My shave stand...completed.

Greetings all,

Joined the world of Straight-razor shaving 2 months ago. I've finally got it and I've replaced all the stupid useless cartridge razors with one "Classic Samurai" Shavette and one DE razor.
I have not saved this much money shaving and actually ENJOYED shaving before in my life!!
There was a point where I hated shaving so much I considered getting electrolysis of my face just so that I'd never have to put a razor to my face again. Now that I have discovered this pleasurable method of shaving, I've even grown out a beard and when i trim it up, it's barbershop level quality. Crispy lines everywhere and sexy as hell!!
The wife loves it and so do I!!
The soaps...the scents...the oils...I've never had such a positive feedback from spending time in the bathroom IN...MY...LIFE!!!!

The funny thing is that my mom shaved with a DE razor (her legs...to my knowledge...lol) since before I was born. I've always seen her sky blue "Gillette Lady" in the bathroom cabinet as far back as I can remember opening the bathroom cabinet. In fact, one of the DE razor blades from her Gillette Lady is what I chopped the tip of my finger off with as a teen...lol.

But that's enough of my ranting...here's a few pics of my modified shave stand. I got the black shave stand, metal bowl and brush off of ebay. I wasn't satisfied with the bowl so I went to Goodwill and found the larger bowl that i lather with.
In the spirit of the "Samurai" I modified two forks and screwed them to the back of the stand to hold my Shavette up in the air.
The blue topped bottle under the brush is some of the coconut shaving concoction that my son's barber sold me. That stuff is slicker than Don King and smells so sweet. I used to use it to lube my head when shaving with my DE razor, but now that I've figured out how to lather properly and buff the soap with a little oil...I don't need the barber level stuff anymore...for my head anyway. I still use it to trim my beard lines and shave my mustache stubble.

Here's some pics of the thing...

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Detman101 - Welcome to the forum. SRP has a great wealth of information in the library and the members here are friendly and very very helpful. If you ever have an issue with something, these guys can and will provide you with the guidance necessary to adapt and overcome whatever it is. You are good hands!

That is a very innovative rack you got there. Hope you don't stick your hand trying to get the razor out!

Thank you, hehe.
I've been considering trimming down the prongs for safety reasons. I originally wanted to use something with a soft Y shape, but couldn't find anything to suit my needs...so the forks were sacrificed.

Thank you, I had a few questions on how to go about getting a good lubricative slick lather, but I figured it out and just added a fingerfull of coconut oil to my lathering bowl before lathering up.
:idea:

Believe or not, I use Utterly Smooth and glycerin as a pre-shave conditioner. Works for me. Also you may want to try some Noxzema. I tried coconut oil, but found it too greasy. Try different things and when you find what works best for you, stick with it.

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Originally Posted by Detman101

Thank you, hehe.
I've been considering trimming down the prongs for safety reasons. I originally wanted to use something with a soft Y shape, but couldn't find anything to suit my needs...so the forks were sacrificed.

Thank you, I had a few questions on how to go about getting a good lubricative slick lather, but I figured it out and just added a fingerfull of coconut oil to my lathering bowl before lathering up.
:idea:

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Originally Posted by Johntoad57

Believe or not, I use Utterly Smooth and glycerin as a pre-shave conditioner. Works for me. Also you may want to try some Noxzema. I tried coconut oil, but found it too greasy. Try different things and when you find what works best for you, stick with it.

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I'll have to have a look at finding some "Glycerin" to add to my bowl before I start to lather. I've heard it mentioned on here somewhere before I'd registered when I lurked over the past month.
Thanks for the reminder!

I have a pint of glycerin and have tried it to no different results.....

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Originally Posted by 32t

I have a pint of glycerin and have tried it to no different results.....

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So adding it to your shave soap lather didn't make it slicker?
Well, if it doesn't work...I've already got my coconut oil solution that I know works.

Actually good soaps don't need anything, plus after a while you learn how to build a soap, that was lacking before. I quit sing additives once I got better soaps and learned what makes a good lather. Tc

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Originally Posted by Detman101

So adding it to your shave soap lather didn't make it slicker?
Well, if it doesn't work...I've already got my coconut oil solution that I know works.

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YMMV Many say it is great but in my experience it isn't worth the bother.

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Originally Posted by 32t

YMMV Many say it is great but in my experience it isn't worth the bother.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by tcrideshd

Actually good soaps don't need anything, plus after a while you learn how to build a soap, that was lacking before. I quit sing additives once I got better soaps and learned what makes a good lather. Tc

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Interesting.
Well, I guess then I will have to purchase some high-quality soaps instead of supplements.
Not like I wasn't looking forward to the persuasion anyway...lol.

Now...onto the solicitation of recommendations for high-quality slick-lathering shaving soaps from the experienced sage advisors here on this forum.

:D
My preferences are: Minty, Citrus and Woodsy if you have any suggested brands in these flavors...

Thanks in advance.

It does have to be expensive for great soaps, it doesn't hurt but try Arko , smells like a urinal cake to me but it lathers. Tabac is another great lathering soap, Institute Karitte, on to the really good stuf, MDC, Castle Forbes, any if these will get you what you want without trying to fix the other soaps lack of lather. Tc

Detman,
I like it, thanks for sharing. I was with the Combat Engineers in Nam, we had a saying; If it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid.

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Originally Posted by MisterClean

Detman,
I like it, thanks for sharing. I was with the Combat Engineers in Nam, we had a saying; If it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid.

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Awesome!! Thanks for the compliment!
Proud to meet ya sir! From bridges to bombs, Army all the way!!!
I'm attached to the 6th MLMC out of Ft Detrick, Md with MC4!!
Currently contracting...best of all worlds, and no getting shot up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tcrideshd

It does have to be expensive for great soaps, it doesn't hurt but try Arko , smells like a urinal cake to me but it lathers. Tabac is another great lathering soap, Institute Karitte, on to the really good stuf, MDC, Castle Forbes, any if these will get you what you want without trying to fix the other soaps lack of lather. Tc

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I think "ARKO" is the soap that came with my shave set.
I didn't use it until the other night because it smelled so rank in the package.
I put it aside for storage and emergency backup usage and went out to walmart and bought the Van Der Hagen Luxury Soap to shave with. That's the one that is so thin that it dries up and washes away like water.

I tried the Soap Puck that came with my shave set this past saturday night and it was MUCH better than the van der hagen soap!! It had more slipperiness and didn't dry up and disappear as fast. I still added a flick of coconut oil to it just in case (didn't want to chance razor burn again) and it lathered and lubricated just fine. The horrible smell mellowed out to something cheap but tolerable too!! I was truly surprised...I thought my head was going to smell like old fish if I used that soap puck.

I will be starting off with some of the TABAC soap from Amazon this week.
Each one that doesn't slick-lather enough to work for shaving my head will get used for body soap until I find the one that works for me.

THANK YOU for the info and soap lineup!!
:rock:

Ah Fort Detrick....I remember one night back in the 70's we had to lock that place down. Some foreign scientist was trying to escape with the smallpox virus they had stored there. Was a real eye opener to the US Government about terrorism, foreign policy, and security measures. The CIA got caught with their pants down on that one. Good luck to you at that place!

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Originally Posted by Detman101

Awesome!! Thanks for the compliment!
Proud to meet ya sir! From bridges to bombs, Army all the way!!!
I'm attached to the 6th MLMC out of Ft Detrick, Md with MC4!!
Currently contracting...best of all worlds, and no getting shot up.

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Originally Posted by Johntoad57

Ah Fort Detrick....I remember one night back in the 70's we had to lock that place down. Some foreign scientist was trying to escape with the smallpox virus they had stored there. Was a real eye opener to the US Government about terrorism, foreign policy, and security measures. The CIA got caught with their pants down on that one. Good luck to you at that place!

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Hah...sounds a bit like what's happened here since I've been stationed here.
So many "Little Things" that they don't put out in the news or papers or internet.
If the public only knew...it's crazy.

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