Hello from York

Well what a lovely warm welcome! Thank you all!

Pugh - Betty's is far too expensive for me but they must be good judging by the ques! If you're in town try Patisserie Valerie (sp?) around the corner (in between Market Street and Parliment Street) pal.

Fido and Beejay - have read your reviews with great interest, I'm saving pennies already!

Beejay and Lose the beard - Have checked out Connaught - it said out of stock for the big Uk sample I think, will keep checking though! I'm struggling with ASB to be honest. I used to use a nice one but I have very dry skin on my face which means I really need a rich moisturiser for the whole face. At the moment I'm using the GFs Simple Rich Moisturiser which has no perfume etc and I still need to use two decent amounts half an hour apart after a shower each morning. :( Anyone help with that?

Canuck - do you have the 89 too? Think I might have remembered you posting about it sometime?

KRF - where abouts are you mate?

Goldcrest - nope not yet. Think I should master creams first?

Frankie - Browns is too dear too, I only go there for presents when the missus 'needs' something!

Browngc - cheers mate, I'm happy I invested in something!


WELL, UPDATE - the postman came this morning and left me a little note saying I had to pick up the parcel at the depot (usual as we live in a flat). So I'll be off there tomorrow (well today really as it's quite late) to pick everything up, then going to a completely new shaving experience!

Can't wait to build some lather and give it a go. I know that it's important to remember no pressure, but I'm nervous I'll get the angle wrong and cut myself to ribbons!

Will let you know how I get on! Wish me luck! :D
 
Hi Dan,
One thing that I did to practise gauging the angle was to gently put the razor to my bare face then, looking in the mirror adjusted the angle i was holding the razor at so that the blade looks at the right angle. Obviously do this without actually shaving yourself as you haven't prepared or lathered. Just helps to know what the angle looks like on your face before hand.

You will probably have already read elsewhere but it also pays to keep your shaving setup the same for a few weeks thereby keeping a consistent approach. By doing this if you have any issues you know it's not down to different blades or different soap/cream etc.

Cheers,
Geoff
 
Hi Dan.
I'm waiting for my stuff from TSC too.
It's nice to think yours is at the post office.
I'm completely new to this too. And I am dumping a fusion in favour of this traditional malarkey. Good luck :)
 
Well just had my shave. Completely different to what I am used to and what I was expecting!

I knew these razors were sharp but wow! And that's using Derbys! Couldn't believe how smooth it was - just no irritation at all, in fact I wasn't even sure the blade was connecting on the cheeks.

Got a good few nicks, 5 or 6 I think - I didn't feel them apart from one where I slipped and dug the edge of the blade in. I think I need an alum block not just the pencil! :D

So here I am all clean shaven with a proper razor, three passes (WTG, WTG, XTG). Face a bit sore but I think that's due to the pencil being used on all the nicks.

Feels so clean! Having not used a brush before I struggled a bit - don't think I used enough cream as it was spread a bit thin and had some air bubbles on my face. Brush also felt quite rough but maybe I didn't use enough water?

My face has never been cleaner! Got a bit of stubble left under my chin but my top lip and around the mouth is better than ever!

:D

Verdict - great shave! Really enjoyed it and pretty good results for the first time even with a few nicks! :)
 
Might I suggest watching a few Youtube videos on lathering to get the idea of what really good lather ought to look like and feel like? A few ideas:

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p0QWkOC3BU[/video] - this is in Spanish, but the guy is a member here (Teiste), and what he shows is the gradual addition of water to a bowl of lather from a tube cream until the lather is the correct consistency. There's then a pause, and, at 4 minutes in, he shows the results of adding too much water - past the sweet spot.

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSVW3NkbyMM[/video] - this guy knows his stuff, and he's showing loading from a cake of soap in much the same style as Antdad's tutorial here in the Help section. He's demonstrating a particular American soap, but the same principles apply with any hard soap, with the only variable being that some soaps and creams need a bit more water than others.

Finally, from the guru that is mantic [video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7Aj9vwrtc[/video] - the only warning I would give is that mantic seems to get great lather from a hard soap that he's barely touched with the brush - most, if not all of us here have to load the brush for at least 20 seconds and often more like 45 seconds to get the same volume of lather that he does.
 
dantheman said:
Frankie - Browns is too dear too, I only go there for presents when the missus 'needs' something!
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Chortle....:)


dantheman said:
Well just had my shave. Completely different to what I am used to and what I was expecting!

I knew these razors were sharp but wow! And that's using Derbys! Couldn't believe how smooth it was - just no irritation at all, in fact I wasn't even sure the blade was connecting on the cheeks.

Got a good few nicks, 5 or 6 I think - I didn't feel them apart from one where I slipped and dug the edge of the blade in. I think I need an alum block not just the pencil! :D

So here I am all clean shaven with a proper razor, three passes (WTG, WTG, XTG). Face a bit sore but I think that's due to the pencil being used on all the nicks.

Feels so clean! Having not used a brush before I struggled a bit - don't think I used enough cream as it was spread a bit thin and had some air bubbles on my face. Brush also felt quite rough but maybe I didn't use enough water?

My face has never been cleaner! Got a bit of stubble left under my chin but my top lip and around the mouth is better than ever!

:D

Verdict - great shave! Really enjoyed it and pretty good results for the first time even with a few nicks! :)
Click to expand...

Derbys do for me too. BUT.....I have also just got a blade selection and thought I would try the ASCOs (I like pyramids!).
 
Thanks guys,

Just watched the videos and I definitely didn't add enough water to the lather.

Good news is that yesterday's was such a poor shave I have enough growth to try again today! :D
 
dantheman said:
Thanks guys,

Just watched the videos and I definitely didn't add enough water to the lather.

Good news is that yesterday's was such a poor shave I have enough growth to try again today! :D
Click to expand...

It's a common error - however it's just as easy to overdo it, as the first video shows. If you hit the sweet spot, the lather is cushioning and slippery, and dries only slowly on the face.
 
Had a brilliant shave after posting my last.

No nicks at all and just as close as with my old Fusion, but sooooo much more comfortable - especially afterwards! I just can't believe the difference between a cart and a DE, they're just poles apart.

Lather was much much better today. I realise now I definitely didn't use enough water yesterday. Although today I think I used slightly too much - didn't shake the brush enough (maybe by one shake) and so I ddin't get the stiff peaks. Got a hell of a lot of lather though, easily enough for 4 passes if I'd have needed it!

The result though was a good clean shave, with very little irritation, and no nicks. But the lather did look a little 'thin' on my face and although I think I'm good at shaving the left side of my face (backhand), I'm not so good at lathering it! :)
 
dantheman said:
Had a brilliant shave after posting my last.

No nicks at all and just as close as with my old Fusion, but sooooo much more comfortable - especially afterwards! I just can't believe the difference between a cart and a DE, they're just poles apart.

Lather was much much better today. I realise now I definitely didn't use enough water yesterday. Although today I think I used slightly too much - didn't shake the brush enough (maybe by one shake) and so I ddin't get the stiff peaks. Got a hell of a lot of lather though, easily enough for 4 passes if I'd have needed it!

The result though was a good clean shave, with very little irritation, and no nicks. But the lather did look a little 'thin' on my face and although I think I'm good at shaving the left side of my face (backhand), I'm not so good at lathering it! :)
Click to expand...

Peaks should be tallish and wobble a bit when shaken but shouldn't collapse or fold over - if they're totally stiff the lather is a touch too dry, though such small differences can fall within the range of variances between different soaps or creams. If you find it hard to lather the left side of your face with your right hand, switch hands. I lather the whole right hand side of my face and the left hand side of my neck with my right hand, which is my dominant hand, then switch the brush to my left hand to lather my left cheek and sideboard area.
 
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