Wet shaving thread.

Airplanedoc said:

You should check out DR Harris, Geo F Trumper, Mitchells Wool Fat, or other english made soaps, Old school natural ingredients and light on the scent.

West Coast Shaving is my go to place

http://www.westcoastshaving.com/

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Proraso is also a good, inexpensive shave cream.

porcupine73 said:

Hm interesting information. I use the mach3 setup too. Even stretching one of the blades to a week still adds up since those things are a few dollars a blade. I think I'll check out these blades you mention.

I just use Cal ben bar soap for shaving. It's pretty creamy, smooth, doesn't leave me with any razor burn. I just don't like all the chemicals, fragrances, stuff like that in those kind of products.

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You can stretch your mach3's by soaking them in rubbing alcohol every few shaves. The blades don't actually get dull, they get hard water buildup on the edge causing it to feel dull. The rubbing alcohol will strip it off and make it like new. I once used a blade for 3 months by doing this.

Oh interesting thank you for the information. I will try that out. I don't mind the mach3's too much they seem to be easy to use and do a reasonable job but they're pricey, and I don't like that sticky gel crud that is supposed to be a lubricant or whatever that is. Electrics I gave up on many many years ago, never could get a close shave out of an electric, at least I couldn't, not in comparison to a blade. Some of these other options look interesting to me though...

ninjamonkey80 said:

You can stretch your mach3's by soaking them in rubbing alcohol every few shaves. The blades don't actually get dull, they get hard water buildup on the edge causing it to feel dull. The rubbing alcohol will strip it off and make it like new. I once used a blade for 3 months by doing this.

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Rubbing alcohol does not remove hard water build up. It might help remove soap scum, but not mineral buildup. And facial hair is as hard as the same size copper wire, so the blades do get dull.

Airplanedoc said:

Rubbing alcohol does not remove hard water build up. It might help remove soap scum, but not mineral buildup. And facial hair is as hard as the same size copper wire, so the blades do get dull.

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Funny because not using it, my blade went dull in two weeks. When soaking it lasted 3-4 months.

I finally got around to setting up a shelf to get my razors organized.

My 1964 Travel Tech, 59' Fatboy, 63' Slim, a 65' Lady Gillette that I found on EBay for SWMBO and a modern Merkur non adjustable with my Genco President straight of unknown age.

Cheers!

Uh oh, this isn't about to turn into a creepy "shave den" thread, is it?

Ace_Club said:

Uh oh, this isn't about to turn into a creepy "shave den" thread, is it?

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It can if you want it to :fro:

Now it's a party.

If I could only get one razor, and I was poor (ie, I am poor), what would you suggest?

CreamyGoodness said:

If I could only get one razor, and I was poor (ie, I am poor), what would you suggest?

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Look for a Merkur on amazon.

CreamyGoodness said:

If I could only get one razor, and I was poor (ie, I am poor), what would you suggest?

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A Merkur Slant

http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Merkur-39C-HD-Long-Handle-Barber-Pole-Safety-Razor-Slant-Bar_p_57.html

CreamyGoodness said:

If I could only get one razor, and I was poor (ie, I am poor), what would you suggest?

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Straight razor.

Airplanedoc said:

A Merkur Slant

http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Merkur-39C-HD-Long-Handle-Barber-Pole-Safety-Razor-Slant-Bar_p_57.html

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Out of stock. As are the 37C. Have been for about a month now, maybe two. Starting to wonder if this is a discontinued line for Merkur.

I was able to find one on Ebay for about the same price as new ($40). Should have it in my hands today or tomorrow.

Ace_Club said:

Straight razor.

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He said poor. Not suicidal.

CreamyGoodness said:

If I could only get one razor, and I was poor (ie, I am poor), what would you suggest?

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Merkur Classic Short handle. A razor to last a lifetime.

GilaMinumBeer said:

He said poor. Not suicidal.

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Pfft! If I can shave with a straight razor, anybody can.

Ace_Club said:

Pfft! If I can shave with a straight razor, anybody can.

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I just started with a straight a couple weeks ago. I still have a lot to lean technique wise, but I get a much closer smoother shave with my DE's. I'm starting to doubt the actual shave readiness of my straight as it is used.

FastAndy said:

I just started with a straight a couple weeks ago. I still have a lot to lean technique wise, but I get a much closer smoother shave with my DE's. I'm starting to doubt the actual shave readiness of my straight as it is used.

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Ah, but the badassity of your shave is greatly magnified by the use of a straight razor. :rockin:

Ace_Club said:

Ah, but the badassity of your shave is greatly magnified by the use of a straight razor. :rockin:

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True, but once your whole face is scar tissue, you'll always be BBS!

Newbie here,

1 week under my belt, new DE razor, etc. etc. etc. $100 spent and I ain't spending no more! But I will admit, this **** does work.

I've felt a marked improvement in my skin and a much better shave. I can't believe I waited so long. And to think, the INTERNET ain't just for porn anymore.

But, you gotta admit those folks, those guys with the shave dens & A.D. are.......................................... messed up. :cross:

My best purchase?! The sample pack. Different blades DO shave different.

And my beer? My beer is better than ANYTHING you can buy in the store. HBT is da BOMB! I'm following HBT recipes and I haven't made a bad one yet.

P.S. The Persona Red made the Merkur blade feel like a butcher knife.

25 minutes from walking into the bathroom to walking out. That's strop, wash face, lather, shave, wash face, clean up and strop.

I wasn't going for how fast, just how long does it take. 25 minutes aint bad, huh?

Zuljin said:

25 minutes from walking into the bathroom to walking out. That's strop, wash face, lather, shave, wash face, clean up and strop.

I wasn't going for how fast, just how long does it take. 25 minutes aint bad, huh?

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You don't shave post-shower?

Uh. We might be shaving different things.

Course, I probably should clean up a little better, I suppose.

Well, fark! Got an email last night from teh Ebay guy I bought the Mekur Slant from. Says he actually sold it a week ago and forgot to take the ebay listing down. Gave me a full refund, of course.

I keep procrastinating on getting one of those replate NEW's...

Site says they have them in stock

http://americanshavingcompany.com/merkur-39c-heavy-duty-slant-razor.html

Airplanedoc said:

Site says they have them in stock

http://americanshavingcompany.com/merkur-39c-heavy-duty-slant-razor.html

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Thanks!

I'd have preffered a 37C but ... Ordered.

Gixxer said:

I keep procrastinating on getting one of those replate NEW's...

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Where you seen these?

The only guy I knew who restored and replated NEW razors was cooncat bob, he passed away recently though

There is one guy in England that replates a supplied razor, and abovethetie dot com replates yours and has some already replated for sale. Both are members of B&B if you want to look em up. It ain't cheap for rhodium either. Almost a hunsky in the end.they have to do the cleanup and prep to replate nickel, then plate rhodium over that. Some are happy with nickel but rhodium lasts so much longer

Gixxer said:

There is one guy in England that replates a supplied razor, and abovethetie dot com replates yours and has some already replated for sale. Both are members of B&B if you want to look em up. It ain't cheap for rhodium either. Almost a hunsky in the end.they have to do the cleanup and prep to replate nickel, then plate rhodium over that. Some are happy with nickel but rhodium lasts so much longer

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Sweet, looking into that on B&B

azscoob said:

Sweet, looking into that on B&B

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Just a FYI. I had a razor replated by a guy on B&B. When I received it, it was rhodium instead of gold as we had originally agreed, to which I was told I could send it back, and he would trade me a different razor. Then his plating started to flake in 2 months of limited use in my rotation. I was very dissatisfied with his work. Shoot me a PM and I can give you his info if you want. I definitely would not recommend his work.

Airplanedoc said:

I defiantly would not recommend his work.

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If you are defiant of NOT doing a thing, doesn't that mean you'd do a thing?

GilaMinumBeer said:

If you are defiant of NOT doing a thing, doesn't that mean you'd do a thing?

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Fixed that darn spell check

Been a while since I've ordered anything Merkur, and the razor itself looks top notch, but the packaging has been cheapened down quite a bit.

At first glance I thought I got sent a knock-off.

My Merkurs both came in a plain white cardboard box

Airplanedoc said:

My Merkurs both came in a plain white cardboard box

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My classic came in that marblized looking white box with a form molded insert that held the razor in place.

this box is;



didn't say the old package screamed EAC, just that the new is cheapened somewhat.

Yeah, my Merkur was just in a plain white box also. Probably depends on the vendor. The plain box is likely designed for warehouse and online orders and the branded box is probably designed for retail display.

Trying a feather blade at the moment after going through the merkur blade the razor came with, some wilkinson swords, Derby, and astra blade. The feather is blowing the rest out the water, I think it'll be the one I use from here on in!