Hello B&B!
Gentlemen, I salute you! I have been reading this forum for the past 3 or 4 years. I have gotten so much useful information here! Genuinely fascinating historical sketches, practical tips, product info, all mixed with plenty of wit and humor! It's an honor to officially join the ranks!
I have read several posts sharing their authors' journey down the wet shaving rabbit chasm, and so I thought I would combine my own saga along with this Newbie post. Here goes!
As a kid in the 70s, I distinctly remember a fascination with the razor ads on TV. I had no way of evaluating any of the claims, of course, but it was definitely the kind of Grownup Stuff I knew I would have to navigate at some point (along with driving a car and plunging 1,000 feet below into the Land of The Lost. I admit I was very hazy on all the practical details). Would I be an injector man?? What the heck WAS an injector, anyway??? Or should I opt for the rugged manliness of the Gillette crowd?
I will also admit these details were infinitely less interesting than Julie Newmar as Catwoman. If Julie Newmar preferred Injector Men, baby, then I was her huckleberry! (Nevermind that Tombstone would not be released for another 20 years. You see what I mean).
Life went on, as it sometimes does. My cherubic face kept all this moot until I was in my middle teens. On my 17th birthday, I received a Norelco electric shaver. Woohoo!
Now we're cookin'! As a smooth, suave 80s dude, I felt that a Norelco shave with Black Suede cologne was tubular in quantities which were total, and I was going to be knocking the ladies dead! (I had abandoned Julie Newmar by then. Oh, faithless Alum Wrench!)
Only... I didn't like it. It didn't make my face feel smooth. There I'd be, grinding this chunky monster against my skin until the little rotors would dog down and stall out, and I STILL felt all rough. Hmph. What other options were there?
I'm glad you asked!
Only 89 cents a pack at the New Holland Cut-Rate Pharmacy. I bought them along with a can of Barbasol and went home to experiment.
Friends, it was ugly. I looked like I'd been heavily drugged and sent into the ring with Sweeney Todd. Enter the Nictagon! But, after the doctors peeled away the gauze and allowed me to use a mirror again, I found that at least my face felt as though I had shaved it, rather than simply teasing my whiskers until they grew irate and uncooperative. This was worth pursuing.
And so I did master the blade technique over a few months, and for a few years I lived in a strange twilight world of cheap disposables on weekends and a futile gesture of Norelco flurries before work on weekdays. Then Gillette launched the Sensor, and I ditched the Norelco and never looked back.
At the time, I thought the Sensor was a literal godsend. You see, I had never, EVER, met a real person who used a DE or injector. The old commercials had long evaporated from my brain; I was totally unaware of any other way to shave. And I don't feel clean if I don't shave; I shaved every day long before the US Navy eventually said I had to. I thought the Sensor was the absolute pinnacle!
Well, this quickly morphed into the Sensor Excel, then the Mach 3.... I adopted each new version, although the price increase irritated me every time. But what are you gonna do? The Fusion? Sure, why not!? Oh, this has 5 blades and a vibrating head? Bring it on! The new Quake has 11 blades, will mix you a Harvey Wallbanger, AND play your Barry Manilow records? I'll take three!
But the price, though! It just kept going up. And so finally, in desperation, I decided to try traditional DE shave. I don't recall what led to this decision. Amazon had revealed that a person COULD shave with DEs, and I decided to give it a go.
I was unaware of forums at the time, or that advice could be sought, or even that seeking advice was a sound idea. It was all just a stab in the dark, and I plunged in with both feet firmly planted in luxury flip flops. I bought a Merkur Future kit and a tub of TOBS sandalwood cream. I had no notion at all of skin prep, or building a lather, nothing. I actually thought at the time (this was in 2005) that the blades were unique to the handle. I HAD to use Merkur blades in a Merkur handle! And Merkur blades were expensive! I was living in Japan at the time, and Amazon was my only pipeline ( I thought).
Here I will invite the reader to reflect on the gut wrenching tragedy of experimenting with wet shaving in Japan, profoundly ignorant that Feather existed, profoundly ignorant of Schick and Japanese Injector Twins, profoundly bereft of beneficial tips and instruction! And if your eyes are damp, there is no shame-- my own flood with moisture when I ponder on the cosmic cruelty of it all.
The Future exercise was quite reminiscent of my first bout with a Bic disposable. I hated that razor, whose slim, smooth handle slipped in my wet gorilla mitts in a way that eliminated all 'safety' from the product description. I wound up getting rid if it, which is a shame considering what they go for on eBay now. Somehow or other I wound up keeping the brush, though, which is quite nice but too small to hang suspended in any but the original Merkur stand.
I hated the blade, too. You will be tempted to say, "But you had no technique when you tried it!", and that will be true. But I've tried them since, and all I can say is if your face thrives on Merkur blades you have my profoundest respect and my deepest sympathies.
This all led to the conclusion that wet shaving was not for me. Shame, really, but again -- what can you do? Grumbling, I went back to Fusions. Then, in 2019, Gillette ran an ad that didn't sit right with me, and I decided to give wet shaving another try.
Only this time, I DID seek out advice! Forums like B&B quickly made me realize where I had gone wrong the first time. I bought a Parker handle and another tub o' TOBS, and my eyes were opened. This. Was. AWESOME!
Since then, my RAD is out of control. The latest Gieger check read 16,500 RADs, which is higher than the Chernobyl meltdown.
Fatboys, Slims, Super Speeds, PALs, Schicks, Supply, Leaf....Personna Lab Blues, Bics, Voskhods, Sharks...long handles, short handles, travel sizes... Proraso, Cella, Tabac, Barrister & Mann's Melange, vintage Old Spice.... Aqua Velva, Speick, Captain's Choice... Splashes, balms, lotions, creams...
I've got a real problem, and zero motivation to beat it. Now, I'm not saying I blame you Bravo and Bravo boys. That would be foolish. I only hold you 109% accountable, and names will be named when my memoirs are inevitably published.
All joking aside, my shave has become a truly enjoyable rixual; I will not insult you with my clumsy efforts to put into words the ineffable Joy of the Lather. I do not remember the names, but collectively this site has given me much information and proven an inexhaustible resource for my goofy obsession.
Again, it is a pleasure and an honor to be here in the midst
May your steel be true and your soap give much glide, brothers!
Edit for the eye candy
Gentlemen, I salute you! I have been reading this forum for the past 3 or 4 years. I have gotten so much useful information here! Genuinely fascinating historical sketches, practical tips, product info, all mixed with plenty of wit and humor! It's an honor to officially join the ranks!
I have read several posts sharing their authors' journey down the wet shaving rabbit chasm, and so I thought I would combine my own saga along with this Newbie post. Here goes!
As a kid in the 70s, I distinctly remember a fascination with the razor ads on TV. I had no way of evaluating any of the claims, of course, but it was definitely the kind of Grownup Stuff I knew I would have to navigate at some point (along with driving a car and plunging 1,000 feet below into the Land of The Lost. I admit I was very hazy on all the practical details). Would I be an injector man?? What the heck WAS an injector, anyway??? Or should I opt for the rugged manliness of the Gillette crowd?
I will also admit these details were infinitely less interesting than Julie Newmar as Catwoman. If Julie Newmar preferred Injector Men, baby, then I was her huckleberry! (Nevermind that Tombstone would not be released for another 20 years. You see what I mean).
Life went on, as it sometimes does. My cherubic face kept all this moot until I was in my middle teens. On my 17th birthday, I received a Norelco electric shaver. Woohoo!
Now we're cookin'! As a smooth, suave 80s dude, I felt that a Norelco shave with Black Suede cologne was tubular in quantities which were total, and I was going to be knocking the ladies dead! (I had abandoned Julie Newmar by then. Oh, faithless Alum Wrench!)
Only... I didn't like it. It didn't make my face feel smooth. There I'd be, grinding this chunky monster against my skin until the little rotors would dog down and stall out, and I STILL felt all rough. Hmph. What other options were there?
I'm glad you asked!
Only 89 cents a pack at the New Holland Cut-Rate Pharmacy. I bought them along with a can of Barbasol and went home to experiment.
Friends, it was ugly. I looked like I'd been heavily drugged and sent into the ring with Sweeney Todd. Enter the Nictagon! But, after the doctors peeled away the gauze and allowed me to use a mirror again, I found that at least my face felt as though I had shaved it, rather than simply teasing my whiskers until they grew irate and uncooperative. This was worth pursuing.
And so I did master the blade technique over a few months, and for a few years I lived in a strange twilight world of cheap disposables on weekends and a futile gesture of Norelco flurries before work on weekdays. Then Gillette launched the Sensor, and I ditched the Norelco and never looked back.
At the time, I thought the Sensor was a literal godsend. You see, I had never, EVER, met a real person who used a DE or injector. The old commercials had long evaporated from my brain; I was totally unaware of any other way to shave. And I don't feel clean if I don't shave; I shaved every day long before the US Navy eventually said I had to. I thought the Sensor was the absolute pinnacle!
Well, this quickly morphed into the Sensor Excel, then the Mach 3.... I adopted each new version, although the price increase irritated me every time. But what are you gonna do? The Fusion? Sure, why not!? Oh, this has 5 blades and a vibrating head? Bring it on! The new Quake has 11 blades, will mix you a Harvey Wallbanger, AND play your Barry Manilow records? I'll take three!
But the price, though! It just kept going up. And so finally, in desperation, I decided to try traditional DE shave. I don't recall what led to this decision. Amazon had revealed that a person COULD shave with DEs, and I decided to give it a go.
I was unaware of forums at the time, or that advice could be sought, or even that seeking advice was a sound idea. It was all just a stab in the dark, and I plunged in with both feet firmly planted in luxury flip flops. I bought a Merkur Future kit and a tub of TOBS sandalwood cream. I had no notion at all of skin prep, or building a lather, nothing. I actually thought at the time (this was in 2005) that the blades were unique to the handle. I HAD to use Merkur blades in a Merkur handle! And Merkur blades were expensive! I was living in Japan at the time, and Amazon was my only pipeline ( I thought).
Here I will invite the reader to reflect on the gut wrenching tragedy of experimenting with wet shaving in Japan, profoundly ignorant that Feather existed, profoundly ignorant of Schick and Japanese Injector Twins, profoundly bereft of beneficial tips and instruction! And if your eyes are damp, there is no shame-- my own flood with moisture when I ponder on the cosmic cruelty of it all.
The Future exercise was quite reminiscent of my first bout with a Bic disposable. I hated that razor, whose slim, smooth handle slipped in my wet gorilla mitts in a way that eliminated all 'safety' from the product description. I wound up getting rid if it, which is a shame considering what they go for on eBay now. Somehow or other I wound up keeping the brush, though, which is quite nice but too small to hang suspended in any but the original Merkur stand.
I hated the blade, too. You will be tempted to say, "But you had no technique when you tried it!", and that will be true. But I've tried them since, and all I can say is if your face thrives on Merkur blades you have my profoundest respect and my deepest sympathies.
This all led to the conclusion that wet shaving was not for me. Shame, really, but again -- what can you do? Grumbling, I went back to Fusions. Then, in 2019, Gillette ran an ad that didn't sit right with me, and I decided to give wet shaving another try.
Only this time, I DID seek out advice! Forums like B&B quickly made me realize where I had gone wrong the first time. I bought a Parker handle and another tub o' TOBS, and my eyes were opened. This. Was. AWESOME!
Since then, my RAD is out of control. The latest Gieger check read 16,500 RADs, which is higher than the Chernobyl meltdown.
Fatboys, Slims, Super Speeds, PALs, Schicks, Supply, Leaf....Personna Lab Blues, Bics, Voskhods, Sharks...long handles, short handles, travel sizes... Proraso, Cella, Tabac, Barrister & Mann's Melange, vintage Old Spice.... Aqua Velva, Speick, Captain's Choice... Splashes, balms, lotions, creams...
I've got a real problem, and zero motivation to beat it. Now, I'm not saying I blame you Bravo and Bravo boys. That would be foolish. I only hold you 109% accountable, and names will be named when my memoirs are inevitably published.
All joking aside, my shave has become a truly enjoyable rixual; I will not insult you with my clumsy efforts to put into words the ineffable Joy of the Lather. I do not remember the names, but collectively this site has given me much information and proven an inexhaustible resource for my goofy obsession.
Again, it is a pleasure and an honor to be here in the midst
May your steel be true and your soap give much glide, brothers!Edit for the eye candy
