Try the King of Shaves AZOR with King of Shaves shaving gel.
I shave every bloody morning for work and this is by far the best solution I have found- way better than Mach 3 etc.
Cheap and safe shaving.

I’m amazed by all these people getting a week+ out of Mach 3 and DE blades. I lob Mach 3 blades after 3 or 4 shaves, and DE blades I change every other shave. I can get a week and a bit out of the Hydro blades but that’s pushing it.

Back in the day when I was a Mach 3 turbo shaver I used to get 7 or 8 shaves out of cartridge before I had to chuck them and I used to be able to get a decent shave out of them.

However, I would not go back to cartridge shaving I enjoy my DE shaving too much and now that I have a decent sized stash I can play around with different combinations of brush and soap plus blade and razor.

I know it is a bit geeky, but hey ho 😆

I would rather get up a bit early to do my shaving then to throw my hard earn cash away for 10mins quicker shave so slight inconvenience is fine for me. I also enjoy shaving now. 🙂

chewkw

I agree.

I used to shave with an electric shaver, then went onto a Mach 3, but now use a beautiful Merkur 570 Chrome Progress DE Safety Razor. DE shaving is the way forward, its not just cheaper in the long run but it also gives you a much closer shave. Ive used the Hydro 5 from WS and its pretty average. I would also reccomend a decent shaving cream like Trumpers and would also say you must lather with a decent shaving brush like a Kent. This helps to improve the quality of the shave as it lifts the hairs from the face and really lubricates the skin.

4 days growth and timed it from starting to fill the sink to end of washing stubble off sink, and applying aftershave balm. 2 passes and taking it quite leisurely as I forgot about the time until I put the razor back back where my watch was.

Brand new feather blade in a Merkur HD head with a Hoffritz handle (niche huh!), badger brush and Mitchell’s wool fat shaving soap, in case anyone is interested 🙄

Total time 7min 35 seconds and 6 hours later my face still feels like a babies bum 😀

Does it look like one too though?

Razor arrived today, but haven’t had time to pick up a styptic pencil. To shave or not to shave…

3 or 4 shaves with one blade? Blimey my Venus lasts months doing legs armpits and bits. Can’t remember the last time I changed it. Sort of feel sorry for you lot having to do it every day though. Must be right pain

emsz – Member

3 or 4 shaves with one blade? Blimey my Venus lasts months doing legs armpits and bits. Can’t remember the last time I changed it. Sort of feel sorry for you lot having to do it every day though. Must be right pain

Because they are blue bearded (wire tough beard).

Your Venus might last months but do you get baby bottom smooth shave on your legs & armpits after a while? Or your hairs might be softer. It might also be the fact that face is more sensitive to blunt blade while legs & armpits might not or at least not so smooth.

😀

Going to try shaving oil with the Braun

then mull over a Merkur

Braun foil/blades pack is 20 ish quid… which is a lot of dough.. but then I guess it goes through them more slowly

Woody, the Merkur 34C Heavy Duty Classic is a lovely razor. I love the weight of this razor especially. I rate Merkur razors in general anyway, shame there is such a limited stock of them here in the UK. Im going to treat myself to a Merkur Futur.

Chewkw – “Because they are blue bearded (wire tough beard).” I have actually started to use a shaving cream called Bluebeards Revenge. The makers claim it can reduce hair growth by upto 40 per cent after 60 days of use. Its aimed at men with tough stubble, even though I bought it because of the packaging. I’ve only used it twice but Its up there with Trumpers and Taylor of Old Bond St.

What’s everyone’s favourite brush?

Only have a cheapy for travel and a basic badger one for day to day which seems to do everything I need.

Let us know what you think of the Merkur Futur and an update on Bluebeards revenge too as I’ve only tried Boots own brand cream and didn’t like it + soap blocks seem to last forever!

grahamduffy – Member
Woody, the Merkur 34C Heavy Duty Classic is a lovely razor. I love the weight of this razor especially. I rate Merkur razors in general anyway, shame there is such a limited stock of them here in the UK. Im going to treat myself to a Merkur Futur.

Chewkw – “Because they are blue bearded (wire tough beard).” I have actually started to use a shaving cream called Bluebeards Revenge. The makers claim it can reduce hair growth by upto 40 per cent after 60 days of use. Its aimed at men with tough stubble, even though I bought it because of the packaging. I’ve only used it twice but Its up there with Trumpers and Taylor of Old Bond St.

What’s everyone’s favourite brush?

I bought one of these with the money my Dad sent me for my 40th and I should shortly be receiving a custom brush that I had made from my wife and children again for my 40th.

Those of you with really wiry beards what is your pre-shave prep like? Proraso do a pre/post shave product which I use as a pre-shave after coming out of the shower and ensuring I have washed my stubble well.

I should shortly be receiving a custom brush that I had made from my wife and children again for my 40th.

A bit extreme,no? 😯

don simon – Member
I should shortly be receiving a custom brush that I had made from my wife and children again for my 40th.

A bit extreme,no?

By jings you have to be spot on with the semantics on this site 😉

😆

Interesting thread btw.

that is one amazing brush, I’m so jealous. I think shaving brushes make the shave!! proraso have a good pre shave cream.

grahamduffy – Member
that is one amazing brush, I’m so jealous. I think shaving brushes make the shave!! proraso have a good pre shave cream.

Thank you Graham.

If you are interested in a decent brush then have a look at this site http://www.penworks.us

Lovely handles and decent knots as well which will last you a long time. It is worthwhile registering with http://www.badgerandblade.com beforehand as the owner gives a discount for B&B members as well.

The spec on the brush, stop laughing don simon, is that the handle is spalted yellow birch (and sealed with super glue) with a 24mm silvertip knot with extra stuffing set at a loft of 48mm which is ideal for soaps and face-lathering which is the way I like to shave 😉

woody…def will keep you updated. might order one the next time I get paid 🙂 Bluebeards is really good. Lathers really well, provides a close shave and really leaves the skin feeling fresh. Not a fan of cheap shaving foams, they really are not worth the hassle and are probably more expensive in the long run (as you need to use so much every time you shave). Really tempted to buy some ACQUA DI PARMA Shaving Cream from Harrods online shop!!!I wonder how much better it can be?

Futur user here – love the “Day The Earth Stood Still” looks, weight and balance. Head makes under-nose tricky bits a bit trickier than something smaller, like early ’60s Gillette Superspeed. The scrapy noise it makes is awesome. Never thought a razor would be worth that much – was using and still love the Superspeed. Never try to adjust it when it’s wet though, bl00dy ouch.
Bluebeard’s Revenge, IIRC, is rebadged Mitchell’s Wool Fat. Not a bluebeard myself, but it’s a lovely creamy soap.
Splash on some Proraso afterward and feel the blast

shavey awesomeness

Bluebeard’s Revenge, IIRC, is rebadged Mitchell’s Wool Fat.

That’s saved me a few ££££ – I was about to try Bluebeard’s 😉

yup, thought so

you only save 60pthough

Got a few days growth ready to go (literally), just waiting for my delivery…

I used a Merkur Vision for a few years. A great shave but the complicated mechanism was a bit delicate. It easily ceased up if not taken apart regularly and cleaned.

When It finally broke I got a Futur. Fantastic. No complicated moving parts to break, a lovely weight and a great shave.

I see Merkur do a matching brush. Must resist.

I am sticking to 50p Palmolive shave stick for face lathering at the moment but I do rotate it with my bowl of Palmolive shave soap (made from using 2 grated Palmolive shave sticks in small Pyrex bowl) from time to time. So cheap & very cheerful.

For aftershave any of those traditional stuff should be fine as they are just normal aftershave with light scent. One of the most effective aftershave at reasonable price is Nivea aftershave balm with hardly any scent at all. Bought 4 during sales at £3.50 to £4 each I think.

Apart from that the above the rest of my stuff will last me years … safety razors, DE blades (several brands) and two shaving brush (one boar and one badger)

I ain’t buying into those celebrities endorsed shite …

🙂

p/s: oh do try shaving at night rather than the morning rush hour.

chewkw – Member

I ain’t buying into those celebrities endorsed shite …

Which ones are those?

I must admit that I now have 6 brushes, 4 badgers and 2 boars.

Each one is different, honest…

Ho hum – Member

chewkw – Member

I ain’t buying into those celebrities endorsed shite …

Which ones are those?

Any of those multi-blades cartridge or any of the plastic disposable stuff. You know the 3 guys … tennis, football and golf shite …

🙂

Sorry chewkw, had a few beers mate and I can’t read at the moment, should go to bed really…

Ho hum, some great looking brushes on Penworks site. Mitchell’s Wool Fat Shaving Soap is one of the very best soaps I have ever used. I like the way Bluebeards has rebranded it.. Looks rather cool. I reckon if Merkur, Ikon, Goodfella, Timor or even Parker got David Beckham or Roger Federer to face its product, then they would sell out overnight. Celebrity endorsement is massive, especially in the Western world. Gillette know this. A DE razor will always provide a closer shave than any cartridge based system could, I see the Shaving Shack blog has quite a good article on why this is the case, see http://www.shaving-shack.com/blog/why-a-double-edge-razor-is-technically-better-than-a-cartridge-based-razor-system/ – it even features a video from the shaving guru himself, Mantic.

Update: First shave last night. No more cuts than using a disposable/multi-blade razor. I was a bit cack though, took me a little while to get the technique, and will probably take me a bit longer to get the confidence/technique for the jawline.

What I noticed:

-Stubble softness and lubrication is much more critical than for disposable razors. No half measures or you will get rash.

-Bejeesus! It’s possible to get seriously smooth skin, smoother than any previous razor I have used.

-You do seem to need good technique to get a good shave, but it doesn’t seem too hard to learn (so far)

In summary: I am impressed, and it sits well with my self-imposed neo-luddite persona. I didn’t even know you could still buy razors like this, why wasn’t I told before?!

bluebeards have rebranded the wool fat soap, but still have their own proprietary cream that they claim has certain properties.
http://www.shaving-shack.com/the-bluebeards-revenge-wool-fat-shaving-soap-refill-120g.html
http://www.shaving-shack.com/the-bluebeards-revenge-luxury-shaving-cream-180ml.html
Not tried it personally – Im happy with a good soap.

-Stubble softness and lubrication is much more critical than for disposable razors. No half measures or you will get rash.

-Bejeesus! It’s possible to get seriously smooth skin, smoother than any previous razor I have used.

-You do seem to need good technique to get a good shave, but it doesn’t seem too hard to learn (so far)

In summary: I am impressed, and it sits well with my self-imposed neo-luddite persona. I didn’t even know you could still buy razors like this, why wasn’t I told before?!

Haha…… ’tis a secret, don’t tell anybody 🙂

Re. the stubble softness and getting a rash, I don’t think this is the case. Prime cause for a rash is applying too much pressure and this is key to the whole thing. if you get the angle wrong you just don’t get a close shave but too much pressure and you’ll get a rash.
What blade did you use? Everybody is different – Feathers and Derbys for me. Try a different one next time and see how you get on.

You’re at the start of an enjoyable learning curve.

I used Derbys as they came with the razor. I read up on blades but no two opinions seemed to be the same. I have justed ordered 10 each of Feather and Israeli, although the Derbys seem ‘fine’ to me so far.

Top tip – don’t ever move the razor sideways, not even a little bit!

Rockhopper – Member
Top tip – don’t ever move the razor sideways, not even a little bit!

Mantic goes on about the “Gillette slide” (I think that is what he named it) in one of his videos when he moves the razor diagonally across his face and I don’t fancy that one bit either!

Top tip – don’t ever move the razor sideways, not even a little bit!

Lol.

Ho hum – Member

Rockhopper – Member
Top tip – don’t ever move the razor sideways, not even a little bit!

Mantic goes on about the “Gillette slide” (I think that is what he named it) in one of his videos when he moves the razor diagonally across his face and I don’t fancy that one bit either!

That’s the advance technique so Not for beginner well.

🙂

Sorry to keep dragging this up, but another question…

When fitting the razor and assembling there is some leeway as to how tightly the shaft is screwed in, and this affects the blade angle. Should it be screwed in all the way, or should it be left with some room to spare?

poppa – Member
Sorry to keep dragging this up, but another question…

When fitting the razor and assembling there is some leeway as to how tightly the shaft is screwed in, and this affects the blade angle. Should it be screwed in all the way, or should it be left with some room to spare?

I am assuming that you have a 3 piece razor here. The shaft should be done up finger tight, if you leave it loose it can make the razor more aggressive.