Wet shaving thread.

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How does one dork out on crickets? are you selectively breeding them for better flavor or something?

I could give em a shave if they are fuzzy.
 
How does one dork out on crickets? are you selectively breeding them for better flavor or something?

I could give em a shave if they are fuzzy.

Yes. On all counts. I maintain multiple colonies at different stages of their life cycle. It is as easy to dork out on as is brewing. Very simple but specific needs to be met, very specific temperatures to maintain. A LOT of cleaning.
 
If I had better rifle range access I would be up on an AR-15 in 6.8xSPCII so quick. Or get into bench (Stock) shooting .22's... I'm morbid like that.
 
My problems continue. Tried a Feather blade with the same results.

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A couple days ago, I was late for work and spent 3 minutes with my Mach 3 in the shower and got a great shave compared to what I've been doing to myself with the Merder.
 
The feather blades are crazy sharp, even in a tame razor like a Tech, too much pressure or a weak lather and I bleed a lot, what razor are you using again? A Merkur something?

Perhaps the root issue is the razor itself is too aggressive or just ill suited for your face.

Have you tried a different razor?

I have a tough time getting my neck super close, and if I nick myself badly I need to let it heal for a few days otherwise I just keep hacking the same swollen bits up.
 
Looking back a few pages I see you have a Merkur 34c razor (178).

It shouldnt be too aggressive, the feather in it for a reative "noob with a DE" might be a bit much, do you use very light to no pressure when shaving with it? unlike a cartrage razor like a mach 3 you shouldnt use any pressure but rather let the weight of the razor do the work.
 
I've tried what you guys have said and use very little pressure.
I'm actually really enjoying the shaving except for the spots to the left and right of my adam's apple. At these spots, I go wtg then xtg, but it doesnt get hardly any stubble leaving all the cutting to be done atg. Then when I go atg on those spots, the razor either skips/chatters or pulls or nicks.

With my Mach 3, I can apply a little pressure and the atg shaves close and I dont get irritation or cuts.
 
I have only recently been able to shave atg, and my neck has always been my hardest area to shave properly. What you are saying sounds somewhat normal in my opinion. I would suggest trying more wtg passes and taking a little more time with it.

Using a safety razor or straight blade takes a bit more time and patience than using a cartridge razor. And that being said, don't feel locked into it, if you feel that shaving isn't the hobby for you and you are adequately happy with a m3 or the like, then by all means go with what makes you happy :). But I do think that a little more time and patience would make you happy with your DE.
 
I have only recently been able to shave atg, and my neck has always been my hardest area to shave properly. What you are saying sounds somewhat normal in my opinion. I would suggest trying more wtg passes and taking a little more time with it.

Using a safety razor or straight blade takes a bit more time and patience than using a cartridge razor. And that being said, don't feel locked into it, if you feel that shaving isn't the hobby for you and you are adequately happy with a m3 or the like, then by all means go with what makes you happy :). But I do think that a little more time and patience would make you happy with your DE.

I rarely bother with ATG on my neck for these exact reasons. I do a WTG, and XTG, then pull my skin tight and to either side of my adams apple and repeat another XTG to get a good clean shave.

Sometimes the best solution is to ease up on trying to get BBS and go easy for a while, let yourself heal and then start back up slowly, the only time I shoot for full BBS instead of just BBS face is when I am going out on the town on the weekend with my wife. if I try to repeat that BBS shave the next day my neck responds by getting red, a few bumps, some weepers then day two those bumps tend to get shaved off and my neck gets progressively worse each day..
 
I've been using a simple Wilkinson Sword Classic DE with Wilkinson Sword blades. I ordered 30 feathers off of ebay...wow, they are a completely different experience, it's almost like you're not shaving they are that sharp.
 
I've tried what you guys have said and use very little pressure.
I'm actually really enjoying the shaving except for the spots to the left and right of my adam's apple. At these spots, I go wtg then xtg, but it doesnt get hardly any stubble leaving all the cutting to be done atg. Then when I go atg on those spots, the razor either skips/chatters or pulls or nicks.

With my Mach 3, I can apply a little pressure and the atg shaves close and I dont get irritation or cuts.

I have a spot on the right side, near the chin, just under the jaw line that's like that. It grows straight back towards my ear, and my XTG pass in that area, if unmodified, ends up being an ATG pass. So for that area, I shave at a 45* angle down toward the left side of my face and it's a mix of XTG and ATG. Seems to work out. I usually get it cleaned up pretty well on the touch-up passes after doing the W- X- ATG passes.

I'm excited to try a Feather. I have a 5 pack from a sampler I'm looking forward to trying.
 
I've tried what you guys have said and use very little pressure.
I'm actually really enjoying the shaving except for the spots to the left and right of my adam's apple. At these spots, I go wtg then xtg, but it doesnt get hardly any stubble leaving all the cutting to be done atg. Then when I go atg on those spots, the razor either skips/chatters or pulls or nicks.

With my Mach 3, I can apply a little pressure and the atg shaves close and I dont get irritation or cuts.

take a night and actually figure out what direction the hairs are growing. it may change direction half an inch down or to the right.

If after a few more tries the Merkur isn't working out, let it sit for a bit and come back to it. If it still doesn't work, ebay it. :)

Do you have any other blades to try besides the Feathers or Merkurs? I'm not a fan of either blade. If you want, I'll mail you a five pack of ASTRA SPs, I have a couple boxes lying around :mug:
 
I picked up a cheap Lord premium razor (Amazon.com: Lord Premium Safety Razor Model LP1822L aka L6: Health & Personal Care) The head is pretty much the same as the Merkur 38.

DE shaving is a different world! Second shave was better than first, just need to find that right light/no pressure, and experiment with some other blades. Only having issues with my neck and only the right side. Really not used to this 1 pass, almost no pressure shaving it's GREAT!

Haven't worked up the courage to shave my head with it yet... that could turn bloody quick!

My local walmart carries 1 brand of DE blades (Wilkinson Sword blades I think), need to check some pharmacies for other choices. currently using the 1 lord blade that came with razor.

How many shaves can I expect a blade to last? I generally shave every other day but should probably shave daily as I'm pretty scruffy by end of day 2. just had to go back a few pages~ thanks!

Quote:
Originally Posted by triangulum33 View Post
How many shaves (on average) does a blade last?
Varies by individual. Some get 5 or more shaves, others get 1 or 2. Depends how course your hair is and what blade is being used.

I just keep using the same blade until I can feel it tug at the hair.
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Had a lovely shave this morning using a Feather for the first time. Unreal how easily that this slides across my face. Had a few weepers here and there, but nothing uncomfortable or that didn't clear up with a splash of aftershave. This was on two days of growth. If things go well tomorrow morning, I might be done looking for blades.
 
I'm an avid wet shaver, myself. Love it. Currently using a Gillette Fat Boy from 1967 with Feather blades.
 
jtkratzer said:
Sure it's not a Slim? I didn't think they made the Fat Boy that late into the 60s.

Yep, it's a Fat Boy. It used to be my dad's. He had the case and everything it came with.
 
Hi guys. You may remember a few posts back I talked about a handle I did for someone. Well, he picked his favorite and left me with the other two. I'm not quite ready to start wet shaving yet, so if any of y'all want one of these, PM me. $15 each, shipped CONUS. If you want me to source and glue in a knot, we can work that out.

They're oak, finished with polyurethane and wax.

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-Joe
 
I have to say I'd more or less given up shaving due to the price of cartridges for the fusion, I didn't have much success recently using the Wilkinson Sword blades, but now I've changed to the feathers and am shaving every evening at home. I'm quite enjoying this.
I got about 6-7 shaves out of the first Feather and am on to my second now.
The next thing to do now is to get a nice razor, I already use a badger brush and some good soap.
 
I had my third shave with my first Feather this morning. I got a little ambitious and went up two clicks on the Slim and probably shouldn't have - got just a bit of burn.

For those of you who build lather on top of your puck of soap, does the lather build in the mug or once you put the brush to your face? I can't get anything going in the mug and I'm guessing it's just the brush continuously picking up more soap rather than hydrating/lathering. Any ideas?
 
nostalgia said:
Hi guys. You may remember a few posts back I talked about a handle I did for someone. Well, he picked his favorite and left me with the other two. I'm not quite ready to start wet shaving yet, so if any of y'all want one of these, PM me. $15 each, shipped CONUS. If you want me to source and glue in a knot, we can work that out.

They're oak, finished with polyurethane and wax.

-Joe

Hey, I'll take the one on the left for sure.

He actually picked *my* favorite as well, but I also love the stubby one.
 
Hey joe, if I had any spare cash I would take the one on the right, but since I dont have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out, I am going to have to wait, perhaps I will have you make me one at a later date when I actually have money.
 
I had my third shave with my first Feather this morning. I got a little ambitious and went up two clicks on the Slim and probably shouldn't have - got just a bit of burn.

For those of you who build lather on top of your puck of soap, does the lather build in the mug or once you put the brush to your face? I can't get anything going in the mug and I'm guessing it's just the brush continuously picking up more soap rather than hydrating/lathering. Any ideas?

Add more water. :)
 
Add more water. :)

More water in the mug or in the brush right before applying to the face?

I'll give that a shot, but it seems to already be fairly messy with foam flying off the brush/face all over the sink. I have a richer later once it's on my face, but it seems to take longer to get it on my face properly than when I was using a separate mug to build the later.
 
Yesterday was the fifth shave on my first Feather blade and that's definitely the max. Still cut pretty decently, but not the smooth shave I had the first couple times and a bit of burn.

I'm liking the feathers a lot.
 
Great! I think I liked the Gillette 7 oClocks better than feathers but the feather blades are still nice.

When you are building your lather do you put any pressure on your brush? If you can get the hairs to mushroom out just a little bit you can build up quicker and have more microbubbbles instead of big bubbles.
 
Great! I think I liked the Gillette 7 oClocks better than feathers but the feather blades are still nice.

When you are building your lather do you put any pressure on your brush? If you can get the hairs to mushroom out just a little bit you can build up quicker and have more microbubbbles instead of big bubbles.

I had one of those blades before my sampler and I'm looking forward to trying them again as well. I remember really liking them, I think it had a blue wrapper.

I think the hair spreads out enough, and then I get lather build up on the outside of the brush...that's what drips off all over. I just need to keep working at it.
 
so justin, are you lathering the whole time on the puck? try this method:
1) soak brush in warm/hot water while showering or whatever, also drop a bit of water on top of the puck while you soak
2) squeeze out 90ish% of the moisture from the brush
3) load soap onto brush for a good 30 seconds from the puck
4) remove puck, or switch to other bowl/mug
5) add in water in small amounts while you work the lather to get to desired consistency, it's easier this way to add in water rather than have to load more soap onto the brush
6) work it for a good 45-60 seconds and you should have a nice lather

if all else fails, just buy some CO Bigelow cream, makes life easier!
 
so justin, are you lathering the whole time on the puck? try this method:
1) soak brush in warm/hot water while showering or whatever, also drop a bit of water on top of the puck while you soak
2) squeeze out 90ish% of the moisture from the brush
3) load soap onto brush for a good 30 seconds from the puck
4) remove puck, or switch to other bowl/mug
5) add in water in small amounts while you work the lather to get to desired consistency, it's easier this way to add in water rather than have to load more soap onto the brush
6) work it for a good 45-60 seconds and you should have a nice lather

if all else fails, just buy some CO Bigelow cream, makes life easier!

This is what I used to do, I'd work the soap into the brush and then build lather in a bowl that had been soaking in the sink with the brush and razor while I showered and have a nice warm lather. I was trying to avoid keeping two bowls around, but it's not a big deal, I'll keep it for the lather with the soap or when using cream.

A number of folks have said they build right on top of the puck and then leave the extra lather in the bowl after the shave is over, so I was trying to figure out how to make that work as well.
 
gotchya. have you tried face lathering? just build up on the puck a bit and then transfer the brush to your slightly wet faceto build lather? that works really well for me.
 
android said:
gotchya. have you tried face lathering? just build up on the puck a bit and then transfer the brush to your slightly wet faceto build lather? that works really well for me.

That's what I've been doing since I can't get a lather going in the bowl. Just seems to make a mess.
 
Just shaved with an Astra Plat.
It was great. I was able to shave AGT and didnt carve myself up. I think the Feathers were just too aggressive for me.
 
I enjoyed the Astra SP's i had been using but just ran out. I'm going to try the Bluebirds that came with my sampler pack tonight. I'm also almost through my first puck of soap and am going to try some amber glycerine soap this time around. Has anyone noticed a big difference between the cheap Col Conk soaps vs. the expensive brands?
 
Had a nice shave this morning with a fresh Feather in the fat handle Tech. Wanted to check out how that blade performed in both of my regular razors before ordering a bunch.

I enjoy having some music on while shaving and this morning was a throw back with some Bone Thugs-n-Harmony on Pandora. Yes, I'm white, almost 30, and live near Amish folks and nowhere near anything like south central LA, but it was entertaining. A little Dre, Snoop, etc. Goes back to my middle school years.

What's the difference between the yellow packaged feathers and the black and silver packaging? Both are high stainless platinum blades. I am currently using the black and silver blades.
 
My wife must have been paying attention to me a few months ago when I stumbled onto this thread, and mentioned that I'd like to try a straight razor someday.... She bought be a Dovo 515 for my birthday last Friday! It's shave-ready and now i'm dorking out on Badger and Blade forums already. This thing scares the snot out of me, but for some reason, that's part of the appeal to me!
 
MyNameIsPaul said:
My wife must have been paying attention to me a few months ago when I stumbled onto this thread, and mentioned that I'd like to try a straight razor someday.... She bought be a Dovo 515 for my birthday last Friday! It's shave-ready and now i'm dorking out on Badger and Blade forums already. This thing scares the snot out of me, but for some reason, that's part of the appeal to me!

My old straight scared me a bit too. But having used it every weekend since I got it I feel quite comfortable using it, in fact I have nicked myself far less with it than with my DEs.

For your first few tries I would use it on the large areas and hit your Adams apple and tricky areas like your nose/upper lip with a DE or disposable.
 
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