Wet Shaving?

I will probably get a Maggards Razor or Merkur 34 or EJ89 to try out. Some areas of my neck are a royal PITA to get with the straight. I got a nice shave with my straights after letting the hair grow for a few days that I had off from work, but haven't shaved each day with the SR. The DE may help get the neck area where the hair grows in all different directions.

I am looking at Maggards because I can make up my own blade sample packs. Any suggestions? Astra Super Platinum, Feather New High Stainless, Gillette 7 o'clock Sharp Edge and Super Stainless, Gillette Silver/Blue, KAI, Red Pack Personna Platinum, any others from Maggards I should put into a sampler pack?

 

That's one heck of a blade sampler right there. If they have any Derby or Dorco add those too, or even Lord, Merkur, or Sharks.

What you listed is generally regarded as quality, high end blades, and very sharp. Try some less expensive blades, less sharp as well. You might find that the less expensive blades provide a smoother shave.

 

Went with an Edwin Jager 89 with a knurled handle, and the blades listed above. IIRC, it comes with some Derby's as well with the razor. 7 different kinds of blades for like $16, not bad! Also picked up some new soaps, proraso pre/post cream, badger brush to compare to the boar brush, etc. Shipped 45 minutes after I placed the order! They are fast!!

 

Sweet! Nice selections.

 

Good choice. I have both a Merkur 34C and an EJ89 and much prefer the latter in terms of appearance and comfort, though mine is a barley pattern handle which can get pretty slippery with soapy hands. It worked very well with Derby Pro blades (which felt awful for me in the more aggressive 34C), and also work well with Astra Platinum. I'll still use my straights for amusement, but the EJ89 is so practical and quick that it's hard to not use. I might switch to a Weber, but I don't know if I'll like the feel.

 

I went from an R89 to a Weber, and never looked back. I think the feel of the Weber is perfect, and the aggressiveness is almost the same as the 89.

 

It's mindboggling what a bewildering array of products are available for shaving. Best of all, if you go the straight razor route you have another use for your sharpening stones.

 

I think what is more mind boggling is that the vast majority of shavers don't know that so many products and equipment options exist.

 

Tim, I thought you had a lathe? (You need one if not) Time to make your own brush, no sense in buying them.

 

Yeah, I have one, but it has a 3 jaw chuck on it now so I can use buffing wheels on it. I tried to remove it and put the regular attachment back on, but it was stuck pretty tightly. I as never very good with lathe work, either!

 

It's all your fault guys for sending me to B&B

A couple of weeks in and this is what has happened, with more on the way
I have taken over 2 shelves whilst my wife is on holiday, brave, very brave indeed Guess she will get the lower one back

 

Ill toss you a rope to get out of the rabbit hole. I don't think I have one long enough. You are in pretty deep

 

Yep and as you know I have just dangled a toe in The Nib as well Absolutely love the vintage razors though

 

Stay away from vintage pens ;-)

 

Got my DE and Soaps! Arko cream, 2 razor rock soaps, badger brush/stand, etc! Let the fun begin!

 

Looks normal to me. I don't see a problem.

 

Oh....My...God! First DE shave went off w/o a hitch, weeper, nick or cut! I put the Astra blade in and went to town after a quick shower. RazoRock Brain Freeze, new Parker Badger brush and the DE EJ89. WTG had no pulling whatsoever on my 36 hr beard, which has some sharp stubble to it. After doing the three normal passes and cleaning up the neck, near BBS. A touch of razor burn when I used the Proraso Menthol Aftershave lasted for a second or two. gotta work on the mustache and chin area (only went WTG on those for now) as well as my neck/jawline area, but it came out MUCH better than when I was using the SR's! Only took a few minutes longer than my normal cartridge shave, mainly due to the lathering and applying the lather a few times. Parker Badger was OK, it was the lowest badger grade and didn't seem to load up as much as my Omega Boar 49 does. The BrainFreeze felt nice, very much like the Proraso Menthol/Eucalyptus, but a bit softer. Still gotta work out the badger brush/water content, but all in all, a very good first DE shave! I wanted to shave at night after a shower so I can save some time in the morning before work, so I will see how it grows over tomorrow to see if I can go with shaving the night before and not looking scruffy at work the next day.

For those who use a SR and a DE, it is possible to get that smooth of a edge (ie no pulling) with the SR? When I shave with the SR's, I feel the blade cutting and sometimes pulling where the DE feels so much smoother, like I don't even feel the blade on my skin and I don't know if it's cutting or not by feel sometimes! Now that I have the DE, I may send out a few of my SR's for honing to make sure they are where they need to be and then trying those to compare to the DE.

 

People will say they do, but I've never had a non-disposable razor shave without a little bit of tugging and catching. They've been professionally honed by some respected guys as well as myself, and while some are smoother than others, none are effortless on a >4 day beard. Kai Titan Mild blades in a Feather AC and Astra/Derby blades in the DE89 are much more comfortable. After several years of working on SR technique, this still holds true for me.

 

Good stuff gents.

 

Sounds like a success!

I never go ATG on my upper lip. Always just 2 passes WTG. For me it looks and feels exactly the same as a BBS with just a WTG pass. And on my chin I never do a ATG either. But I will do a XTG - east to west or west to east stroke as the chin hair seems to be thicker/tougher.