades, but I've been managing, at best, crappy shaves. I've lowered my expectations and taken days off for my face to heal but I've been starting to feel a little discouraged.
Then today I came home from work and the Mrs had taken the kids out for the evening. Since nobody was home I relaxed a little bit and with nothing better to do, decided to work on my lather. I wasn't sure how well I was doing with the lather so I slapped some on and tried a few strokes with the razor. I scrubbed up the lather a little more and tried again. I really concentrated on my angle and pressure and the grain of my beard. Suddenly it was 20 minutes later and I was sporting THE BEST SHAVE OF MY LIFE! I guess I just needed to take some time to relax and focus
I immediately knew no one would truly appreciate hearing about my awesome shave except a nameless group of strangers on a shaving forum, so I dried off and grabbed the laptop to make my first post.
What a great thing, to find enjoyment in something that before was just another chore. Thanks to everybody for the great advice and a great forum!
I've been lurking for a while and thought I'd check in with a success story
Last Spring after my grandmother passed away I came across an old GEM Featherweight in one of the travel trunks stored in her garage. Although the thing was probably 60 years old it looked like it had never been touched. I had never shaved with anything except a cartridge razor, but it piqued my interest so I ran down to the drug store and found some blades for it. I lathered up with some cream from a can and had a REALLY CAREFUL SHAVE. It was kinda' exciting, but I came away with enough razor burn that it went in the drawer and I forgot about it for almost a year.
A month or so ago I ran across it again and decided to give it another try. This time I had a little more confidence and things were monumentally worse! Haha! I decided to hit the internet and figure out what I was doing wrong. I found the forum and started reading up.
I decided to take a break from the GEM and bought an Edwin Jagger DE89 (with the cool barley handle!). Since then I've been watching videos, working on making good lather and trying new blades, but I've been managing, at best, crappy shaves. I've lowered my expectations and taken days off for my face to heal but I've been starting to feel a little discouraged.
Then today I came home from work and the Mrs had taken the kids out for the evening. Since nobody was home I relaxed a little bit and with nothing better to do, decided to work on my lather. I wasn't sure how well I was doing with the lather so I slapped some on and tried a few strokes with the razor. I scrubbed up the lather a little more and tried again. I really concentrated on my angle and pressure and the grain of my beard. Suddenly it was 20 minutes later and I was sporting THE BEST SHAVE OF MY LIFE! I guess I just needed to take some time to relax and focus
I immediately knew no one would truly appreciate hearing about my awesome shave except a nameless group of strangers on a shaving forum, so I dried off and grabbed the laptop to make my first post.
What a great thing, to find enjoyment in something that before was just another chore. Thanks to everybody for the great advice and a great forum!
.
