New newbie checking in from Christchurch, New Zealand (although I'm a Brit really).
I've been bluffing my way with wet shaving for about ten years, using a Mach 3 and never having a good time of it (particularly on my neck). Wet shaving was a huge advance on electric shavers though, which just seemed to chew my face. My dad has always been bearded, not to mention uncommunicative, so no-one ever told me how to do things. I experimented with canned goo (which left my neck enormously dry), shaving oil (pretty good, but hard to wash out of a cartridge razor between strokes) and eventually settled on King of Shaves gel and Nivea aftershave lotion.
Things got worse after I was briefly hospitalised last year (with viral meningitis), and emerged from my recovery with a full beard, for the first time in my life. After shaving this off, I found that all my beard hairs were now "in-sync", resulting in far more noticable stubble growth and necessitating more frequent shaving.
However, since discovering B&B about a fortnight ago, things have improved a lot - I've picked up some Crabtree & Evelyn Nomad soap and a Vulfix #1 Best Bristle (quite stiff boar, although it's softening nicely), and have been using the barbershop prep technique. My most recent shave was pretty spectacular - barbershop prep (lying in the bath with hot towels on the face - bliss), then three passes (WTG, XTG, ATG) with the Mach 3. I don't think my face has been that smooth since I was twelve
It's about 72 hours old now, and it's still better than twelve hours later using the old system.
I've managed to pick up an old three-piece english Tech from TradeMe for a few dollars, and cleaned it up with WD40, shower cleaner and autosol metal polish (the latter of which is absolutely magical). There seem to be next to no new DE razors available here in NZ, and besides, the No. 8 Fencing Wire concept of finding and refurbing an old razor appealed to me. The tech looks great now - very minor plating loss around the centre of the comb, but otherwise intact, and the residual rust and corrosion have all been cleared.
Fingers crossed, I should get a pack of five Derby blades in the post tomorrow, and I can have my first DE shave. Picked up a styptic pencil today in anticipation
I'll just be doing two passes N/S as per Mantic's videos to start - my paranoia about cutting myself should hopefully stop me being too ambitious.
Wish me luck!
I've been bluffing my way with wet shaving for about ten years, using a Mach 3 and never having a good time of it (particularly on my neck). Wet shaving was a huge advance on electric shavers though, which just seemed to chew my face. My dad has always been bearded, not to mention uncommunicative, so no-one ever told me how to do things. I experimented with canned goo (which left my neck enormously dry), shaving oil (pretty good, but hard to wash out of a cartridge razor between strokes) and eventually settled on King of Shaves gel and Nivea aftershave lotion.
Things got worse after I was briefly hospitalised last year (with viral meningitis), and emerged from my recovery with a full beard, for the first time in my life. After shaving this off, I found that all my beard hairs were now "in-sync", resulting in far more noticable stubble growth and necessitating more frequent shaving.
However, since discovering B&B about a fortnight ago, things have improved a lot - I've picked up some Crabtree & Evelyn Nomad soap and a Vulfix #1 Best Bristle (quite stiff boar, although it's softening nicely), and have been using the barbershop prep technique. My most recent shave was pretty spectacular - barbershop prep (lying in the bath with hot towels on the face - bliss), then three passes (WTG, XTG, ATG) with the Mach 3. I don't think my face has been that smooth since I was twelve
It's about 72 hours old now, and it's still better than twelve hours later using the old system.I've managed to pick up an old three-piece english Tech from TradeMe for a few dollars, and cleaned it up with WD40, shower cleaner and autosol metal polish (the latter of which is absolutely magical). There seem to be next to no new DE razors available here in NZ, and besides, the No. 8 Fencing Wire concept of finding and refurbing an old razor appealed to me. The tech looks great now - very minor plating loss around the centre of the comb, but otherwise intact, and the residual rust and corrosion have all been cleared.
Fingers crossed, I should get a pack of five Derby blades in the post tomorrow, and I can have my first DE shave. Picked up a styptic pencil today in anticipation
I'll just be doing two passes N/S as per Mantic's videos to start - my paranoia about cutting myself should hopefully stop me being too ambitious.Wish me luck!
