New to Wetshaving

**Mr. Weepers** · 08-19-2006, 08:03 AM

Hi Everyone,

I've caught the bug and jumped in with both feet to the wetshaving craze. I've been lurking for a few weeks but finally decided to register to the forum after observing how civilized and helpful all of the members are...seems to be a rare thing on the internet these days. Here's my basic setup and acquisitions, so far:

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Shavemac 30mm Silvertip Badger XXL

Colonel Conk Pewter Shave Mug

Merkur Vision

Derby (100), Merkur Platinum (10--came with Vision) , Israeli Personna (100), and Feather (15) blades.

Colonel Conk Amber and Colonel Conk Lime

Geo F. Trumper's Almond, Cocoanut Oil, Sandalwood (2.5 oz tubes)

Nivea Non-alcoholic aftershave balm

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Overall, I have really enjoyed the experience of exploring this new hobby--I was, like many others, initially drawn to it out of hatred of the current state of affairs in the 'modern' shaving world and all of its overpriced plastic & metal disposable paraphernalia and expensive goop. I tend to be the type of person who is either "all-or-none" when it comes to devoting myself to a task, i.e., with respect to shaving, I would either just say, "What the hell, just gimme some goop and disposable razors so that I can just get this over with and focus on other things" or "Okay, now I'm 'there,' I'm intrigued, I'm going to devote my energy (and $$'s

to doing things 'right' and actually enjoying the experience). I would imagine that most of the forum members are similar in terms of their 'perfectionistic tendencies' toward their hobbies and pursuits.

I bought the Vision as my first razor because (hey, I admit it), I thought bigger and more expensive must be better (all else being equal) but I want to branch out to some more traditional options such as the classic Gillette's and some other Merkur offerings. Having no point of comparison, I can only say that my experience with the Vision, so far, has been pretty good, although the sheer heft of the thing takes a bit of getting used to.

The most involved 'testing' I have done so far as a newbie has involved checking out different blade types. I've tried the Merkur's, Israeli Personna's, Derby's, and Feathers and I am still trying to settle in on one. Although I have enjoyed using the Israeli's and Derby's, the Merkur's seem to work better for me--too bad they are less economical. Still, there are so many variables including such things as shaving angle, different types of creme's/soaps, prep, etc., etc., I can't come to a firm conclusion as of yet. So far, for my face, I would rank the blades as follows: Merkur > Derby > Israeli's. The Feather's are in a category of their own. Like others, although I find them capable of providing very good shaves with few passes, I think my skin is still adjusting to the change to DE shaving.

In any case, I hope to continue this 'hobby' and, perhaps, some day recoup my initial investment in specialized shave gear (yeah, I know, I know...but humor me, will ya? I'm a fellow addict

).

Troy

**mrob** · 08-19-2006, 08:08 AM

Troy,

Welcome to your WetShavers Anonymous. Now, please raise your right hand and repeat after me:

"Hello. My name is Troy, and I am a wetshavaholic."

**PottyDoctor** · 08-19-2006, 08:18 AM

Troy,

Welcome to B&B, it's a great place to talk shaving. And by the way, wetshaving is not a craze...it's a lifestyle!

It ain't goin' nowhere soon! Looks like you got yourself some serious shaving parafinalia there my friend. That's more than many guys manage to stockpile, er' collect in a year. The bug bit you hard my man. But, it's all in good fun and all about enjoying a great time shaving.

Dude...you got a ShaveMac!!! What else can I say? You went for the Gold Standard right away. ShaveMac is currently my favorite brush too. And you got some great creams and soaps too. Be sure to check our three resident soapmakers on the forum, all of who are named 'Sue.' They all make some great shaving stuff for us men.

**Mr. Weepers** · 08-19-2006, 08:33 AM

Thank for the welcome, Ron.

I do indeed intend to try out some of the higher end soaps at some point. I like the fact that they tend to last longer than (and are therefore probably much more economical than) the cremes. I am reading the B&B forums pretty regularly as well as those at the the Savemyface site (these are the two main ones I have found...anyone know of any others that are very active in terms of wetshaving forums?). As I read more and more, I am building up a list of the 'next' items I want to try. Here's the list so far:

Milled soaps (one or two)

(Reasonably economical) razor and brush stand (to fit the Vision and Shavemac); I may have to resort to a home-made PVC setup as I saw one creative forum member has done

Aftershave products
-Trumper's Coral Skin Food

-Proraso aftershave balm

-Thayer's Witchhazel (Classicshaving?)

Alum Block
-Geo F. Trumper's Alum Block ($15.00)
http://www.leesrazors.com/Accessories.html

More Conk
-Almond and Bay Rum

Tub or two of Nancy Boy or Taylors or Trumper's Creams

Proraso tube (cream)

Musgo Real tube (cream)

Razor Blade Bank (from classicshaving)

___

Since I'm ordering all my stuff off the net, I am trying to build the list first and then--to save on shipping--I'll try to 'bundle' them and order them from as few sites as I can...'course there is that lil thing called money that is necessary, as well...but I'll cross that bridge once it is built

Thanks Again,

Troy

**TomH** · 08-19-2006, 08:51 AM

Hi Troy,

...a friendly Welcome to B&B from Germany..., and best wishes for a nice weekend

Thomas

**Mr. Weepers** · 08-19-2006, 08:53 AM

Thanks for your welcome, too, Mitch.

I guess your comment about the 'shave-a-holic' thing caught me in a bit of denial

.

The unconscious mind is a powerful thing ('Helluva drug,' as Rick James would say).

Thanks,

Troy

**Steelforge** · 08-19-2006, 08:58 AM

Heh heh, its sounds like you've just dived headlong into this just like me.

**htownmmm** · 08-19-2006, 01:25 PM

Welcome to the collective, Troy!

You have been assimilated!

Marty

**Jim** · 08-19-2006, 06:08 PM

Welcome Troy!

**crispy** · 08-22-2006, 08:29 AM

Troy,
I've been thinking about getting the 30mm Shavemac, but I'm worried that it might be too big. Have you had any problems maneuvering with that bad boy?

**gc_30286** · 08-22-2006, 10:49 AM

welcome to b&b troy

matthew

**BGog** · 08-22-2006, 02:06 PM

Welcome!!

I'm fairly new myself and I love the Vision. It's a great razor. However you MUST try feather blades. I loved my murker blades until I tried a feather, now they seem like dull butter knives. :)

Good luck and have fun!

**Scotto** · 08-22-2006, 02:26 PM

Welcome! Good luck "recouping your investment" with this bunch of enablers around.

**moses** · 08-22-2006, 02:34 PM

I have so given up on recouping my investment. I was doing ok for a while, with no purchases for probably close to three weeks.... Well, except for those TedPella injector blades. But then.... Just got some honeybee soaps.... There are some things from SCS I want to try. At least one, maybe two soaps from Charles that I need. Want to try that Harris Milk, or do I want the Greenpond one? Don't have an old three piece Gillette, which I really should try, but since there are so many different kinds, I will need at least two, maybe three to see which I like best. And there are so many colognes and creams that I want to try, that I probably am going to order another 6+6 sampler from Scotto. Both my brushes are small, and I really want a larger one, maybe a SR. I still haven't tried the legendary Proraso.

So you see how it goes Troy.

Good luck, and enjoy. This could be a cost effective way to shave. But since you are clearly already hooked for the ADs, it won't be. But at least it is cheaper than golf. And you don't spoil a perfectly good walk by doing it.

EDIT: Note the fact that I refer to several things that I "need" in the above post, despite the fact that I already have well over a dozen razors, soaps and creams to last 4-5 years, and two brushes.

**Tinzien** · 08-22-2006, 05:08 PM

Welcome to the board Mr. Weepers!

Don't forget to add a Moss Scuttle to your list of things to get!

As for the alum block, go with the one from classicshaving.com. I got my big block for a song vs. the $15 one you are looking at.

Be sure and drop Charles at QED an e-mail hello if you have any questions or want to try out one of his soaps. The same goes for any of the Sue's who sell lovely lovely wallet-draining soaps....

I'd strongly suggest getting your hands on some Nancy Boy as soon as possible. That stuff is amazing (mirrors the customer service) and will help on light days when your face needs to recover a bit from the previous day or night's shaving experimentation.

**Queen of Blades** · 08-22-2006, 07:21 PM

Welcome to B&B!

**JMT** · 08-22-2006, 09:13 PM

Originally Posted by Scotto

Welcome! Good luck "recouping your investment" with this bunch of enablers around.

I resemble that remark!

**Mr. Weepers** · 08-23-2006, 02:38 PM

Thanks for all of the welcoming comments and advice. Yeah, I think the Moss Scuttle should be on my list as well...most of my shaving is now done with a 'cold' brush and 'cold' lather (I use warm water, but it quickly cools to room temp). Same with the Nancy Boy cream, I've heard many good things about it.

Crispy, you asked about the Shavemac and all I can say is--even though it was a hefty investment--I think that it is well worth it in terms of the time/effort saved whipping up a good lather. Before I got it, I had purchased a 'best badger' brush from Colonel Conk, I believe. It was just too small and it irritated my skin ever so slightly (the bristles were a bit firm for my taste). I have found that the Shavemac is plenty sturdy but the tips are very soft and it is very pleasant on the skin.

In other news, UPS just delivered an order for three Taylor creams (Lemon & Lime [fo da summertime], Rose, and Lavender). Interesting scents. Things were a little messy opening up the Lemon & Lime cream (there was a translucent plastic disk that much cream was adhering to which spilled out over the lip of the tub) so I took the miniscule amount and plopped it on my Shavemac, added a bit of water and tested its lathering properties. I was quite impressed at how little of the stuff is needed to make a decent lather. It also felt to me to have a bit more lubricity than the Trumpers creams I have (with the possible exception of the Coconut Oil, which is quite slick). Oh well, I am officially hooked.

Troy

**mantic** · 08-23-2006, 02:47 PM

Originally Posted by Mr. Weepers

...most of my shaving is now done with a 'cold' brush and 'cold' lather ...

Troy, welcome to the wonderful world of wetshaving and B&B! To keep your lather warm, you might want to take a look at my lathering video for a couple tips.

--Mark

**Mr. Weepers** · 08-23-2006, 04:06 PM

Actually, Mantic...

I'm a fan of your videos! I viewed them before I registered. I think you did a very good job with them. Video is a very nice format for teaching technique and covering basics. Is part 3 due to be out some time soon?

T