My First DE Shave: Mostly Good News
Well, the day arrived. After reading the B&B site and other sites dedicated to wet shaving, I decided to take the leap. I have always been a multi-blade shaver, having progressed from a Trac II in the 1970s up to a Fusion today, so using a blade, brush, and shaving cream / soap was not a novelty (I did, however, discover how much more effective a good brush and the right cream / soap can be thanks to the B&B page). The idea of a DE shaver was a bit scary, but the personal stories I read here convinced me I had to try.
I ordered a Merkur HD as it appears to be widely recommended, especially for those new to wet shaving. The same day I noticed a Merkur Vision 2000 for sale by a member of B&B and I decided to buy that too: mostly because it looks so great! My plan was to use the HD and work my way up to the Vision, but the Vision arrived first and I couldn’t wait.
My typical routine is to shave before I shower. I don’t use any pre-shave material; simply wet my face with hot water for a minute or so before starting. I started off by making a bowl of lather (Taylor of Old Bond Street Pure Badger P2234 brush, Palmolive cream). I loaded the Vision with the Israeli blades from letterk’s 5-blade sample pack: this seemed to be a good compromise between the Merkur and Feather blades for starting. I dialed-in the Vision to “N” to play it safe to begin with.
The first few north-south strokes were an anticlimax as nothing happened. Well, almost nothing. Even as I tried various angles for the shaver, I found that this low setting was just not removing any hair. Of course, I was careful not to apply pressure as I read in so many places that this is a no-no: I wanted the (considerable) weight of the razor to do the work. I dialed the Vision up and tried again. Well, I repeated this process until I found myself all the way at “V”. Now things were happening.
I recall reading (or seeing a video) that claimed that shaving with a DE razor was all about beard reduction, not beard elimination. I understand that very well now. I have a pretty heavy beard and getting a close shave with a multi-blade razor has always required that my last pass is south-north (even east-west passes are not sufficient). After a north-south pass and east-west/west-east pass with the Vision I could still feel considerable stubble, so I decided to try south-north passes with this behemoth of a razor too. This did the trick and left me feeling far smoother. I am pleased to report I did not nick or cut myself once during the entire shave! (Maybe I was being too timid with my passes?)
By this time, my face was starting to burn a bit as I had taken many passes, including my “test” passes to adjust the blade. I decided to rinse off and grab a shower. After the shower I applied Sharps ASB which works very well for me. I did feel razor burn for the first couple of hours after the shave, but I blame all of my test strokes for that. It is now 2.5 hours since I shaved and the razor burn has passed. I do notice several spots where I did leave some stubble (e.g., chin, under nose), but this is something more noticeable by feel rather than appearance. I also think this is symptomatic of the DE learning curve.
So, here’s my recap of my first DE shave:
Pro’s:
- Love the feel and heft of the Vision in my hand (it is as close to driving a Panzer tank as I will ever get)
- Love the audible feedback of using the Vision (I think my neighbors now know when I am shaving)
- Ultimately I achieved a very nice, close shave
Con’s:
- None, really.
Remaining Questions:
- Am I doing something wrong with the Vision? Is it normal to dial it up to “V” on your first drive?
- Could I have a significantly different experience with a different blade (e.g., Feather)? I have read many people on B&B describe the differences between various blades, but can this alone explain the need to dial all the way up to “V”?
- The Palmolive lather is not the thickest of my shaving creams: should I be trying a thicker lather with this razor / blade combination?
- Should I be changing other elements of my routine to help make this transition to DE shaving more effective (e.g., a pre-shave, shave after the shower)?
I look forward to climbing up this learning curve and doing this all over again tomorrow! Thanks for reading this note and sharing any thoughts you might have.
Cheers,
Well, the day arrived. After reading the B&B site and other sites dedicated to wet shaving, I decided to take the leap. I have always been a multi-blade shaver, having progressed from a Trac II in the 1970s up to a Fusion today, so using a blade, brush, and shaving cream / soap was not a novelty (I did, however, discover how much more effective a good brush and the right cream / soap can be thanks to the B&B page). The idea of a DE shaver was a bit scary, but the personal stories I read here convinced me I had to try.
I ordered a Merkur HD as it appears to be widely recommended, especially for those new to wet shaving. The same day I noticed a Merkur Vision 2000 for sale by a member of B&B and I decided to buy that too: mostly because it looks so great! My plan was to use the HD and work my way up to the Vision, but the Vision arrived first and I couldn’t wait.
My typical routine is to shave before I shower. I don’t use any pre-shave material; simply wet my face with hot water for a minute or so before starting. I started off by making a bowl of lather (Taylor of Old Bond Street Pure Badger P2234 brush, Palmolive cream). I loaded the Vision with the Israeli blades from letterk’s 5-blade sample pack: this seemed to be a good compromise between the Merkur and Feather blades for starting. I dialed-in the Vision to “N” to play it safe to begin with.
The first few north-south strokes were an anticlimax as nothing happened. Well, almost nothing. Even as I tried various angles for the shaver, I found that this low setting was just not removing any hair. Of course, I was careful not to apply pressure as I read in so many places that this is a no-no: I wanted the (considerable) weight of the razor to do the work. I dialed the Vision up and tried again. Well, I repeated this process until I found myself all the way at “V”. Now things were happening.
I recall reading (or seeing a video) that claimed that shaving with a DE razor was all about beard reduction, not beard elimination. I understand that very well now. I have a pretty heavy beard and getting a close shave with a multi-blade razor has always required that my last pass is south-north (even east-west passes are not sufficient). After a north-south pass and east-west/west-east pass with the Vision I could still feel considerable stubble, so I decided to try south-north passes with this behemoth of a razor too. This did the trick and left me feeling far smoother. I am pleased to report I did not nick or cut myself once during the entire shave! (Maybe I was being too timid with my passes?)
By this time, my face was starting to burn a bit as I had taken many passes, including my “test” passes to adjust the blade. I decided to rinse off and grab a shower. After the shower I applied Sharps ASB which works very well for me. I did feel razor burn for the first couple of hours after the shave, but I blame all of my test strokes for that. It is now 2.5 hours since I shaved and the razor burn has passed. I do notice several spots where I did leave some stubble (e.g., chin, under nose), but this is something more noticeable by feel rather than appearance. I also think this is symptomatic of the DE learning curve.
So, here’s my recap of my first DE shave:
Pro’s:
- Love the feel and heft of the Vision in my hand (it is as close to driving a Panzer tank as I will ever get)
- Love the audible feedback of using the Vision (I think my neighbors now know when I am shaving)
- Ultimately I achieved a very nice, close shave
Con’s:
- None, really.
Remaining Questions:
- Am I doing something wrong with the Vision? Is it normal to dial it up to “V” on your first drive?
- Could I have a significantly different experience with a different blade (e.g., Feather)? I have read many people on B&B describe the differences between various blades, but can this alone explain the need to dial all the way up to “V”?
- The Palmolive lather is not the thickest of my shaving creams: should I be trying a thicker lather with this razor / blade combination?
- Should I be changing other elements of my routine to help make this transition to DE shaving more effective (e.g., a pre-shave, shave after the shower)?
I look forward to climbing up this learning curve and doing this all over again tomorrow! Thanks for reading this note and sharing any thoughts you might have.
Cheers,