Hello new member here, not sure what I thought.

Hey guys how's it going. I have been DE shaving for a whole week now:rock:.
I don't know but for some reason I thought I was going to get as close of a mach3 shave with one pass of a DE. Wrong I have read a lot here and want to learn more. My shaves aren't too great just yet. I am using my new Edwin Jagger DE89 with feather blades. Don't have a fancy brush yet just cheapo boar brush. I am wondering if I should change the blade sooner. I could get a week of shaves out of the M3 but not sure with these blades. My whiskers are pretty wiry and grow every which way. I am using light pressure only so no burn well the first two days there was. So I seek your refined shaving wisdom, and thanks in advanced.

You'll want to do two or three passes. Think about each pass slicing the hairs a little shorter until the third pass cuts it off at the skin.

Haven't tried three passes yet kinda waiting to let the skin get used to the new shave. I think this next week I will do two passes each morning and see how that goes.

If you think about the concept of a Mach 3, you're getting three passes in one. What's more there are a lot of "training wheels" on a Mach 3 that you have to take responsibility for with a DE.

I use a vintage Gillette Slim and once it "clicked" I began getting better shaves in two passes than I could get from a Mach 3 in one or two passes. And IME the DE blades (regardless of type) last longer than the cartridges. My beard's not terribly thick; about average I think, but very very wiry and coarse.

Keep working at it and you'll find your shaves improve to surpass your prior experience with the cartridge.

Peace,
Jim

Knowing the hair growth direction of my face helped me. My face is relatively uniform but my neck it gets squirrely. But with a 2 or 3 pass shave with a DE I can get way better shave than with using a mach 3 or fusion. It takes a lot of practice, I'm still learning too.

Thanks guys did better this morning. Except right under and on the jaw line, don't have the angle right there yet. Did okay two passes but tried a third in that area trying to get BBS and hav a little burn. I'm not bleeding though.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is stretching the skin. It can make a heck of a difference to a shave - whether DE or straight.

Hang in there and it probably won't be long before you're getting better shaves with less irritation than you ever have before.

It'll come with time and practice :) You just have to play with angles and such, like Jim said, you have 3, 4, or 5 "blades" on a cartridge whereas now you have just 1 so doing a couple light passes will be required.

I hope so I have figured out (some of us are slow learners) that my EJ is still shaving very well even if I am not feeling that scraping feeling I was used to with the cartridge. I am closing in on that perfect angle, now if I can do it on my whole beard, lol.

Take heart my friend, it will get better. If, for whatever reason, I was unable to use my straight razors for the rest of my life I'd be perfectly content to use my DE's rather than any other method of shaving. A DE yields a far superior, and smoother, shave than a cartridge could ever hope for. An extra pass or two is all it asks, which will provide nice irritation-free shaves, which is more than the Mock 3/4/5 can say. As well, the EJ89 is a very well regarded razor, so you are already a leg up with the right equipment.

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Originally Posted by okbow68

...even if I am not feeling that scraping feeling I was used to with the cartridge...

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This was one key step in the right direction when I started messing with DE's. It is a different sound and feel than the mach 3/fusion/sensor (I think I was actually using fusions there at the end...I honestly can't remember...or don't want to! :D)

Skin stretching is one of those training wheels I mentioned. Angle is another. Pressure is another. All of these you have to manage with a DE.

Personally, I don't know that I could be content to use my DE over straights, but I'd never go back to any cartridge over a DE!

Peace,
Jim

On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you fellows rate the Edwin Jagger DE89 as being an aggressive razor?

This morning was the best so far. Two passes and a third under the jaw line. No burn no weepers. This is more like it.

Different blades or different angle and no pressure?

Different strokes less or trying for no pressure and shallow angle.

you are probably fairly close time-wise to some incredible shaves. I started with wet shaving a couple days before xmas. I've been shaving daily (almost) with DE on weekdays and str8 on the weekends.

My DE shaves now are fantastic. I think you'll find you're in the same boat soon if you continue to stick with it and seek the good advice of the SRP old timers.

I've found lately as my technique improves, my first pass is maybe rougher than it was several weeks ago, but I'm using nearly zero pressure on every pass, and I still have no irritation after pass 3. I usually skip the ATG pass (#4) because after the 3rd - everything is insane smooth and still zero irritation. Why force it I figure?

good luck!

We shall see. Under the jawbone is problem spot for me.

Not very agressive, very smooth shavers!

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Originally Posted by okbow68

We shall see. Under the jawbone is problem spot for me.

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If the spot is directly under the jaw bone and you have a somewhat angular face, try stretching that area up around your jaw to the sides of your face.

I think an important factor that hasn't been mentioned is which direction you are using with your 2nd and 3rd passes. Are you going WTG, XTG, ATG? two XTG passes to finish?

Well the problem is those particular whiskers grow running from chin towards ear. I haven't figured out how to get at those AGT w/o bad irritation even with the lightest pressure I can muster. I get them going north to south and south to north but that just doesn't get it.

I have the same issue. If they're being pesky, I stretch the skin to where I can reach them and pull the razor (DE or straight for that matter) with the opposite hand from ear to chin. If I don't stretch it enough I get irritation, but if I get a good stretch I can get them off and still feel good.

Hope it helps!

Peace,
Jim

Well I guess I got ahead of myself this morning going for that BBS. I did WTG XTG & ATG. It's smooth alright but I really hacked my neck up this go around. I have been doing so good too. LOL guess that's what styptic sticks are for, didn't really slice cut myself anywhere just don't have the XTG down think that's what got my neck.
Input?

my neck is definitely more sensitive than other areas of my face (and thus more prone to razor burn), I think if you experiment with an extremely light touch on your xtg/atg passes or maybe cut down on the number of passes you perform in the irritated areas, you will probably end up with a more comfortable and still very smooth shave.

I've found on my own neck that I get a lot less burn if I'm sure to keep the angle very very flat to my skin. That and stretching and doing my best to make doubly sure that I'm not using any pressure at all. Those three things made a huge difference.

Thanks guys I think I need a little more experience before I continue with that three pass shave. On the good side if I can get it down I may be able to get away with every other day shaves, that would be sweet since the job requires a clean shave.

Good beard prep will really help as well. For me hot water wash and a hot towel really soften up the beard and make shaving a great experience. Different soaps/creams can also make a big difference, for me a tallow based soap works the best. Try a few different ones

I think I've got the angle down now. I can do a pass as fast as I used to with M3 now.