Thread: Where will I find the most improvement???

Hello everyone. This is my first post and I appreciate all of your knowledge.

I am middle aged and have never shaved with a straight razor. How I got here is quite interesting. Back in November I decided to grow a moustache and goatee. I have been using a shaving cream my wife gets for me at the department store it is called Lab Series for Men (it does not lather up but stays in a cream state). I use a Fusion razor and a cheap boar bristle shaving brush. I get a decent shave here but as I plan to keep the facial hair for a while and I need a better way to trim around it and found the Merkur moustache trimmer. As I have read all of this I plan to upgrade my brush, and getting the Merkur, and may go farther. But I would like to know where I will find the most improvement. I have sensitive skin and my beard grows very fast. I suffer from 4 o'clock shadow. The only way I get a really smooth shave today is when I haven't shaved for about 3 days.

How much difference will I find with the high end brush over my Wal-Mart Brush.

If I go to a DE how much improvement will I get over my Fusion in closeness, comfort, etc. How much longer will it take to shave? How long will it take me to learn to use?

If I go all in and go for the Straight razor how much improvement will I get over my Fusion or a DE in closeness, comfort, etc. How much longer will it take to shave? How long will it take me to learn to use?

Can I trim around the facial hair with a straight razor?

I notice quite a few of you shave in the evening, with my rapid growth will I be able to achieve acceptable results shaving the night before?

As a side note, I know with Lynn's DVD I will be able to sharpen the razor as I have yet to find a tool I can't sharpen. So, sharpening a razor should be no problem.

THANKS for the comments!!!!

Originally Posted by HD FBOY

If I go to a DE how much improvement will I get over my Fusion in closeness, comfort, etc. How much longer will it take to shave? How long will it take me to learn to use?

If I go all in and go for the Straight razor how much improvement will I get over my Fusion or a DE in closeness, comfort, etc. How much longer will it take to shave? How long will it take me to learn to use?

Can I trim around the facial hair with a straight razor?

I notice quite a few of you shave in the evening, with my rapid growth will I be able to achieve acceptable results shaving the night before?

I'm still fairly new at this but I've been through the Fusion->DE->Straight fairly recently so I can at least tell you how it worked for me. When I worked in a place that cared about being clean-shaven I actually had to shave at 5a and again at 12p when I used my electric so I can understand the fast growth.

I get a (for me) much better shave with the DE and the learning curve was only about a week worth of shaving to get it down. The initial tradeoff is that it's easier to cause nicks with a DE until you get the angles right and ease up off the pressure but I never got much razor burn which made the overall shave much nicer. Once I got used to the DE and the nicks went away I swore I'd never go back....

A good DE shave only takes me about 10 minutes longer (if I take a shower first) than when I shaved with the Fusion mainly because I never did any beard prep with the Fusion and used canned "shaving cream". Face felt a looked a lot better and the shadow doesn't creep back in until late-night, shave is a lot closer with one with-the-grain pass and one against-the-grain pass.

Then a friend told me about getting a straight razor shave from a barber and the curse began. It takes a little longer with stropping but there's something about a straight razor shave that has kept me from using the DE at all since I started. One big thing is that, even though it takes more time in general, I don't have to spend time banging the Fusion against the sink to unclog it. There are a couple of places that I still haven't gotten as smooth as the DE but generally I can get the easier areas even smoother than I could with a DE.

I've taken off a full beard twice now with no real change from just a regular shave. With nothing to get clogged it goes a lot smoother. Also for trimming the straight gives nice perfect lines with very little effort , I've had moustache/goatee/beard at times since I started with a straight and it's a lot nicer to keep up. It does take a bit of effort to determine the best way to trim it sometimes but the end result has always been very good for me. If I don't take a shower it takes about 30 minutes for a shave. If I take a shower, and I'm in a rush, I can get an acceptable job in 10-15 minutes which really isn't that much longer than it took my with the Fusion.

Hope that helps some. This is a great site with a lot of helpful people and great information so if do decide to go straight you've got a ton of resources, vendors and experts to draw from. I've been shaving with a straight for about 2 months now (and a member of this site for about the same) and can't imagine going back.

Ant

Well I will be trying the DE. I just picked up a Gillette Fat Boy on E-Bay for $31 including shipping. Any suggestions on blades??? Are there any differences in blades.

Yes, their is a difference in blades, I started shaving with a DE approx four months ago. I started using a SR about two months after that, while the shave was good, I don't use that razor anymore. When I was using it the only blades I used were Persona. The blade is as sharper than a SR, but it gives a good shave, and they were easy to get, at a local Sallies Beauty supply near by, The only thing is, they actually ran out often, but the razor made the transition to a SR, in my opinion easer.

I never had a cheaper brush than a Best Badger, but I still notice quite a difference between it and my Super Silver Tip.

I can't speak about DEs either, but a properly used straight (that's honing and stopping included) will provide a very smooth, close comfortable finish, almost certainly unlike anything you've experienced so far. As far as how long the shave takes, a half hour or more to start out, but as your skill progresses you can cut that down within a year or so you should be under a half hour. As for how long it takes to learn, not long really. the learning curve is quite sharp and within a few weeks you should be doing well. Of course there's always room for improvement.

A straight razor is likely the best shaving object for accurate trimming.

You should do fine with a nightly shave. I typically find my shaves last about two days.

Be prepared for a bit of a challenge sharpening the straight. It's a whole new kind of keen, but previous experience should serve you well.

X

The first couple of weeks will be a little tedious but you should start seeing great shaves with a straight razor within a month's time ---acceptable shaves maybe after 2 weeks.
I think with a straight razor you will get the best shaves of your life without the irritation and razor burn (eventually) and your face will never feel and look better. I usually keep a mustache and goatee and find the straight to be great for keeping it tight and right.
You will find that after a couple of weeks the whole shaving routine can be whittled down to about 3O minutes. For me the prep and clean up take a little longer than the shave itself.
As far as brushes are concerned, I have a burma boars hair and don't see the need to upgrade right now. Don't know why I would need much more --but I'm in the minority here.
My beard grows fast but with a WTG,XTG,ATG shave, I can surely shave the night before and be O.K. for next day. Good Luck,

Justin

As far as trimming goatees goes, I've had one for about 10 years and have shaved around and inside it with disposables (like the M3) and straights. I can say with no hesitation that the straight razor is by far the best way to go compared to the disposables. This is particularly true for fiddly bits - I can just use the tip or heal of the straight, whereas it was always problematic getting into these with the (fixed width) disposables (to the point where I gave up and just let the top lip and chin area grow out).

Never used a DE (not even sure I know what one is), so can't tell you whether they'd work or not - but if it's a fixed-width blade it's probably (depending on your beard shape) going to be a bit tricky.

James.

Originally Posted by jaegerhund

As far as brushes are concerned, I have a burma boars hair and don't see the need to upgrade right now. Don't know why I would need much more --but I'm in the minority here.

You are not alone. While I do have and enjoy using a badger brush, I use and enjoy my boar bristle brush more. I like the stiffer feel of the boar bristles.

Originally Posted by Scrapyard Ape

You are not alone. While I do have and enjoy using a badger brush, I use and enjoy my boar bristle brush more. I like the stiffer feel of the boar bristles.

It's kind of one of those "I don't know what I'm missing things" for me. I might like a badger brush more but I've never used one . I think some people say a boars hair might even be better suited for soap (vs cream) but I don't know --I just don't have any issues using a boars hair right now. But it's good to see others like them as well and I don't really mind the simple look of the burma -- if it works it works.

Justin

Thanks for all the great comments. Once I get my double edge in I will report. Based on the comments here I might just stay with my Burma brush from Wal-Mart. Thanks for the help, will begin looking for a SR now.