Best choice you can make, keep us posted if you decide to use the Feathers.Just got a pure badger brush in the mail as a late gift from my pops. I didn't mind my boar brush but... shave number 12 with this shavette was lather-tastic. Getting pretty comfortable with the ATG pass on the neck, maybe one of these days i'll try a XTG pass. Really liking these derby blades, my friend sent me some feather DE's to try, but ...they scare me a little. Just ordered a small puck of Ogallala bay rum and sandalwood to try out so, looking forward to that.
Just officially tossed out my M5 Magnum and that canned crap gel foam, no looking back ^^
Best choice you can make, keep us posted if you decide to use the Feathers.
Lol will do, my friend that sent them to me told me when i'm finally comfortable enough to try them out, I have to get the shave on video for him.
So how soon before your son is on his own shaving?Five weeks in and I have learned:
1. This place is the most polite forum on the net. I have yet to see anybody flamed. Lots of good people to enable the wetshaving obsession.
2. That I should have left cartridges long ago. I am in my late 40s and there will not be enough time to discover all the possible combinations of creams, soaps, brushes, razors, blades and scuttles. So I have started my soon to be 15 year old on wetshaving. He has been cartridge shaving for a year already.
3. That one of the best razors (ATT) is made here in the good ole USA.
4. That what once was a daily chore (shaving) can be 30 minutes of sensory fun (razor singing, scents of products, warm brush with warm lather)
What I have not learned:
1. Why anybody would recommend starting with a Derby, let alone continue to use one.
2. Why Wm. Neumann products don't get any love on this forum. Not a schill here, just happened across there products before I found this site. Seems like decent stuff, but I am branching out to many and various other vendors.
Sometime in the middle of November 2013, my attention was drawn to a thread on another site, not connected to shaving, about converting to a safety razor. I then proceeded to conduct as much research as I could and determined this was something I wanted to try. I proceeded to acquire the necessary items for my starter kit and I find myself still making acquisitions.
I have been wet shaving with a safety razor for a little over a month and feel I am progressing in the right direction. For the most part I am shaving every other day with the occasional back to back days.
It quickly became apparent to me that my face would need a break in period along with improving my technique. Patience and minimal pressure are crucial. The interesting thing about DE shaving is that if you get lazy, don’t pay attention or rush, the blade will quickly remind when you get lax resulting in weepers, nicks or razor burn. Having a sufficient amount of time to shave is very helpful especially when starting out on this journey.
I rapidly became aware that researching the threads on Badger and Blade was and is going to be a valuable resource.
In addition, I have found that experimenting with different creams, soaps and combinations was going to be helpful. Experimenting with different products and techniques with this type of shaving seems to part of the overall enjoyment. I truly look forward to my next shave and it made me realize how mundane cartridge shower shaving was.
Rediscovering Pinaud Clubman brought me back to a time when I went to the barber shop up the street to get my haircut as a younger boy and young man. It has been a very nostalgic trip so far that invigorates positive memories of the grooming process that was taken for granted.
So far, the biggest thing I have learned is to keep what works, yet remain willing to try different techniques and adjustments that will hopefully allow me to hone my overall shaving experience in a consistent manner. I continue to make adjustments to my neck and jawline while minimizing irritation. It is still very much a work in progress. Some days are better than others. Fortunately, I have been able to achieve some excellent shaves so far and I hope to keep progressing in this fashion.
I am glad I came across this option for facial grooming. I enjoy the need for detail and attention wet shaving requires and I am pleased when the finished product meets my expectations. It blows away any results I have ever had with cartridge shaving.
The electric does not really cut off the hairs all the way, it just kinda skims off the top. That is why you need an adjustment period with the DE so your skin can assimilate the sharper blade.I am making steady progress so far -
I have learned that Derby blades are not a good fit for my face and have switched to Astra SP in my sampler pack, and those seem to work much better for me.
I also followed prep that was expertly laid out here, and found that it took much more time, but I rather enjoyed slowing down and just enjoying the experience. I am sure the improved and more thorough prep worked wonders today as I did not experience the burning that I have been feeling on my neck.
I'm not sure how much of that belongs to the prep and how much to the Astra SP blade, but my gut says the prep made a big difference in that. The Astra SP was much less "draggy" than the Derby for me.
I'm still feeling a bit of stubble on my neck, but am sticking to only doing a WTG and XTG pass for a week or two.
My big trouble area is my lower neck on both sides - my beard grows in a swirly pattern, so I am very concerned about ingrown hairs there.
I am also finding it very challenging to keep the proper blade angle when shaving my neck.
It has been a BIG shift from decades with an electric!
Thanks for all of the guidance!
Tommy, very good post, keep up the progress. Some days are better than others, just think hair removal on the bad days.Sometime in the middle of November 2013, my attention was drawn to a thread on another site, not connected to shaving, about converting to a safety razor. I then proceeded to conduct as much research as I could and determined this was something I wanted to try. I proceeded to acquire the necessary items for my starter kit and I find myself still making acquisitions.
I have been wet shaving with a safety razor for a little over a month and feel I am progressing in the right direction. For the most part I am shaving every other day with the occasional back to back days.
It quickly became apparent to me that my face would need a break in period along with improving my technique. Patience and minimal pressure are crucial. The interesting thing about DE shaving is that if you get lazy, don’t pay attention or rush, the blade will quickly remind when you get lax resulting in weepers, nicks or razor burn. Having a sufficient amount of time to shave is very helpful especially when starting out on this journey.
I rapidly became aware that researching the threads on Badger and Blade was and is going to be a valuable resource.
In addition, I have found that experimenting with different creams, soaps and combinations was going to be helpful. Experimenting with different products and techniques with this type of shaving seems to part of the overall enjoyment. I truly look forward to my next shave and it made me realize how mundane cartridge shower shaving was.
Rediscovering Pinaud Clubman brought me back to a time when I went to the barber shop up the street to get my haircut as a younger boy and young man. It has been a very nostalgic trip so far that invigorates positive memories of the grooming process that was taken for granted.
So far, the biggest thing I have learned is to keep what works, yet remain willing to try different techniques and adjustments that will hopefully allow me to hone my overall shaving experience in a consistent manner. I continue to make adjustments to my neck and jawline while minimizing irritation. It is still very much a work in progress. Some days are better than others. Fortunately, I have been able to achieve some excellent shaves so far and I hope to keep progressing in this fashion.
I am glad I came across this option for facial grooming. I enjoy the need for detail and attention wet shaving requires and I am pleased when the finished product meets my expectations. It blows away any results I have ever had with cartridge shaving.
Five weeks in and I have learned:
1. This place is the most polite forum on the net. I have yet to see anybody flamed. Lots of good people to enable the wetshaving obsession.