Getting it straight-- the razor obsessed shaving megathread

[P B G]

Originally Posted by eric1514

Well, day two with my Weishi and Dorco blades that it came with. Using canned foam for now and my shave is nothing to write home about but I haven't cut myself, either. I think a combination of caution and a not-very-aggressive razor is keeping me from getting a really close shave and bleeding out over the sink.

Thanks all for your help; I'll keep working at it. This is fun.
Eric

Try loosening up that canned foam with some hot water, its just really not that slick.

[Buck760]

Tried the DE for about a month now - birth year Gillette Super Speed, Wilkinson blades. I do the pre-shave oil, brush on the cream, etc. Although I've come close, I haven't hacked myself up yet, but am getting a lot of razor burn. I feel like one little slip and I'll be bleeding all over. Last week I used a Mach 3 throwaway (with Edge Gel) that my wife had which was probably 4 months old, and I got just as good of a shave as the DE, and no drama.

I'm thinking there's good reason the DE's have pretty much gone by the way. YMMV.

[Madrox]

DE is all in the technique. The multi blade razors are pretty idiot proof. Personally, I get a lot more irritation and ingrown hairs from multi blade razors.

Oh and if those are the wilkinsons from Walmart they're complete shit. I barely have any facial hair and only get one shave out of them before they start dragging.

[discochris]

You do need to be careful. I nicked the corner of my nose this morning and started bleeding like a stuck pig. What a mess that was. No real way to stop it except time.

[tattewell]

Originally Posted by discochris

You do need to be careful. I nicked the corner of my nose this morning and started bleeding like a stuck pig. What a mess that was. No real way to stop it except time.

styptic pencil should do the trick... Proraso makes a sting free gel version that works well too. but with a nick like that you may need to apply several times.

[Mambo Dave]

Originally Posted by GHbuck

Tried the DE for about a month now - birth year Gillette Super Speed, Wilkinson blades. I do the pre-shave oil, brush on the cream, etc. Although I've come close, I haven't hacked myself up yet, but am getting a lot of razor burn. I feel like one little slip and I'll be bleeding all over. Last week I used a Mach 3 throwaway (with Edge Gel) that my wife had which was probably 4 months old, and I got just as good of a shave as the DE, and no drama.

I'm thinking there's good reason the DE's have pretty much gone by the way. YMMV.

Whatever you do, don't keep putting new blades in it.

I'm somewhere around shave 30 with my current blade, and haven't cut myself in quite a while with it.

The goal is not to have a clean shave after a single pass, so don't even try.

Shave oil under a good shave soap is good. I use Prorasso pre-shave for a few minutes first, then apply 3 drops of shave oil and then the lather.

You may be using either too sharp a blade, too, or the razor you bought is too aggressive (there is a reason so many suggest starting out with the 34C - you chose to ignore that).

[tattewell]

While I don't subscribe to Mambo Dave's theory of keeping the same blade, he is absolutely correct about the prep work. With the correct prep work and the right technique, you should be able to obtain as good if not better results as any other razor whether multi blade or not.

Blade choice is a huge thing when starting too, and while nobody can say what will and wont work for you, you should get online and get some sample packs. IMHO wilkinson's are trash, I wouldn't give one to my worst enemy to shave his gooch with.

Try different soaps and pre-shave jobbers too, Proraso is popular, but there are some people who cant use it, the saying is YMMV for a lot of stuff in the wet shaving world for a reason.

edit: there are forums for this stuff too obviously, with the biggest advantage being, if you don't like a product, hock it on somebody who does.

There is also a guy online who exclusively sells Samples of products, so you can find things you like without spending alot.

[P B G]

Originally Posted by discochris

You do need to be careful. I nicked the corner of my nose this morning and started bleeding like a stuck pig. What a mess that was. No real way to stop it except time.

I did this once with a Mach 3, only it was that bit by the ear, and 3 symmetrical cuts /// like that.

On blades - I have found that he's mostly right, when I just start to feel like the blade is dragging, I rewet my wash cloth, soak the soap that is on my face, then whip a little hot water on my brush and relather.

And continue - that's been fine with the Merkur Platinums, I'm just starting to use some feathers, no cuts, beautiful shave, no ingrowns yet. So I don't know if it will like the same duration of shaves.

[Buck760]

Thanks for the replies. I am using the Walmart Wilkinson's, so maybe that's the problem. I've watched the Mantic videos, and am giving it three (light) passes. From my research beforehand, the razor I bought (regular Super Speed) is supposed to be middle-of-road in aggressiveness - the "Red Tip" being the most aggressive, and the "Blue Tip" the least (typically used by women). I've been using the AOS products for a few years now, and like them. I'll order up a sampler pack of blades and give it some more time.

[discochris]

Originally Posted by tattewell

styptic pencil should do the trick... Proraso makes a sting free gel version that works well too. but with a nick like that you may need to apply several times.

Eventually the styptic did stop it, but it took about 15 minutes, and I had a nice mess of crusty blood in the corner where nose meets cheek all day. Worst part was I'm getting over a nasty cold and I had to be super careful blowing my nose not to wipe the scab open and start it bleeding again.

Not sure why the hate for the Wilkinsons. I ordered mine online - didn't even know Walmart sold DE blades. Granted, my other experiences are some kind of generic Walgreens blades which are horrible, and Gillette 7 O'clock platinums from Russia, which are just okay. I need to try some others.

I do keep my Mach 3 around for traveling as well as to clean up around my ears on occasion.

[tattewell]

Originally Posted by GHbuck

Thanks for the replies. I am using the Walmart Wilkinson's, so maybe that's the problem. I've watched the Mantic videos, and am giving it three (light) passes. From my research beforehand, the razor I bought (regular Super Speed) is supposed to be middle-of-road in aggressiveness - the "Red Tip" being the most aggressive, and the "Blue Tip" the least (typically used by women). I've been using the AOS products for a few years now, and like them. I'll order up a sampler pack of blades and give it some more time.

I thought the lady Gillette was used by women? Which is actually a decent shaver. The only other issue that sometimes arises with older razors is that the original coating can get worn down and the underlying metal can cause skin reactions. If your razor is in good shape I wouldn't worry about that though.

PM me your address, I'll mail you a few different blades to try, people have done it for me on other forums, the least I can do for an inmate.

[Buck760]

Originally Posted by tattewell

PM me your address, I'll mail you a few different blades to try, people have done it for me on other forums, the least I can do for an inmate.

PM sent. Thank you for the kind offer. This site rocks!