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Tonight I had my first DE shave. I was given a nice Gillette DE razor,Turkish Horse Hair brush & 2 packs of blades. ZeroCool was a nice Gentleman that heard I was interested in DE shaving for my son(about a year away from shaving). He sent me the above nice items. Thank you again, Jon (ZeroCool).
Since the brush was Turkish Horse Hair, I had to use my Nomad shave soap. A good experience and a safe enough razor for my beginner son.
Thanks for looking.
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Not pokin' fun at DEs, I love 'em! But it's so smooth and easy it's almost like cheatin', ain't it? smile.
John
Yes,
I was a bit scared , as I was with my first straight. I took it real slow. I did the first stroke down my right cheek & did not feel anything. I had to stop and rub my face; I actually thought that the blade edge was not sticking out enough, the hair was gone. I went ATG, something I never do with my straight.
I love de shaving, I've not yet mastered atg with straights yet, so I usually do a pass with straight, then atg with de.
Nice setup! Your son will love it. Once I have a rugrat, I intend to teach him the ways of being a man.
Glad to hear it went well! It is a bit different at first, more forgiving then the straight.
Now you can start checking out blades :) I like the Feathers and Gillette green packs.
Enjoy!
I spent most of the day in the Safety/DE side of the forum today.
I tried to find the answer to this question, but did not see it, maybe because it's the dumbest question in DE shaving, but I gotta know;
Do all DE blades that go in through the top, like my Gillette, fit the same? Is this a generic fit or do different razor manufacturers shape they blades different? I would hate to by 3 packs that don't fit my Gillette.
I have a 1963 Gillette Slim Adjustable DE razor that opens its top for blade removal/install--similar to yours. Out of the numerous DE blades that I've tried over the years, I have never found one that didn't fit my DE razor. Merkur, Wilkinson Sword, Derby, Persona, Lord, Bic, Dorco, store brand, etc.--they all fit. The DE blades come in a standard size, and some have different hole sizes, but they'll still fit snug in the DE razor.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hirlau
I'm into SRs now, so I'm saving my DE razor for my son; he's 6 now, so it'll be a while.
Great info. henry, I have no intention on giving up my straights, I might use a DE once a month.
Welcome aboard, Hirlau!Quote:
Originally Posted by Hirlau
The DE blades you can buy today -- wherever in the world they are manufactured -- are all the same as the blades you hold in your hand. Gillette's blade became the standard.
That's not to say you won't find an oddball razor in an antique shop that won't take a standard DE blade. But those few manufacturers went out of business decades ago and no one makes blades for them.
So purchase DE blades in a store local to you, buy them on Amazon.com or from one of our vendors here at SRP. They will all fit your razor.
Namaste,
Morty -_-
There are sure a ton of different blades out there for DE. Luckily the only difference in the modern blades are materials and how they perform for the indivigual user. You can get an assortment pack for a very reasonable price from a place I know. I'll PM it to you if you like. I don't know if they are a member here and I don't want to take the chance on getting anyone bent out of shape.
Here's my take on the various blades: there's only one that I and my various shave buddies have tried that all like -- the Astra Super Platinum. All the others seem to be various degrees of love/hate. However, much like an accurate rifle, all the "ammo" still shoots pretty dern well regardless of manufacturer (within reason, of course) from a good quality gun/razor.
For example, the Gillette Slim or Super Adjustable, Edwin Jagger DE89 Etc. all are great razors that do very well and afford one the benefit of a mild shaver that's not too aggressive but still has the capability of giving a great BBS with a little practice and experience.
I'm primarily a str8 shaver myself, but I also like to experiment and find myself going through stages of interest varying from DEs, to injectors, to SEs (Psssst! don't tell anyone about SEs. Prices are still great and the razors are about half way between DEs and straights!) and back around to the str8s again. Then there's honing...grin.
Have a great time. I'm sure your son will hold the memory of his Dad taking time to teach him a skill/art that's he'll use the rest of his life as a very fond memory indeed.
John
Good to hear that you had a great experience with the DE. Nice razor by the way. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is it a late 50's Flare Tip? I have one quite similar. These old Gillette's are awesome razors, and they last forever.
I don't know yet, I will have to ask ZeroCool. I need to research it. I will start with what you told me, a 50's Flare Tip.
Try to let you know this weekend.
After 3 mos of shaving exclusively w/ straights, my Merkur DE arrived today w/ blade sampler pack. I planned on giving it a go tomorrow but when I saw my Case Red Imp laying on the counter top, I had second thoughts. So, it may be Sunday before trying the DE but I'll get there.
Don't forget to report back on the results.
timely thread for me.Am relocating,all my stuff is packed and shipped,stressed to the max with this move,first time in 64 years I will be living in another town 150 miles away:( no time for straights,strops etc.
popped a feather in an old open comb this A.M.,had a great shave:)
Where you moving to,Pixel?
Roseville kali,all my kids live in the area,my duckclub is within a 30 min drive,the rivers i fish (sacto and american) are 20 mins away,my wifes fave town (reno,nev) is an easy two hr drive as is lake tahoe.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hirlau
but will miss Sillycone valley,for the young,this is THE place to be,bar none.
Sounds like a good move for you, I'm happy for you.
thank you,sometimes change is a good thing:)
Hirlau, not sure on the date. I think there's a website somewhere that you can check the date code stamps on the bottom. Should be a letter and a number.
I'd guess its mid 50's though.
Gotta love Silicon Valley Pixel! Spend my very early child (up untill about 6) living in various parts of Silicon valley.. I miss it, but I like Las Vegas nonetheless.
Got a large sample pack of blades from Bullgoose.
I've been getting 4 shaves out of each blade, I stop at 4, probably can get a couple more.
Am I swapping blades too soon?
When I feel a blade start to pull and razor burn starts to set in, that's when I change my blade.
I agree with Morty. You can push the blade to tests its limits. Who knows, you may get another 2 good shaves out of it. I always look for a "good" shave, though. If it pulls 1/2 or 3/4 way through the 6th shave, then I consider the blade good for only 5 shaves.Quote:
Originally Posted by Morty
Excellent and congratulations!
[QUOTE=Hirlau;1027330]Tonight I had my first DE shave. I was given a nice Gillette DE razor,Turkish Horse Hair brush & 2 packs of blades. ZeroCool was a nice Gentleman that heard I was interested in DE shaving for my son(about a year away from shaving). He sent me the above nice items. Thank you again, Jon (ZeroCool).
Since the brush was Turkish Horse Hair, I had to use my Nomad shave soap. A good experience and a safe enough razor for my beginner son.
Thanks for looking.
Since it has been about a month since your first DE shave I was wondering how you are doing with it? The DE is my first choice if I just want a pleasant and very close shave. I am getting used to the SR but still find the DE to be what I gravitate to.
Jim
I like them , both, but prefer my Jon Engstrom Red Devil straight.
The shaves are a little closer with the DE, because I can go ATG on a third pass; I never go ATG with a straight, I only need 2 passes WTG with a straight for a close smooth shave.
My stropping technique has improved a little and I tried my hand at honing, successfully I might add (though there is great room for improvement), so my straights are now fairly sharp. I guess with further SR experience my shaves will get closer. But, for right now, the DE has them beat in closeness of shave. A little while back I turned the bathroom fan off and was better able to hear the DE blade slicing the whiskers so by adjusting the razor angle for maximum slicing noise my shaves got a lot closer!
Good luck with both your SR and DE shaving!
Jim
Glad to hear it's working out for ya. Good stuff. I've experimented quite a bit with blade longevity, sometimes to extremes. I've gotten as many as 15 shaves from one Stainless DE blade. I think it was a Vidyut Super Max. Anyway, I only do 2 passes: one with the grin, one directly against. Maybe that's part of it?
That was when I was in my "saving money" stage. Now I just like the good shaves and usually toss 'em after 5 shaves with DEs, 7 shaves with SEs, and 7 to 10 with injectors. Blades are cheap, why worry?
Hirlau, don't give up on ATG passes with the straight. I wasn't getting truly GREAT shaves with a straight until I started doing ATG with one. Wow!! Just go slow, lay that razor almost flat to start, and make sure your lather is quite wet and slick.
Have a wonderful time!
John
I've got an Astra Super Platinum in my Gillette now, on the second shave. I'm going to keep it in there until I feel a difference, then let you know the count. I'm the kind of person who hates to waste anything,,,amatuer Hoarder in the making.
I remove the blade after each shave, dry, then clean the Gillette, then dry the Gillette & replace the blade. I think I might be over doing the experience. Heck, I can clean & strop my straight in less time.
I'm right there with you. Clean and dry, I even store the blade in my "shave tool" box (and old oak tool box with felt lined drawers) with a "die" by it so I can count the number of shaves that particular blade is on. It's so quick compared to straights, why wouldn't I?
I keep an old tooth brush handy too for the back side of the head on a TTO, that way there's no build up. Three piece razors I just take apart, rinse and dry.
John
