New guy to forum and double edge shaving

I have recently gotten into soap, brush and double edge shaving due to the price of cartridges that will actually shave through my wire like pelt.

I picked up the Van der Haagen set from the local grocery store and have been doing OK...except for the inordinate amount of leaks I create each time I shave.

I have tried the Van der Haagen blades and Persona blades which are the only ones available locally as far as I can tell.

I did find some different soaps at the hippy store...or natural groceries place. They suck. Won't hold a lather and are about as slick as hot asphalt, but not as comfortable.

So, I figure in a couple weeks, I'll hit the world wide internet and order some supplies.

Recommendations for a middle aged curmudgeon with little experience using a double edge?

Get yourself a Super Speed, some Astra SP blades, and I am partial to WSP products ( Formula-T lathers a bit better than the rustic, but I like them both.)

Welcome to B&B from B&B's old codger.

For some good modern soaps: Tabac, Haslinger, Mama Bear, Cella. Just a few recommendations but all are easy to lather and available on the Internet.
As for blades: Try some sampler packs. If you want to try just a few blades, go to tryablade.com, one of the B&B supporting vendors.

Welcome to B&B [MENTION=109860]Ivanstein[/MENTION]! Pick up a tube of Proraso Blue cream. Great lather and great protection. Perfect to learn with.

Welcome to B&B. If your like the rest of us you will end up trying everything you can get your hands on.

I used Creamo cream when I had cartridges. It was the best thing I have ever used. It does OK with the double edge. It actually lathers well and is fairly slick if I use the brush and mug. But, ID give the nod to the VdH puck soap. I have read that VdH is lacking so I am looking forward to some good soaps and blades. I'll probably hit up the antique stores for some razors soon too. Although some of the new stuff looks good.

Also, is there any saving grace to the hippy soaps? Any tricks to get a good lather from them? One is "Herban Cowboy Dusk" and the other is Montana Natural Mountain Man"

Welcome to Badger and Blade, Ivan.

Howdy Ivan, from a 35-year-old curmudgeon! The best place for Herban Cowboy is in the trash. They smell great, but you hit the nail on the head when you said they were as good for shaving as hot asphalt.

If you have a Whole Foods around you, pick up a bottle of Kiss My Face. I haven't tried it with a brush, but it is slick as could be just rubbing it in to my face. Take a look at Maggard Razors, http://www.maggardrazors.com/. Their house-brand razors and soaps are outstanding, I haven't tried one that I haven't loved. Their soap lathers easily and is slicker than whale-snot, and their razors look amazing, perform terrifically, and are CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP.

Welcome to the club, Ivan. Glad to have you aboard.

Tons of artisan soaps available that are great, just try a blade sampler and take your time. Welcome aboard.

Hi, welcome to B&B

Welcome to the forum !!

I looked through the Maggard site and ended up with a small order of supplies. Reasonable pricing. We'll see how it works.

I'll either get a nice shave or unintentionally decapitate myself. Either way is better than the hippy soap and cheap blades!

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

Welcome aboard!

ackvil said:

Welcome to B&B from B&B's old codger.

For some good modern soaps: Tabac, Haslinger, Mama Bear, Cella. Just a few recommendations but all are easy to lather and available on the Internet.
As for blades: Try some sampler packs. If you want to try just a few blades, go to tryablade.com, one of the B&B supporting vendors.

Click to expand...

+1

I tried the Maggard MR9 with a Feather blade and the Maggard Tabaco and Leather soap. The experience was rather difficult. More than likely due to my ineptitude.

Later I tried a Gillette 7 o'clock in the yellow box with some Col. Conk soap. Better. Less leaking and no one called an ambulance.

Still can't get a close shave without having irritation and stubble remaining. I generally do the "four pass" method with a couple clean up passes. However, any more than that and I start removing skin. It leaves a "shark skin" feel with the stubble. Mostly at the center of my neck about half way between my chin and collar bones.

By the way, I am O positive if it comes to that! Hah!

I recommend getting a vintage Gillette (Tech or Super Speed would be a good place to start), some Gillette Silver Blues, some Astra SPs, some soap with tallow (I like Barrister and Mann, and Mitchell's), and a nice after shave balm.

If you've been using cart razors for a while, there's some muscle memory things that have to go away before DE shaving works well. Nowadays I get very close shaves, no irritation, no cuts or weepers with 2.5 passes (i do an extra pass on the back of my head) almost every time. There's a lot of great advice I found here about no pressure, proper angle and so forth that helped me big time.

It sounds like your lather technique might be causing you some irritation, too. What's your lather looking like?

And +1 to no pressure on the razor. Let the weight of it do the work.