DE Shaving

[Stradawhovious]

Anyone here DE shave? Wet shave with an old school safety razor that is......

I just discovered this, and absolutely love it. I've found that there are many folks who still do this, and each one has their own rituals while shaving from the type of blade to preshave treatment, and soaps and creams.

Any here still do this? I'd love to open up a discussion surrounding it.

 

[Derrel]

I used to. My favorite DE was a promotional one given out by the Gillette company, with a click-stopped, numbered stem that allowed you to repeatably leave more, or less, blade exposed, depending on how tightly you clamped down on the blade. I normally used it "in the middle". What I like about it more than the older American DE's was that it had a longer, knurled handle...I have huge hands...the longer handle gave me a better view of my face in the mirror. I dunno...I grew up with the wet shaving routine my grandfather passed along to me and my brother, with a hot, wet towel, a mug of shaving soap, decent blades, etc,etc. I've stopped by some of these sites that fawn over DE wet shaving, and honestly, I think they're largely full of crap, especially in regard to the quality of disposable blades: I honestly believe that the sharpest, hardest-tempered blades might actually be found in the Bic disposable for sensitive skin...they seem to last longer than a Gillette or Wilkinson-Sword double-edge blade...OTOH, a few months ago I bought some Old Spice brand multi-blade disposables, and found the quality of the blades to be without reservation the POOREST I HAVE EVER experienced. Total garbage.

A number of years back, I thought that a mink-oil based soap made by the Mermack Mink Oil company was one of the best shaving soaps I had ever used. I think they're now called A Touch of Mink, not sure...it was a richly lathering, amber-colored, transparent circular-shaped soap about one inch thick, and it worked great in a shaving mug.

 

[jake337]

Lately I've just been saying F-it.

This is from april and I've only trimmed the cheeks since. Maybe it's time I try a self portrait.

 

[Compaq]

Dude! Of course!

I've been referencing to Badger & Blade - Home several times. It's a great community, like this, where you ask questions about lathering techniques, information about certain razors or blades or brushes or anything shaving related. After shaves, colognes, shaving soaps or shaving creams or shaving sticks and stuff. Check it out. Here's my shave den, followed by my back-up den. I can' fit more in the bathroom (darn!).

What you're actually looking at:

Brushes:
- Semogue 620 boar brush
- Proraso boar brush (kit brush)
- cheap Cerrus brush from germany
- custom made badger silvertip brush with handle in real buffalo horn

Razors:
- Merkur HD (my first razor. it's great, I use it frequently)
- Gillette old type (not sure about the year, but it's old)
- single edge razor: EverReady 1924 (from 1924, it's in mint condition! an awesome shaver. It shaves with more authority than any DE razor I have)

Tooth brush

Soaps:
- Safari soap
- Tabac soap
- Irisch Moose
- Trumper's Limes
- Fitjar Fjellheim (Norwegian brand, well known internationally with in the community)

Proraso after shave balm

+ all that stuff in my back up den. Blades kept in the small wall-hanging furniture :

(never mind that hammer, that's not shaving equipment LOL)

Here's a closer look at the SE EverReady 1924:

Opening mechanism + original case:

So, yes, I shave with a DE razor


edit: I can't believe I'm doing this, but here goes: Derrel, that razor you're talking about is called an "adjustable" razor. You can adjust its aggressiveness by "moving" the part of the head that exposes the blade. I've never owned one of those myself, but I'd like one in my collection. There are ways to "fake" the adjusting on other razors: slightly loosen the locking mechanism so that the blade sits a little bit looser than its meant to. Then more of the edge of the blade is available for skin contact. Be careful, though, and don't sue me if you nick yourself.

 

[Overread]

Compaq -- is that hammer for home dentistry ?

 

[Compaq]

Well, I've been told I need to remove my wisdom teeth, so I could do it myself. But mostly I use it on nails. It just fitted right into there, and I lacked a razor to fill the gap.

edit: ladies, traditional wet shaving isn't just for men. I know you shave, though I won't go into what. Lathering up is a nice feeling, though maybe not dow.... ahrmm...

 

[Stradawhovious]

Good stuff Compaq.

For me, wet shaving isn't just about busting the beard although thats a nice side effect, and I can get a much closer shave that way....
It's also about waking up.

Shaving takes me about 20 minutes, but only because I take my time.

preshave oil (made from grapeseed, tea tree oil and clove oil) that stays on for a couple of minutes....
Shea butter and African Black Soap goes on next
Lather with a brush and shave soap,
then one pass with the grain, one pass at 90 degrees and one pass against, using the shave butter and lathering with soap between passes.

At the end of it, I feel great, look good and smell good. My complexion is better too.

My opinion, totally worth it.

Oh yeah, the cost savings. I forgot about that. My blades are 14 cents a piece. Not like that cartridges that are several dollars each.

I use a Gillette Black Beauty (one of the adjustables Compaq was talking about) With a date code that dates it from the last quarter of 1969. The settings do change the aggresiveness of the blade. The lower the number, the flatter the blade sits in the head. The greather the number, the more that angle increases. I use it set to 9 for my face, and 5 for my neck. Seems to work out well.

 

[Compaq]

What brush are you using?

I don't believe for one second that Gillette's cartidges are better, in any way, than the traditional DE razors. The stuff they call lather is pressurized crap on a can which only resembles lather when it's out of the container. It's bad for your skin and it smells toxic. A proper, moisturizing, quality and natural shaving soap is soooo much better, in every way. The brush will in most cases cleans your face as well (unless you're using a really soft brush). I prefer stiffer bristles, and my Semogue 620 is nick names a "soap devourer". I love it.

Traditional wet shaving is also so much more fun than using cartridges. You get to shave the way you want. You control the variables, not Gillette. Shaving can turn from a painful chore to a fun hobby. There are several acquisition disorders out here: razor acquisition disorder (RAD), shaving brush acquisition disorder (SBAD), blade acquisition disorder (BAD). There are also the more perverse ADs: shaving brush handle acquisition disorder (SBHAD).
Some people joke around with this as hiding the purchases from SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed), much like people don't really want to talk about future purchases of expensive lenses to SWMBO.

As strdawhovious mentioned, there are much money to be saved (unless you develop multiple ADs, of course), mainly in blades. I should be mentioned that a good DE razor will last for generations, and you can pass it on to you son, who will pass it on to your grandson. A good brush will last for 10-20 years with good care, and a puck of hard shaving soap will last you from 6 months to over a year, depending on your brush, how often you shave and your technique, your water etc etc. Needless to say, invest in a good kit, and you have what you need for a while. You can laugh at those at work who are constantly complaining about how bad their Gillette Fusion with 5 blades, one presision blade, which runs on AA batteries and vibrates and look orange with awesome ferrari lines and features. Just show them your all metal DE razor and a blade, and they will look at you in awe.

As if this isn't enough positives about TWS, it's also more environmentally green. Less plastic thrown away, lasts longer. shaving soaps come in reusable containers, just buy a refill puck for it. the soaps come in many different versions. manly smells, flowery smells, foresty smells. Some have menthol in them, which is aweeeeeesome on hot summer days.

I could write about this for a long time. If any Scandinavians read this, check out this site. It's a programming project I had in uni last year.

It seems several persons are into it. Should anyone need any help on resources, online stores and such, I'm sure you could contact any one of us!

 

[Stradawhovious]

Im using a cheap boar brush. I wanted to make sure I stuck with this before dropping serious cash on a Badger brush.

When the time comes, I will probably end up making my own brush. Ordering the hair, and turning the handle. Should be fun! Also, I'm trying to get the wife into wet shaving so I can get her on board with getting a better brush.

You are correct in saying that you get a better, closer shave with DE razors, but not only that it's a BETTER shave.

I have a really sensitive neck. As a result of that, when I shave I'm prone to ingrown hairs, and red irritated spots. I can't say that the irritation has gone away completely, but I can say that it is DRASTICALLY less than it used to be. Also, the better quality products I get (soap and cream) and the more I learn about the art of shaving, the more the irritation goes away.

 

[Compaq]

Exactly. You don't need much pressure to shave with DE razors, unlike with cartridges. There are also so many types of DE razors out there, new or vintage, that we can experiment and find the setup that fits ourself perfectly.
I don't like badger brushes much, I prefer stiffer bristles. Mind you, I have only tried a silvertip brush, and so I am going to buy me other grades of badger hair when I get the money. Perhaps I'll wish for one for Christmas

LOL at your wife approach Great work :thumbsup:

So, are you face lathering, bowl lathering or lathering up in another way?

edit: I'm jealous of your project of making your own brush! I really want to, but don't have the skill or the equipment. Whenever you do, I hope you post pics of the process and the result!

 

[Derrel]

When the time comes, I will probably end up making my own brush. Ordering the hair, and turning the handle. Should be fun!

Uhhh-ohhhh....sounds like an obsession...

As for your earlier statement about the need for three shaving passes, specifically, "then one pass with the grain, one pass at 90 degrees and one pass against"


...Uh...that's a pretty amateur-like protocol...no wonder you were getting ingrown hairs and rashes...ask an expert barber about shaving, and you'll be scolded for making THREE passes just to shave off some whiskers....what are you using, a butter knife? THREE passes? Are you serious?

 

[Stradawhovious]

Face lathering. I load up the brush in the cup, and go to town. The badger brush lathers up really nicely with the Williams soap I'm using. Really Interested in getting some soap with menthol though........... That sounds fantastic.

 

[Stradawhovious]

...Uh...that's a pretty amateur-like protocol...no wonder you were getting ingrown hairs and rashes...ask an expert barber about shaving, and you'll be scolded for making THREE passes just to shave off some whiskers....what are you using, a butter knife? THREE passes? Are you serious?

Well, not surprised at your commandoesque eyerolling, but kind of surprised at your sentiment. The three pass approach is used by all kinds of people that wet shave. One pass might be enough if you are using a disposable cartridge with 7 blades on it, since the first 4 blades just tear the hair out a bit so the others can "cut" it, but with a single blade requires more than one pass to get a baby's-ass smooth shave.

Then again, I could be wrong. I did just discover this hobby, and dozens of forums and websites and close friends could all be lying to me.

 

[Compaq]

Shaving isn't about hair elimination in as few passes as possible. It's about reducing the length of the hair with every pass. I, too, usually use the three-pass shave: with the grain, across the grain and against the grain.

As stradawhovious explained, the typical cartridge razor works like this: there's this rubbery thing that pulls the hair out off the skin. Then there are 3-5 blades cutting it. The effect is that the hair is cut beneath the skin (due to the extensive pulling and all the blades working on it). This is a cause for ingrown hairs for many people. You really need to use pressure with the multiblade razors, especially with the lather that comes in the pressurized cans. That lather is not at all moisturizing, but rather the opposite. You'll feel dried out and bad, at least many people will realise this when comparing to a real shaving soap or shaving cream.

A DE razors has only one blade, though with two separate edges (hence "double edge"). When you properly prepare the face for the shave (hot shower, lathering up with brush, pre shave oil if needed) and apply a thick, cushioning, low-friction and moisturizing lather on your face, you let the razor slide across your face, slicing off the whiskers. You can't get a BBS shave (baby's butt smooth) with one pass with the grain. Several passes is a necessity. Some people have really tough skin on their face, perhaps such people would be able to get away with one pass against the grain, but those people are few in number. You want to reduce the length of the whiskers in each pass, not eliminate it totally. The three-pass shave is just convenient because, for most people, that does not take too long to do, it's easy and effective. Again, as mentioned, this way of shaving isn't purely for the sake of removing facial hairs - it's a zen-like experience. It's relaxing and a great way of waking up and preparing for work. You're taking care of your face, not just getting presentable for work with a poorly executed shave with Gillette, or equivalent brand, cartridge razor and poor lather.

Preparation is key, just as important as the shave itself. Just going from crap-on-a-can to a good soap and brush, without switching razor, would be a huuuge step-up.
Most barbers back in the days, and those real professional retro barbers that exist today, shave with a straight razor. Those aren't really comparable to DE or SE razors. That's a whole different art.

You can almost say it like this:

Cartridge razors and crap-on-a-can = full auto mode
DE or SE razor with real brush and soap etc etc = aperture/shutter priority
Straight razor with brush and soap etc etc = full manual

That's not a poor comparison. You lose so much control with the "modern" gear. It may be quicker, but it's not better in terms of quality.

As always, YMMW, but above points will apply to the majority.

 

[Stradawhovious]

Good stuff there, thanks for the explaination. That really is about the long and short of it.

I get excited to sahave in the morning now. Sounds silly to a lot of folk I know, but its true. It's a truly rewarding experience now, that gives me 20 minutes of "me" time to get prepared for my day. NO kids running around, no wife beating me with a sharp pointy stick, just me and my thoughts, good smellsand a smooth, smooth face.

I've been looking into making more thnkgs than buying them. I made my own preshave oil, and its great. I'm looking into making soap as well. I'd like to try a few more to see what I like about them individually, but in the end I think it would be really fun to make everything I need. I've done this with other hobbies, and it brings them from just fun to an extremely rewarding experience.

That, and I like making stuff.


OK, back to shaving. I also have a really cool old straight razor, but haven't had the balls to try it. It was part of a hygiene kit issued to the US Marines in WWI, and the blade is in great shape. I would need to get it honed, but other than that it's fine. Maybe someday, but not quite yet.