Newbies, tell us how is your shave progress so far, what have you learn?

Wolfthorne said:

I'm a little over 6 weeks in and have learned the following:

• I have RAD. Started with an EJ89 and gravitated to a 58 Gillette SS for awhile. I liked the SS over the EJ weight-wise. I then picked up a 68 Slim Adjustable which is my current daily driver. Also picked up a few other vintage Gillettes mostly my birth year (Travel, Slim, etc)
• Technique is pretty much set as far as number of passes, ATG/WTG/XTG, angle, how to shave under nose, around scars, etc. Getting BBS on cheeks, DFS everywhere else. Still get carried away sometimes trying to get BBS in certain spots.
• Still working through blades, liking Personna Red's and Astra SP.
• Favorite cream so far is TOBS Sandalwood.
• Love the burn of Aqua Velva AS
• I'm lucky enough to have time for a full "zen" shave most mornings.

I gave my 75 year old uncle a 66 Gillette SS, a new boar brush and some TOBS cream after he was complaining about his disposables. His eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas

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Wolfthorne said:

I'm a little over 6 weeks in and have learned the following:

• I have RAD. Started with an EJ89 and gravitated to a 58 Gillette SS for awhile. I liked the SS over the EJ weight-wise. I then picked up a 68 Slim Adjustable which is my current daily driver. Also picked up a few other vintage Gillettes mostly my birth year (Travel, Slim, etc)
• Technique is pretty much set as far as number of passes, ATG/WTG/XTG, angle, how to shave under nose, around scars, etc. Getting BBS on cheeks, DFS everywhere else. Still get carried away sometimes trying to get BBS in certain spots.
• Still working through blades, liking Personna Red's and Astra SP.
• Favorite cream so far is TOBS Sandalwood.
• Love the burn of Aqua Velva AS
• I'm lucky enough to have time for a full "zen" shave most mornings.

I gave my 75 year old uncle a 66 Gillette SS, a new boar brush and some TOBS cream after he was complaining about his disposables. His eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas

Click to expand...

Barny said:

As a bone fide newbie - two months, I am a little worried that there are people on this thread with hundreds or even thousands of posts who are commenting. How long does this learning / newbie phase last?

I have two razors, a Muhle R89 and a muhle R41 2013. Went for the extremes in an effort to narrow down the best type of razor for me. First shave - shower, lather, shave with R89 with way too much pressure = another shower to wash off all the blood. A month later I am preferring the R41. R89 is unable to get close enough. Had some good, and careful, shaves with the R41 and Astra blade recently. Tried the R41 with a feather blade yesterday! Too cocky. Thought I was going to need a blood transfusion.

What have I learnt. Do not rush. keep the variables to a minimum. Do not blame the tools and keep enjoying the anticipation you get from not knowing quite how well the next shave might go. Oh yes. An do not press as if you have a Mach 3 in your hand!

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Barny said:

As a bone fide newbie - two months, I am a little worried that there are people on this thread with hundreds or even thousands of posts who are commenting. How long does does it last.

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Marquis_De_Wyld said:

Well, usually it begins during puberty and ends when you cease sucking air long term.
Seriously though, there is always something you can learn.... For example, I learned (albeit in a rudimentary fashion) that it's pretty easy to create a useable shave oil that works well and as it involves chemistry... It' right up my street.

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Marquis_De_Wyld said:

@alex2363-Not quite, but I do like applying scientific method to things. I am currently working on improving the magnification on a USB endoscope, which ATM is around x 40.... So as to get a detailed visual catalogue of blades and how they shave.
Think the mind should be something that one exercises regularly.
As for the shaving oil, I tested yesterday... Results seemed promising, from such simple ingredients. May do a write up, after a bit more testing and tweaking.

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Marquis_De_Wyld said:

Will do.
Think I need to look round for more oils before I do anything more elaborate.
thinking of oak moss or similar woody oils... Sadly the ones I just looked at aren't cheap.

Having said that, at least good raw ingredients are pricey, meaning that when someone skilled (read: not a rank dabbler), puts them all together in an EDT, AS or whatever.... It kind of explains why the goods ones aren't dirt cheap.

Well, the huge fortune we amass saving money on DE blades... We have to spend it on something nice for ourselves surely?

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BradWorld said:

I am about 10 weeks into DE shaving. I picked it up very fast. I found DE shaving to be fun and very satisfying right away. I also have a terrible case of RAD. I started with a Merkur 34C like many others. While it gave me a very nice shave right from the beginning, and didnt cut me up too bad while I was learning my technique, I made the "mistake" of buying a vintage 1951 Black Tip Gillette Super Speed within a week or two of starting this "hobby". Wow, I was blown away by the cool feeling of using a 65 year old razor, and getting such an awesome shave. I found it much more enjoyable than using the 34C... at least at that early stage. Needless to say, I started buying up a bunch of vintage Gillettes. I think I have 10 different ones now, ranging from 1930's up to my birth year 1967. Also, I have been using my 34C as my travel razor now due to its small size. Now that I have a bit of time under my belt, i find using it so much more enjoyable as I rotate back to it from the vintages. I found it so much fun, and found it to have a much more precise and modern feel, that I have now started buying some modern razors. I first bought a RazoRock SLAB. What an awesome razor that is! Probably the closest shave of my life! And I also bought a Muhle R89 Grande, and a couple of Maggards... an R5 and R22. Waiting for those to come in as well. I have been buying soaps, aftershaves, and brushes too. All in all, its a very satisfying hobby without spending too much cash. I am a serial guitar and bass collector, with a huge collection, so my wife is quite happy my attentions have turned to the shaving stuff and have been off the guitars and amps for a while.

Regarding technique, I am sure I have a long way to go. But I am quite comfortable and happy with where I am at right now. I watch load of youtube videos on lathering and shaving technique. But i find the shaving enjoyable, and the results are really good. I think I have the angles, pressure and strokes down. I think I still need to do a bit more work on mapping out my lower neck area, but I am most of the way there. And my lathering technique is quite good now. I find I do most of my lathering in the bowl, and continue to lather on the face as well. A good combo of bowl and face seems to work well for me.

This is a really fun hobby. Anything where I can obsess about gear, and also use it in a practical manner is good for me. And this place feeds into the fun as well! Everyone here has been very helpful.

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alex2363 said:

Off the record who's your favorite guitar and bass player?

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Homer J said:

SRV and Cliff Burton!

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Marquis_De_Wyld said:

Will do.
Think I need to look round for more oils before I do anything more elaborate.
thinking of oak moss or similar woody oils... Sadly the ones I just looked at aren't cheap.

Having said that, at least good raw ingredients are pricey, meaning that when someone skilled (read: not a rank dabbler), puts them all together in an EDT, AS or whatever.... It kind of explains why the goods ones aren't dirt cheap.

Well, the huge fortune we amass saving money on DE blades... We have to spend it on something nice for ourselves surely?

Click to expand...

Dave-the-rave said:

I've learned I get get just as good a shave with one razor as I can with twelve.

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