Thread: Hello from Holland!

Hello folks,

A month or two ago, I was doing my weekly shoppings at the local supermarket. Standing in front of the rack with Gilette safety razors, I noticed that Gilette had *again* introduced a "new" type of razor, and my good old trusty handle/socket was outdated. I stubbornly decided that I would never again waste a single dime on razors that can vibrate, have led-displays or build-in microwaves. Both my pa and grandpa were always bragging about the close shaves they were getting off straights, so I decided to give it a try.

As with everything in life, I figured that I'd have a smoother start if I invested in some proper tools. So I went to the dutch barbershop, and purchased pretty much everything on the newbees-shopping-list, except the hones. I ended up with a relatively cheap yet mint vintage Dovo, which came cleaned up and shave ready. Unfortunately, the very first serious shaving-attempt wasn't really comfy at all, so I blamed my technique and I guess I pushed it a bit too hard. But after I had read up on the matter, I did the HHT, and my blade turned out not to be shave-ready at all. Sadly, by then, my face was looking pretty darn 'Freddy Krueger'-ready.

So, a couple of days later (when my face was back in it's original 'Leonardo DiCaprio'-state), I carefully stropped her up on the canvas and pasted strops, and gave it a second try. And a third. And a fourth. Everyday my technique improved a bit, and I was getting better and better results. Now, couple of weeks later, I'm getting pretty consistent results: much closer shaves than I ever got with the Gillettes. So I'm a believer. In fact, in a post-shave smoothness contest with a friend (the girlfriends as jury), I won hands down, and his girlfriend made him order a straight as well.

Overall, I'm absolutely astounded by the close shaves I'm getting. The whole process of shaving is becoming more and more a daily ritual instead of a chore. And the awesome looks of all this great equipment in my bathroom seriously pumps up my testosterone level!

Anyways, I'd like to thank you guys for all the information you put up here. I'm really looking forward to learning more about this great tradition.

Best regards,
SirWildcard