Newb who doesn't know what to do.

Welcome! Enjoy the shaves...

ShavenHero said:

Thank you all for the warm welcomes! I will definitely take all of your advice especially with the lathering part. This is definitely going to be a huge learning experience and I'm sure with all the options it will keep things interesting. Considering I have to shave my face every day, I will be getting plenty of practice time. Thank you for connecting me with the active duty section.

Question on lathering. I was reading through the wiki and noticed that in one of the images of a tutorial it showed someone with 2 bowls. one for the soap and one to create the lather. is this normal? I don't have any bowls so I was just going to use whatever I had. My soap is a refill bar. I couldn't afford the few extra bucks for the soap with the bowl (active duty pay)

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A lather bowl is pretty common. A lot of us face lather instead, but it is probably easier to critique and change your lather in a separate bowl. Building lather on top of the soap works well for some soaps (William's especially) but usually you'll get way more lather than you need. Any bowl will work. Or a mug!

Welcome to B&B!

I've read the threads. I understand what a PIF is. Thank you for the link!

Ill look into into getting a bowl from dollar tree. Maybe I'll get a ceramic one some time in the future. I'll let you know how my first shave goes tomorrow.

Welcome, ShavenHero:


Glad you “looked for the opportunity… and, took the shot” with us here on the Badger & Blade Forums. It’s a very fun experience once you get some time behind the razor.


Thank you for your service, brother.

Thank you and it's an honor to serve.

Well i I jumped in head first. Finally shaved for the first time with my DE razor. I'll talk about my experience later considering that I've got to catch a flight. I also found something that may be interesting. It's an old razor that my grandma saved. It belonged to her dad. Any idea where I should post it? I could post a photo on here if anyone is interested

although I have all kinds of exotic creams, brushes, bowls etc. I sometimes go back to my original gear that I started with which is/was
Proraso Red Shaving Cream in the plastic bowl and a $10 Proraso Boar Hair brush, if you are on a tight budget that is all you really need for a great shave, I also use the Merkur HD34C which was my first DE Razor and one year later I bought a Muhle R 41 for roughly the same price. That's a great basic set up in my opinion ...... beginners mistake which I made every time was not using enough water building lather. I took me one year to get the hang of building really great lather ...although I have some expensive Simpsons Super Badger brushes I can basically do the same thing now with my $10 brush.

Joe blow said:

beginners mistake which I made every time was not using enough water building lather. I took me one year to get the hang of building really great lather ...although I have some expensive Simpsons Super Badger brushes I can basically do the same thing now with my $10 brush.

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I've definitely learned that a good lather is everything. I could feel it on my face when the larger was good and when it just became too thin. Thanks for the words of wisdom!

I have the same witch hazel. I have accumulated quality shaving goods but my favorite witch hazel is the stuff you pick up at the grocery store. Bigger bottle at half the price. Most importantly, it works better. YMMV. Welcome.

Do most local grocery stores carry witch hazel?

Also, I need a little bit of advice. I'll be going overseas soon and need a good supply of blades. I've got a sample pack of 30 blades from different companies and my guess is that won't last me over 6 months. I've only used the Astra SP's with good results. Now I'm saying good results but I've only shaved twice lmao. I want to make a bigger purchase so I'm not left without blades or a means of getting any without paying ridiculous shipping fees. Do you guys have any recommendations?

Astra SP is what I use. A box of 100 shipped is $10.

Good setup, I think you'll get most mileage at the beginning experimenting with razor blades and soaps/creams.

ShavenHero said:

Do most local grocery stores carry witch hazel?

Also, I need a little bit of advice. I'll be going overseas soon and need a good supply of blades. I've got a sample pack of 30 blades from different companies and my guess is that won't last me over 6 months. I've only used the Astra SP's with good results. Now I'm saying good results but I've only shaved twice lmao. I want to make a bigger purchase so I'm not left without blades or a means of getting any without paying ridiculous shipping fees. Do you guys have any recommendations?

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CVS and Walgreens and almost every grocery store carry Witch Hazel. It will be somewhere on the isle with alcohol and peroxide. Witch Hazel is considered an antiseptic. The bottle is either 12 or 16 ounces.

You can't go overseas with 30 blades.

PM your contact information and I have 50 - 60 Personna Med Preps with your name on it. They are good blades. I also have some other Personnas I can send as well. Not as good as Preps IMO, but I can set you up with at least 100 blades total.

Take care,
Jason

[MENTION=76320]realdog4[/MENTION] wow, thank you so much for the offer! I can definitely go with over a 100 blades. It will all be in checked bags. Do you recommend those blades on a HD 34C. I don't want to take blades that would not be a good match for my DE. I'm still learning and haven't used anything other than Astra SP's.

ShavenHero said:

@realdog4 wow, thank you so much for the offer! I can definitely go with over a 100 blades. It will all be in checked bags. Do you recommend those blades on a HD 34C. I don't want to take blades that would not be a good match for my DE. I'm still learning and haven't used anything other than Astra SP's.

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All blades will fit, they are universal. I, however, used the same razor so I know from experience.

Med Preps work extremely well and give a smooth shave. There little brother are called Labs. Don't bother researching which is best. That is can of worms not worth opening. I will save you the time. Some say they are the same and others say the Preps are slightly better. Labs are half the cost.

The other blades are Personna Blues made in Israel. I haven't shaved with those in awhile. YMMV on the blues.

I will also throw in my favorite blades - Feathers. One of the sharpest blades you can buy. Med Preps and Feathers are very popular among members but some don't like the price. They cost 2.5 to 3x more than Astras. They aren't beginner blades but with caution you will be fine. You always have the Astras and Personna blues to practice technique. Med Preps and Feathers are a must try. You may prefer the Astras but I am betting you won't.

I'll take your word on the Astras. I'm willing to give these a try. I'll send you a PM

Welcome aboard! Looks like your set up is fine. Stick with this until your technique is solid. Also read through the wiki for tons of great tips.

[MENTION=112944]ShavenHero[/MENTION]
If you're going to be at an APO or FPO or DPO, most of our sponsors will ship to those locations.
Speaking from my own APO experience.......TryaBlade, Maggards, Stirling, Shaving.ie (Ireland) have all shipped to my APO without a problem and shipping costs were all equal to CONUS prices.

PX and NEX will carry a 10 pack dispenser of Israeli blades for $1.50 -$2.00. They are a decent blade and easy to get. Plus countries other than the US are still evading the multi-blade marketing push.

Thanks for the military service and welcome