A good start?

Decided to elevate my shaving game. Moved from canned cream and cartridges to DE, soap, and brush.

Merkur 34C, Feather blades, Simpsons Duke 3 in best badger, and Mike's Natural Soap in Bay Rum. Only on my third shave. Definately a different experience. Biggest difference so far is going from the hurried approach to a more time consuming exercise. Need to work on my lathering and passes. It truly is an art.

Hello and welcome, Firebri. Great to have you here on B&B. Wander on over to the Hall of Fame and introduce yourself.

Yes, DE shaving is an art, but that transforms what is a daily chore with multi-blade carts and canned goo into a pleasurable craft.

I started DE shaving at the beginning of December, shaving every other day but occasionally daily. I've gone from 1 hour (!) to shower and shave 3 passes and I'm down to 40 mins.

I wasted time on poor lather, not rinsing between passes, spending too much time on touch ups, doing things concurrently like applying pre-shave whilst building later and alum block whilst cleaning the sink.

I did have a 30 minute day but was left a little sore with a bit too many nicks - my aim is to eventually get to 30 mins in and out of the bathroom but I'm not racing to get there.

Welcome on B&B! I'm glad to see an another convert. You won't regret it, it takes a while to get used to it but it really isn't that hard. The results are worth it for sure.

iambinksy said:

not rinsing between passes, spending too much time on touch ups, doing things concurrently like applying pre-shave whilst building later and alum block whilst cleaning the sink.

I did have a 30 minute day but was left a little sore with a bit too many nicks - my aim is to eventually get to 30 mins in and out of the bathroom but I'm not racing to get there.

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I never rinse between passes, I apply olive oil on my face followed by my lather and I'm set up for the next pass. It's really not about time, and that is what I love so much. I could shave within 10-15 minutes but believe me it's better to take your time, my average shaves are between 20 and 30 minutes with touch ups

Welcome.

Welcome to B&B!

I initially went back to wet shaving because it was taking too long to get a CCS with my Braun.
I remembered the days of can foam and a Mach 3 one pass shave.
Then I stumbled across B&B!! Now I'm brush and cream with my Mach 3 and 3 pass shaving, and getting a DFS! That combined with the post shave routine has definitely not saved me any time! However I'm only shaving every other day instead of daily now!
DE shaving is where I'm headed, just have to prove a few things to myself first and I want to get my lathering down pat before I take the DE plunge but I already have the sample blades and a EJ DEL8914BL ready to go!

Firebri said:

Decided to elevate my shaving game. Moved from canned cream and cartridges to DE, soap, and brush.

Merkur 34C, Feather blades, Simpsons Duke 3 in best badger, and Mike's Natural Soap in Bay Rum. Only on my third shave. Definitely a different experience. Biggest difference so far is going from the hurried approach to a more time consuming exercise. Need to work on my lathering and passes. It truly is an art.

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Welcome to the forum, and allow me to congratulate you on your choice of gear -- the Merkur 34C is a near perfect razor in many ways; easy to learn technique with, and still a wonderful shaver when you've got more experience under your belt. Many of us here have started exactly as you are now and, eventually, wind up getting a more aggressive razor later on. Even so, the relatively mild 34C will still be the one you reach for if you're in a bit of a rush, or just want a more relaxed shaving experience.

As a rookie I made the mistake of wanting to try and buy everything NOW! -- if you can restrain yourself for awhile and just stick with your current gear, it will repay you with a solid technique foundation to branch out from.

Again welcome, and have fun!

Welcome! Great set up!

Welcome to the club. Glad to have you aboard.

Firebri said:

It truly is an art.

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You can say that again! Welcome!

Welcome aboard B&B.

Welcome to B&B.

Welcome. You have a terrific kit IMO. Now need to work on technique!