Started reading this thread today and watched several videos. I'm now convinced that I need to get a single blade razor and a brush. Can I buy those at Walmart or Target or do I need to order them online? I'd order them online, but I want to get started asap because wet shaving just looks awesome. I've been shaving with a Pro Glide Fusion and it has been tearing my face up and I've had some ingrown hair problems. Basically it iritates my face and I don't think I get a very close shave with an electric razor.
You can get most stuff online for less money, more quality, and it'll be at your door in a few days. It's worth the wait to order the right things. The razors will be tough to find locally, the blades at Wal Mart and CVS are not great, and the brushes are acceptable quality but you might outgrow it quickly.
Yep, check out amazon.com. There are plenty to choose from at a reasonable price. Plus, TMB gets some money. Win-win.
Tyde recommends the Edwin Jagger DE89L. I'm looking on amazon and see a DE89LBL. Is that the same/close to the same. It's $30 bucks so I'm guessing it's the same thing. I'm thinking about ordering that because Tyde said it was as good as the Merkur but cheaper.
The DE89 and DE89L are almost identical. The "L" just means there's lines on the handle. The head is the exact same. The Merkur is a good one too, but you could put the extra $15 you save towards a brush while still having an equal quality razor.
I started wet shaving last year after reading about it on TMB. This is the set i started with and you can order it for less than $100 right now. http://www.royalshave.com/p/407-041-00/merkur-safety-razor-set-for-beginners-shaving.html also suggest picking up this set of blades http://www.royalshave.com/p/409-012-00/safety-razor-blades-sampler-pack.html
I've been using this shaving cream and this after shave lotion. Do these suck or do I need to make a change?
That's a good case of your mileage may vary. I'm not a huge advocate of any of those blades except Feather. However, they're treating you well so That's not a bad starter kit, but if you want to save a little up front you can buy the individual pieces and skip the stand. I have two and never use them, but if you want to add one later you can.
The balm is probably ok, but the cream sucks. Do you have a brush? A good intro cream that you can get at the mall is Proraso which has been mentioned before. About $10 for a large tube.
Those aren't bad, but I'd suggest getting a cream designed for bowl lathering. I've mentioned before, Proraso seems like a right of passage and it's only about $9 on amazon (or go with one of the others in the reviews). Throw some in your cart, it's a great performer and smells good. Put an almond sized amount in the bottom of a bowl or a wide cappuccino mug like this. Soak your brush in warm water and make a lather like Mantic shows in his videos.
Cool, I'll pick some of that stuff up. How terrible is Barbasol? One of my roommates shaves with it. Always makes me laugh because that shit is insanely cheap, I just assume it must suck. I thought those "tutor" videos were real helpful. Going to try to work on that 30 degree angle. He cracks me up too. It's kinda funny when his cat busts up in his instructional video.
Barbasol* is actually better for your skin than gel and most other foams. It's one of the closest things to wet shaving you can get (very few additives). If you used a brush to work Barbasol into your beard, it would be somewhat close to what a traditional shaving cream would look like. *Assuming you are using the propellant free brushless Barbasol. Here's Mantic's take on it.
Sorry if this has already been answered but: What's the cheapest brush that doesn't suck. I just looked through the Edwin Jagger brushes and most of them are like $40. I was hoping to spend less than that.
Several options. Get a Boar hair brush by Omega or Semogue or get a boar/badger hair mixture by Van der Hagen or Tweezerman. Those are a few options under $20. If you want to go stepwise into this, start with the razor and blades and use Barbasol or your current cream just to get the flow of things. Add a brush/cream/soap when funds rebound. I think you can be happy with an under $20 brush, but you can't appreciate the difference a badger hair brush can make until you spend the money and try it. Link Take the time to focus on beard preparation though. That alone, even if you stick with a Mach 3 and Edge gel can pay off.
"Wet shaving" or "traditional wet shaving" is just a colloquialism adopted by the antiquated few who choose to still use old fashioned safety razors and lather brushes to shave. Based on sales figures, the few are slowly becoming many.
http://www.amazon.com/Merkur-Handle...dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1 Is this a good one?
That's got the same style head as the 34C HD with a different handle (so it will be just fine). I known of at least one person who has that exact razor (because I don't have it any more) so maybe they can weigh in. The handle being longer allows you to get an extra finger on the handle. Not necessary, but some people prefer it.
Okay so would it be dumb to learn to shave with a merkur and straight edge razor? what are the advantages/disadvantages. I want to order my razor(s), cream/soap, bowl and brush tonight, but I need some serious help making the right decision. I feel like I need to call tydefan and have an hour long conversation.
http://www.amazon.com/Shaving-Merku...=sr_1_42?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1325373546&sr=1-42 Thoughts? Could I get a better deal buying individually?
Anybody tried one of these? http://www.amazon.com/MANGROOMER-Yo...Shaver/dp/B000HQ0L2E/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
The razor is ~$40 The soap is $3 The bowl is $19 The blades (Merkur) I would never use The stand is ~$20 The brush...I don't know anything about it. I've said before, I don't like stands. That coupled with a no name brush would rule it out for me personally. I'd buy a razor ($30-$40), a blade sampler pack ($10-$20), a name brand brush with good reviews ($15-$45), and skip the bowl and stand. You'll save money, and you can invest in those in the future if you decide you want them. Col. Conk soaps are just fine as starter soaps, but you can order a 3 pack for $12 or a single puck for $4.
I know I'm driving you insane, but could you show me a razor that you would buy and the blade starter pack? I know nothing about the actual razors and id prefer not to cut my face off.
Yep, thats the one I have (thanks to Tyde ) Mine doesn't have the long handle, but it has worked great for me. Easy to take apart to clean and maintain.
Tyde, have you ever used a straight razor? I pondered going with one of those, but decided to stick with the DE until I know what I'm doing for a little while (at least).
Tyde My confusion lies in the actual razor. I can buy one of those razors you suggested and swap out a myriad of razors until I find one that I like, right?
http://www.amazon.com/Double-Razor-...=sr_1_11?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1325374565&sr=1-11 Is this a pretty good sampler?
Yes. It's a lot more upkeep. A lot. Cost as well. It takes more time and requires learning to strop and hone. Strops and hones cost money too. Due to my knife addiction I already had the necessary stones, but once I bought a straight razor and strop (and strop pastes) and a few other things I was blown away by the cost. Lynn Abrams has a DVD entitled "The World of Straight Razor Shaving" that is hands down the best resource for starting that hobby. If you can watch that you'll know volumes more than I could ever tell you. Some people skip DE and go right to straight razors. For me, I used DE's for a while first to gain confidence. Even now it takes so long I only try on the weekends.
All double edged razors can handle all the different blades. I've got Double Edged razors from the 1920's that I can put a brand new blade in and it's good to go.
I don't like that one, but blade preferences vary from user to user. I hate Dorco blades and one or two other blades in there. I'll see if I can find one that would work for me. You may end up hating all of them though.
Does this seem as good as any? It's one you suggested in the second post. http://www.amazon.com/Edwin-Jagger-...ef=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1325374913&sr=1-1
I like this one better, but I still wish it didn't have Dorco blades. I wish it did have Sharks . http://www.amazon.com/Razor-Blade-Sample-Pack-Blades/dp/B001PZCJC6
Pardon me if you've answer this already, but what is the difference in the specs of those blades? Is it angle? coating? thickness?
Lots of variation. Quality of steel, type of steel, Teflon coated or not, how sharp the factory makes them, if you get blades near the end of a run, where they are made (for example, Russia makes good blades and China doesn't). I can keep going, but there's lots of variables involved. Once you find one you like, don't be afraid to stockpile a few. They like to discontinue good blades for some reason.
cas , this is the razor I suggested. Here is a bad picture of: Edwin Jagger DE89L, Merkur 34C, Merkur 38C The Merkur 23C is the same length as the one one on the right end, just with a skinnier handle. The Merkur 33C is the same length as the one in the middle, again with a skinnier handle. Other than the slant bar models (don't buy one of those until you are experienced), most of the other Merkur heads perform the same. It's just a matter of what handle you like.
TYdeFan05 Thoughts on the following two razor packages? I'm about to order the aforementioned razor. I'm pretty excited. Thanks for all your insight.
http://www.amazon.com/Double-Safety...ef=sr_1_3?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1325388347&sr=1-3 OR http://www.amazon.com/FEATHER-BLUEB...=sr_1_12?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1325388347&sr=1-12
One has 26 blades and the other has 100. The only reason I would consider the 26 blade package is that you get Feathers, Derby's and a few others that you otherwise won't get to experience. If you take good notes about which blades you like and place an order for those then it will pay off in the long run. However, if you just breeze through the blades while you're learning you might blame bad technique on a good blades.