Celebrating two years of DE shaving

[Gollnick]

It was two years ago, just after New Years (shipping delayed by weather) that I received my Merkur Futur, matching brush, stand, blade sampler pack, and soap. I had done the math and figured out that the cost savings of DE vs. Sensor cartridges would pay for even this deluxe kit in about seven months. So, I had absolutely committed to myself that I would stick with it through July... unless it was insufferable. At the end of July, I could throw the whole thing away at no loss and chalk it up to a learning experience. I haven't used my Sensor since... it's still around here somewhere, I think. And as for throwing out the Futur kit, it's now on the cold-dead-hand list.

Every day now, day after day after day, my everyday shave is an order-of-magnitude better than anything my Sensor... much less my Norelco... ever gave me. My DE shave takes about 12 minutes which is three minutes longer than my Sensor used to take (the extra time mostly spent making and dealing with lather). And I am still saving a very real one-dollar-per-day this way.

I have no problem traveling with my DE kit either.

I hesitate to use the phrase "baby's butt smooth" because it's sort of code for the penultimate shave (the ultimate shave being possible only in Heaven). But I just don't see how a shave could be much better, much closer, much smoother, than my everyday DE shave is now.

This is one change that has been very, very good.

 

[iacchus]

congratulations!

I made the change 4 years back or so to wet shaving. It is a change that really effects my whole day.
For the past 3 years I have been shaving w/ a straight razor. It makes the ritual very zen-like. Something about the large, sharp hunk of steel roaming all over your face and neck to keep you "in the moment".

 

[nate1714]

Glad to hear. I still want and have been looking into getting a DE system and a pack of sample blades. Maybe in the summer when I have a chance to save up...Enjoy your butt face...lol

 

[mdole]

Congrats Gollnick! Do you have any sage wisdom to share with the group in the hunt for the "perfect shave?" Stuff like problem areas, techniques, etc... Also, what is (in your experience) the best DE razor blade? I'm using Derby Extra blades, but I haven't really sampled others other than store brands (which are pricey and not great quality...). Anyhow, congrats again on your milestone!

 

[Gollnick]

Derby Extras are great. Feathers are the best for me, but BIC Chrome Platinum allows me to get the same shave as a Feather with a bit more care and effort but for half the price.

One thing I have noticed is that I have learned about my own face and beard. This is not something which one can sit down in a few minutes and "map" out. No. You learn it from experience. On both sides of my face, the left a bit more than the right, directly above where the pivot of the jaw is, I have two difficult patches, doubtlessly due to the underlying bone structure. I have to make just a few extra stokes in those areas at angles; this takes maybe five seconds total, but it makes a difference. I have learned that to shave my lower lip, I got across the grain first and then with it, but, to shave my upper lip, it's always with the grain first and then across. Strange, eh? But that is what works.

In two years, I have learned the touch and the feel of this DE thing. I can do my shave with my eyes closed -- literally. In fact, for some areas, I prefer to close my eyes. This is a martial-arts-inspired thing. It is the most direct application I have encountered of seeing with your fingers and it has improved my blade work too.

The brand of blade matters less and less to me. Thanks to the touch and feel, I can get a good shave. I was convinced of this some months ago when I completed a shave with a bad edge. I should never have proceeded with that edge. I should have stopped and replaced that blade. But I was able to use this sense of seeing with my fingers to complete a nearly-perfect shave even with a poor blade.

This comes only with experience. But this is after only two years.

 

[mantic59]

 

[Will Power]

Well done:thumbup:

Glad to hear there's no question of turning back. I wouldn't either short of some natural catastrophe cutting off supplies , but I've got a stash

I've noticed an improvement in skin tone too, this may be due to the brush or the better ingredients in soaps/crreams rather than squirty foam:barf: At the end of the day, cartridge razors are overpriced,over wrapped wasteful and less efficient, less pride in the job too

 

[mdole]

Thanks Gollnick! Mine problem spots are the skin just below my jawline, but a little blood now and then doesn't bug me too much. Oddly enough, I like my razors either right out of the package or else 4 or 5 shaves in... anything in between I wind up nicking myself! I'm not sure when I started my DE shaving (I bought the handle but didn't document it), but it's been a few years now. Anyhow, it's nice to have a conversation with fellow travelers. Happy shaving!