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Saw a Merkur 33C today as i was going past a shop, £20, and as stated before on here i really want something that i'd be allowed to take with me to work, so i thought "bugger it".
I now have one blade, the razor, and no idea how to use them lol
Is there a resource out there like our wiki that offers advice on shaving with one?
Am assuming the principals are similar? light touch, WTG, XTG etc and the curve on the top of the head of the razor looks like it might be fore controlling the angle?
THere are plenty of resources on the web. It is the same principle, as you stated above. I began shaving with one of those (DE) over 45 years ago and I really can't remember much except the blades were lousy back then and I remember my first nick. Yes, you can nick yourself with one of those if you're not careful. A blade sampler pack would be a good idea. Some blades are better than others and than there is personal preference. What I like may not be what you like. Someone will no doubt be along with better info. :gl:
Have a trawl through Mantic's videos
mantic59's Channel - YouTube
That will put you on the right trick.
Cheers Guys, Had a look a the vid and just had a quickie one pass to see if i could do it. Not bad at all, much quicker system. THe rawness i used to get at the base of my neck with Fusion that made me switch to straights is happening again, but nowhere near as bad, and probably has more to do with prep and technique than the razor just being bad for me. A little Alum cleared it right up. I think this is genuinely a viable option for shaving at work, just have to see if security will let me take the blades offshore.
I don't think it's going to replace my straights, but it's definitely another option and i genuinely appreciate the build quality some of the razors themselves
Nice :)
If you're getting 'rawness' it may be the blade and/or pressure. Also it was your first go round so that is to be expected. With the right blade and no pressure they can give a really nice shave.
+1, Completely agree, just need practice, i think it was more the angle than the pressure, felt the blade "drag" a couple times round there but it was still a better shave than i ever got with a cartridge razor. Will keep at it, these things are always a learning curve, but i needed another solution than the straight. The cartirdges just mauled my face at work and sometimes we need to be clean shaving if we're drilling were there's H2S risk,Quote:
Originally Posted by JimmyHAD
Cheers for the help guys
Simon
Glad to see you switch to DE; any straights you have lying around, can be sent to me. I will take good care of them, pick up the postage & send you photos of them playing with the other straights that I have. :w
lol when i said another solution to straights, i only mean for when i go away to work, can't take the straights with me there, the DE won't be replacing my straights at home ;)
was worth a try though lol
If it was a Merkur blade you used then they don't have many fans (albeit I'm one but not at the price they ask). Try some Wilkinson Swords often available in chemists a and also Tesco own brand.
You can get a sampler back of blades, to see what you like, from Connaught personally I would recommend trying the popular pack but asking Paul (the owner) to swap out the Derbys for Gillette Super Thins as many people find Derbys dull and uncomfortable.
+1 on the sampler pack. I couldn't stand the Merkur blades that came with my 34C. Some of the best shaves I've gotten are with Gillete 7 O'Clocks, Personna Med Preps and Crystals (Israeli Personnas).
I noticed the drilling and H2S. You must work on an oil rig, having to be clean shaven to get a good seal on the SCBA. Be careful out there!
x2 on the Wilkinson swords. Got a pack of them from the pharmacy. I couldn't believe how smooth my face was after, it was ridiculous. As another member put it, I couldn't stop faceturbating it was so smooth.
+1 on viewing Mantic59's videos and getting a blade sampler. With proper technique, a BBS with a DE is in your future.
Hey guys, well managed to find some wilkinson sword blades, so will give them a try when i get to the rig, also found an old old barber, been there for forty years, in addition to looking out his old straights for me, he's also has a full card of vintage gillette 7 oclock blades (has them up fr the sake of nostalgia) but they're all mint :) said he'd sell me a couple of packs.
So i did have another full shave (full prep etc) but i'm still having this problems area at the base of my neck, the one that was created by years of mach three abuse. Now, with the straight, there's no issues, but it's an area the shave is never BBS. the skin is a littl bit rougher than the rest of neck/face. The straight shaves it just fine but only direcionally smooth. Just can't go against the grain there. The DE isn't fairing so well, i'm gone back to first principals, short strokes, no pressure, but the DE just rakes that area bad, lots of little blood spots etc and razorburn. Yes it's probably my technique, but i also feel its the nature of the DE as well. when i do that area with my straight, i can use minute little strokes with the toe, almost getting at indiviudual hairs. The de is more of a "shave the area" type razor.
Yup, that's the reason, and we have an H2S potential job coming up soon so no manly rig stubble..Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyN
Will get one of the sampler packs from connaught when i get back and try everything out, i have a bunch of soaps i wanted to get off there too anyways
Not to worry, I had the same problem (neck base irritation). My whiskers in that area grow flat against my skin, so any ATG shaving ends up with ingrowns there. The solution is fairly simple: don't shave ATG in that area. It sounds redundant, but it's the best method to avoid irritation. Sometime you have to sacrifice a perfectly smooth yet painful BBS shave for a comfortable (but not quite as close) shave. And TBH no one but you is likely to notice anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by tekbow
I'm willing to bet you are having some pressure/angle issues as well. It's all part of the learning curve. There's also much better blades out there than Wilkinson and Merkur, and with DE shaving blade choice makes all the difference in the world.
Once you get the hang of it (and I'm sure you will) you'll be surprised at the excellent shaves that a DE can provide. If you can't match your straight shaves you're doing something wrong.
hey Ryan
+ about a million to what you said, especially on the subject of blades, as everyone else pointed out too. The shave i described above was done a day ago, As stated i picked up some wilkinson swords and just gave them a whirl, big difference, much milder, so will give the sampler pack a whirl and see what else i can find that i like,
And i agree with not shaving that area ATG, i definitely don't with my straights, however..
Paying extra extra attention to the pressure and angle this time, and with much much working in of the lather in that particular area, and with obscene attention paid to strecthing, i just managed something i've never managed before. BBS on my rough spot with no redness rawness or raking sensation.
Am liking this.
As comparison to my straight, i think this shave has got on average, similar results, with a few differences. the DE is giving better results on the aforementioned rough spot, around the edge of the chin and the upper lip. Its not as good as the straight along my jawline and just under, and around my neck in general, but both are very close in all the areas mentioned so the difference is only very slight. the only area it didn't come close was directly below my nostrils, still a few rogue spikers there. In the areas where it was the same (cheeks etc) it was well.. the same really, so all in all good. The advantage of learning with the straight was that i know my hair growth pattern, know how to stretch, so i was able to apply that to the DE and make this a fair comparison.
will definitely make the DE part of the shaving rotation, there's just as much zen to using it as the straight IMO, although I'm still a "straight" guy ;)