First DE shave

Well, my first DE shave went well, especially from my wife's perspective where she is paranoid of me bleeding to death, law enforcement for just shy of 36 years and she is worried about a safety razor.

I got into this with a stop at The Art of Shaving while on holidays recently in Florida. I know some have negative opinions about them being overpriced, but I have to say, if it had not been for that store, I would not have been here today to write this post and be exploring the DE shave world. The original plan had been to make the shaving practice more enjoyable using my existing Gillette Fusion razor and the AoS products - pre-shave, brush and shaving cream and post shave product. So I got one of the AoS "kits" which included the silver tip badger brush and the Sandalwood scent. When I got home I started reading about DE razors and couldn't help taking the plunge and got the Edwin Jagger DE89L and an assorted package of blades.

So today I used the Derby Extra Platinum for my first shave. I'm happy with the results. I survived, no blood and an acceptable shave. I used the Derby as my take from reading the forums is that although not an overly sharp (relatively speaking) blade, it is a good starter blade. Was my take correct?

My upper lip wasn't as clean as I'd like, but since this was a first time effort, I didn't want to push things. I did WTG, XTG, and likely did push it a bit by doing a ATG on my neck, a little red after the shave, but feels fine a while later.

All in all a positive experience and encouraging. The hardest part was getting a good lather using the brush directly on my face. I'd been using the brush on my face with my Fusion razor prior to the EJ89 for a few days and it definitely is a skill also. I have to add more cream for a second and third lather, the original lather on the brush doesn't go any further.

I'll give some thought to using a mug or bowl, but would like to master the creating a lather on my face method.

This site is a great resource. Who thought in my first month of retirement I'd be hanging out in a forum primarily about shaving. I had to shave for almost 36 years, now I will make it something I want to do, a pleasurable experience, something I look forward to.
Thanks all.
Rick

Nice report. You have a good starter kit that will serve you well during your "learing time." In fact, you may not really have to get anything else if you want to be a minimalist. Or you could do what many, if not most, members do - get infected with various types of acquisition disorders.

In any event, welcome aboard B&B. Practice and patience will pay off in better and better shaves.

Good luck.

David

Welcome to the club, Rick. Glad to have you aboard. Congratulations on the shave--it looks like you're off to a good start. With a little practice, they will improve immensely.

Sounds like and excellent 1st shave experience. No blood beats my 1st DE shave!

I started with the Derby Extras for the same reason. I used them for like 5 weeks or so till I got my technique down. I had been using a brush and cream for a while so I already had that down pretty good.

You might consider some Witch Hazel and an Alum Block post shave. The alum block gives you feedback as to where you might be applying too much pressure with it's sting. A good shave will produce no sting. Both the alum block and WH help with any razor burn. Even with a good shave the WH and alum make my face feel great.

Rick...keep doing what you are doing...everything will come along. I face lather exclusively and found that I can get a better lather that way. Do what works best but keep an open mind on things also.

Great to have you join us. Congrats on entering a new chapter in life - where the morning shave is one of the highlites of the day and rash and razor burn are just distant memories.

Welcome to B&B. Wonderful to turn a chore into a luxury, isn't it?

In my (limited) experience, the lather makes all the difference.

Congrats Rick. I also got my start with AoS. A friend was shaving while on a trip and he told me about DE shaving. Only real place I saw to go was AoS (that was before I found this site). I started with Astra SP blades though. That is what my friend was using and recommended them. So I bought 100 ct of them. Have since bought a sampler pack to find that special blade, but the Astra SP always treated me well. Good luck with this adventure and if you do acquire an acquisition disorder of some sort, you have friends here that can help with that

I, like you, went down a very similar starting path, was not a newcomer to DE since I'm 61 years old, but never really dived headfirst until coming here to B&B.

Like you, I begun again with the EJ DE89lbl, Derby Blades, a few creams like Trumpers, then Proraso, TOBS, Cella, and back and forth with creams, various hard soaps.

Then onto Wilkinson Classic Blades, Feather, Polsilver SI.

Then acquired some pretty Vintage Gillette Razors, a nice '51 Fatboy, and a Super Speed Black Tip. Both combined cost less than the EJ Razor.


The Polsilver SI Blade has become my favorite. And loving my Fatboy on #3 setting, very comfy!

Lathering takes some practice, and I do usually a bowl lather, getting consistency correct before brush goes to face. Too thick a lather, things seem to dry out too quickly mid shave, and too thin, and you wont then get the proper cushioning, and protection effects from even the best soaps-creams. Like shaving bare faced with no soaps. Ouch!

I always wash my face with a good soap like Neutrogena, or Pearls first, soak, lots of very warm water, to first soften my beard before lathering up. And I lather for a good amount of time, as this further softens your beard, and then spreads all the lovely effect of the protection good soaps and creams will give you.

I've concluded with a shave, that it is almost impossible to get a baby butt smooth "feel" everywhere on my face. And to try to do so, is where irritation can ensue. That there is a difference between looks, and feel. That your face looks perfectly clean, yet your fingers still feel some stubble, usually at my neck I have found.

Thus, I now usually do two passes wtg-atg, and a minor touch up, and go no further with scraping on and on, and "hurting" myself in the process.

That such will be seen (redness) and felt (irritation)

Everyone's mileage will vary, and in time, you will settle in with what seems to work best for you.

Welcome, Rick! We're looking forward to your conversations. Thanks for your service!

Thanks for all the great advice guys, hearing what you've done in the past helps provide a sound foundation of how to proceed and what to expect over various time frames, ie: this doesn't come together after the first week! The examples of what blades have worked for different folks at least means we don't have to re-invent the wheel as a new DE shaver.
Rick

Welcome to Badger and Blade, Canuck.

Rick, when testing a sample pack of blades there is no proper order to follow. Just remember to test each balde for at least 2/3 shaves before moving on to the next one. Congrats on the good results and welcome to B&B!

Hi Rick, welcome to B&B

Practice makes perfect, i aslo have some trouble with certain parts of my face, but i expect it to disappear altogether as my skill progresses. Welcome to B&B!

Welcome to the forum, Rick !!

Welcome to B&B! Great to hear about your first experience. AOS makes a fine soap that is worth the price. Brushes and razors may be on the high side. You made out good!

BSAGuy said:

Well done, Rick. Practice and be patient. It takes 3-4 weeks of daily shaves to develop reliable, repeatable, consistent technique.

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