Had a (obvious) discovery today....

[tom475]

When I started wet shaving, I bought a "starter kit" from AoS. It had the basics and after reading many reviews I figured it was a decent place to start. I currently use DE for budget reasons but I want to move onto SR soon. The past several months have been good with AoS.

As I have read many posts on this forum, I got confirmation of what I had suspected: that there are many other brands to use and I need to try others to find what really works for me. Because of a tight budget (two boys in scouts as an example) I have not been able to explore as much as I would like. It also does not help that there are no other stores here in the area (KC Metro) that I have discovered that sell quality shaving products; other than AoS stores.

I had started to notice that my AoS is a little thick as I tried to whip up a lather. Learning comes in small steps with me. I tried different "methods" with no real luck. And I started to think that this was just the way AoS is.

For Christmas my wife bought me a bowl of ToBS, it was on my "wish list" with an online vendor. I have been using it for the past couple of weeks and discovered that it has a much more "aerated" lather. More air and water and "less" cream but still a very nice lubrication. Again more confirmation that different products act differently.

Today I was in a hurry and I grabbed my AoS, it was closer. I put my normal dollop into my bowl. The light bulb finally went off above my head. I used a bit more water as I whipped up my later. Suddenly I thought I was looking at my ToBS. It was "light" and "airy". It still worked like AoS but I am finally able to do a better comparison between the two. I suspect that ToBS will become my regular and AoS my backup, at least until I can discover my next product.

Thanks for letting me ramble on.

[Siguy]

for budget reasons

What this phrase means?(imagine a heavy heathen cyrillic tounge)

All kidding aside, the are so many aspects to the sport of Straight Shaving. I believe there are new and fresh discoveries to be had throughout the entire journey.

Glad you're enjoying it.

Oh, btw, about the TOBS. It has been my experience with the soap that it can get pretty thick, creamy and provide a nice cuush for the bush. Of course, add enough water to any soap and, well, you've seen for yourself.

cheers

[criswilson10]

This sounds like someone on the cusp of a soap addiction disorder.

You can get samples of soaps from a lot of razor places (SRD, Maggards, etc.) that are cheap and good for about 10 shaves.

[10Pups]

Samples are a great way to go. I have a hard time with smell. I don't remember cedar from lavender until I smell it and some descriptions are beyond my sniffers imagination. Then of course you have the experiment with the whole mix in making lathers with the water you have etc.
Same with DE blades. Straights are a little more expensive to try a bunch of different ones so chose wisely there. Pick one that looks good and you can always buy and sell without going backwards to bad. Although I thought that in the beginning I have yet to sell many. So if you start thinking about renting out the kids or selling the lawn mower to buy a razor, you know you got RAD :<0)

[tom475]

My wife was laughing at the idea of yet another disorder for me

I am on the hunt for some sample packs. I will definately look at SRD and the other places too.

Thanks for reading/comments on me finally discovering the obvious. I have never been accused of quickness