Safety Razors

dbar

Had 2 great shaves over the w/e. First with a Merkur blade!, made up superlather with wools fat and Taylors Avacado cream.
2nd with a derby and wools fat only, a first for me, no pre-shave oil either. The skin was a bit red afterwards as I went for about 4 passes.
Probably too much for a first try with soap only, however the blade doesnt clog at all when the oil is out of the equation.
Anyway, My son has a skin condition and Aveeno cream was recommended to us, so I tried it on the redness, pretty much instant relief, for anyone who has the same issue.
I actually want to stick with soap, so I am going to get that trumpers skin coral stuff, and I have ordered some handmade soap for sensitive skin off ebay as well. Thought this DE lark was meant to save us money...:D

tw0nk

I posted earlier about nearly buying a list of items from http://www.shaving-shack.com/ and being disappointed about the discount coupon code being expired. Well before ordering I emailed Dan at shaving-shack and asked him if there were any new codes for discount, this was on Sunday. Arrived into work this morning and had an email from Dan giving me a once-off code for 10% off as it was my first order.

Well if I needed anything to push me over the edge and buy a safety razor this was it, excellent service from a company who obviously value their customers. After I had made my order he even emailed me to say thanks for order and that I had picked a good razor. I will hopefully be using this site for years to come (based on my success with safety razor).

Anyway, just my two cents....

Gran Hermano

I've had a great weekend of shaving with my latest batch of shaving gear. If anyone is looking to try a new cream I've used the Musgo cream with a Personna and find it great. Excellent moisturising and when combined with a lanolin soap gives me a top shave. It's a pretty old school cream from Portugal I think. A little goes a long way and is as good as Proraso.
The smell of the Musgo is totally unique but not in a bad way.

I also gave my new Merkur HD a run in, similar to the Progress but doesn't feel as heavy, I prefer the extra weight with the Progress but can see why the HD is often recommended as a first razor. It's a nice design and 'prettier' than the Progress.

Now that the bathroom is full of creams, soaps and blades I'm resisting the urge to go on a shopping spree for so classic razors.

MediaTank

Gran Hermano wrote: »

Now that the bathroom is full of creams, soaps and blades I'm resisting the urge to go on a shopping spree for so classic razors.

Must resist...

tw0nk

Haha, I can see myself falling into the same trap Gran Hermano, I ordered the Proraso Shaving Cream Jar (150ml) as I wasnt sure what to get as a newbie. Can you tell me what setting on your progress you use (again for a first time safety razor user)? Also I ordered a badger-hair shaving brush, do you just take a bit of the cream out of the jar and put it in a cup or something with a bit of water and then froth up the brush with it?

MediaTank

tw0nk wrote: »

Haha, I can see myself falling into the same trap Gran Hermano, I ordered the Proraso Shaving Cream Jar (150ml) as I wasnt sure what to get as a newbie. Can you tell me what setting on your progress you use (again for a first time safety razor user)? Also I ordered a badger-hair shaving brush, do you just take a bit of the cream out of the jar and put it in a cup or something with a bit of water and then froth up the brush with it?

When starting with an adjustable always set it to 1. Leave it at the lowest setting you can until you get a comfortable shave. As a note, only change the setting hwen the razor is open.

You use an almond size amount of cream, and a wet (not dripping) brush. Whip up the lather like egg whites in a large cup or cereal bowl. It doesn't take long.

Check out mantic59 on YouTube he has a bunch of video tutorials which are very good.

MediaTank

dbar wrote: »

Had 2 great shaves over the w/e. First with a Merkur blade!, made up superlather with wools fat and Taylors Avacado cream.
The skin was a bit red afterwards as I went for about 4 passes.


I actually want to stick with soap, so I am going to get that trumpers skin coral stuff, and I have ordered some handmade soap for sensitive skin off ebay as well. Thought this DE lark was meant to save us money...:D

4 passes is a lot. I'd only do 4 passes if I was getting married or something :pac:
2 is plenty if you are starting off. How did you find the Avocado?

The Skin Coral is usually for after shaving, instead of before. It's nice in warner weather as it tightens the skin and closes pores.

tw0nk

Thanks mediatank, recommend anything else other than the razor, cream and brush? Are there any good soothing after shave things?

Dord

MediaTank wrote: »

What are you thinking of ordering?

Merkur HD
Badger brush, not sure which one...
Still undecided on the blades...
I guess I'll need a bowl too.
drip stand
Proraso shaving cream
Err... whatever else I need...

tw0nk wrote: »

heya all, SC10C code for shaving shack has expired, anyone know the new coupon code? thanks in advance.

Thanks, I'll take that out of the sticky now. It's a pity it's expired.

Gran Hermano

I'll do 4 passes most shaves but I go all out on the pre-shave treatments
and have a hot shower/bath before shaving the face (with, against and across
the grain) then I shave the head and find one final ATG shave finishes it off baby soft.
I know this is more than the norm but I've no razor burn or rash.

I'm using the Progress on 2 or 2.5 and find it's as close if not
closer than the HD. (I can't see any need to go to a higher setting).

I find the Proraso pre-shave great but that I have to use a good amount to
notice it's effect. I've started using an old shaving brush to apply it and leave it on for 3-5 minutes.


I've already started keeping an eye on the usual sites for the old Gillettes,
I'm in no rush so I'll wait for some in top condition at ok prices. I
wouldn't mind a Fat Boy, Slim Boy or Rocket. There was a nice 195
on ebay over the weekend but going for silly money due to it's rarity.
Prices for most seem to have gone mad over the last few years, I suppose
articles like this are not helping:
http://theauctionrebel.com/500/profiting-from-gillette-safety-razors-on-ebay/

Has anyone else compared the Red Personna blades to the regular IP+ Crystals?

Star Lord

Got myself a new shaving brush and cream at the weekend, from the Body Shop of all places!

Synthetic hair, but feels much better and works much much better than the Men-U brush did, and the shaving cream did a nice job, lathered well etc, but as it doesn't have any "active" ingredients as such, I missed the tingle the Men-U cream gave with it's pepperminty scent.

Gran Hermano

Today's needless purchase was
https://www.truefittandhill.com/items_samples__shaving_cream_samples.html

BB09 gives a discount.

I've a feeling it'll take ages to arrive !


Another sample pack here for Trumpers
http://www.trumpers.com/product_detail.cfm?ProductID=111547656

Amalgam

DamoElDiablo wrote: »

Got myself a new shaving brush and cream at the weekend, from the Body Shop of all places!

How much was it, DamoElDiablo?

The Men-ü brush softens up after a few weeks. Cracked\split tips.

Gran Hermano, I'm eyeing up the $14 pack myself, what does it come to after the discount?

MediaTank

Gran Hermano wrote: »

Today's needless purchase was
https://www.truefittandhill.com/items_samples__shaving_cream_samples.html

Another sample pack here for Trumpers
http://www.trumpers.com/product_detail.cfm?ProductID=111547656

I love T&H Grafton shaving cream, one of the best IMHO.

Trumpers Sandalwood and Violets shaving creams are classics too.

MediaTank

Dord wrote: »

Merkur HD
Badger brush, not sure which one...
Still undecided on the blades...
I guess I'll need a bowl too.
drip stand
Proraso shaving cream

Sounds like a good list. Get a sample pack of blades from Connaught. You don't need a bowl, a large coffee mug or even a cereal bowl will do fine.

MediaTank

tw0nk wrote: »

Thanks mediatank, recommend anything else other than the razor, cream and brush? Are there any good soothing after shave things?

A balm is nice, I use Art Of Shaving which contains vitamin C an acts as an astringent. Other balms from Trumper etc. are great too. A moisturiser is also fine. Or you can go for a skin food such as Trumpers Coral, but this I find can leave the skin quite tight and then have to use moisturiser afterwards which kind of defeats the purpose.

Some of the products above seem expensive, but a single bottle will last 6-12 months.

MediaTank

DamoElDiablo wrote: »

Got myself a new shaving brush and cream at the weekend, from the Body Shop of all places!

Synthetic hair, but feels much better and works much much better than the Men-U brush did, and the shaving cream did a nice job, lathered well etc, but as it doesn't have any "active" ingredients as such, I missed the tingle the Men-U cream gave with it's pepperminty scent.

Nice, the BS cream gets good reviews, and at a great price too.

Star Lord

The cream that I got wasn't the one that is on the website, it's g-something root, I can't remember offhand. Wasn't a strong scent off it, but it is quite pleasant.

The brush was £5.35 (Got it in the Body Shop in Derry), the tub of cream was around £8, but is a decent size tub.

I got it as part of a set, which consisted of the brush, cream, after-shave cream, and a shaving mirror, which was £25, and as the brush , shave and after-shave creams came to around £22/23 I thought it seemed like a decent enough offer. The brush is fantastically soft and whipped the cream up into a lather in no time, and held it well too for the subsequent passes, with only a little tip-dip into the water to moisten it a little more.

I'll post up pics of the set when I get home.

waraf

DamoElDiablo wrote: »

The cream that I got wasn't the one that is on the website, it's g-something root, I can't remember offhand. Wasn't a strong scent off it, but it is quite pleasant.

While you're talking scents, I just wanted to ask the thread what shaving cream do you think smells the most old-timey? (i.e. like the smell of shaving cream you'd get in an old barbershop)

Amalgam

Hmm, so.. nothing too flowery, from the creams I've tried, probaby the Polish cream Wars. It has a.. Barber scent lingering at the back.

waraf

Amalgam wrote: »

Hmm, so.. nothing too flowery, from the creams I've tried, probaby the Polish cream Wars. It has a.. Barber scent lingering at the back.

Thanks I'll check it out online. When is someone going to invent a scratch-and-sniff internet?

Gran Hermano

Amalgam wrote: »

Gran Hermano, I'm eyeing up the $14 pack myself, what does it come to after the discount?

Ends up at USD 11.90 and that's including shipping. I've ordered a couple
from both.

Here's a German site I found with a nice selection of shaving mugs at
reasonable prices:
http://www.shavemac.com/shop/index.php?cat=c50_Stoneware-Mugs.html

For old school scents, have you tried Musgo, Proraso, Speick?

Amalgam

Lovely mugs. Anyone seen a mug with the door knob handle? I'd love one of those, I always dread dropping or snapping off the normal loop handle.

Exactly like this: http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/specialty-shops/apothecary/shaving-supplies/75129.aspx?feature=product_6

Pity it has a logo.

---

Waraf, you can grab the remains of my Wars if you want, drop me a PM with your details and I'll ship it out. About a third of a tube left. Hygienic, as I bowl lather, I basically just drop a caterpillar sized amount into the mug.. then wipe the nozzle clean on the cat's backside. Nothing to worry about.

Gran Hermano

More mugs here, including the one you linked to Amalgam.
Shipping from UK as well.
http://www.gentlemans-shop.com/acatalog/Shaving_Soap_Bowls.html

As for the Edwin Jagger crest, you could do worse.. least it's not Brute or
Old Spice.

http://www.edwinjagger.com/

waraf

Amalgam wrote: »

Waraf, you can grab the remains of my Wars if you want, drop me a PM with your details and I'll ship it out. About a third of a tube left. Hygienic, as I bowl lather, I basically just drop a caterpillar sized amount into the mug.. then wipe the nozzle clean on the cat's backside. Nothing to worry about.

Thanks a mill for the offer Amalgam. I wish I had noticed your post 2 mins earlier as I have just ordered 4 tubes of Wars from the Polish ebay site. They didn't have them in single tubes so I order the 4. In fairness it was only 8 euro including delivery so it's not going to break the bank and I can always use the spare tubes to barter for stuff on this thread

Amalgam

Sadly, I would probably happily accept a Brut or Old Spice logo, in a nod-and-a-wink old school kitsch way.

Good grief, Brut.. that stung like hell.

MediaTank

waraf wrote: »

While you're talking scents, I just wanted to ask the thread what shaving cream do you think smells the most old-timey? (i.e. like the smell of shaving cream you'd get in an old barbershop)

Any of the ones from the 3 Ts with grand names. Grafton, Gentlemens, etc.

Amalgam

waraf wrote: »

Thanks a mill for the offer Amalgam. I wish I had noticed your post 2 mins earlier as I have just ordered 4 tubes of Wars from the Polish ebay site. They didn't have them in single tubes so I order the 4. In fairness it was only 8 euro including delivery so it's not going to break the bank and I can always use the spare tubes to barter for stuff on this thread

Heh, not a bother, all 4 Wars? or Lider and Wars, I think that seller was doing 2+2 for a while.

waraf

Amalgam wrote: »

Heh, not a bother, all 4 Wars? or Lider and Wars, I think that seller was doing 2+2 for a while.

All 4 Wars. I didn't notice whether he had Lider for sale in his shop. It never dawned on me to check to be honest. Anyway, thanks again for the tip.

Star Lord

^ The shaving set I mentioned earlier