Wet shaving thread.

West Coast Shaving, the razor and a pack of Feather Professional blades came out to $135. They have free shipping. I have wanted one of these Feather straights for a while but I've always thought they were a bit ugly and expensive. I like to shave with a straight but stropping is a PITA and my edge is never as good as a DE. They must have come out with this particular kamisori model recently, as soon as I saw it I had to have it.

I go back and forth each year between the full beard and the goatee, depending upon the seasons. When I have the beard, I trim my throat with a feather razor (the double edge Merkur), and when I do the goatee and shave my face daily I use an old English straight razor that I found at a thrift store and rehoned.

I'm growing out a handlebar mustache with a petite goatee. I bought some Art of Shaving soap on closeout and haven't used any other soap since I got it which is really surprising! It is good stuff. Pity they changed the formula- I hope the new stuff is as good.

I have a lot of different soaps, but the Art of Shaving lavender soft shaving soap is definitely among a handful of standouts. Not cheap, but good stuff!

I've always just used Col. Conk's pucks. Cheap, lather up nice and smell good. I'm more of a utility shaver than a hobbyist though so it is strop it, lather up and go not "must have all of the things" like I am with brewing.

I shaved with Col. Conk's Lime this evening.

I don't have to have all the things with shaving. I have one DE, one brand of blades, one brush, a handful of soaps, one aftershave, one strop, two old straights... No need to spend a lot but I can see myself staying with the AOS soap. The puck is lasting out! If I go through more than one a year I will be surprised.

Yeah I bought a couple 3 packs of Conk's (lime & bay rum) so long ago I can't remember when and still have like 3-4 of them left, lol.

I've used Col. Conks for years. I also use a pre-shaving oil.

Ran across this thread while perusing HBT late one evening, and before I knew it I'd ordered up $120 worth of DE shaving gear! I imagine there are more than a couple of nicks in my future while I figure it out but I'm ready to retire my 10 year old Mach 3 and give this a go.

You'll love it fosaisu. You can make wet shaving as simple or as complex as you want. I like to take my time and make an occasion out of shaving maybe once a month, and do a full 3-pass shave with all the trimmings. Most days of the workweek I do a very simple low-prep one-pass shave that still turns out better than the Mach 3 ever did and only takes 5-8 minutes.

Tupperwolf said:

You'll love it fosaisu. You can make wet shaving as simple or as complex as you want. I like to take my time and make an occasion out of shaving maybe once a month, and do a full 3-pass shave with all the trimmings. Most days of the workweek I do a very simple low-prep one-pass shave that still turns out better than the Mach 3 ever did and only takes 5-8 minutes.

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This exactly. I am a utility user my process is brain dead simple...

1) mug w/ water in the micro for like a a minute while I strop the blade
2) sprinkle some hot water on the puck and drop brush in the mug
2) while taking my hot shower use a facial scrub
3) dry off everything but my face
4) fill the sink and pour all but a little of the hot water in the sink (instant warm water without the wait)
5) lather up with a nice hot brush (amazing how hot it gets sitting in a mug of hot water while I shower)
6) nice quick 1 pass shave, maybe 2 pass if I have the time
7) rinse everything clean with a dry and quick strop of the blade
8) rinse and dry face then apply after shave

It adds maybe 5-10 minutes to my routine which isn't much more than a can of the nasty crap and a mach 3 would take but is about a bazillion times better.

Plus it is about a bazillion times cheaper. I haven't paid for shaving supplies in years, lol. Those pucks last forever and are pretty cheap. Oh and the blade I use I got from an antique store. it is over 100 years old and cost me about the same as a pack of those disposable blades and will last me the rest of my life.

Oh one thing though. It is always nice to have a styptic pencil in your shaving kit. A nick with a good razor will leave your sink looking like you slit your wrists, lol. A styptic pencil can solve that problem quickly and saves you having toilet paper on your face on the way to work.

I shave like a champ every day. 3 passes great lather, the works. It takes me less than ten minutes and don't cut myself. If I'm using a straight I may take 15 minutes...

I used a mach3 when I was travelling last fall and I don't want to use one again. I got a better shave with it after learning how to shave with a DE but it was not comfortable and not nearly as smooth.

TomSD said:

Plus it is about a bazillion times cheaper. I haven't paid for shaving supplies in years, lol. Those pucks last forever and are pretty cheap.

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When my sister found out I had gotten into wet shaving she got me 4 Edwin Jagger soap pucks for Christmas, 2x aloe, 1x sandalwood and 1x 'sea buckthorn' and it makes me laugh because I will probably be using those same pucks when I am 60 years old. Shaving soap lasts forever.

Just finished a great shave with some TOBS soap, a VDH boar brush and my great-grandfather's Shumate SR. A little Florida Water as an AS and the ritual is complete.

Medicbrewer said:

Just finished a great shave with some TOBS soap, a VDH boar brush and my great-grandfather's Shumate SR. A little Florida Water as an AS and the ritual is complete.

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Thread must not be this far back... I have too many soaps haha

I discovered this thread a few months back and thought it was interesting and kind of a neat idea. I mentioned it to my wife and then really didn't think about it any more.

It turns out that my brother-in-law is into this old-school shaving. So, he and my wife got me some stuff to get started yesterday for my birthday. I now have a Ralf Aust straight razor, some Proraso shave soap, a strop, some balm, and a brush. Time to start learning.....looking forward to it.

Gave the straight razor a try this morning for the first time. Only did one pass. Cut myself once. Kind of fun to add a little spice to the morning routine.

Congrats I'm still working up to shaving like a man haha.

I really do love the allure of owning that revisor or dovo Bergrisher Lowe but man the learning curve is steep! I just don't have the time to practice every day. Maybe when I retire next year I might have the time when I get a regular job. It's amazing how fast 20 years has gone by...

Really not a lot of work. Just have to be careful to start off and take it slow.

Nothing is as relaxing as a quiet shave with a straight after a long day.

Just take your time and speed will come. Some people say just start out with your cheeks until you get the hang of that but I went whole hog and did everything but I also carve vegetables for a living so working with very sharp and small blades isn't anything new to me

I caught myself looking at straights yesterday...

Just looking?

Gixxer said:

I caught myself looking at straights yesterday...

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So how many did you buy?

I can't justify the purchase yet, it would sit till I actually have the time to put towards daily practice... But there are a few I have my eye on... Maybe a Revisor... Maybe a Butch Harner Custom... Maybe just a Bergrisher Lowe...

Been a good while since I popped in here..

Collected a few more old straights.

Really loving my "new" one it's a Joseph smith & sons from approx 1860.

It just needed a hone and some elbow grease to get it whipped into shape.

Some of those old resto straights are just as expensive as a new one if not more! Seen the price for a Filarmonica 8/8 that's mint with the box?

A bit late to the party here --
I started straight shaving a few weeks ago. Currently using a Ralph Aust 5/8, with SRD Lime soap. Just started maintenance honing a couple of days ago using a Naniwa 5K, 8K and 12K -- that went pretty good on the RA using only the 12K, but trying to bring back a Pabst and Kohler didn't work so good.

Before straights, shaving was a chore that I enjoyed skipping on weekends. Now, I look forward to spending the time.

Just throwing this out there... pressing a shaving stick into your soap container without actually using a cheese grater is not a lot of fun... I ended up using a knife and slicing pieces and pressing em down... didnt work out all that well...

I thought the point of a stick was to apply it directly to your face then lather?

TomSD said:

I thought the point of a stick was to apply it directly to your face then lather?

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You are indeed correct... I do not like using sticks, and Palmolive sticks only come in... Stick form. I have had great results with Cella and The Fat but I like Palmolive even more... It's worth the effort for me to put it in a container...

azscoob said:

Been a good while since I popped in here..

Collected a few more old straights.

Really loving my "new" one it's a Joseph smith & sons from approx 1860.

It just needed a hone and some elbow grease to get it whipped into shape.

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Its been a while for me, too. I'm still using the double edged Gillette safety razor that my father had used, love it. I use Sharks, which work well for me, plus a brush and shaving soap in a bowl. Its just a part of my morning routine now.

You guys have cajones. I got one wet shave from my barber and I was so freaked out the whole time. It was the best shave I ever had though. Lasted days!!!

Pappers_ said:

Its been a while for me, too. I'm still using the double edged Gillette safety razor that my father had used, love it. I use Sharks, which work well for me, plus a brush and shaving soap in a bowl. Its just a part of my morning routine now.

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The activity on this thread just reminded me I need to order more blades... down to my last box of 7 o'clock sharpedges...

Ya know... they started importing the Super Iridiums again, same blade, slightly different package...

Pappers_ said:

Its been a while for me, too. I'm still using the double edged Gillette safety razor that my father had used, love it. I use Sharks, which work well for me, plus a brush and shaving soap in a bowl. Its just a part of my morning routine now.

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Is till use a DE and shark blades for trimming and day to day rush shaves when time is getting tight.

I'm back in Chicago after 15 years in AZ, carol stream currently.

Perhaps a local meeting to discuss the nuances of a good wet shave over a beer or two?

m3n00b said:

You guys have cajones. I got one wet shave from my barber and I was so freaked out the whole time. It was the best shave I ever had though. Lasted days!!!

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Meh, shave with a straight razor every day for months and it becomes as pedestrian as making toast in the morning.

But I still tell the uninformed people that on the rare occasion I nick myself I bleed pure testosterone. :rockin:

Got a Parker 99R for fathers day and a Franks silver badger brush like this...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009EHMOMW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Shaves are nothing short of amazing!

I will say all blades are not created equal. I ordered a blade assortment from Amazon and I also ordered some Feather's because of this thread.
FEATHER's WIN HANDS-DOWN! Amazing!

The kids included an all natural shave soap, pre-shave oil and rose water toner like I had in Vegas couple years back at the Art Of The Shave that smells so good I want to shave three times a day. I actually found it on Amazon. Thank God they didn't buy it from Art of the $$$have!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DIHL934/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I just dug out and used my straight for the first time in almost a year. No knicks and only needed a quick touch up with my Gillette slim. I forgot how much I enjoy a straight razor when I actually have time to use it.

Cheers