Wet Shaving?

Still a fan of razorock Xxx... Arko stick never goes too far away either.

 

ahh love both...dont forget about the palmolive =) love that stuff

 

I've been using a Penhaglion shaving soap for about a month now. Took a good three to four tries before I decided I liked it as well as the cream I had been using.

Should I add a pre-shave product to the routine? Or are they not used with shaving soaps?

 

To each their own, but I have never had any luck with pre shave products. I just stick with a quick wet towel steam, lather and enjoy.

 

Penhaligon's used to make one of the greatest lines of soap in existence. A few years back, they caved to the enviro police and reformulated et voila- it's now nothing more than saponified swill.

People pay a hundred bucks a pop for a puck of the old formula soap, but the new version doesn't have too many friends.


And as for preshave, look around. You'll seen that most of the fans are new guys who have been convinced by marketers that a preshave is part of a standard shave routine- it's not.

 

I use about a minute or so with a hot wet cloth. Hot enough to be a bit ouchy. don't care for the pre shave products.

 

I have found that pre shave treatments are a crutch for inadequate lather and prep.

 

I was one of those new guys that would use pre-shave every time, every pass. I never liked oil though. I used Proraso Pre/Post, which is a creme.
One day after almost a year of using it I skipped it for a shave, not even sure why. But the shave was just as good as all the rest. So I skipped using it a second time and then a third time. Each shave felt great without it so now I don't bother.

I concur.

 

Great info. Thanks guys! I will check into a different soap once I have this one used up.

 

A drop of EVOO in your lather can do a lot. Or just a drop of evoo rubbed into your skin before lathering does about the same. Just learn to make better lather and you should be fine.

Have you tried Arko?

 

OK, so I've tried one Merkur DE blade and one Feather blade. I get 1 1/2 shaves (head and face) before they go dead. I get about 4 shaves out of a GEM SE blade. Is this typical? I was thinking the difference might be in the greater thickness of the SE blade.

 

The Merkurs don't seem to get much love, though I thought they were ok, middle of the road type blade. Feather's is a different story with a big following. I tried them early on and found them to need a couple shaves to get down to the sharpness of some other blades. I get about 5 shaves from just about any blade I use. Face only. A coarse but sparsely populated beard. Are you investing a minute or two hot soaking the beard before shaving? All across the shaving forums is mentioned that whiskers are harder than copper wire of the same gauge, so unsoftened, they will tear up a blade pronto. I have no experience with SE Gems and the like.

 

I get a lot of use out of SE blades. 5 or so shaves from a Gillette 7oclock black. 15 or more if I'm just getting my neck. I'm not a fan of feathers. Just unpleasant for me.

As to SE's lasting longer, thing thin blade with a 15 degree bevel versus a workhorse with 17 or 18. The thin blade will be wicked sharp and wear will be noticeable quicker.

 

Absolutely. SE blades tend to last longer, as do injector blades. If you're wearing out a Feather blade in less than two shaves, you must have a pretty tough beard. Give an injector a try.

 

I must have a high tolerance for dull blades, because I know I've got a tough beard - see avatar

Since Febuary I've been keeping track of blade usage and Personna red & blue I've gotten around 10 shaves out of. Perma-Sharp about the same. They arn't exactly binned yet either, I still have them on the counter and will likely go back to them.
But for kicks I went to the Axe Razor (cartridge system) and I'm on shave #17 with it.

For anyone interested I've been keeping track with a Google Doc
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0Avz5NoJFXuQSdFIzR0ZZZkxERFdSX3ZGc0x2b2x4LWc&output=html

 

Posted this in b&b. please note that I am blaming you all for getting me addicted (especially Warrenb ). Will post pics and a review of my experience once I master it a bit

 

Just keep at it. Around the jawline, the angle of face changes and you may be going too aggressive on those areas. Just watch your angle a little more next shave and see if that helps. I have to "Buff" around my jawline against the grain to get it smooth...

About the hollow area around the wind pipe, you can try tilting your head back or forward or perhaps to the side to get it to be a flat patch. I cannot get my neck as smooth as my cheeks and jawlines. If I try to get closer than I do I irritate more. Just something I accepted. I still get a good shave but it isn't polished mirror smooth.

 

Rami, your next natural progression is then straight razor, kamisori, and honing them on Japanese natural stones.

 

Think you only needed a very slight nudge to get you in to it my shaves are gradually getting better as I work on the angle and hair direction

 

Maybe once I manage DE's. I will need to talk to you about natural stones later in the year thou.