S_T_P's Journal

My story is probably much like the next guy. I have shaved my whole life using everything from cheap disposable razors to expensive multi-blade razors. I was even a member of the Dollar Shave Club for almost a year. Long story short, i ran into a shaving podcast out of the blue that discussed wet shaving and all of its glory. I soon began researching DE razors and wet shaving a little more. It didn't take long to figure out that this was for me.

I finally decided to purchase a quality DE razor and the accessories needed to complete a high quality shave. So far it has been a great experience. I hope that documenting this journey will help me learn, improve my technique, and make great friends. Im looking forward to trying different razors, blades, soaps, creams, after shaves and other products in the future.

Currently i am still using the same pre shave preparation that i always have. Take a shower, wash face with soap/warm water. Usually i splash more warm/hot water on my face just before lathering up to help soften the hairs. Im very open to trying different pre shave preps in the future. Pre shave oil, hot towel on the face, etc.

Ingrown hairs on my throat/neck areas have always been problematic as the grain goes in many different directions. Especially when shaving against the grain. Other than my neck area, ingrown hairs aren't much of an issue. I hope that one day ill be able to shave against the grain on my neck.

I usually shave every 2-4 days. If i shave daily it seems like i have major issues with razor burn/ingrown hairs. It will be interesting to see if i can successfully get into a daily shaving routine now that im DE/wet shaving. I would really enjoy that.





Here is a list of my current shaving accessories:


Edwin Jagger DE89Lbl Double Edge Safety Razor
Escali 100% Pure Badger Shaving Brush
Perfecto Deluxe Chrome Razor and Brush Stand
Proraso Shaving Soap with Green Tea and Oat - Ultra Sensitive Skin
Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood Shaving Cream Bowl (waiting to be delivered)
Small lathering bowl i picked up for $1 at goodwill
16 pack of different sample blades

Captain's Choice Original Bay Rum After Shave
Clubman Virgin Island Bay Rum Body Care After Shave
Clubman After Shave Lotion After Shave
Aqua Velva Classic Ice Blue After Shave

1st through 5th shave update. This is my 5th shave using a DE safety razor. This shave was probably the best shave i have ever had. I have been using the derby blades that came with the razor and using them 2 shaves per blade. Im know i could get more out of them but im eager to get into my sample pack! The derby's seem to be pretty decent so far, no major complaints. My first shave i was a bit nervous but learned a lot. Second shave i felt a bit more confident. On my 3rd shave i decided to try to go against the grain. Had a BSS, but a day or so later the ingrown hair problem plagued my neck pretty bad. I gave it a few extra days with no shaving to recover and then went back to shaving like i have been (3 pass shave WTG, XTG one way and XTG the other way.) On my neck i have been only going WTG. That seems to be the best thing for me right now with my ingrown hair problem. Hopefully I can eventually get that issue straightened out.

6th shave update.

Had a nice 3 pass shave this afternoon. Still using Derby blades. Had a few minor nicks, perhaps im still applying too much pressure sometimes. Im doing my best to practice good form. I ended the shave with cold water, dried off face and then applied a liberal amount of Clubman Pinaud Bay Rum after shave. For not going against the grain i still have a near baby smooth shave.

Welcome to B&B and kudo's for starting a journal right at the start of your adventure! It sounds like you are starting off on the right foot. Your EJ 89 is a wonderful razor and your aftershave choices are excellent! The rest of your gear isn't too shabby at all, either.

I mainly use straights, but when I use my DE (a Slim), I hold it fairly close to the head between the pads on my thumb and index finger. the very end of the handle just rests upon the tip of my index finger, with the other two fingers stretched out to get out of the way. That's for my North-South (mainly WTG) pass and helps me avoid using any pressure when shaving.

For blade usage, I generally use a blade for four shaves. That's very much a YMMV thing, with some folks going less and others longer. To keep track of how many shaves on a blade, I have a die in my bathroom, which I rotate around. It really helps me as sometimes I will only take a DE shave once a fortnight or so. Others do some simple things as well, like swapping blades on Mondays and Thursdays if they are daily shavers, or once a week if they shave every second day or so.

rockviper, thank you so much for taking the time to check out my journal and offer all of these great tips. I will keep all of this in mind. I plan on eventually using my blades for more than 2 shaves, im just so eager to use up my Derby's so i can get into my sampler pack lol. Btw, i love the die idea! Thanks again!

Save a few of your Derby's for later on. Once you've gone through your sample pack, go back to the Derby. Your technique will have improved (hopefully ) and you might end up with a different result from them.

Great advice, I will definitely do that. Btw, i would like to try to see how many shaves I can get out of a single blade some day. Have you ever tried that?

Of course, I have. Was able to go for about a week and a half on some. Then I got smart and realized that 4 was a real easy number. That way, I didn't have to remember how many shaves I could get from brand-x or brand-y.

Welcome.

"fortnight"? That's a first. lol

Welcome and congrats for starting the journal. I too have very sensitive skin. In that sense, the straight has been a blessing for me.

Make sure to use 0 pressure on your neck. Don't chase a BBS on your neck. It's not worth it. Only you will know if you have a BBS there instead of a CCS or DFS. Trust me, it's not worth the irritation!

Best of luck and keep us posted going forward.

rockviper, i visited a thrift shop today and there was some dice sitting inside a glass display case. I asked how much for one and he gave me 2 free. One is red and the other is white. Now I can keep track of my blade usage! Thanks again for the tip.

Attila, I guess I'll be sticking with only going WTG on my neck. Honestly WTG on my neck gets me pretty darn close. Will do my best to use zero pressure!

Welcome to B&B, S_T_P, and thanks for starting a journal; It will help you and others to no end.

I shave with both DE and Str8 razors and can tell you I enjoy both more than ever. No matter what, just be patient, read up on the wiki and things will take their natural course. At some point (sooner than you think) you'll be getting better shaves than the majority of those around you. You'll also enjoy them more, too.

Best of luck!

StubbleTrouble said:

Welcome to B&B, S_T_P, and thanks for starting a journal; It will help you and others to no end.

I shave with both DE and Str8 razors and can tell you I enjoy both more than ever. No matter what, just be patient, read up on the wiki and things will take their natural course. At some point (sooner than you think) you'll be getting better shaves than the majority of those around you. You'll also enjoy them more, too.

Best of luck!

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Thanks StubbleTrouble. Im really learning a lot from this wonderful site. I feel like progress is being made with every shave.

7th shave update. Had a wonderful shave. Should be getting my Tobs sandlewood shaving creme tomorrow.

8th shave update. I seem to have bad luck when posting on here. Ill write a long post and then hit a stray button and lose all of my work. Im gonna to try to keep this simple. Got my TOBS Sandalwood shaving creme in today. It really does lather nicely and with ease! Great smell, seems to give a nice shave as well. Seems to mix ok with my Clubman Bay Rum aftershave. I have decided to get into my blade sample pack. No peticular order, just pulling out whats on the top. First blade is a Treet Super Stainless. It gave me a nice close shave. Not sure if i can tell much of a difference between this and a Derby blade. I would have to say this gave me a little more irritation than the Derbys have. Again its my first try with this Treet blade, i will definitely try to get 2 or 3 more shaves out of it and review it more. Im just getting over the flu, gotta get some rest. This shave definitely lifted my spirits some!

A bit off topic. I tried black licorice as a kid and didn't like it. Today i randomly grabbed a bag of Darrell Lea brand licorice and gave it a shot. I love it! I always thought of it as "old people candy", i know my grandpa would annihilate this stuff. Call me crazy but when i eat this stuff it makes me want to shine my boots and then get a nice shave on. My god, im turning into my grandpa I can picture him shaving with a DE safety razor and then eating some black licorice. If i could put my feelings into words right now they might be - "Old School", "Original", "Independent", "Manly".. Or maybe this is all crazy talk?

9th shave update. 2nd shave using the Treet blade. I really get a close shave with these. I also get more razor burn i think. Im guessing they are sharper than a Derby? Also i would like to note that i used my alum block for the first time. I splashed face with cold water like i always end my shaves and then used the alum block. I wet the block and then gently rubbed it all over my whole face. I could feel the mild sting as it was going over minute nicks and tender areas. It also taste kind of like lemon lol. Once my face was dry i put on an after shave. The after shave did not burn at all like it usually does, im guessing the alum black really seals and closes the pores up well. Face feels smooth and it was a nice shave!

10th shave update.

3rd shave with the treet blade, i think ill go for 4 shaves with it. Im really starting to learn how the grain of my hair grows and how each part of my face requires a custom shave approach. Used the TOBS sandalwood cream for the 3rd time, i have had no problems getting a great lather. Many people point out that the TOBS is known to dry fairly fast on the face, i may be having some slight issue with that but ill keep playing with the mixture. I also used the alum block for the second time with this shave. This time i rinsed my face off after shaving, splashed cold water on face, then wiped the wet alum block gently over face. A few minutes later i washed my face again with cold water to rinse the alum off. I didn't wash it off last time and i think it may have burned my face slightly. My face feels great even without an after shave now. An hour later i put on some after shave, it had much less burn than usual. All in all i had a great shave.

A tip i picked up on the forum.. before shaving just wipe finger tips on the wet alum block and then dry off fingers. It really did give me a super grip on my brush and razor.

11th shave update.

This was my final shave using the Treet sample blade. I have had very nice shaves with it. Looking forward to trying another brand for my next shave. The TOBS sandalwood shaving cream seems to be a great product. I don't find the scent to be as extremely strong as other people say. Im going to skip using an aftershave today and see how long the sandalwood scent sticks around. I used the alum block after the shave, so that will take place of an aftershave for today.