n00b with a blade

[enigmo]

Hi all,
New starter with DE shaving here. Weapons of choice are a Merkur 34C HD, Truefitt & Hill 1805, the badger brush and Derby blades that came with my starter kit, and an eShave alum block. Even though I've only just started, I've also invested in a solid little Omega stand that was cheaper to get shipped from the States than buy in Europe, and an utterly luxurious, top-of-the-line, stainless steel bowl (fiver on fleaBay)
Current thoughts are:
Why didn't I do this years ago?
This is so much better than that Fusion crap!
This alum block thingy; is it made of magick?
Hell, this feels manly...

Near plans are to refine the shaving process itself; I'm still having to repeat the mantra 'let the blade do the work... let the blade do the work...' to get out of the habit of applying pressure. Try and find advice on post-shave rituals and products; currently using my old Nivea sensitive balm after the alum block, and while it may or may not be good, it wouldn't hurt to check. And also work out this lathering thing. Currently it seems to be working OK; stiff little peaks like a meringue and seems to be doing the job, but still trying to get a consistent volume to do three passes.
So yes, I'll be searching through the guides here for advice, and probably asking dumb questions, but good to be here

[pipskicks]

Not enough lather? Can you list your prep and how you load your brush so we can try and see what's wrong?

[pipskicks]

How do you use your T& F 1805?

[Oblique Human]

Welcome to B&B!

[enigmo]

Hi Pipskicks,
At the moment it's a fairly unscientific approach:
Leave brush soak in hot water while I shower.
Shake out brush with 2/3 flicks, but don't wring out.
Swirl around surface of T&H 15-20revs with light pressure. Brush head ends up 3/4 covered.
1st pass coating, stand brush aside.
1st pass shave with grain. Light rinse.
2nd pass coating, stand brush aside.
2nd pass shave ear->nose. Light rinse.
3rd pass coating usually needs an extra few swirls around the cream.
3rd pass shave nose->ear.
Warm rinse. Cold rinse.
Alum
Balm

I've been pretty closely following the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IuA8HGacJw

But I'll almost always need that top-up swirl before or during the 3rd coating, and even then usually end up with mild razor burn on the neck, but I'm pretty sure that's an angle issue. This morning I did change it a bit in that I got a blob of the T&H on my finger and lthered it up in a bowl rather than directly onto the face. I seemed to end up with more lather, but still didn't make the distance. Maybe it's just an amount issue?

Don't know if it makes any difference, but where I live is a very hard-water area.

[de1234]

Welcome to B&B! I am just starting out too and having a lot of fun with it. What's helping me to is to remember not to go over the same spot twice during the same pass. When I forget to do that I can get some razor burn. Good luck!

[Threeme2189]

If you have hard water you may need to use more product (soap) to get enough lather.
With my creams, when I bowl lather, I almost always put more than the recommended almond sized amount.

Good luck!

[NickCutlip]

Welcome to B&B !!

[linty1]

Hi and welcome to B&B!

[dpmtherrien]

Welcome to the forum.

[Whilliam]

Welcome and enjoy!

[adios_mach_3s]

Welcome! I've been wanting to get an Alum block, but haven't tried one yet. For post shave, I love splashing on some witch hazel. (I get the generic drug store kind - it's cheap!).

[Sledgehammer39]

Welcome Aboard!

[Prof. Moriarty]

Welcome to B&B, nice to see another London member here.

[Straight Rasier User]

Welcome to B&B.

You did not do it years ago because you did not know.

Alumk Block is majic.

Use Witch Hazel after that.

Nivea is fine after that.

Then, Everything boils down to personal preferences.


“Best Brush”

A Brush is a Brush and they perform differently and they are different. Boar, Badger, Horsehair, Horsehair/Boar/Badger Combos, or Syns. Get a Boar (cheap or expensive) or a Good Badger Brush.


“Soap/Cream/Stick”

Soap or Cream or Stick ... Stick or Cream or Soap ... cheap or expensive ... expensive or cheap ... glycerin based, cold processed, tripled milled, or tallow. Get a couple of each and see what works best for you.

“Safety Razor”

Safety Razors ... determine what you want and how much you are willing to spend - Open Comb, Closed Comb, TTOs, 2-Piece, 3-Piece or an adjustable. The Merkur HD or Edwin Jagger 89 are both good beginning Safety Razors. Or get an Old Gillette (SuperSpeed or 3-Piece).


“Razor Blades”

Blades ... Get a Sampler Pack and then ... Good Luck. The differences between whether a Blade is Good or Bad for any individual is because the Hand of God is at work. Maybe it is the shave preparation, or maybe it is the type of hairs being shaven, or maybe it is the patterns on the face being shaven, or the type of Razor being used (different angles or blade gaps are created by the different razor head being used), or the shaving technique being used (wrong angle, too much pressure being used and pushing down on the razor to "cut closer", or even not using multiple-passes to reduce hair growth first and always), or maybe there is one or two Bad Blades in the pack being used, or maybe for whatever reason it is a Bad Blade to you.


”Best Blade”

At first use only One Razor Blade ... use this blade only for a few weeks ... changing when dull.

The First Razor Blade you use is your “Best Blade.”

Get several of your First Best Blade.

Get down the Basics of Shaving – Preparation, Lathering, Shaving with the Razor – light touch, proper angle and little pressure, Multi-Passes – WTG, XTG, and Reverse-XTG.

Get more information and look at the Mantic59 Youtube videos, the GeoFatBoy videos and read the Wiki.


“Finding Your Best Blade”

After you have everything down ... then use a different blade for a week and see if it becomes your new "Best Blade".

If not go back to the other blade for a week then, use a different blade for a week.

Your Best Blade is your base line blade for your tests. When you find your “Next Best Blade” then, that is your “New Best Blade”. Continue working through your sampler pack looking for a “New Best Blade”.

Please note that Different Safety Razors may have a different “Best Blade” and if you have poor technique then it will also affect your choice of a “New Best Blade”.

“Map Your Face”

Make Sure you have Mapped Your Face because that is the only way to know which way your hair grows.

“Technique”

Also make sure that your preshave preparation is down.

Then shave WTG, XTG and Reverse-XTG.

Rinse, Lather, WTG
Rinse, Lather, XTG
Rinse, Lather, Reverse-XTG
Rinse, Lather, Buffing.

No Rinse, No Lather, No Shave.

For the first few weeks ... Do not do ATG ... Wait until you have your technique down because you could and usually will be holding the safety razor upside down when shaving your neck and this may cause you some problems when trying to maintain the correct blade angle while applying a light pressure.

Be careful of Feather blades as they are super sharp and unforgiving make sure you are confident of your technique before using them.

Have Fun Shaving and May All Your Shaves Be BBS.

[enigmo]

Welcome to B&B.

You did not do it years ago because you did not know.

Alumk Block is majic.

Use Witch Hazel after that.

So, you would recommend using both an alum block and witch hazel?

[enigmo]

Welcome to B&B, nice to see another London member here.

It's all the shiny razors in the windows of Taylors in Jermyn Street that first piqued my interest...

[enigmo]

Welcome! I've been wanting to get an Alum block, but haven't tried one yet. For post shave, I love splashing on some witch hazel. (I get the generic drug store kind - it's cheap!).

I don't know what witch hazel does exactly but I will try it.
From my brief experience, alum is just spookily effective; any small cuts and nicks just stop bleeding and disappear (not cut myself very badly so can't comment on massive, Hellraiser-esque gouges), it tingles ever so slightly in a nice way, and just makes everything feel tight and clean until I stick the balm on, at which point it's all clean and comfy. Freaky, freaky stuff. Not used anything quite like it before.

[Useless shaver]

Welcome aboard! Glad you joined us!

Now you know...

[CorCat87]

So, you would recommend using both an alum block and witch hazel?

i do the same, but make sure you rinse off the alum be for you go to the witch hazel, the salts in the alum can cause it not to work