First time with my DE today

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omaha-beenglockin

Joined
Oct 22, 2005
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If you have been following my thread in Gadgets and Gear--I figured the actual shaving would be more appropiate here.

My Edwin Jagger DE89 showed up yesterday(Finally-Amazon free shipping is ungodly slow--but it is free)---so waited till this morning to have some whiskers to shave.

1.EJ DE89--$32.50 shipped

2.Walmart Personna blade--razor did include some Derby's but I have been accumulating a kit while waiting on Amazon. $1.76 for 10

3.Van der Hagen soap puck from Walmart. $1.54

4.Van der Hagen boar hair brush from Walgreens. $8.99

5.Mug confiscated from the kitchen. Free-sort of.

Have been using the puck and brush for the last week or so with my old cartridge razor--practicing working up a lather and the natural "stink" is finally getting out of the brush.

Got up a hair earlier(pun intended) today in anticipation of my new shaving system--turned the hot water on to a trickle as soon as I got up then went and fed the cat-took my meds-checked e-mail--by the time I got to the bathroom, the water was good and hot.

I know they say to shower first--but I shower last--the shower cures many of the ills of the razor such as nicks and cuts--and also removes the smells of various shaving products as I prefer not to smell like a whore---just clean and clean cut for me thank you.

Put a little hot water on the puck and set it aside---then rubbed hot water on my face for a bit--pored off any excess water and worked up a lather--lathered up and started shaving.

Was surprised how smooth the razor went down my face--I thought I had the wrong angle or something---no razor noise--no nothing----shook the razor in standing water--sure enough there was stubble there---then immediately went against the grain of the shaved area--BBS right away---then off to the shower.

No nicks--cuts--or razor burn first time out--must be in my DNA or something?

I know people complain about the Personna's--but if I keep getting results like this--I'll be sticking with them----time will tell I guess. Made in the USA is another plus.

I think I will be getting one of longer handled Merkurs in the future--I've been using a long handle cartridge razor for years--so I'm just used to it.
A razor stand and badger brush will be ordered soon I think---probably a bowl for the puck also.

So there it is---have gone back to the old ways and saving huge money in the process. .18 cents per blade vs $4-$5 per cartridge--even the Personna M5 I switched to after Gillette is a $1.47 per cartridge---I'll be keeping the M5 for barbering duties---at least till I'm confident in my DE skills.
 
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I also like the Walmart Personnas. Been using them for quite a while with a Gillette and a Lux. I would like to try some others one of these days, but the Personnas work great, are easy to get, and are reasonably priced. No particular hurry to switch.

I use an Omega boar bristle brush and various soaps and creams. Another Walmart hint, for me the Shave Secret shaving oil they sell works well as a preshave or all by itself.
 
I liked my personas but I liked the Dorcos even more. They took an extra pass or two to get BBS, but I can blade buff with them and no irritation at all. One of the real joys of traditional wet shaving is the grand selection of tools we can get to customize our shave to our faces. I am new to this as well only a month or so into it. Up until today I have been using an EJ89L razor, proraso aleo and green tea soap for extra sensitive skin, proraso pre/post shave cream (green) and TGR after shave balm. I bought a sampler razor package that included Derbys, Personas, Astras, Feathers, and Dorcos and tried them all, but stick mainly with the Dorcos. Today I bought some L'OCCITANE en provence shaving soap and it may knock the Proraso off the daily shaving block.
 
Was surprised how smooth the razor went down my face--I thought I had the wrong angle or something---no razor noise--no nothing----shook the razor in standing water--sure enough there was stubble there---then immediately went against the grain of the shaved area--BBS right away---then off to the shower.
Click to expand...

Excellent news. Just keep it smooth, slow, and easy for the first few days 'till you get the feel for it. It's not hard. After all, this is how men -- from Nobel winners to ditch-diggers -- have shaved for generations; if they did it, then you can too. It sounds like you're off to a great start.

I've tried Personna Red Label blades and found then to be fine. A good blade for the price.

And now comes the most important question: what knife are you gonna buy with all that money you're saving?
 
Actually the next major purchase will be either a Glock 19 or a Mini-14-----still have an AR upper to finish too. All it takes is money I guess.

As for knives--I've been looking real hard at the Becker Necker(Kabar) and the micarta scales to go with it--or maybe the Becker Companion and scales--but not sure if I want a knife that large.
 
unless you're one of the rare ones, your next purchase(s) will be more razors, brushes, and soaps/creams. :D
 
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