Safety Razors

Michael G

nkay1985 wrote: »

Also had my first shave with my DE razor today; Sunday must be a day for it!

I set my Progress to about 1.5 and used a 7 o clock blade. I followed bothyhead's lathering advice. For my first pass, I think I used a bit too little soap or didn't whip it for long enough. I made a whole new batch for my second pass and it was perfect!

I really enjoyed the feeling of applying the lather with the brush. You really feel it exfoliating and standing up your stubble. I had a little of stubble left after the second pass so decided I'd be adventurous and go for an against the grain pass and this worked out great.

I had two little nicks in the upper lip area. I got a styptic pencil as part of my order. It just says wet before use so do you literally just dip the tip in water and dab it on the cut?

About ten minutes after I finished shaving, I found that my skin had become a bit dry. I was showering anyway so that didn't really matter and once I was dry after my shower, my face felt great and my skin feels soft.

But I presume I should get an aftershave of some sort?


My final question is what's a good after shave routine with regard to your gear? What do you do with your brush and razor? And how many shaves should you have before replacing the blade?

I don't use an aftershave on my face and neck because they are mostly alcohol and will hurt your skin. Rinse your razor with hot water, and wash out the soap from your brush, shake it dry, and stand it on its handle to dry it out.

I use a Feather blade and I have found that after two shaves it starts to hurt.

Amalgam

Just a tip, dry off your styptic pencil with tissue or a towel before putting it back in the tube\holder, otherwise it will literally dissolve before you reach for it after your next shave.

I'm really loving the TOBs lathered from the brush. No more mug, no more bowl. Snappy.

Amalgam

Michael G wrote: »

Rinse your razor with hot water, and wash out the soap from your brush, shake it dry, and stand it on its handle to dry it out.

I would suspend the brush by the handle, bristles facing down.. always wiser to draw water *away* from the base of the knot.

Extends the life of the brush and will prevent\mitigate any rot\odour problems.



Edit: currently using the draw string from one of those washing machine tablet bags..

bothyhead

nkay1985 wrote: »

how many shaves should you have before replacing the blade?

Replace it when it starts to tug and become uncomfortable. I generally get 3-4 shaves, doing 4 passes per shave.

bothyhead

My last reply has got me thinking ... how do you guys dispose of the dud blades?

Feathers have a spent blade section, which is handy. But for the cardboard packaged ones, I wrap them with a couple of layers of cello-tape before I bin them; there must be a safer way?

nkay1985

bothyhead wrote: »

My last reply has got me thinking ... how do you guys dispose of the dud blades?

Feathers have a spent blade section, which is handy. But for the cardboard packaged ones, I wrap them with a couple of layers of cello-tape before I bin them; there must be a safer way?

Mantic has a video on the very subject:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTBO6AqscsY

bothyhead

Amalgam wrote:

currently using the draw string from one of those washing machine tablet bags..

Very nice

12bore

How smooth are you people getting that bit under your chin? I have been DE shaving for a couple of months now and I think my technique is now pretty good. I get a dfs everywhere except for a patch under the chin, which remains quite bristly no matter what I do. ATG is not an option, tried it a couple of times, it's not worth the irritation. I'm using a feather blade in a ball-end Tech at the moment, great close shave and almost no tingle from the alum.

Amalgam

I tend to pull my chin up very very lightly, towards my nose, if I overdo it, I'll get an irritated patch, after shaving over it, as a reward.

It's a very very small patch direcly under the chin.. I know how you feel. I tend to go ATG most times.

Morf

I've been traitorous to the safety razors thread. Instead of buying a DE razor and such paraphernalia like i promised when my fusion blades ran out i started growing a beard.

I feel like i've let a lot of people down.

I do like my beard though and many people have commented that it suits me. I am very tempted to allow it to get to Ian Humphries proportions though.

I will once again browse shaving.ie with lust but probably not for a while.

Amalgam

Without wanting to drag the 'B' topic on for too long.. Do people not shave the neck outline of a beard sometimes? Depends on the person and the style of beard I guess.

MediaTank

nkay1985 wrote: »

Also had my first shave with my DE razor today; Sunday must be a day for it!

I set my Progress to about 1.5 and used a 7 o clock blade. I followed bothyhead's lathering advice. For my first pass, I think I used a bit too little soap or didn't whip it for long enough. I made a whole new batch for my second pass and it was perfect!

About ten minutes after I finished shaving, I found that my skin had become a bit dry. I was showering anyway so that didn't really matter and once I was dry after my shower, my face felt great and my skin feels soft.

But I presume I should get an aftershave of some sort?


My final question is what's a good after shave routine with regard to your gear? What do you do with your brush and razor? And how many shaves should you have before replacing the blade?

General advice would be to shower first, leave your face wet and then shave. The shower will help soften your beard. The trick is to get as much water into the beard as possible to ensure a close shave.

After shaving I use an alum block, then I dry my face lightly and then apply either Trumpers Skin Food (summer) or AOS Balm (rest of the year). Either of those products (or equivalent) will leave your skin smooth and supple. Stay away from alcohol based products they will make your skin even drier.

MediaTank

bothyhead wrote: »

My last reply has got me thinking ... how do you guys dispose of the dud blades?

Feathers have a spent blade section, which is handy. But for the cardboard packaged ones, I wrap them with a couple of layers of cello-tape before I bin them; there must be a safer way?

I use a tin can. I've a few years worth of baldes in there. When its full I'll close it up and put it in the bin.

oscarBravo

MediaTank wrote: »

General advice would be to shower first, leave your face wet and then shave. The shower will help soften your beard. The trick is to get as much water into the beard as possible to ensure a close shave.

After shaving I use an alum block, then I dry my face lightly and then apply either Trumpers Skin Food (summer) or AOS Balm (rest of the year). Either of those products (or equivalent) will leave your skin smooth and supple. Stay away from alcohol based products they will make your skin even drier.

I'm similar: after I shower, I rinse my face with warm water and apply Proraso pre-shave cream. If I'm having a leisurely weekend shave, sometimes I'll use a facecloth as a "hot towel" wrap. Lather up, shave, alum block, pat dry and finish with Proraso aftershave balm.

seosamh

Back to the the topic of ingrown hairs and the shaving of the neck. I found that after washing my face and neck with Zirh scrub my neck shaved a lot more smoothly and had no nicks. Also the Feather blade was on it's third shave and was more forgiving. I made a conscious effort to keep the wrist locked so that proper shaving angle was maintained. Could this be the solution?

bothyhead

MediaTank wrote: »

I use a tin can. I've a few years worth of baldes in there. When its full I'll close it up and put it in the bin.

Very good idea. I assume you're using a tin which has a replaceable lid, rather than a bean can; something like a paint tin? I must have a root in the garage.

bothyhead

12bore wrote: »

How smooth are you people getting that bit under your chin? I have been DE shaving for a couple of months now and I think my technique is now pretty good. I get a dfs everywhere except for a patch under the chin, which remains quite bristly no matter what I do. ATG is not an option, tried it a couple of times, it's not worth the irritation. I'm using a feather blade in a ball-end Tech at the moment, great close shave and almost no tingle from the alum.

The best I can do is by going ATG *very slowly*, and usually only with a new feather. If I go fast, I get irritation. This will not get be baby-butt smooth, but it's close enough.

bothyhead

seosamh wrote: »

Back to the the topic of ingrown hairs and the shaving of the neck. I found that after washing my face and neck with Zirh scrub my neck shaved a lot more smoothly and had no nicks. Also the Feather blade was on it's third shave and was more forgiving. I made a conscious effort to keep the wrist locked so that proper shaving angle was maintained. Could this be the solution?

Just did a quick google on Zirh, and it appears to contain an exfoliant. I would have thought that frequent use of this would cause more skin damage, but if it works for you ...

I still believe that the two key factors to a smooth shave, apart from a sharp blade, are blade angle and lack of pressure. Your conscious effort to keep proper blade angle may have been a contributing factor.

Johnny Utah

seosamh wrote: »

Back to the the topic of ingrown hairs and the shaving of the neck. I found that after washing my face and neck with Zirh scrub my neck shaved a lot more smoothly and had no nicks. Also the Feather blade was on it's third shave and was more forgiving. I made a conscious effort to keep the wrist locked so that proper shaving angle was maintained. Could this be the solution?

I've tried the Zirh scrub myself, but I didn't rate it tbh. I prefer the Nivea for Men or Clinique exfoliating facial scrubs. The Nivea one should be a bit cheaper than Zirh too.

seosamh

bothyhead wrote: »

Just did a quick google on Zirh, and it appears to contain an exfoliant. I would have thought that frequent use of this would cause more skin damage, but if it works for you ...

I still believe that the two key factors to a smooth shave, apart from a sharp blade, are blade angle and lack of pressure. Your conscious effort to keep proper blade angle may have been a contributing factor.

well, using Zirh scrub, much like other most scrubs, would not be an everyday practice as yes it would be too harsh. But twice a week or so can clear away the dead skin cells and leave a clearer path for the razor to run cleanly in the arc of the neck and jaw that can be an awkward area for many. Yes proper angle and no pressure are the mantra of the DE shaver.

Pokerpro

Got an early xmas present of €80 thinking of buying a second razor. thinkin progress or HD
Whats on your wishlist gents?

CrowdedHouse

Treat yourself to a vintage - a flare tip Super Speed

Pokerpro

like this?


pretty nice me thinks

CrowdedHouse

They're the ones !
That one looks mint

Pokerpro

placed a bid on eBay just now for it - was only $15

seosamh

That razor looks good. I had a moment of weakness and ordered the Kent BK4 from ShavingShack.com. They sell it for 37.99 sterling and another 6 for shipping. Why is the same brush is 72 euro on Shaving.ie.? I like the Irish site but that is over 30 euro difference. Not sure why there can be such a difference on this item as the site is generally well-priced on most of its other products.

Amalgam

Pokerpro wrote: »

placed a bid on eBay just now for it - was only $15

Fingers crossed.

Pokerpro, I don't know if you are aware, but you might like the following:

Badger & Blade - Buy\Sell\Trade

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=11

I'm assuming since you're using eBay, you probably have PayPal. You can pick up some very nice shaving equipment at sensible prices on the B&B BST.

Amalgam

seosamh wrote: »

That razor looks good. I had a moment of weakness and ordered the Kent BK4 from ShavingShack.com. They sell it for 37.99 sterling and another 6 for shipping. Why is the same brush is 72 euro on Shaving.ie.? I like the Irish site but that is over 30 euro difference. Not sure why there can be such a difference on this item as the site is generally well-priced on most of its other products.

Well.. you have VAT here, the other retailer has always sold that brush at a very low price for some reason, they had it as a special for a long long time. They either have an arrangement with the supplier, or there's something else, I wouldn't know.

Swings and roundabouts..

seosamh

Amalgam wrote: »

Well.. you have VAT here, the other retailer has always sold that brush at a very low price for some reason, they had it as a special for a long long time. They either have an arrangement with the supplier, or there's something else, I wouldn't know.

Swings and roundabouts..

It must be a special alright - I checked the price on gentlemans-shop.com and they have it for £43.48 exc VAT and £50 incl VAT. I was assuming that ShavingShack was quoting their price with VAT included and I am paying VAT, just at a lower rate than I would here. The Shaving.ie price smacks of the ol' rule of thumb for sterling to euro pricing - add 1/3 and doesn't reflect sterling relatively lower value at the moment.

Shaving.ie

seosamh wrote: »

That razor looks good. I had a moment of weakness and ordered the Kent BK4 from ShavingShack.com. They sell it for 37.99 sterling and another 6 for shipping. Why is the same brush is 72 euro on Shaving.ie.? I like the Irish site but that is over 30 euro difference. Not sure why there can be such a difference on this item as the site is generally well-priced on most of its other products.

The reality is the prices are dictated by the supplier not the retailer. This is especially true of brand names. Believe me I don't like it either:mad: