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01-25-2012, 11:20 PM #1
- Join Date
- Sep 2011
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- 57
Thanked: 6One thing to improve the overall experience
If you had to pick one thing that you bought that greatly improved your shaving experience overall, what would it be?
So far I am still fairly new to all of this. I have collected four razors, and currently three of them have been honed on my own on a norton 4/8, one from the person on here that I bought it from (easily the best edge). I am still working off of my beginner kit from Vintage blades, simple webbing and leather strop, fairly small rooney badger brush, and currently AOS sandalwood creme, occasionally Ill start with a Williams base and only a little creme, but thats just for fun.
Currently the only aftershave I use is Old Spice classic, but we can ignore the debate about the formula changing please!
I'm kind of itching for something new. I've been contemplating a few different things...
- Paying to get one or two of my razors professionally honed again. This was one of the first things I thought of, but I think I have pretty much ruled it out since I can get a shave ready edge myself, and making it smoother and more comfortable is part of my learning
- Getting a finishing hone, something like a 12k maybe... again it's appealing, but I have heard it is dangerous to start aquiring hones in an effort to find a smoother edge. I'm never really sure if I have maxed out the capability of an 8k hone, so this is up in the air.
- A scuttle. Warm lather is so nice, and filling my sink is getting a little old, even if it is effective and cheap
- A new brush, maybe with a bigger knot and longer handle. I find I get lather all over my hands as I work with it, makes it tricky to clean up then get to the razor, or it makes a slipping hazard!
- A new strop, a three inch looks really appealing! If i went with this option I would also get some Crox or diamond paste I think to use with my old strop, which might also help me on my way to a keener edge.
- A nice new soap/creme/aftershave. This might be one of the cheaper options (maybe...) but I'm not sure really how much it will change my shave. I don't have particularly sensitive or special needs skin, and some days i dont even use aftershave. My soap and creme experience is very limited, and im not really sure where to go now. Kind of stuck in a "well it works so why change it" rut, too many options really!
Thanks guys!
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01-25-2012, 11:33 PM #2
On a bang for the buck basis, L'Occitane Cade Shaving Balm.
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01-26-2012, 12:00 AM #3
Nothing that I bought. learning to hone properly was the game changer for me.
If you have a proper sharp razor you can shave with water and get good results. If it ain't sharp you can have every shave tweak in the world and it won't amount to a hill of beans.No matter how many men you kill you can't kill your successor-Emperor Nero
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01-26-2012, 12:27 AM #4
- Join Date
- Nov 2011
- Location
- York, UK
- Posts
- 82
Thanked: 4I agree with thebigspender, learn to hone. Being able to have a perfect razor everytime. Makes you feel good to knowing you have honed it yourself. I have 6 razors and one real nice coticule which i can do most things with, im happy with my set up.
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01-26-2012, 12:32 AM #5
The three things that will improve your shave are time, technique and a sharp razor.
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01-26-2012, 12:37 AM #6
- Join Date
- Sep 2011
- Posts
- 57
Thanked: 6I think a new hone is out of the question. Now, like I said earlier, I can get to a shaving sharp razor with my current honing skills, even starting from an awful edge or a breadknife (made that mistake once =\) my razors pass whatever tests you want to throw at them, and I do get smooth shaves from them.
I have one wedge that was finished by someone here on a different hone progression and then with a pasted strop, and I can immediately tell the difference between that blade and mine that come right off 8k and go to an unpasted strop. It isn't as much a sharpness issue, it is a smoothness matter. Both deliver smooth shaves, but the razor that was pasted does it a lot more gently!
So let me rephrase my question, not looking to get a smoother shave, what would make your shaving more enjoyable, more luxurious maybe?
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01-26-2012, 12:41 AM #7
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01-26-2012, 01:17 AM #8
- Join Date
- Aug 2009
- Location
- New Port Richey, FL
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- 3,819
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Thanked: 1185TOBS Eton College, Mitchell's Wool Fat and a nice Omega Boar brush. I've debated a scuttle for quite a while but about 90% of the time I face lather so it would in my case it would likely be a unnecessary expenditure. I've recently figured out that a touch up pass with just a super hot water splash and some baby oil gel (instead of a lather) produces some wonderful results. If you try it and don't like in the touch up role, it's quite nice as a preshave (i.e. wash your face with really hot water, apply baby oil gel and then lather over the top.)
The older I get, the better I was
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01-26-2012, 02:52 AM #9
I vote for the scuttle. I bought one from SRD and it's wonderful. Much larger than it looks on the website, I find it makes, and keeps good hot lather for several passes. Enjoy!
Ive
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01-26-2012, 03:46 AM #10
My Scuttle was a great buy for me, nice warm lather every morning is soooo luxurious