few questions about DE razor shaving……

well, another shave gone, experimented with the cut-throat this time 😀

bluebeards revenge shavette. bought a little bowl too for whipping up the lather, looked to have it about right, so gave it a go. interesting. yes i cut myself a few times but in the main it wasnt as bad as i expected. started well, the strokes down from sideburns were easy, its just all those contours! i even cut my cheek above the moustache line just trying to get it into ‘start position’.
that was the hardest bit i found, getting your arm/hand in the right position for the stroke. left hand or right hand? and in a lot of places my arm was blocking the view in the mirror so i couldnt actually see what i was about to cut, so change hands and that made me a bit cack handed and i wasnt happy with how i was positioned. i think id be better shaving someone else than myself because of this. looks easy enough on youtube, but it really does take all your concentration.
in the end it was taking so long the lather was starting to dry on my face.

after the first pass i thought thatd do for my first go, so i did last passes with DE razor. swapped my feather for an israeli blade and this seemed to glide lovely on my face. could be cos id done most of the work with the shavette, but im gonna try a shave from scratch with israeli next time. cut-throat can be every now and then when ive got loads of time.

in the meantime, if anyones got any advice on the arm position/mirror thing please fire away. ive seen all the vids, got a pretty good idea of how to do the shave, but i just couldnt position my arm/face/hand to effectively see in the mirror all of the time. anyone else have that problem?

thanks for sticking with me, its a work in progress 🙂

[too late for edit]

also. how do you clean a shavette during shave? the vids show them being wiped after each cut on a towel beneath the neck. i was just swishing it around in the sink with a little finger wipe.

[/too late for edit]

sadex, are you making sure that the safety blade razor is at the correct angle against your face? Ideally, it should be at about 30dg, shallower than you might think.

My best lathering results are with a dollop of Proraso tubed cream in a bowl, give the brush a couple of shakes out of the water soak so that it’s just wet but not waterlogged and mix it into the cream thoroughly – should take about ten seconds of strong mixing/pumping (don’t forget, you’re in a hard water area). “Paint” the face after lathering to even out the layer of foam.

I changed from Derby blades to Feathers myself. The feathers give a much better shave and I find I can make one blade last for six shaves although the sharpness does fall off a bit. I leave the face to rest on Saturday (before my Sunday morning ritual comedy 😀 ). I use some pre-shave oil for the longer growth.

I make two of my 3 passes against the grain, using short repetitive strokes. Any rawness is calmed by the post-shave balm.

Make sure you use just the head weight of your Merkur, don’t press.

EDIT: Plus, the skin-stretch gurning is always good for a laugh…

Second DE shave for me last night.

Went much better that the first one in terms of less burn from the Alum block.

My Proraso Pre and Post Shave Cream and Aftershave Balm arrived yesterday morning so I slapped both on after the shave and felt great.

Next shave will be tomorrow night which will fit my real world / working week routine of shaving every other day.

sadex, are you making sure that the safety blade razor is at the correct angle against your face? Ideally, it should be at about 30dg, shallower than you might think.

yep, think ive got that about sorted now, in fact any variation from the correct angle and it wont cut, so if it just glides across with no contact i adjust it slightly. after last nights shave, im a bit happier with the DE now, and im hoping that the israeli performs well again next time.

My best lathering results are with a dollop of Proraso tubed cream in a bowl, give the brush a couple of shakes out of the water soak so that it’s just wet but not waterlogged and mix it into the cream thoroughly – should take about ten seconds of strong mixing/pumping (don’t forget, you’re in a hard water area). “Paint” the face after lathering to even out the layer of foam.

again, im getting happier with my lather now. ive been bought some coconut cream and proraso soap, so im committed to using those til theyve gone, but id expect id maybe settle with some tube stuff in the long term. and yep, i mixed it til it was whipped cream, and painted to finish.

I changed from Derby blades to Feathers myself. The feathers give a much better shave and I find I can make one blade last for six shaves although the sharpness does fall off a bit. I leave the face to rest on Saturday (before my Sunday morning ritual comedy ). I use some pre-shave oil for the longer growth.

i can see myself settling with feathers too, but i read theyre for accomplished shavers, which im not yet. nicked myself too many times with that, so ill try the israelis for a while with a view to going back to feathers when my face doesnt get cut so often.
pre-shave oil or pro raso pre/post shave stuff will be my next purchase.

Make sure you use just the head weight of your Merkur, don’t press.

yep, was doing that last night. the israeli made all the difference to the glide. the derby blade felt so sh*t that i had to press harder to get through stubble which resulted in cuts.

thanks

New DE’er here thanks to santa bringing me a nice Edwin Jagger for cribo.

The instructions say to dry disassembled which makes sense.

How do you all clean/dry/store your razors?

Er, disassemble and use a tea-towel… “Store” on a Bluebeards Revenge razor-and-brush stand.

i just swill the razor in hot clean water after the shave, and ill use a toothbrush and toothpaste i think to clean it properly when i disassemble to change blades.

btw, whats the best thing for healing cuts fast? 😀 ive got a few nicks on my face, (a couple that i made worse by going over them with my second shave), so i want to make sure theyre healed this time before i wet shave again. witch hazel? anything else? ill be using a leccy razor for the next few days til theyre healed 🙁

Alum Stick for nicks then witch hazel.

djambo – Member

How do you all clean/dry/store your razors?

I’ve got one of these and I just give the razor a wipe over whenever I put a new blade in.

Alum Stick for nicks then witch hazel.

ive got a styptic pencil, or do you mean an alum block? and how do you do it so the block isnt covered in blood? wet the block, quick wipe of face with a cloth then wipe the block over the whole shaving area quickly?
and then when the bloods stopped smear witch hazel cream over the whole shave area too? or just the cuts?

then balm, then aftershave lotion? and then witch hazel cream each day til cuts healed?

Isn’t the last post enough proof to move on to modern shaving equipment? I can’t remember having a nick in ages – if you need that much contingency planning/equipment, why bother?

Now a nice shaving brush and soap is a different matter!

Rinse with cold water once you’ve done your last pass then run the block under the cold tap and rub it all over, you’ll feel it tingle where you’ve used too much pressure or too many strokes without lather and it’ll sting like a bugger on the cuts. Leave on for about 30 seconds then rinse with cold water again.
After the balm you might notice cuts starting to bleed again, I just wet the corner of the block again and apply to the cut and leave it like that.

w, whats the best thing for healing cuts fast?

Healing gel.

sadexpunk – Member
ive got a styptic pencil, or do you mean an alum block? and how do you do it so the block isnt covered in blood? wet the block, quick wipe of face with a cloth then wipe the block over the whole shaving area quickly?
and then when the bloods stopped smear witch hazel cream over the whole shave area too? or just the cuts?

then balm, then aftershave lotion? and then witch hazel cream each day til cuts healed?

Mine is alum block so easily washable. I just wet the alum block a bit then apply to cuts. Press it to the cut for a while until blood stop. Wash alum block then apply to other area quickly (optional but just a habit of mine) then apply witch hazel (the one from Boots as I don’t have the cream type). Leave it for a minute or two then apply aftershave lotion. Yes, apply witch hazel everyday or as require until healed.

Styptic pencil will do too but it tends to suck up blood so you may need to wash away the blood after use. If you apply styptic pencil you only apply to the cut area. Press it for a while until blood stop. I don’t apply to other area like alum block as styptic pencil is a bit rough. Then witch hazel as above.

😀

PSA – 20% off sale at lookfantastic for2 days only.

ive just bought an alum block and a tub of proraso pre/post shave.

thanks for the advice gents, much appreciated.

another PSA – i cant quite work out whether its a mistake or not, but….

bluebeards revenge eau de toilette half price gift set offer from tesco

didnt even know they sold BR stuff, my daughter told me. im confused tho that the EDT/ shower gel gift set includes 100ml EDT. if you look at their other products, the same 100ml EDT is for sale on its own at £14.99. if you look further along, the same 100ml EDT is for sale at £19.99.
ive looked at all the info on them and they seem to have different dimensions/weights/product codes, yet a quick look on the bluebeard site shows they only make one EDT anyway, so its got to be the same one?
bonus points if anyone can make sense of it, but anyways, ive ordered 2 gift sets just for the EDT’s 🙂

if you look further along, the same 100ml EDT is for sale at £19.99.

One’s a bottle, the other’s a spray?

you say that, but they both say

Presented in an atomiser spray for easy and efficient use,

………

well, 2 more shaves down, and im slowly getting there 🙂

israeli blade a couple of days ago passed without incident, tonight i upped the ante to a feather again. not one drop of blood 🙂

my proraso pre/post stuff came, so did the alum block. that proraso stuff is ace! feels so tingly. forgot the alum block at first so wiped it around my face on top of the proraso which is wrong way round i think, but no harm done. just need to get the routine dialled now, i can see me totally ignoring all the other balms and creams ive got and just using proraso, really impressed with it all.

my other PSA, bluebeard EDT, came as well, cant believe its a big bottle of decent aftershave for £7.50!! ive ordered myself another two sets, plus 2 for my lads christmas pressies next year.

ill have another couple of shaves, see if i can get my lather perfect, then ill try the cut-throat again 😀

well i think im gonna ditch the cut-throat. had another one tonight, only 1 small nick, but its just too time consuming. so tough keeping your concentration all that time, the lather starts to dry out, its awkward getting your hand in the right position and still be able to see where you want to shave…..do i use left hand or right hand for this bit etc etc…..
the ‘cross cut’ is even more awkward, and to be honest, it doesnt seem to be any closer than the merkur DE.

so, its decided. been there, done it, but its DE all the way from now. just need to fine tune my lather, settle on a blade (pretty sure ill stick with feathers) and im gonna be a happy bunny 🙂

It’s all about practice so in few months time you shave within half the time. 😀

Might be worth trying some 7 O’Clocks at some point. I default to feathers but the 7s are good for a daily shave. I have some very old blued, high carbon steel blades which are terrifyingly sharp but I cant find any more for sale.

Anybody using vintage DE razors? Waiting for a super speed to arrive and contemplating getting a slim adjustable too … just wondering if anybody here had experience of using them, and how they compare against a modern razor??

It’s all about practice so in few months time you shave within half the time.

its not just the time tho mate, its so awkward! ive seen all the vids, so know how to do it, 3 passes etc, but just find it really difficult positioning my arms correctly to start the cuts. especially the last 2 passes, across the grain and against.
when i look in the mirror, and get my arm in the right position for the cut, it blocks my vision to the mirror. i reckon id be fine shaving someone else, but im cr@p at doing myself.
i also struggle round the jawline, the contour as my face goes round the jaw to my neck. the blade seems to struggle to go round smoothly, so im wondering whether the lathers drying out a bit by then, the blade could be better etc.
i found that it made it a bit easier if i held the blade differently for some cuts, just held it on the end rather than the standard ‘3 fingers on top, one on the tang’ hold for everything. anyone here do the same or are you always holding it the same way?
i wont chuck it away, but im defo gonna concentrate on just DE for the forseeable future now. once ive got the lather dialled, and know my blades a bit better and when theyre starting to dull and need changing, then ill give it another go.

Might be worth trying some 7 O’Clocks at some point. I default to feathers but the 7s are good for a daily shave. I have some very old blued, high carbon steel blades which are terrifyingly sharp but I cant find any more for sale.

yep, ill definitely try a wide variety of blades, theyre cheap enough arent they, so ill experiment. thanks mate.
if anyone knows any good value sample packs with a wide variety then let me know please. at the moment i just have derby, israeli and feathers. derbys were crap but ill try one more fresh blade before binning them altogether, but id be interested in trying the 7’oclocks, and also red personna is it? cant remember now but im sure i read they were a good blade.

thanks for all the input gents.

Can’t quite believe I’m showing this – but here is my set up thanks to you guys and a good local knife shop:

Merkur razor is wonderful, Merkur blades are rubbish! 2nd set are wilkinson sword ones which I find amazingly good, and quiet. The merkur blades were noisy, scraping, and just not very good. Will try something else no doubt. But the swords seem very good.

Re lather – the proraso stuff with aloe Vera is bloody fabulous. I wet my face with hot water, take the lid off soap, use the brush that has been soaked in hot water directly in the tub to get a good foam, then apply luxuriously to my stubble. If brush too dry, then lather is too thick and dries out too fast as well as clogging up razor.

Other tip I have not seen on the thread (afaik), is to rinse the blade in cold running water between each stroke/scrape. That was advice from my dad, Jamie Oliver and ‘Good Morning Vietnam’ – seriously! It’s a lovely feeling.

I agree with previous comments that no face pressure should be applied with razor, and that alum block is a great part of post shave routine – just seems to ‘ready’ my face (as well as being dramatically good for the odd nick).

Basically, this set up seems bloody lovely and gives me a fab shave, and has remarkably easy to change to.

Thanks all!

which proraso soap is that then mate, this is my stuff in a green pot….

really impressed with proraso tho, ive got loads of other decent luxury creams and balms that are just at the back of the cupboard now, proraso’s my goto stuff.
just another point while i remember, that proraso pre/post cream…… feels ace pre-shave, really tingly, but does anyone find it doesnt quite work as well post-shave? doesnt seem to absorb into the skin as well and leaves white streaks and blobs on mine. this is after alum block, then a rinse. interested in opinions on that.

PSA. i know a few of you use lookfantastic for your grooming needs. ive been sent a code for an extra 20% off if youre thinking of ordering anything? use VIP2015.

cheers

I couldn’t get a decent lather up with the “potted” Proraso cream. I find a small amount of the tubed stuff into a bowl and a good whipping (ooh matron!) with the brush, does it.

do proraso do a potted shave cream? thought they only did the soap in a pot, or cream in the tube. or pre/post shave in a pot. you havent been lathering up in pre-shave cream have you? 🙂

think my next purchase will be some of that tubed stuff, along with a sample pack of blades. ill need a bigger cupboard soon 😀

I’m a big fan of the GF Trumper shave cream (Lime flavour FWIW but will be getting coconut next time, for that tropical paradise feeling)

A small hazelnut sized blob in the palm of my hand, brushed to a lather with a distinctly average brush and applied to the face. Merkur razor and Astra platinum blades.

My thoughts after about 6mo of this malarkey is that it easily gives as good a shave as fancy KoS or Gillette razors at a fraction of the cost. I rarely nick myself despite not being particularly careful and have a Boots styptic pencil for when i do.

Standard routine is to shave every other day – i do grow beard but where I’m quite fair it’s not so visible. And then most days i only do one pass, which reduces any growth to well below the visible level – in fact sitting here i can’t feel stubble when rubbing cheeks or neck with the grain, only against. For special occasions, and once a week on Sunday evening i change the blade and do a full 3 pass luxury shave.

My only slight grumble is that the Astras do seem to dull quite quickly, so by the end of the week i can feel a bit of drag. I’m going to get me some of those Feathers and see if they make a difference, but any other suggestions from the genuine experts – it’s not so much sharpness of the Astra’s that’s an issue as opposed to how quickly they dull, would i be better with something equally as sharp but with a bit better lifespan (as if 7p a week is costly anyway – maybe I’ll change twice a week and spend 14p!!)

at a fraction of the cost

(as if 7p a week is costly anyway – maybe I’ll change twice a week and spend 14p!!)

we say that dont we, but……i probably spend more on the creams/balms/blades/brushes/soaps/razors/alum blocks/aftershaves/lotions etc than i ever did on gillette turbonutterb@st@rd cartridges and a can of foam 😀

cant help on the blade info, but interested in that myself too. only tried 3 so far, and feathers win at the moment, but will try a few more varieties before settling on one. more expense eh? 😀

I guess it suits some people and not others. I’ve tried several types of razor and many types of blade, soap etc and can’t get results even close to what I get with my Mach 3. Plus each Mach 3 lasts me at least three weeks (used every day).
The DE razors look nice on the bathroom shelf though 🙂

Since I was suffering from a rash from the multi blade razors so I thought I’d give this ago. Merkur, 7 o’clock, Arlo soap and badger brush. It’s been nice. Much better shave, a whole lot less irritation and so far no ingrown hairs. Mrs 10 thinks I look better too.
I’ve been 3ping with the 7 o’clock and only had a couple of minor nicks. I have other blades to try from the sampler, but I’m not sure right now how much improvement they could get. Thanks for all the good info here gents.

10 – Member

Since I was suffering from a rash from the multi blade razors so I thought I’d give this ago.

If you suffer from rash then you do the following.

Pre-shave.

1. Apply some Jojoba Oil or any oil to protect the skin.
2. Leave it for few minutes.

Then shave as normal.

Post-shave.

1. Use styptic pencil or alum block for nicks.

2. Apply (wipe your face) Witch Hazel with 2 to 3 drops of Tea Tree oil after you have shaved.

3. Apply aftershave (alcohol or not) or shaving balm (Nivea sensitive non-alcohol) and a bit of Jojoba oil.

There done. All the rash will calm down or gone.

😀

edit: same can be applicable to shaving the beaver … 😆 (I have not tried this so don’t blame me … )

Feathers here, they’re sharp but that’s a good thing providing it’s not your first effort. Shave every 2-3 days and get about 4-5 shaves per blade so cheap enough!

i prefer feathers so far, but just ordered a sampler pack including 2 different types of 7 o’clocks, astra and some red personnas, so ill be trying all those over the next few weeks.
also bought a proraso shaving cream in a tube to try.

another PSA. edwin jagger[/url] got a 20% sale on now, just spunked another £20 on a DE89L razor. grrrrr must stop doing this >-(

do proraso do a potted shave cream?

Well, the one I bought – red pot – was advertised at the Shaving Shack as:

Proraso Sandalwood Oil and Shea Butter Shaving Cream Jar

When I raised the issue of lack of not getting a good lather, they gave me a few tips to cope with living in a hard water area. I went the route of the tubed cream, which seems to work for me!

That BR Tesco offer ^^^ (100ml EDT/150ml shower gel) is £3.74 with free click & collect!