Another NooB

After a childhood of memories of my father's Old Spice shaving soap mug in the bathroom, and his recent passing, I finally used a safety razor for the first time tonight. This forum provided this lurker with all the tips and suggestions that I needed to get started on the glorious wet shaving path. I like to think that my Dad would be proud of me, and the experience somehow makes me closer to him.

The arsenal this evening was ... Col. Conk Apothecary Shaving Mug (I don't have my dad's yet), Parker pure badger brush, Edwin Jagger DE8911, Feather DE blade, Ogallala Bay Rum Sandalwood shaving soap and aftershave. It was a bloodless first shave, which was miles more than I expected. I love the aftershave ... Almost oily, which I never experienced before.

So, thanks for all of your advice, and helping me connect with my dad.

Welcome aboard! A bloodless first shave is something to be proud of for sure. You'll find that the people here took up this hobby for many different reasons. It sounds like you'll be enjoying every shave as spending a little time with dad.

DavosBlade said:

After a childhood of memories of my father's Old Spice shaving soap mug in the bathroom, and his recent passing, I finally used a safety razor for the first time tonight. This forum provided this lurker with all the tips and suggestions that I needed to get started on the glorious wet shaving path. I like to think that my Dad would be proud of me, and the experience somehow makes me closer to him.

The arsenal this evening was ... Col. Conk Apothecary Shaving Mug (I don't have my dad's yet), Parker pure badger brush, Edwin Jagger DE8911, Feather DE blade, Ogallala Bay Rum Sandalwood shaving soap and aftershave. It was a bloodless first shave, which was miles more than I expected. I love the aftershave ... Almost oily, which I never experienced before.

So, thanks for all of your advice, and helping me connect with my dad.

Click to expand...

Great to have you posting....

Welcome to the Madness. Good work on the first shave, keep us posted on the next ones!

Hi, and welcome. Great to have you here. Congrats on your first shave and great memories of your dad, I am sure.

Welcome to the forum. Great information to be had and shared.

Good thing you got your dads razor. unfortunately when my dad passed I was big into fusion and let his gear get away. I wish I had it now.

Enjoy

Hello and welcome to B&B!!

Ben

Welcome to B&B

Nice "kit" you've put together. DE989 is a good choice.

Drop into the Shave Wiki and read over some of the shaving articles. http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/ You will find a LOT of useful info in there.

If you have not already done so, stop into the Hall of Fame and tell everyone a little about yourself

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/forumdisplay.php/30-Hall-of-Fame

Hello, welcome to B&B!

Thanks all for the warm welcomes. A quick update and NooB question.

As I reported above, my first shave was last night. I don't shave at night, but when all my tools/toys arrived, I couldn't wait for the morning. I am not generally an aftershave kinda guy, mostly because I have a fairly sensitive sense of smell. That sense of smell is wonderful for picking out nuances in a glass of wine. But, makes most aftershaves, colognes, etc. just intolerable. Well, the Ogallala Bay Rum Sandalwood aftershave was great at first. A bit strong for me, but soothing. And then I woke up in the middle of the night about ready to gag on the smell. Note to self, don't put scented aftershave on before bed!!!!

Second shave was this morning. I got a bit more aggressive with the razor this time. Not bloodless, but nothing to call 911 over. Just a few dots around the chin. I haven't reached the BB smooth level yet, but feel like I am on the right track. If it was perfect the first time, it wouldn't be a Zen-thing.

Now the NooB question. Do you keep your shaving soap puck in the mug at all times, or do you keep them separate? So far, I have kept them separate ... adding some soap to the brush and then generating the foam in the cup. Thoughts?

Welcome to the forum !!

Welcome and thx for your post.

Welcome to B&B.
On the issue of lathering with soap, I suggest you review this excellent tutorial http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/21136-How-to-make-great-lather-from-a-soap-Tutorial It works!

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the B.

Davosblade, welcome to B&B's fantastic site! Congrats on the bloodless first shave--your are to be commended. I also have a new DE8911 and am quickly growing to love it. My first experiences with Feathers was ok, but not great. Astra SP blades are serving me well. I still have to try my samples from Bolzano and Red Personna

Thanks to all for the continuing warm welcomes and tips!

This morning was my first "real" business-day morning shave. After getting tips/directions from you all, and suffering through two days of strong, long-lasting aftershave, I decided to change things up.
- Replaced the 2 shave-old Feather blade for an Astra SP. My initial reaction is that the Feather was a bit sharper, but not enough to make a difference if there is a cost difference favoring the Astra.
- Used Col. Conk's Amber glycerin shave soap (a freebie with my mug), and used the technique linked above. (soak brush, wring out extra water, load brush outside bowl, create lather in bowl). Whether it was the technique or the shave soap, I don't know. But, I quickly worked up much more lather than I ever had with the Ogallala soap. It easily lasted through 3 passes, and I had plenty left over.
- I focused on short (~1") strokes and remembered to use both sides of the blade. The short strokes definitely help. I still have to think to turn the razor over before cleaning in the sink. After 40 years of stroke-rinse, stroke-rinse, it is funny that I have to concentrate on stroke, flip, stroke, rinse.
- Used good old Clubman aftershave. It doesn't have that nice oily feel of the Ogallala, but I doubt I will pass out over the perpetual scent. Not that the Ogallala scent is bad, it is just omnipresent ... it reminds me of the saying that "absence makes the heart grow fonder" ... there is no absence once you apply the Ogallala!

I changed too many variables to know for sure, but I think the short stroke technique resulted in my closest shave yet. Almost BBS.

That is it for Day 3.

Thank you for sharing. Welcome aboard!

Hello, welcome to B&B.

Welcome to B&B!