Yahoo, a newbie finally gets a full BBS shave!

Well I've been continuing to follow the posts and review the tips and techniques posted by all the veterans here and I finally acheived a complete BBS shave this morning. Even managed to get it smooth under the chin and the undersides of the jaw.

I had been challenged a bit trying to get the Mekur HD to work well for me and had been going back and forth between it and a Gillette SS. Finally decided to stop switching and stuck with the Mekur for the past week and I think I'm getting the hang of it.

I've also been playing around with a number of different shave creams, a full case of SCAD has certainly set in, but went back to one of my first purchases this morning, Taylors Lavendar. A nice hot and rich lather from my Moss Scuttle and boy things are starting off nicely! Somehow I am able to get the best lather from Taylors and Proraso, anyway it paid off this morning with an easy shave that just seemed to glide along. A touch of Nancy's AS gel, which I'm now offically addicted to, and what a great start to the day!

Thanks again to everyone here for sharing their expertise and happy shaving to all!

Jim

Congratulations on the BBS shave -Way to go!

Congratulations Jim!

Way to go! You're inspiring me to give the HD another chance...

Josh

Good to hear it. Now keep doing it!

Good work, Jim.

Well done Jim.

Great job. Now let's see you do it again!

Good work!

Good job Jim.

I can't wait till I get my Nancy Boy cream along with my a/s gel. Should be interesting.

Glad to see this thread because it gives me some encouragement.

I just received my HD yesterday. I had been using a cheapo Wilkinson Sword Classic.

This morning was my first time out with the HD and it wasn't a great experience. It just didn't go that well. The end result was okay and I survived with only a couple of nicks, but my technique definitely needs some work.

Buzz said:

Glad to see this thread because it gives me some encouragement.

I just received my HD yesterday. I had been using a cheapo Wilkinson Sword Classic.

This morning was my first time out with the HD and it wasn't a great experience. It just didn't go that well. The end result was okay and I survived with only a couple of nicks, but my technique definitely needs some work.

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Hi Buzz, do you have a first name?

Welcome to B&B.

Which blade were you using in your HD?

Well done Jim! The first of many...maybe just not in a row!

Glad to hear that you are getting great results so quickly, keep it up.
Cheers, DJ.

First of all thanks to everyone for the encouragement and words of support. We'll see how tomorrow goes but I'm hopeful of at least a decent close and comfortable shave now!

To Buzz, be sure to hang in there, I'm probably one of the slower folks to pick this up and it's taken me about a month to get to the point where I'm really comfortable with the DE each morning. Also, just my opinion, but I really would suggest trying a few different shave creams or soaps as well as types of razor blades. For instance I really like the scent of T&H Rose but it isn't the most lubricating cream I own, on the other hand AOS unscented is so moisturizing that I don't want to use it during the summer. And as I mentioned in my first post, for me, the Taylors and Proraso give me the closest most comfortable shave (although my new Castle Forbes is certainly in the running, just have to work a bit more on the water to cream ratio ) But when you reach the point where it's all working for you I'd certainly say the journey was worth the reward! I'd never consider going back to an electric razor and had no idea that shaves at home could be as good as the ones I'm getting now. Take advantage of all the great folks on this forum and you'll enjoy the results I'm sure.

Jim

Congrats!


Marty

Jonnybc said:

Hi Buzz, do you have a first name?

Welcome to B&B.

Which blade were you using in your HD?

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Fortunately, I do have a first name!

Bill. (Sorry should have put that in my first post.)

I ordered a shaving set from http://www.shavemac.com with silvertip brush, stand, bowl and a Merkur HD . Looks nice.

Going against recommendation, but I used the blade that came with the Merkur. Looks the same as the Merkur blades I'd also ordered. The blade seems okay to me compared to the others I've tried in my old razor. My plan is to make Saturday my blade changing day, so I'll replace it tomorrow anyway.

Had my second shave with it this morning. Better, but I'm still experimenting with techniques I've read about here. I can see that the weeks ahead will be a learning experience. In particular, I need to get faster.

Hi Bill

The blade that comes with the razor isn't that good usuallt. Remember Merkur aren't the only blades out there you will need to find out which blade suits your face and your razor. I tend to put specific blades in each razor I own to get the best results.

jimkuhr said:

To Buzz, be sure to hang in there...

And as I mentioned in my first post, for me, the Taylors and Proraso give me the closest most comfortable shave

Click to expand...

I have a few different creams and soaps, but for the moment I'm using the often-recommended Proraso.

I figure that I'll stick with that basic setup for a couple of weeks before I start really experiementing with other creams, soaps, etc.