Wet shaving and the new fancy razors..?

Safety razors, electric shavers, creams, snake oil? Pah.
As Chopper Reid might have said; `Get a cutthroat & toughen the F up!` :D
 
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273K said:
It is a problem of the internet in general but these forums seem to be particularly affected in that people often confuse having an opinion and being given a platform to air it with actually having something interesting to say.
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I know you've been 7 years, but obviously not posted enough to realise how OoF works ...
;)
 
The reason I use all the potions and lotions is simple like me.

I can
I want to
I can afford to

Never liked electric shavers they just pulled and tugged and generally made my face feel like a piece of raw steak. Never got on with BIC or Lidl or Aldi or even Gillette. I like the ritual of a wet shave using modern versions of the things my Dad did, I've even got his old 1940's Gillette razor that I've tried. I have to say it ripped my face to bits even with a new blade.

To those that can shave with a rusty hacksaw blade and some carbolic soap then your lucky thats all I can say.

To the grumblers and moaners then carry on shaving in the same old way you've shaved for years, don't try anything different you never know you may get pleasure out of it and that would be so bad for you LOL

Remember there are those of us who like to experiment to try and stop our babyfaced from getting scarred for life. Don't knock us :eek:
 
Musicman said:
I find my Braun electric shaver does as good a job as anything else I've ever tried :-/
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see i never got on with electric personally. always give me major rash.

Cobra said:
All this nappy rash, sorry shaving rash, we seem to have rather a lot of "baby faces" posting :D
You don't get a rash when your skin turns to leather :D
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appreciate it was tongue in cheek but even in my mid 30s i still struggle with shaving. i do have crap skin thanks to years of acne in my younger years. plus my neck beard grain grows in several different directions, making life so much harder.
 
Wow I'm late to the party......

Anyway, several months ago I trialled all the subscription services to replace my Gilette (which I bought in bulk last time the world cup was on - they dropped the "supporters' packs" to like 20% of the price when Engerland went out). In the end Cornerstone got my money as they gave best price/performance IMO. I reckon their blade worked as well as the latest Gilette for a lot less money. Then about 2 months ago they changed the blade and handle and made it even better.

I shave 5 days a week and retire the blades after 2 weeks - I could probably get a 3rd week of mediocre shaves out of them.

Also, their shave gel is pretty good (they sent me a free one to try). IMO as good as my KoS Serum and seems to last for ever.

BTW most of the articles you see praising the subscription model are getting kickbacks - all of the subs have affiliate schemes. But if you want to try Cornerstone, I'm sure I have a code somewhere that would get you (and me) a free month ;)
 
JonathanRyan said:
Wow I'm late to the party......
But if you want to try Cornerstone, I'm sure I have a code somewhere that would get you (and me) a free month ;)
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Well, if it benefits us both and you can find a code then yes please !
No worries if you can't find it tho..
 
stevewestern said:
Well, if it benefits us both and you can find a code then yes please !
No worries if you can't find it tho..
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This will get us both £10 of "supplies" if you sign up. *EDITED*

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What I find interesting in all this the propensity of people to believe all the social media adverts.

The chances of any startup being able to make better blades than wilkinson sword or Gillette is basically zero, all the fancy words and metallurgy speak is exactly what the big companies use anyway, they've spent millions of pounds developing the tech.

All these startups are doing is going to a contract manufacturer and making something that looks a little different from the norm and providing a service along with it.

And that's the way of the world, all the big new companies don't make stuff, they offer a service (Uber, amazon, deliveroo, Netflix) and it's about getting the service right, as long as the product is good enough, which most things are nowadays.
 
Nawty said:
What I find interesting in all this the propensity of people to believe all the social media adverts.

The chances of any startup being able to make better blades than wilkinson sword or Gillette is basically zero, all the fancy words and metallurgy speak is exactly what the big companies use anyway, they've spent millions of pounds developing the tech.

All these startups are doing is going to a contract manufacturer and making something that looks a little different from the norm and providing a service along with it.
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Yep. Using the same fancy metallurgy that Gillette used a year or two ago. Which was actually pretty good. Most of them boast that they subcontract the work to a "high end factory in Germany" and I suspect they all use the same one.

Every year the big manufacturers look at how to improve their razors and for about 5 years straight the answer has been "add another blade". I'm not sure metallurgists have much to learn about making sharp edges at an affordable price.
 
Hmm. I've been wet shaving for nearly 50 years...and I've never had razor rash or ingrowing facial hairs.

I started with a Gillette DE safety razor which my father bought before the war. He gave it to me unused, in its waxed paper wrapping and original box, and I still have it. I have his own razor too, which my mother gave me after he died, and I've used it a few times. These things don't wear out, and I always got a good shave using Wilkinson or Gillette blades.

I fancied trying a Mach 3 about 10 years ago and liked it. It's still my first choice, because you can nick yourself with a DE safety razor, but you have to be incredibly clumsy to do this with a Mach 3. The blades are a bit pricey, but they last well, and I think there are some 3rd party blades for the Mach 3 handle now.

A few things that work for me. I use a shaving brush and soap (not foam/cream), whipped up into a thick lather and shave twice, with the 'grain' and then against it. Wilkinson make a surprisingly good shaving brush for about £3. Not up to badger standards (there are several qualities of badger ranging from pure to silver tip, best is roughly in the middle) but they're all fairly expensive. I prefer Trumpers 'Limes' shaving soap but that's an occasional buy at about £10, and I usually use the Wilkinson soap that comes in a blue plastic bowl. It's good for £2, but lacks the fresh lime smell.

I prefer being clean shaven and this takes a few minutes in the morning, before I shower. It's quick and easy.
 
A pleasurable experience and help is to have a flannel just for you and soak it in hot water then put on your face pre soaping,do it a few times and im sure you will find the blade willglide nicely.
I used to use a cut throat at work spending ages stoning it and stropping ,now we use wilkinson sword blades ,break in two and slide in a detachable razor,saves a lot of flaffing about.
 
SsSsSsSsSnake said:
A pleasurable experience and help is to have a flannel just for you and soak it in hot water then put on your face pre soaping,
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There was a film, ( Turner and Hooch maybe) where the guy put a wet flannel in a microwave to heat it ..
Never tried it, but it did seem like a good idea?
 
Keith W said:
That's why I shave after my shower, nice and hot, opens up the pores and softens the bristles
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But the mirror is misted up,
Well it is when I've tried that in the past :(
 
Oh and after you have shaved wash your face in hot water to get all the residue off properly/out of the pores and rinse off, then splash your face with cold water to close the pores back up
 
SsSsSsSsSnake said:
A pleasurable experience and help is to have a flannel just for you and soak it in hot water then put on your face pre soaping,do it a few times and im sure you will find the blade willglide nicely.
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Keith W said:
That's why I shave after my shower, nice and hot, opens up the pores and softens the bristles
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A hot towel, hot flannel and showering all work, but I just use my shaving brush and hot water to 'prep'. Lathering up and waiting a couple of minutes is supposed to soften the bristles too. I'm not sure if this really makes any difference, but it has a certain amount of entertainment value. After all, wet shaving is a manly ritual denied to those poor souls who use electric shavers...:D
 
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MartynK said:
After all, wet shaving is a manly ritual denied to those poor souls who use electric shavers...:D
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:D
I'm usually still asleep when I do it, slap on a bit of gel, scrape it off as fast as possible ... and off to work ...
It only hurts about an hour later when I "actually awake up " :D
 
Since everyone else is posting their shaving rituals, I may as well post mine:

- wash face with hot water
- soak flannel in hot water, wring and apply to face. I do this a few times
- use shaving cream, brush and hand to generate lather (I used to use a cappuccino mug but I dropped it once)
- apply lather to face and leave it for two mins. In the mean time I brush my teeth
- wash lather off face
- reapply lather
- one pass with the grain, second pass across the grain, final pass against the grain
- blade buff around neck area
- rinse with hot water
- rub alum block on shaved area
- tidy everything up
- rinse with cold water
- pat dry and apply post shave moisturising balm
 
There is the trick (old wives tale perhaps) that if you run the blade over a bit of old denim when you've finished, that it'll keep a keen edge for longer.

Also, do what they do when you go the fancy barber and get a wet shave. Warm towel on face to open pores, shave, warm water to wash soap/gel/cream off, cold towel (just run under the cold tap) to close the pores
 
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MrDrizz said:
There is the trick (old wives tale perhaps) that if you run the blade over a bit of old denim when you've finished, that it'll keep a keen edge for longer.
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It's a bit like running the edge of the blade round the inside of a glass. Both of these tricks, and a few similar ones, can strop the edge by straightening out the tiny imperfections that develop. It's a bit like using a steel on a carving knife blade. I doubt if this is really worth the bother now, but I think it was quite popular during the war when razor blades were rationed.
 
in the shop,I strop the cutthroat in the palm of my hand, doesn't do much but sure looks impressive especially at speed
 
OldCarlos said:
Yeah same here. :( I can still remember looking at the stitches, while in the bath & praying they actually WERE the dissolving types as promised. :LOL:
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And? ....
:D
 
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