I also took the plunge !

T

TwinStick

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Jan 21, 2011
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Went to the mall with the wife today. There was a new store there---"The Art of Shaving." I have been looking for a year or more & took the plunge today. Bought a Merkur Futura adjustable double edge razor & 1 pack of 10 blades. Thats all i could afford for now. Found only one shave stand that it would fit in & it was $100 !!! Maybe for Christmas. Looking forward to my first shave tomorrow. I have a full beard & just shave the cheek areas & underneath my beard, keeping it trimmed i guess you could say. I just got sick & tired of a crappy shave with a new blade that costs wayyy too much-same as everyone else i guess.

Any suggestions or things i should know first ? Thanks
 
Go slow and get your tech down. A good shaving cream or soap and brush will make a difference, but you are shaving such a small area that it could seem like too much of an expense. You didn't mention what type of blades you got, but if you got Merkur blades they are notoriously bad. Astras are a good mid priced blade that most people like. I like Israeli Persona Red myself, but top of the line in sharpness would be the Feather blades but also the most expensive. Keep in mind mid priced and expensive in DE blades is still a fraction the cost of a multi bladed cartridge.

I am almost tempted to tell you to shave off the beard so you had more area to shave and learn on, but that would be a little too much to ask, wouldn't it?:p You will read about the no pressure thing, that is a little misleading and what it means is just enough to hold the razor against your face, the weight of the razor will do the work. The angle is important to, the cap blade and safety bar all should touch your face at the same time. To get an idea of what this angle is, without a blade in the razor lay it on your arm with the cap and safety bar touching your skin. the blade would be a third point on a straight line. Note the angle of the handle to your arm, that is what you want when you are shaving.

Just starting off don't go against the grain, and think of shaving as a number of reduction passes to get that clean shave and not one "swipe it clean" pass. I would make a suggestion of what to set you razor at for the first shave, but I have never used a Futur so I don't know for sure. Start at a low adjustment and work up from there to what feels right to you.

Enjoy the ride into traditional wet shaving, not only is it cheaper, but it is a much more satisfying way to shave:thumbup:
 
I am still new to wet shaving.. My best advice is don't be afraid of the razor and exercise patience.
 
I'd like to echo unky and Chris' advice and add that Mantic59, an occasional poster here, has a series of educational videos on Youtube which you will almost certainly find instructive.

Welcome to the joys of "wet" shaving.
 
Welcome! I'm becoming a full time straight shaver now, but still keep the DE on the counter for when I don't have time. The way I learned angle is to place the razor against your face with the handle at 90* (sticking sraight out) and rotate down slowly until you feel the blade touch your face. Do this without looking in the mirror so you can "feel" it rather than just seeing it. Having a full beard, you can easily see the direction your hair grows, start your first pass going with the grain (wtg), then wipe with wet towel and relather to go across the grain (atg). This may not always be possibly on your neck, so I would focus on two wtg passes to start. I grow a full beard every winter and shave arund it, but always have a goatee to shave around when not sporting a beard.

After a couple shaves come back here to report and we can try and help you out. But shaving is a very personal activity in that not every product/technique/order of operations works for everybody, yet there are some universal truths that improve a shave for most all. Check out the youtube videos by Mantic59, lots of great info.


-Xander
 
It's funny, but thinking back to when I first started shaving as a kid nigh on 40 years ago, I remember it being an exciting thing, but I don't remember giving it a great deal of thought. I was only 13 when my dad asked me if I didn't think it was time I started shaving, so maybe the fact my bristles were softer made things easier. I don't know, but I really don't remember encountering any problems. My dad was using foam in a can and disposable Bics, but I found his old DE and some Wilkinson blades, got a cheap shaving brush and a stick of soap and away I went. That's how I did it for years, (though I eventually moved onto cartridge razors). Now I take my time a lot more and enjoy the shave, do three passes, have a good brush, and better soap and equipment (straight or DE). As a result I get a better shave, but shaving with a DE razor is something that Millions of men did everyday without informative sites like this, and with old razors and blunt blades, so hopefully you'll find your way quick enough and not come to too much harm :)
 
Futur is a great razor. It's considered a fairly aggressive razor, and most people I know don't ever go above 4. I have two bits of advice for using the Futur:

1. Start at 2 or 1 and gradually increase as your grow more comfortable/confident.
2. When twisting the head to adjust, use a towel. There are many stories of people using bare hands to twist the Futur head to adjust while wet and cutting their thumb.
 
Well done on getting into DE. May take some time to adapt, but it's worth it in all ways.

Oh and how about getting rid of that whole beard......:D:D
 
Well here is an update: :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

I am freaking LOVING this razor. I have it set at 1.5 now. It shaves closer than anything i have ever used. No having to go back 5x over the same area. I did have a humbling personal moment learning curve though. I can sharpen darn near anything. So i figured WTH, i'll take the rough edge off the blade with a honing stone. Well, that = a BIG FAIL. Damn thing wouldn't shave at all. I thought for a moment "how sad that after 49 years on this earth, i am still a shaving retard !" So i put a new blade in it & presto, i am now a shaving mofo again !!! I can certainly sharpen a single edge razor blade. The one i did sharpen was for cutting up cardboard. Was going through a blade every weekend it seemed. I have not replaced it or had to sharpen it since. That was a year ago. But the DE razor blade foiled me. LOL :D
 
The edges on razor blades are very shallow. That's why they're so sharp... and why the edge is so short-lived. Some people try to sharpen or strop them. It's not worth the effort in my mind since they cost pennies-a-piece. They're also very small and double-edged. Even one that is dull for shaving is still wicked-sharp and will cut a finger badly, so I don't think that it's worth the risk handling them.

You probably just need to try a few different brands. As you explore blades, keep in mind that you need to shave with a brand for at least ten times, I think, before reaching any judgement. Also, keep in mind that even the best brands have the occasional defect, less than perfect edge.

I have also found that when a blade seems to not be very good, I can sometimes stop, rinse off the razor, open the razor using a towel, and then flip the blade over and reassemble. Sometimes just reseating the blade or flipping it over seems to do the trick. This is another advantage over cartridges. Carts also have their defects and when you get a bad one, all you can do is throw it away... which can cost several dollars for some of these new many-bladed contraptions.

Anyway, I'm delighted that you love the Futur. It's what I use and I will echo your conclusion, "I am freaking LOVING this razor." Mine is four years old now and looks exactly like the day I bought it. It's expensive as razors go, but I think it's a good value.

A couple of times per year, I take a worn-out toothbrush I'm about to discard, apply a dab of liquid hand soap, and quickly brush out my Futur. The whole cleaning takes maybe a minute. That's all the "maintenance" I do on it.
 
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