wet shaving

SSOK wrote: I'm curious, how likely is one to cut themselves when switching from modern razors to safety razors?

Pretty unlikely. You may get a little nick every once in a while if you knock the head off a zit or something, but no more likely than with a modern cartridge razor.

Snipa69 wrote: Told my brother I was interested in getting a Safety Razor for Christmas this year, he has been looking at options since I mentioned it. Seems Amazon has some Merkur sets for around $50 USD...decent brand? This would be my first personal Safety Razor, so input would be nice. Hoping to get him some intel tomorrow before he buys me something. Not that I would be upset if he only spent $7 bucks, but he is one who normally does his research.

Merkur is a fantastic company. My first razor was a Merkur HD Open-Comb. I still use it to this day, though prefer it for my head and my Gillette Tech 1 Piece Solid Bar for my face.

The biggest decision is comb type. Do you have a thick beard and get ingrown hairs? Go open comb (it cuts closer to the skin) Moderate beard but still want a close shave? Slant-bar is the way to go. Pretty normal facial hair and you shave every day? Solid Bar.

After that, it's all pretty much aesthetics. Do you want it heavy or light? Fat or slim? Silver or Gold? One Piece or two? Butterfly or sandwich head?

You can use regular shaving cream to start if you're working on a budget. But the brush and mug are essential down the road for a truly fantastic experience.

evillepaintball wrote: I have very light facial hair, but get ingrown hairs.  Should I go with a solid bar?

Yeah, that'll work fine. Open comb bars are made to force heavy facial hair into a channel to be cut. Solid bar will cut a little further away from the skin meaning the hair never gets a chance to go below the opening in the skin resulting in fewer ingrown hairs.

procarbinefreak wrote: One of the local malls just opened up an art of shaving shop.  I should pop in next time I'm there.

Eh... they're O.K. at best. They're a front for P&G so you're only going to see fancy cartridge handles for razors. The brushes are overpriced as well. They have some decent balms and creams, and they carry DE blades if you need some but don't want to order online.

tallen702 wrote: brihard wrote: Are these sorts of shavers a viable option for shaving one's head? I do so pretty much daily, and it is pricey on the cartridges. Yes. I use my Gillette T4 on my head in the summer for daily upkeep and my Merkur HD Open-Comb when I need to knock down a good growth. edit: What's more, they're actually better to shave your head with than cartridges. Cartridge blades get all gunked up when shaving your head. DE razors don't have anywhere to trap all the hair and lather, meaning they stay sharper longer giving you a closer shave in half the time because you aren't pounding it against the side of the sink to clean it every two passes.

evillepaintball wrote: I am having a hell of a time finding a solid bar razor, other than some $170 Tradere-y thing, on Amazon or google.  Can you recommend a decent site?

Lern2googleson!

Seriously, that might be the only website you will ever need. You can also get used ones which have been restored on ebay for a decent price. That's where my Tech came from.

brihard wrote: Knowing nothing about the use of safety razors, what do I need to know to get started? If it saves me cartridge cost, I'm intrigued. Normally I pull the razor over my face and head every morning in the shower, so those add up quick.

The grip is pretty intuitive and they're pretty easy to use right out of the box. If you're going for head and face all in one go, get a closed come/straight bar as it's pretty much the all-purpose DE safety razor. Pay the few bucks for some Merkur Platinum blades rather than hitting up the drug store for some off-brand. Lather like you normally would and go to town. You don't need to press hard, let the weight of the razor do the work. If you find it doesn't have enough pressure, then you can apply some of your own. Buy a styptic pen/pencil from a drug store and use it to hit any nicks you may have. It'll take a few times for your skin to get used to a much sharper blade, but once you shave with a true safety razor for about a week, you shouldn't have any problems anymore. Finally, don't start using it when you're in a hurry, give yourself some time to practice with it without rushing.

here's a pic of all the razors I have, brass Gillette  is 1929, Gillette Tech Razor in cardboard box is 1932, Gillette in silver box is 1939, straight razor is 1921.  I've shaved with them all, I use the Gillette ss adj. the most.



Edited by JohnnyCanuck - 10 December 2012 at 8:00pm

I finally have a place that will hone the edge on my straight razors for me, I just need to take them up there and get it done. I've got two, one is a wartime bring-back, the other is a pre war bone-handle.

Yes eville, it is.

You'll need a brush and mug to get a lather from the wool fat soap. So yeah, buy those too. You don't HAVE to start out with an expensive brush. You can use one of the cheap ones you can find at CVS or whatnot. Same goes for the mug, you can use an old coffee mug if you want to start.

I would, however, look into the different grades of brushes. You definitely want to eventually get a badger brush, and then you want to decide which grade of badger will work for you. My personal suggestion is this one: http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/product/shaving-gear-shaving-brush-and-stand-32045.aspx?kw=edwin&processor=content I've never found a better one for the price, AND it includes a stand (a cheap one, but still...) Next to your blades, your brush is the most important thing. Too scratchy or stiff an it'll be unpleasant. Too soft and you may have a hard time working up lather. I might just make a short video on how to do this stuff and post it tonight.

As Tallen so eloquently stated, I too enjoy the whole process, Shaving sucks, but I actually look forward to the 10-15 minutes I spend lathering up and  shaving.  I have converted my son and his old room mate, my sons ex-roommate is like brihard who shaves his head and he says he'll never go back.