Safety Razors

corkproducers

Amalgam wrote: »

Sadly, I cut my thumb open on a broken mug handle shaving. Which is why I'm wary of having porcelain or pottery around.

B&B member ph33nyx recently sold off a fine clutch of hand made Scuttles at $20 US each. On behalf of his talented mother in law.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=123572

Thats a savage price in fairness.
I wonder could he be coaxed into shipping them to ireland on the next batch for more money.

seosamh

Got my delivery today of Tabac soap in a bowl all the way from Queens, New York from FragranceX. Delivery times was not helped by the Christmas rush and bad weather and ended up taking 35 days. However shipping was free! And the price was an incredible 9 euro. For a soap that will last for ages and with its stellar reviews on Blade and Badger, this is, as Americans would say, a no-brainer.
Gave it a try this morning and it exceeded expectations. Quick to lather, producing cushioning and slickness that makes nicks nearly impossible. The scent is so-so but scents are just for the shaving part - you apply the scent you want post shave. Regarding moisturising I didn't feel the need to use a balm afterwards it was so good. I did anyway cause I wanted the Cade scent. The bowl it comes in is aesthetically pleasing and well designed. By comparison Mitchels Wool Fat sells in a bowl for 18 euro + shipping on Irish sites.

I can see why this soap is so highly regarded and should be tried by everyone who is interested in having a collection of soaps. If you don't want to wait til the end of Feb for delivery you can order from Connaught who I think sell it for 12.90 sterling and add 3 for shipping. Give it a go if you haven't already - it's a classic!

MediaTank

Jip wrote: »

But each edge is numbered 1 to 4, a bit of an odd manufacturing code I would have thought, 1234 ?

Yip, I believe it's used to orient the blade during the manufacturing process.

vengeance52

oscarBravo wrote: »

I ordered a scuttle from Sara Bonnyman, as I mentioned earlier. She emailed me to let me know that she'd shipped it, but accidentally sent it surface mail - so she's sending me another air mail, and asked me to give away the first one when it eventually arrives. Talk about customer service!

Would you be selling on that spare scuttle by any chance ;););)

seosamh

How about a lottery - add the six numbers from next Saturday's lotto and the closest guess wins. Of course, you could profit from it but this would be akin to Bertie Ahern claiming tax exemption on his autobiography - not proper at all!:)

MediaTank

I finally got around to ordering baldes for my 1937 Injector and this morning I used it for the first time. Wow what a shave, the angle of the blade means that it is uber easy to shave the stubble. Two passes toook less than 5 minutes. If you can get hold of one, I heartily recommend.

MT

oscarBravo

vengeance52 wrote: »

Would you be selling on that spare scuttle by any chance ;););)

Sara asked me to give it away, so I will - might have to charge for postage though, it could be a little heavy.

When I get it, I'll start a discussion on how best to find a good home for it. Haven't even got the first one yet...

vengeance52

oscarBravo wrote: »

Sara asked me to give it away, so I will - might have to charge for postage though, it could be a little heavy.

When I get it, I'll start a discussion on how best to find a good home for it. Haven't even got the first one yet...

I can pay postage....and I tip

Shaving.ie

oscarBravo wrote: »

Sara asked me to give it away, so I will

Fair play to you..

Michael G

I got a cappucino cup in Dunnes' Stores which does the job very well. It came with a saucer so I can put my spoon in it if I use it to have coffee as well.

I do use the Dunnes' cup; but apart from that, seriously, I have used whatever came to hand in the kitchen to make lather. Any kind of small bowl or ramikin will do it. When I am in a hurry (and using Proraso in a tube) I just squeeze some on the brush and start from there. I don't believe there is some kind of magic earthenware bowl, however "lovingly" it might be "crafted" as the crusties say, that would make a difference to my shave. The only reason for buying one is if it looks nice.

seosamh

There was spare shaving scuttle
Whose existence caused a kerfuffle
Many said 'I'll have it matey'
But I'll pay if you donate to Haiti
For indeed these people are in trouble

oscarBravo

seosamh wrote: »

There was spare shaving scuttle
Whose existence caused a kerfuffle
Many said 'I'll have it matey'
But I'll pay if you donate to Haiti
For indeed these people are in trouble

Heh. Maybe I'll auction it for charity instead...

oscarBravo

Michael G wrote: »

I don't believe there is some kind of magic earthenware bowl, however "lovingly" it might be "crafted" as the crusties say, that would make a difference to my shave.

I'm not looking for magic, I'm looking for warm lather.

Cabaal

oscarBravo wrote: »

Heh. Maybe I'll auction it for charity instead...

I think this is the best way of doing it,

If you randomely give it away for free you could give it to somebody that realloy isn't interested in it but just happen to post a request to be added to the hat...so to speak.

If you auction it for charity then your not making a profit which suits the person who told you to give it away, somebody that really wants it gets it and a charity benefits

Win, Win, Win for everyone

seosamh

oscarBravo wrote: »

Heh. Maybe I'll auction it for charity instead...

Now you're talkin'.

norrie rugger

Hey guys, I am loving my new Merkur Progress but have one question.

I have extremely coarse hair and still getting stubble. No where near as bad as with the disposable but still gives me a rough upwards rub, on my face.

I usually only shave down and once to the side, never against the grain due to ingrown hair potential.

I am only using the blades that came with the box and TBH the Merkur blades are terrible.

Any hints?


PS, thanks to the guys in this thread for making it easy to get into this

Gran Hermano

norrie rugger wrote: »

Hey guys, I am loving my new Merkur Progress but have one question.

I have extremely coarse hair and still getting stubble. No where near as bad as with the disposable but still gives me a rough upwards rub, on my face.

I usually only shave down and once to the side, never against the grain due to ingrown hair potential.

I am only using the blades that came with the box and TBH the Merkur blades are terrible.

Any hints?


PS, thanks to the guys in this thread for making it easy to get into this

Get yourself a blade sampler pack from shaving.ie or Connaught.
Do the two passes as you are doing now but reapply the lather and try an additional against the grain pass. Keep the pressure light and use short strokes.

bigfeller

I'd try some different blades - I swear by the Feathers and have just ordered a years supply. For next to nothing! They are super sharp and not to everybodys taste.

Before I started DE shaving I never went against the grain - like yourself I had ingrown hair problems and spots. Now I do 1-2 passes with (depending on how long it's been since my last shave - longer = 2 passes) then 1 against the grain. As long as the lather is good and I use post shave lotion I've had no ingrown hairs.

On the with the grain passes I have the Progress set to 1 and against I set it to 2 - 2.5 (and use lots of care!!)

MediaTank

norrie rugger wrote: »

I am only using the blades that came with the box and TBH the Merkur blades are terrible.

As others have said, get a sampler pack of blades. Merkur are considered the middle ground for blade sharpness. You might fare better with something like Feather.

seosamh

MediaTank wrote: »

As others have said, get a sampler pack of blades. Merkur are considered the middle ground for blade sharpness. You might fare better with something like Feather.

I would advise against Feathers at this point - until you technique is consistenly good. Also Feathers are the holy grail of blade and they can deliver truely the closest shave but can leave you feeling like they have removed more than just hair and a mild sunburn-like feeling/appearance can accompany the bbs achievement.
Truely a little bit of mediocrity is okay and remember it is about beard reduction. For this I would suggest Persona blades and I am also for a few days now a Tabac soap fanatic - this can be bought online at FragranceX.com for almost half the price of UK providers. But maybe you've got to find your own path...

source

I'm not sure about the feather blade suggestions, try a sample pack, i like the gillette 7 o'clock greens, but the derby extra are good too.

norrie rugger

seosamh wrote: »

I would advise against Feathers at this point - until you technique is consistenly good. Also Feathers are the holy grail of blade and they can deliver truely the closest shave but can leave you feeling like they have removed more than just hair and a mild sunburn-like feeling/appearance can accompany the bbs achievement.
Truely a little bit of mediocrity is okay and remember it is about beard reduction. For this I would suggest Persona blades and I am also for a few days now a Tabac soap fanatic - this can be bought online at FragranceX.com for almost half the price of UK providers. But maybe you've got to find your own path...

Persona are the other blades, that came with the Progress and they are miles better than the Merkur. Still leaving me with a very coarse "up-rub". Saying all this though, I have never had closer shaves to date

MediaTank

norrie rugger wrote: »

Persona are the other blades, that came with the Progress and they are miles better than the Merkur. Still leaving me with a very coarse "up-rub". Saying all this though, I have never had closer shaves to date

Persona are sharper than Merkur, so maybe it's time to try Gillette (Russian/Swedish) or Feather.

Gordon Gekko

foinse wrote: »

I'm not sure about the feather blade suggestions, try a sample pack, i like the gillette 7 o'clock greens, but the derby extra are good too.

+1 on the Derby. I personally find feather to be a bit too challenging - particularly if I'm shaving first thing in the morning and am still a bit sleepy :eek:

GD

+1 more on the Derbys.

Foolishly used a Feather on my first DE shave, felt like I had just endured a laser skin peel. Haven't touched them since and won't again till I really get the hang of it - no rush after all.

oscarBravo

I like Derbys a lot, but I have to say I'm rather fond of Bluebirds too - haven't worked up the courage to try a Feather yet.

bothyhead

bigfeller wrote: »

On the with the grain passes I have the Progress set to 1 and against I set it to 2 - 2.5 (and use lots of care!!)

That's Interesting. I set it to 2ish for with the grain, and dial it back down to the minimum (below 1 on my progress) going against the grain. And, as Gran Hermano said a couple of posts back, I use *very light*, short strokes against the grain. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

axer

norrie rugger wrote: »

Hey guys, I am loving my new Merkur Progress but have one question.

I have extremely coarse hair and still getting stubble. No where near as bad as with the disposable but still gives me a rough upwards rub, on my face.

I usually only shave down and once to the side, never against the grain due to ingrown hair potential.

I am only using the blades that came with the box and TBH the Merkur blades are terrible.

Any hints?

If you have coarse hair then the best option is a merkur slant bar with feather blades. I started out with a progress a few years back with a whole range of blades. The best I got was progress with Gillettes or Feathers.

I then invested in a slant bar and have never looked back since. I continued to use Feather blades with it although I on occaison used Gillettes. It cuts through hair much more effortlessly than the progress.

Gran Hermano

Feather blades in a slant might be a step too far, I have the long handled Merkur slant and it's as aggressive as you can get when using a feather.

If he hasn't even tried against the grain yet I'd recommend trying some different blades and trying against the grain.

I have a coarse dark beard and also suffered with ingrown hairs before changing to DEs and straights, I can shave against the grain now without any fear of irritation. Just find a blade that suits, proper prep and pay attention to angle and pressure when going ATG.

I can get just as close a shave with my Progress as with my slant - you can't get closer than BBS

And for the record, neither Derby nor Bluebird blades work for me.

If you want something between the Red Personna and Feathers try Gillette Super Thin or any of the Gillette 7 o'clock or Astra blades.

Michael G

GD wrote: »

+1 more on the Derbys.

Foolishly used a Feather on my first DE shave, felt like I had just endured a laser skin peel. Haven't touched them since and won't again till I really get the hang of it - no rush after all.

I flayed myself with a Feather on a Merkur Fusion, which is like shaving with a shovel but I had foolishly bought one because it looked so stylish, and because of that I gave away most of my Feathers. Then I tried a Feather with a long-handled Progress set at 1½ and everything was perfect. I think the setting on an adjustable razor is very important.