Received Art of Shaving gift set... Some Q's!

Hello all,

I've been using the search function and browsing the forums for the past few days, and have to say that I am immensely impressed with the knowledge base here at straightrazorplace. It is really refreshing to see so many dedicated gurus willing to help out beginners like me with such enthusiasm.

I recently received an "Art of Shaving" starter kit that contains pre-shave oil, shave cream, badger brush, and after-shave lotion. I have the itch to get into straight-razor shaving right now, but had some initial questions about what "gear" to purchase.

First off, how are "art of shaving" products? Are there better products for less out there?

Secondly, I would like to get a disposable blade system for my first few months, as it seems to be easier in terms of maintenance and hit on the wallet. Are the shavette and feather the two best options? Out of those two which razor do the pro's recommend? Is there another type entirely that would be better suited?

FWIW, I currently use a fusion with no razor burn, I have a coarse beard, and shave every two days (I like a bit of scruff). I do use a saftey straight razor to clean up my sideburns and eyebrows (bought at Sally's Beauty Supply, haha)

AOS does make quality products, but I would say the general consensus is that there are other products as good or better at more reasonable prices. There are many, but a few examples would be Proraso, Musgo Real, and Taylors of Old Bond Street. And of course, you also have a number craftspeople like Mama Bear Sue, St. Charles Shave Sue and Colleen making great products at very good prices. You can learn more about them here in the Vendors forum.

As far as your hardware, I'll leave that to the more experienced members here.

Welcome and enjoy journey!:D

Jordan

I will only offer my own educated, not so humble, opinion. Art of Shaving is vastly overpriced for the quality of the product offered. Their main advantage is that they're stocked in several high-end retailers, so if you want something right away, you can just go out to the store and buy it. I think their creams are too thin, and the scents aren't all that great. However - the products aren't "bad" per se - if you got 'em, use 'em. :)

As far as value for money, I think Taylor of Old Bond Street (ToOBS, as they are sometimes abbreviated) is the best. It's a high-end British cream (and they make almost every other product you could imagine, too) at a reasonable price. Prorasso, available now at your local target, is also good value for money. I would urge you to also take the plunge and give some othe other high-end products (Truefitt & Hill, Trumper, etc.) a go as well. You don't have to buy the entire tub - if you want to try different scents, just buy a tube. T&H, by the way, is available online from lots of places, and you might get lucky and find it in your local Nordstrom.

If you decide you like hard soaps, the options are many. Classicshaving's house brand is well spoken of, and there are several soapmakers of high repute that frequent this forum, and can help you out.

I've said (at least three times in as many days!) that I don't recommend a shavette, and especially not a feather, for a beginner. People of good mind can disagree on this, but I'll tell you why this is my position.

First, the edge on a DE blade used in a shavette, or on a feather blade, is as wicked sharp as can be accomplished by modern science. That means you have to use a very light hand. In fact, with the feather, you may have to use "negative pressure" - that is, lift the blade off your skin - and will get cut if you hesitate. Also, the weight is all wrong, compared to a "real" straight, and because they are so much lighter (this especially true of the shavette), control becomes a real issue. The shave also tends to be a bit rougher.

On the positive side, you avoid honing, stropping, and the like. Chicks dig scars. You can claim you were a member of a German dueling fraternity. And my barber uses a DOVO with a removable blade, so how bad can it be? :) Really, though, I suggest buying a pre-honed straight and a strop. Under normal use, and unless you have a beard made out of steel wool, you shouldn't need it rehoned for quite a while, and by then, you will hopefully have gotten the hang of it.

I hope my rantings are helpful. Good luck! :tu

Thanks for the quick replies guys!

My only concern is that up to this point in my life, I have been totally inept at sharpening any type of blade at all. Also, with my apartment setup, I do not know where I'd be able to attach the strop and go to town. I figured the disposable blade setup was the "easiest" (least involved maintenance-wise) way to get into straight-edge shaving. Any other opinions out there?

Well, fwtw here are my thoughts -

In researching the straight world before I jumped in, I came to the conclusion that using a shavette or other disposable is simply not the same as shaving with a "real" SE. So, whether you like the shavette or dislike the shavette, you still won't know what its like to shave with a straight. In other words, if all you care about is getting a good shave with an open blade, than try the shavette. If you want to shave with straight razor, then use a real straight razor. I knew I would end up with a straight regardless of whether or not I tried the shavette, so I just skipped it altogether.

I live in a fairly small apartment too (NY= small and expensive:cen ). I use a loop of wire from a frame hanging kit and hang the strop off the doorknob to the linen closet. This works fine. I'm also pretty inept when it comes to sharpening (I'm learning though) and pasted strops will keep you in the game for quite a while while you learn to hone properly. I'd say go for the real thing. You know you will anyway.:tu

Just my two cents

Jordan

I'll second Jordan on this one. Just don't try to learn honing on your primary blade. Buy an e-bay antique piece, disinfect it, clean it up and then take it to the hone. Even if you're inept, you'll have plenty of time to learn while maintaining the sharpness of the other razor's edge with abrasive pastes.

The decisions the decisions!

I agree 100% (especially with my personality) that I will move onto a "true" SE eventually. I think, mentally, I am unsure if I will be patient enough (off the bat) for the extended time needed for a proper shave, and being able to cut out the blade prep time is what is attracting me so much to the disposables.

Looking on classic shaving, i think i am going to pick up an artist club rg, some feather blades, and a jar of their house soap to give it a whirl... Since i've doomed myself to this faulty start, does anyone have any other tips? Other than buying a case of towels to stop the torrents of blood, of course

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

I'll second Jordan on this one. Just don't try to learn honing on your primary blade. Buy an e-bay antique piece, disinfect it, clean it up and then take it to the hone. Even if you're inept, you'll have plenty of time to learn while maintaining the sharpness of the other razor's edge with abrasive pastes.

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i'm going to disagree with both of them. reading through a lot of these forums, you'll get the idea that the whole process of shaving and sharpening is more difficult than it really is. i learned to hone on my primary, my only blade. i compared it to a shave ready i'd purchased on this forum, but i only shaved with that one to gauge my own honing skills, and only did that three or four times in a couple of months. just read all the expert info provided here on this forum carefully, and don't do anything stupid, like stropping with the edge leading. it's really not that hard to pick up.

I did the same but getting the edge right takes time and patience. Having a good gauge for it makes your job easier.

Go for the straight razor out of the gate if you can. You can start with a shavette or a feather if you really want to, I mean if you don't really think you can handle a TRUE straight razor and just want to play around with the idea to make yourself feel good. All that "just want to see if it's really for me" stuff we've all heard before and it mostly comes from sissys. Really, it does. Not judging you or anything, but we're beyond all that. We're men, right guys! :D

X

There is absolutely NOTHING sissy about my custom ordered pink feather artist razor with optional power puff dangling tang charm. NOTHING!!:D

I'd say skip the Feather and just get a shave ready straight from one of the vendors here. It'll be ready to go so you don't need to worry about a whole lot of prep time. Just be careful when stropping. For a look at how NOT to strop find somewhere in one of the threads(I'm sure somebody here knows exactly where to find it) the video of the barber useing a hanging strop. I call him the "Strop Slapper". When I first started my stropping technique was ALMOST as bad. Fortunately I, like yourself, discovered SRP. :y

AOS lavendar smells alright and so does their sandalwood. their other creams i don't care for at all. the product itself is a fine cream. the overall price of shaving soaps or creams, although it seems like alot, really isn't so bad. a tub of cream will last you months and months and months. so break that down over the cost and it isn't so bad.

the same goes for a razor. i think its prudent when starting out to wait and extra week or 2 if needed inorder to save up a couple extra bucks and get the right equipment at the start. the overhead cost of straight shaving is not exactly cheap, but thats really it. once you buy your cream/brush/strop/razor you are set for a very very long time. and a real razor will last you your entire life, which is alot less $ then the cost of blades for a lifetime :)

it should also be mentioned that if you buy yourself quality items that if you decide that straight shaving is not for you that you can come to this website and put them up for sale and they will be bought up almost instantly for almost purchase price. its not that much risk in the situation.

preshave - your already have ...you can use normal cheap hair conditioner in the shower to soften your beard if you want
cream/soap - you already have it. 5$ proraso at target is great stuff also
brush - you already have one
razor - 30$'ish for a good one that will come shave ready from a member here.
strop - need one, i'd suggest www.thewellshavedgentleman.com , hang it from your towel rack in the bathroom or door handle.
bowl to make lather - use a cereal bowl or a big coffee mug from your kitchen
aftershave - you already have ... also witchhazel works great for 3$ lasts forever

that isn't too much to spend initially, and if you buy the strop/razor and don't like it put them up for sale here.

take your time learning. there is no need to rush, it really is a learning process with terrific and improving results week after week.

~Jared

ps. i work in midtown. if you go in there i'd be willing to give you a normal razor that i bought on ebay, restored and i'll hone so that your cost will be even less. i'd just ask for 15$ to cover what it cost me to buy.

Hey JScott, thanks a million! Thats a great offer and I'd love to take you up on it. However, I would like to try the feather for a few shaves first... I'd hate for you to do this huge favor and then I find out straight razors are not for me.


On another note, I got ancy and decided to use my new products minus the razor (still waiting on the feather) with my ol Schick Quattro. Typically I'd shave with Neutrogena shave gel after the shower. This morning i got out of the shower, put a bit of the cream in a mug, a drop of pre-shave oil in the mug, then worked a lather with the brush.

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: I know I am not even a quarter of the way there, but I CANNOT BELIEVE how big of a difference simply changing my cream and my application has made. My skin has NEVER felt this smooth, and I even rushed through the shave because I was late.

I see VERY STRONG addiction starting here!

Thanks again to everyone!!

I have AOS Lavender hard soap and it's one of my favourite soaps, just have others have said they are just a little overpriced for what they are. If you already have AOS products just use them and be happy, they aren't bad at all.

I would start with a straight. Buy a pre-honed shave ready one from someone on here (Lynn, John, Joe, Tony etc.) and all you'll need is a hanging strop to use with it every day. You'll need to send it off every few months to be honed if you don't want to learn yourself. I've had a go at honing my own and it's not too hard if you follow Lynn's DVD, but it's still not easy. I'm still very much in the learning phase and I send my main razors out to be honed.

I too live in a small apartment. I made a small loop of cord attached to my hanging strop, which I use to hang it on a doorknob, or the end of a radiator when I strop my razor. It works fine as long as it's something reasonably solid.

Take the plunge, I'm sure you won't regret it! :)

Joel Ferman did a very thourogh review on the Feather Artist Club RG just a short time ago on B&B. I for one would not start by using that razor. In another post he showed some pics of his bloodied face after his first shave with the Feather!

It is interesting to note that he is now giving up the DE and Feather and returning to a straight razor.

Start with a pre-honed straight razor , strop and an abrasive pasted paddle strop. Get the hones later.


Just my two cents,:)