Thread: Forgotten DE pleasures

Hello everyone,
Having spent the last 4/5 months trying to perfect my skills with a straight ,it was a very pleasant change of direction this week as I found myself too short on time to use the straight and had to use my Parker Knightsbridge Butterfly DE razor for two shaves on the trot.
This is a quality razor that I bought and used for 2 months prior to taking up the straight.
I started using Merkur super platinum stainless blades back then but lately have changed to Derby Extra super stainless.
I found the Merkurs a little harsh somehow ,but the Derbys are super smooth and comfortable.
The shaves although alot quicker were far closer than I remember and I ended up with very smooth shaves indeed!
I remembered when I first started wetshaving and it took me back.What a feeling.
Yep-there's alot to be said for the D/E!

Kind regards

Noggs

+1 for Derby blades.

Having a decent selection of blades now due to a sampler, I've been throwing in a couple of DE shaves into my weekly regime. And I agree, shaving with a DE is a pleasure exceeded only by a straight shave.

Hi Ryan82,
Your right of course -although I enjoyed the smooth shaves I noticed that the beard grows back a little quicker which shows that the straight really does shave that little bit closer.
Regards

Noggs

Yup, I've noticed my whiskers grow back a bit sooner as well after a DE shave. And they feel different too; coarser or more jagged perhaps?

Funny story. Yesterday I was in a rush and used my EJ Chatsworth barleycorn and while rummaging through my blades I found a pack of feathers which I thought I had long used up. So I load the razor and shave and man it was the smoothest shave I've ever gotten. So smooth it was like the blade wasn't even touching my face and you know what? It wasn't I put the bottom plate on upside down. So I had to shave all over again. If I had used my straight to begin with I would have been ahead of the game.

Hello, Noggs:

I have two double edge razors left, an Edwin Jagger "Chatsworth" barley and a Muhle-Pinsel, and I keep both in rotation along with my straights. So every seventh shave goes to the double edge, for a change of pace, and also for when I am in a mad rush. My standard blades are the Feather and the Gillette 7 O'Clock "sharp edge" (yellow packs). What can I say? I like my double edge razors. No, they are not my Filarmonica or a Sheffield Steel 1st Edition Wacker, but they give me a good and relatively quick shave.

Regards,
Obie

Hi thebigspendur,

I LOVE that story-it made me chuckle.Thats the sort of crazy thing I would do.(good to know I'm not the only one!)
HA-HA!
regards

Noggs

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Funny story. Yesterday I was in a rush and used my EJ Chatsworth barleycorn and while rummaging through my blades I found a pack of feathers which I thought I had long used up. So I load the razor and shave and man it was the smoothest shave I've ever gotten. So smooth it was like the blade wasn't even touching my face and you know what? It wasn't I put the bottom plate on upside down. So I had to shave all over again. If I had used my straight to begin with I would have been ahead of the game.

I still use a de if in a rush and because i have soo many of them, so at least once a week i will use a de, what i find is the quickness of the shave which before i took up a straight i thought took ages.

noogs,

You are quite right; using a DE now and again is a most pleasant change.

I use my English Gillette 88, 'E' Model Schick and Muhle-Pinsel R109 probably once a month each.

If anything, I have found that my straight shaving has improved my DE shaving quite a bit; very light pressure and correct angles are directly transferrable from the straight to the DE shave.

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ