Striving for a Consistent Shave......

BillTse

BillTse

Messages
89
Started shaving as a lad using one piece throwaways like a Bic or a Wilkinson Sword Retractor disposable razor, then changing to the cartridge Gillette Contour, then Contour Plus, then a Sensor & Sensor Excel when they first came along...

I became very dissilusioned with shaving, never having a comfortable or clean, bloodless, rashless shave with any of them.

Trying the various umpteen soaps, foams & gels - which made absolutely no difference to a difficult experience - gave up & grew a beard. Eventualy got bored with that & started shaving again.... But the price of new razors! OMG No!
I'm not buying those at that price! So.... Back to throwaways...

Couple of years ago, I gritted my teeth & got myself a cheapycheap plasticky butterfly DE safety razor off eBay; tried Astra, Treet, Polar Star, Wilkinson Sword blades.
I settled on the Astra Platinum (Green Box).

A Better shave! And a sharp learning curve; you end up having to practice on your face, after all! But by now I'm shaving my head, too. Using Wilkinson extreme 3's & they don't last long.

Razor starts looking a little tatty after a bit & the blade starts juddering in it while I'm shaving - because it dosen't close as tightly as it did, so I see a Wilkinson Sword Chrome Butterfly DE on offer at Boots. Buy it. Use it...
Chuck my old'un out!
A much better shave....

Then Morrisons do an offer on a King of Shaves screw together 3 piece. Buy it. Use it.... Even better!!

Me Dad asks me if 'they still do those everready single edge razors?'. A What? Cue an awful lot of resarch. I get two on ebay. One for me to try, the other his Xmas prezzie 2020/21.
Let me tell you: they plane the bumps in the skin of your face & head right off, with no probs. Alum stings. He still hasn't got his yet. Tier4 & all that.

I'm fed up with buying razors that turn something that should be a pleasurable or at least easy expierience into a damned bloodbath!

So now. Got myself a Merkur Short Handled Slant.
IT IS THE BEST SHAVER I'VE EVER USED (so far).
IT GIVE THE BEST SHAVE I'VE EVER HAD (so far).
Manoeuvrable tool, no slippage on the handle.
Easy to load & assemble. Nice build & finish.
I use King of Shaves Gel, or an Arko Soap Stick
smushed into a mug & a men-u brush.

I usually ditch the blades (Astra) after one session.
I prefer to shave every day; blade is changed each day.
Recently got some Gillette Silver Blue from Connaught.

When I bought my Slant, I also purchased a Merkur 41c & 42c.
Serious about finding the right razor!
And it was Xmas. Thx, wifey.

All I'm aiming for is a consistent shave.
At a reasonable price.

Haven't found my 'forever' blade, if there is such a thing....
May have found my forever razor... If there is such a thing....


My thanks to mcgruff for the word 'consistent'. A marvelous word!
 
Last edited:
Brilliant read mate, looks like the more you go up in price the better razor your getting but off course (that's) not always the case.
as for blades there's one out there for you,
iv personally never got on to well with the Astra's but the silver blue is definitely better for me.
Blades can be a hit @ a miss for most bit here goes i'll give you some of my favourites.
i say favourites because i prefer different blades in different razors.
Voskhod my personal favourite
Gillette 7 o'clock s all colours but Yellow for me
Feather rumoured to be sharpest
polsilver &
another favourite
Gillette Nacet

All Brilliant blades but i could go on & on and i'm sure others will give different opinions.
i also like Gillette Rubies.

Now just out of coincidence i'm preferring blades made in Russia but i'll try anything.
Sample packs are good from most retailers.
#Executiveshavingcompany have a decent array

Another thing blades can be a hit & miss
razors can be a hit & miss but cheap canned soap is dreadful and does nothing for your skin,
Zero slickness & cushion for the razor.
Try a different soap you'll find your shave instantly better.
 
Mike Smart said:
Brilliant read mate, looks like the more you go up in price the better razor your getting but off course (that's) not always the case.
as for blades there's one out there for you,
iv personally never got on to well with the Astra's but the silver blue is definitely better for me.
Blades can be a hit @ a miss for most bit here goes i'll give you some of my favourites.
i say favourites because i prefer different blades in different razors.
Voskhod my personal favourite
Gillette 7 o'clock s all colours but Yellow for me
Feather rumoured to be sharpest
polsilver &
another favourite
Gillette Nacet

All Brilliant blades but i could go on & on and i'm sure others will give different opinions.
i also like Gillette Rubies.

Now just out of coincidence i'm preferring blades made in Russia but i'll try anything.
Sample packs are good from most retailers.
#Executiveshavingcompany have a decent array

Another thing blades can be a hit & miss
razors can be a hit & miss but cheap canned soap is dreadful and does nothing for your skin,
Zero slickness & cushion for the razor.
Try a different soap you'll find your shave instantly better.
Click to expand...
Just Amazon'd a Taylor of Bond Street
Lemon & Lime Cream Shave Bowl....
Should be with me Friday.
 
Boycie83 said:
Your Merkur slant razor is probably the 37C. It's an excellent razor - a design that has stood the test of time. I'd recommend sticking with the 37C for a while to nail your technique.
Click to expand...
100% bang on mate as (that's) possibly what i was doing wrong at the beginning.
on heinsite i should have mastered one before moving on to another.
all good now though (y)
 
Routine - Face Only.

Razor: Merkur Slant 37C - Closed Comb, Short Handle.
Blade: New & Unused Gillette Silver Blue.
Soap: Taylor of Old Bond Street Cream Lemon & Lime
Shaving Cream Bowl.
Brush: men - u Barbiere White.

Two days stubble. Unwashed face.
This shave @ 1.00pm.

Method:
Start running water to get it hot.
Unwrap & assemble blade & razor.
Splash & scrub face w/ hot water in hands 10 or so times.
Put razor under the running water, leaving it under the tap.
Put brush / soak under running tap for a few seconds.
Shake off wet brush.
Dab brush lightly into shaving cream & apply.
Brush onto face & work in to a flat, thick lather.
Rinse & wet razor under the hot running water properly.
Shave - small strokes; with grain, in as few passes as possible.
Wet brush tip, apply to face & lather again with what
Shave - against grain, smooth, longer strokes, multiple passes.
Wet face a little to finish off if too dry.
Rinse & pat dry; All done!

Rinse Razor & Dissasembe.
Clean blade with soap & dry it.
Rinse razor parts, clean & pat dry.
Dab cutting edge / blade lightly with oil (flora).
Reassemble.
Store upright.

Results (Physical Assesment by Wifey)
Testing Method & Implement:-
Back of finger/s brushing against the grain & a smile.
Result- Very smooth, no stubble.
No nicks, cuts, bleeding or rash.
Scent pleasant, not overpowering.
But would prefer more 'manly' !?
Skin left moisturised, not dried out by soap.

Results (Physical Assesment by Self)
Same as Wifey. Compared to prevous shaves:
No Alum needed. Very, very faint stubble left on Adam's Apple.
But dtubbke feels oddly smoothed, not scratchy?
Skin left feeling smooth & supple.

Overall shaving experience:
My first ever shave with a GSB blade left me rashy, bloodied and still stubbly, even after going against the grain using KoS foamless shaving gel; I trusted the razor; the blade less so, the new soap being unquatified. Not used this shaving cream before; but looking at the Taylors soap now opened, suddenly remembered using palmolive shaving cream from a tube on a family holiday to Barcelona 32 odd years ago, shaving with a newfangled 2 bladed Wilkinson Sword Retractor.... As reccomended by Dad, with the soap being applied by brush, bought specially for the hols only because you couldn't take pressurised cans on the plane. I think.
Back to present day:-
The Taylors soap was smooth & slick but wasn't or didn't turn into an uber thick fluffy faceful. Is it meant to? But it gave a good shave, with enough left on the brush for my against the grain shave. Water thereafter dabbed onto my slighty soapy mush for the final flourishes of the blade. Better experience with the Gillette Silver Blue; very close, no dragging or roughing up, no stinging alum needed at finish.

Cleaned & dried razor & blade, oiled blade, stored upright,
as reccomended on this site (somewhere!).

Some good tips & lessons learnt here
& a better shave for it, so, thank yous to:
Blademonkey, Boycie83, Mike Smart & mcgruff!

Questions:
Will using a bowl whip up the soap more than it does just by
slathering straight onto my face & smooshing it about?
Would using a different brush make any difference?
Perhaps it was too dry not enough water or too much soap?
Perhaps it just dosen't ever lather into a huge, heavenly
fluffy cloud of goodness? And isn't meant to?
Would using a solid soap make any improvement?
I've used an Arko soap stick are the other soaps better?

For now:
I want to see how long this shave lasts before I get uncomfortably stubbly, I want to see if I can get a second shave out of this blade, using the identical method described above, I want to see If I can get just as good a shave with the other two blades in my box: Blue Sword Platinum & Astra Platinum, again using the identical (my new!) method.
But I'll stick to this for now.

TTFN
Bill.
 
Because I mostly shave with straights my first priority is slickness. My 2nd priority is slickness. And my 3rd priority is... slickness.

So far I've tried MWF, Tabac, Arko, 3P and Vitos Red Coco. They're all great.

Mitchell's Wool Fat is the king of slickness but my skin doesn't like lanolin. Some people find it hard to lather. It does take a lot of water.

Tabac & Arko aren't too far behind. Both seem to be slightly slicker than the Italian soaps.

That's not to say 3P and Vitos are bad. They're very good. I like the almond scents. 3P can be whipped into the thickest, most luxurious lather I've ever seen (I face-lather everything). They both take less water than Arko/Tabac. Fewer "painting" strokes means they lather up marginally quicker.

All of these soaps are good value. You can also buy 3P and Vitos in bulk 1kg blocks which makes them insanely cheap per 100g.
 
mcgruff said:
Because I mostly shave with straights my first priority is slickness. My 2nd priority is slickness. And my 3rd priority is... slickness.

So far I've tried MWF, Tabac, Arko, 3P and Vitos Red Coco. They're all great.

Mitchell's Wool Fat is the king of slickness but my skin doesn't like lanolin. Some people find it hard to lather. It does take a lot of water.

Tabac & Arko aren't too far behind. Both seem to be slightly slicker than the Italian soaps.

That's not to say 3P and Vitos are bad. They're very good. I like the almond scents. 3P can be whipped into the thickest, most luxurious lather I've ever seen (I face-lather everything). They both take less water than Arko/Tabac. Fewer "painting" strokes means they lather up marginally quicker.

All of these soaps are good value. You can also buy 3P and Vitos in bulk 1kg blocks which makes them insanely cheap per 100g.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I just looked the vitos & 3p up on ebay. They are good price!
Me Dad keeps going on about stropping
my used DE blades.... Not possible?
He frowns when I tell him I only get one good shave out of a blade, then ditch it for a fresh one. Well, he IS a War Baby, as he's fond of telling one & all.
 
BillTse said:
Thanks! I just looked the vitos & 3p up on ebay. They are good price!
Me Dad keeps going on about stropping
my used DE blades.... Not possible?
He frowns when I tell him I only get one good shave out of a blade, then ditch it for a fresh one. Well, he IS a War Baby, as he's fond of telling one & all.
Click to expand...
Of course it is totally up to you but most DE blades should give you at the very least three good shaves before they need replacing and quite often depending upon which blade's you use you can get six shaves and more!
Alot of blades get smoother after the first use so by throwing it out and using a fresh blade every shave you may not be getting the best or smoothest shave out of your blade.
The stropping of the blade your Dad is talking of is where you gently strop each edge of the blade on the palm of your hand, this will remove any crud that a rinse under the tap may not have removed and it also serves to dry the cutting edge. I don't do this but some people do.
Back in the day blades would have been comparatively more expensive when compared with what than they can be brought for today so back then you would strive to get one week's worth of shaving from one blade. Some folks still strive to do this.
You will know when your blade needs replacing when it starts pulling and the results you are getting drop off, try it for size if you like, you may be surprised!
Your second and third shave may feel smoother than the first use of the blade.
Let us know if you decide to do this and what the results were.
:)

Paul.
 
Blademonkey said:
Of course it is totally up to you but most DE blades should give you at the very least three good shaves before they need replacing and quite often depending upon which blade's you use you can get six shaves and more!
Alot of blades get smoother after the first use so by throwing it out and using a fresh blade every shave you may not be getting the best or smoothest shave out of your blade.
The stropping of the blade your Dad is talking of is where you gently strop each edge of the blade on the palm of your hand, this will remove any crud that a rinse under the tap may not have removed and it also serves to dry the cutting edge. I don't do this but some people do.
Back in the day blades would have been comparatively more expensive when compared with what than they can be brought for today so back then you would strive to get one week's worth of shaving from one blade. Some folks still strive to do this.
You will know when your blade needs replacing when it starts pulling and the results you are getting drop off, try it for size if you like, you may be surprised!
Your second and third shave may feel smoother than the first use of the blade.
Let us know if you decide to do this and what the results were.
:)

Paul.
Click to expand...
Interesting! Thanks.
 
Bill,

I've used one of those Men-U type brushes, and all it was good for was cleaning around the back of a mixer tap body.
A Body Shop synthetic brush, for about £5 would definitely be an upgrade. Better still - A YaqI or DSCosmetic synthetic.
These would set you back between £10-£20 and last you a long time, as long as you clean them with shampoo every few months.
Stay away from the King Of Shaves gear, it's garbage - mass produced for the uneducated masses (as is the Men-U brush.
Stick with the Taylor's soap - infinitely better at its job, and much better for your skin.
 
Routine - Face Only

Razor: Merkur Slant 37C - Closed Comb, Short Handle.
Blade: Second Shave Gilette Silver Blue.
Soap: Taylors of Old Bond Street Shaving Cream
Lemon & Lime
Brush: men - u Barbiere White.

Two days stubble. Unwashed head.
This shave @ 2.30ish pm

Method:
Run water to get nice & hot; rinse then soak brush.
Wash face with hands, using a simple soap & hot water,
Scrub & rinse thoroughly, splashing face 10 or so times.
Shake brush to be rid of excess water.
Dab brush lightly into shaving cream & apply.
Brush onto face & work for at least 1 & 1/2 minutes.
Cream ends up a flat, but thickicker lather than last time.
Leave shaving cream on, to work for 5 minutes, so:-
Get filter coffee machine ready, feed cats, then back to it:
Adjust shaving cream on face; little more water, brush in again.
Rinse & tighten razor ready to go from previous shave.
Rinse & wet razor under the hot running water properly.
Shave - small strokes; with grain, in as few passes as possible.
Wet brush tip, apply to face & lather again with what's on it.
Shave - against grain, smooth, longer strokes, multiple passes.
Wet face a little to finish off if too dry; shave again.
Rinse & pat dry; All done!

Disassemble, Rinse & Dry Razor.
Rinse blade; strop against palm using a little liquid soap.
Rinse, dry & Oil blade edges; reassemble for next use.

Clean brush; scrub against palm with h/water & liquid soap.
Shake dry then buff the bristles with towel.

Results (Physical Assesment by Wifey):-
Testing Method & Implement:-
Her smile & back of finger/s brushing against the grain.
Quote: "Better than that other day!"
Me: ".....What! ......Better?"
Her: "Yeah. Better. Less bristley, especially this part" (pointing to upper lip)
"There isn't any shadow on it at all now, just like the rest of your face.

Results (Physical Assesment by Self):-
Yes, as least as good as the first shave -
But I'd say there is an actual improvement in the result.
No scrapes, no rash, no blood, no bristles.
Can't believe the difference. Literally can't.

So: It' cleaned, stropped, oiled & stored, as per.
Ready for a THIRD shave from this blade!

On that note, then decided to shave my head:

Razor: Merkur 42C Closed Comb, Short Handle.
Blade: First Shave Astra Platinum
Soap: Arko Shaving Stick smushed into an old mug.
Brush: men - u Barbiere White.
Four days stubble, unwashed head.

Method: As for face, but with less coffee making.
And no cat food. A little more effort whipping up the soap
into a foam, and a lighter, thicker more 'foamey' texture to it,
as opposed to the Taylor's cream.
Thick as in thick - depth, not consistencey;
Taylor's was thicker but flatter,
the Arko being 'wetter' & more.... Fluffy.

Result: Wifey "Impressed".
Me: A good, easy, smooth clean shave.
No scrapes nicks, cuts.

Overall shaving experience:
No rash, blood, etc. (Scalp + Head still on shoulders.)
Slight bristle left (?) but it's a different blade
in a different razor. Might try the slant on it.
At some point.

Cleaned, stropped, oiled & stored, as per slant
& ready for a SECOND shave from this blade.

Questions: Will using a different brush really make a difference?
Does / would the Taylor's cream whip up
into the same consistency as the Arko?
If it was prepared in a bowl or mug in the same way?
How close is a close shave?
I suppose that's pretty subjective?.....
As smooth as a billiard ball....
Am I being ureasonable in my expectations?

Tbh, my shaving expectations have already been exceeded.
Just in the few days being on this forum & after taking onboard the advice
y'all have given me! THX.


TTFN
Bill
 
Routine:

Face Shave:

Razor: Merkur Slant 37C - Closed Comb, Short Handle.
Blade: THIRD Shave Gilette Silver Blue.
Soap: Taylors of Old Bond Street Shaving Cream
Lemon & Lime
Brush: men - u Barbiere White.

Two days stubble. Unwashed head.
This shave @ 11.30pm

Method:
Preperation, shave & cleanup, all as before.

Results (Physical Assesment as always by Wifey):-
Testing Method & Implement:- Her usual......
Her: "As good as 'yesterdays' shave!"
Me: "Yep."

Results (Physical Assesment by Self):-
Yes, as least as good as the first & second shave -

So: It's cleaned, stropped, oiled & stored, as per.
Ready for a FOURTH shave from this blade!

Head shaving time again.....

Razor: Merkur 42C Closed Comb, Short Handle.
Blade: SECOND Shave Astra Platinum
Soap: Arko Shaving Stick smushed into an old mug.
Brush: men - u Barbiere White.
Two days stubble. Unwashed head.

Method:-
Preperation, shave & cleanup, all as before.

Result:- Wifey " Very good!".
Me: Again a good, easy, smooth clean shave.
No scrapes nicks, cuts.

42C ready for THIRD head shave!

Overall shaving experience:-
Can't belive the difference in my shaves.
Smoothness of shave & closeness is just brilliant.
Also just can't belive I'm getting more than
just 1 good shave out of the same blade!
The shaves actually feels closer than with a new blade.
My face did bleed a little with this shave BUT:-

I think I need to get a shave bowl to whip up the
ToOBS shaving cream in; it's a little too dry after leaving
on for 5 minutes, and going over it again needs a little
extra water on the brush to get it going again,
even after which it was still a little too dry for the blade to glide,
I think; as that isn't a problem with the Arko,
it points to the shaving cream being a little too dry
& a little too flat. Simple enough to verify: use the
Arko on my face, see if there's a difference.

Comments:- Carry on!

TTFN
Bill
 
Routine:

Face Shave:

Razor: Merkur Slant 37C - Closed Comb, Short Handle.
Blade: FOURTH Shave Gilette Silver Blue.
Soap: Taylors of Old Bond Street Shaving Cream
Lemon & Lime
Brush: men - u Barbiere White.

One days stubble.....
I just couldn't wait to shave!
This shave @ 11.30pm

Method:
Preperation, shave & cleanup, all as before.
Bowl used with brush this time round.

Results (Physical Assesment as always by Wifey):-
Testing Method & Implement:- Her usual......
Her: "Not quite as good as 'yesterdays' shave!"
Me: "Yep."

Results (Physical Assesment by Self):-
Yes, as least as good as the third shave...

Overall Shaving Experience:-

I used a shave bowl to whip up the ToOBS
shaving cream in for this shave.
Better, but needs finessing.

But:-
This time round, the blade definately
dragged; shave was quite good, but uncomfortable.
It needed more passes, but no blood!

Five shaves from this blade?
I think I'll swap it for a fresh one this time round.
But next blade, I' see how many I can get out of it,
now my method & shaves are improving!

Comments:- Will carry on carrying on!

TTFN
Bill
 
BillTse said:
Started shaving as a lad using one piece throwaways like a Bic or a Wilkinson Sword Retractor disposable razor, then changing to the cartridge Gillette Contour, then Contour Plus, then a Sensor & Sensor Excel when they first came along...

I became very dissilusioned with shaving, never having a comfortable or clean, bloodless, rashless shave with any of them.

Trying the various umpteen soaps, foams & gels - which made absolutely no difference to a difficult experience - gave up & grew a beard. Eventualy got bored with that & started shaving again.... But the price of new razors! OMG No!
I'm not buying those at that price! So.... Back to throwaways...

Couple of years ago, I gritted my teeth & got myself a cheapycheap plasticky butterfly DE safety razor off eBay; tried Astra, Treet, Polar Star, Wilkinson Sword blades.
I settled on the Astra Platinum (Green Box).

A Better shave! And a sharp learning curve; you end up having to practice on your face, after all! But by now I'm shaving my head, too. Using Wilkinson extreme 3's & they don't last long.

Razor starts looking a little tatty after a bit & the blade starts juddering in it while I'm shaving - because it dosen't close as tightly as it did, so I see a Wilkinson Sword Chrome Butterfly DE on offer at Boots. Buy it. Use it...
Chuck my old'un out!
A much better shave....

Then Morrisons do an offer on a King of Shaves screw together 3 piece. Buy it. Use it.... Even better!!

Me Dad asks me if 'they still do those everready single edge razors?'. A What? Cue an awful lot of resarch. I get two on ebay. One for me to try, the other his Xmas prezzie 2020/21.
Let me tell you: they plane the bumps in the skin of your face & head right off, with no probs. Alum stings. He still hasn't got his yet. Tier4 & all that.

I'm fed up with buying razors that turn something that should be a pleasurable or at least easy expierience into a damned bloodbath!

So now. Got myself a Merkur Short Handled Slant.
IT IS THE BEST SHAVER I'VE EVER USED (so far).
IT GIVE THE BEST SHAVE I'VE EVER HAD (so far).
Manoeuvrable tool, no slippage on the handle.
Easy to load & assemble. Nice build & finish.
I use King of Shaves Gel, or an Arko Soap Stick
smushed into a mug & a men-u brush.

I usually ditch the blades (Astra) after one session.
I prefer to shave every day; blade is changed each day.
Recently got some Gillette Silver Blue from Connaught.

When I bought my Slant, I also purchased a Merkur 41c & 42c.
Serious about finding the right razor!
And it was Xmas. Thx, wifey.

All I'm aiming for is a consistent shave.
At a reasonable price.

Haven't found my 'forever' blade, if there is such a thing....
May have found my forever razor... If there is such a thing....


My thanks to mcgruff for the word 'consistent'. A marvelous word!
Click to expand...

Wow you've been on a journey my friend, are you using any creams or soaps? I'd recommend trying some as part of the process. Doesnt need to be expensive but a brush and soap/cream may complete your journey.

Good luck with great shaves!

Keep us posted!
 
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