My routine has remained the same since I originally made this thread with one change: my pre-shave treatment is now Feather Pre-Shave.

I have a Truefit and Hill badger brush, shaving cream and after shave balm, it was something like $125 but worth it I think. However, I still use my Mach 3- is that stupid? The idea of switching to something else is appealing, but meh, I still have like $40 worth of blades for the dumb Mach3 to burn through. Will I notice/appreciate a difference? Am I wasting the good products by not using a straight razor?

Also, I don't understand the directions I need to be going while shaving. Shaving AGAINST the grain seems to get me a much closer shave. Going WITH the grain sucks. Explain?

I do 2 passes, one with the grain, then one across the grain. If I have time, I'll do a very light against the grain pass too.

I do two passes: One with the grain, and one against it... I haven't had any problems and I have a pretty thick beard. Going against the grain really makes my face feel like a baby's

I'm tempted to dive into Wet Shaving next year, but the time to shave is keeping me away. Can anyone comment on mixing Wet Shaving and traditional shaving? What I mean by that is on occasion Wet Shave for a nice smooth shave and for just normal days get a quick shave with a normal disposable? It would be nice to get a really good shave on days I'm going out or going to a nice dinner.

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Wet Shavers Blog

The thickness of the hair has less to do with it than curliness for me. If I shave against the grain on my lower neck/adam's apple area I get ingrown hairs which hurt and look awful. I shave my entire face with the grain, sometimes twice depending on time, and then my chin, mustache area, and the sides of my face against the grain. I'm basically as gentle with my lower neck as humanly possible, which is hard because the hairs change direction abruptly in several areas.

I don't think there's any reason you can't do it, except learning to get a good wet shave takes a bit of practice. To do your method I would shave exclusively with your new setup for a month or so to get the hang of it. Then, if it's taking too long and you sometimes need a fast shave, you can use a normal disposable. You'll probably just end up learning to do your wet shave efficiently anyway.

Well I shave the dome as well so I think it will likely take more time then I want. I guess the best way to find an answer is to just try and see.

[x] Bastards. I just dropped like 230 Euro due to this thread. All my equipment has arrived and I'm loving it so all is good. Gotta work on my technique a little bit though.
Here's my setup:
Mühle Rasierpinsel, Silvertip Badger hair, Black handle with chrome

Mühle dual razor/brush holder, chrome

Art of Shaving Preshave Oil (no scent) - 30ml:

Poraso Pre + After Shave Cream (Eucalyptus+Camphor) - 100ml:

Taylor of Old Bond Street - Mr Taylor's Shaving Cream - 150g:

Omega - Sapone da barba Shaving Cream - 150g:

Porase Shaving Soap (Eucalyptus+Camphor) - 75ml - To see if I want to go soap or stick with creame

Art of Shaving Alum Pen - 12g

Merkur Futur razor - polished chrome


The brush is the most expensive item at a converted 115$ but I figured why not get a good one to boot things off instead of going with a cheaper one and then upgrading anyways. the chrome look is pretty awesome with the holder and the razor though
I've already created a list of the shaving creams I want next :P
Also got a couple of different blades to test.

FWIW I switched to Burt's Bees Natural Skin Care for Men Shave Cream as part of my general conversion to natural and/or organic toiletries and I love it. Works fine, smells fantastic, one tube seems to last a long time and I can pick it up at either Whole Foods or Target.

I'm pretty boring on the actual shaving part: once per week against the grain with rarely-changed Mach 3 blades. I don't like the hassle of shaving so I do it on Sunday and grow out during the week.

Nutrogena pre-shave hair softener, Gilette Fusion razor with Nivea Shaving Cream. When I go home I have all of that art of shaving crap(brushes, oil, etc) at my house but I definitely prefer this.

I'm 3 weeks into switching from my Fusion to my Merkur HD.

So far, mixed results. The shave is very close, but it really irritates my neck. Next week I'm going to try a different brand of blade. Feathers are sharp as ****, but the shavemyface.com forums indicate they're too aggressive for some.

My Moss scuttle is awesome.

I'm still trying to decide whether I like my fusion or mach 3 more. I shave every 2 days, and when I have longer hair I think I like the mach 3 better, but I think i'm finally learning how to use the fusion right.

icepick,

I really like the scuttle as well. I'm using a similar set-up and have irritation with the Feathers for the first few shaves. I'll probably ride out the pack and see if I keep getting irritation with them when they're brand new. It may just be my technique.

Been doing it for about 18 months now. I can shave my face and neck with my eyes closed, but not in the shower without a mirror because the running water really screws with your touch sense.

Better shave? Meh. Cheaper shave? Probably. The razor was $100 but the blades are like ten cents a piece and you can go probably 10+ shaves if you only go with the grain.

The cream+ brush is excellent. I'd stay away from Taylor, it has a very strong perfume scent.

It's a feather razor with the super blades or whatever(the sharper ones) a basic Vulfix brush(the smaller the better!) and Trumper's sandalwood. Their Lime is excellent too as is most of their line to be honest.

dklfgnwskgnfdlmva'd. It's like 24$ for 8 blades and that lasts me a little more than a month. Razor blades are the biggest joke ever, I'm tempted just to steal them.

I'm glad I got a blade sampler pack with my HD. I'll report back my results with a different brand.

This is a big part of why I decided to give the whole safety razor thing a shot.

ok me too

Omega Stripey Badger Brush
Merkur 38c Barber Pole DE Razor
TOBS Avocado
Proraso Pre
Neutrogena Razor Defense Face Scrub and Post Shave Lotion
Blade smaple pack from westcoastshaving.com - currently trying a merkur blade.

I love the 38c, it feels heavy and solid like a tool should. The Taylor's lathers up like a dream and I find the scent to be light and not perfumey at all. I actually look forward to shaving now.

Skip the Merkur blade, they're very bad blades for just about everyone I've ever spoken to.

Even my dad who is hardly a connoisseur of things found safety razors very recently. He had the standard Merkur blades that came with his razor and said the shave was "okay, but not that great." I recommended the sampler pack and he can't thank me enough for doing so.

Mine isn't strong at all (Taylor's Mr. Taylor) and it smells awesome, I'd highly recommend it. I read the same thing about the Taylor Avocado.
I also like the Merkur blades so far but I haven't compared them to anything else. I'll stick with the same setup for a couple of weeks before switching things up.

I tried a Crystal blade this morning and so far I really can't tell any difference between Derby, Merkur and this one so it's all good so far. I did give myself a nice slice across the back of my head this morning when I let the razor handle slip sideways out of my grip slightly. Head shaving is a whole new frontier imo.

I understand that the blades that come with the razor are not as good as the Merkurs bought separately. Could be this.

I forgot to mention Nancy Boy. Great cream and aftershave. And my wife really liked the body moisturizer I got from there too.

I got some of this as an Xmas present. Haven't tried it yet. I am currently using the Burt's Bees Bay Rum shaving soap, which is OK I guess. I don't really have enough experience with different soaps to rate it, but the Bay Rum aftershave is A+++++++. It smells absolutely awesome, not overpowering at all, and does the intended job like a freaking champ.

As for shave cream like this, how do you use it with a brush? Just squirt some into the mug and whip it up with the brush?

Also, has anyone used shaving oil? Not preshave oil, but something like this:

http://pacificshaving.com/

This is intended to replace shaving cream/soap altogether. I am considering getting a bottle to try out since it's pretty cheap and I'd love something super-compact like this for when I travel.

my wetshaving recommendations from products i've used (pretty standard stuff):

any of the soaps or cremes from Trumpers. great stuff.

the aftershave from Nancy Boy. god i love this stuff.

the shaving creme from Nancy Boy. it's becoming my favorite though i think i get a slightly closer shave with Trumper products.

razor: Merkur HD

blades: Merkur Super.

brush: Best Badger from Crabtree and Evelyn

anyone have recommendations for preshaving oils/creams? or are they unnecessary?