The Glade 4.0

My face is a series of 1 and a half inch slopes running their grain into each other at odd angles.

A good shave and I can go two days without showing much - something I can only do with my DE.

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"...but there exists also in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to attempt to lower the powerful to their own level and reduces men to prefer equality in slavery to inequality with freedom." - De Tocqueville

I use a blowtorch.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

I did a full wet shave yesterday with some cheap Van Der Hagen "deluxe" soap from Walmart. As far as the soap goes, it's actually not bad at all considering that it's less than 2 bucks a puck. I was aiming for "baby but smooth", and I'd say the razor delivered. I didn't get razor burn, but I definitely felt, uh...exfoliated++. That's par for the course with any razor I've shaved that closely with, though. And also I'm a little out of practice with shaving that close.

I think with a little work on my technique, this could definitely deliver an extremely close shave without undue irritation. You definitely want to use absolutely no pressure with this razor, though. By reputation it has less bite than the open comb version, but it's still less forgiving than a DE. Even though it was intended to be used with the face of the head flush against the skin, the consensus seems to be that a better cutting angle is to tilt it away from your face slightly. Since you don't have the feeling of the razor head against your face to guide you, maintaining good control of the angle is more challenging.

I think I'd class this with the Merkur Slant -- not something I'd recommend for first-time safety razor users, but certainly worth trying as a veteran, especially if you want perfect your technique vis-a-vis light touch and blade angle.

Edit:

And definitely watch this guy's micromatic tips before starting.

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Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

Do you use aftershave?

And - and I'm completely serious here - would you take it to your nuts? Not do you, but would you?

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

Not always. But in this case, yes. I used Nomad, which admittedly burns like a mofo. I'm really not sure why, since it's alcohol-free.


If I had a little more practice with it, yeah. This razor is fairly similar to shaving with an adjustable DE set to wide open.

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Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

Okay, I just got an awesome shave with this thing (yes, at nearly 3PM). I really took my time this round, using as light of a touch as I could. The result is extremely smooth, even feeling against the grain, and this time virtually zero discomfort. Nomad didn't even burn going on.

The key to this razor is definitely maintaining an absolute whisper touch. I think it would pair extremely well with Feather blades. I haven't actually tried their blades before, but I think I'm going to order some up. A really sharp, delicate shave seems to be the way to go with my face.

Edit:
Nevermind that idea. Apparently the SE feather blades are spineless blades design for an "Autostrop" safety razor, whatever the heck that is. At least one person on B&B confirmed that they won't fit tightly in a Micromatic. So basically there are only two SE razor blade manufacturers of note: GEM and Personna, and they're both owned by the same company.

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Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

In the context of my previous question, that abbreviation you used has quite the set of implications.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

Cold water splash and a bit of lotion.


Never even considered it. I dunno, the ... nooks n crannies... seem like they could pose a problem.

Trying this safety razor thing for the first time. Any advice?

I know someone selling a barely used, sterilised, feather as d1 less than half price. Good starter or too fancy/lethal?

update: My dad just gave me his old 1969 Gilette twist to open adjustable. So. Bloody face tonight ;-p HAve some Merkur Super Platinum blades. urp.

In trepidation,

Matt

In light of how expensive that razor normally is, I'd say go for it. If it turns out you don't like it, flipping it to recoup your investment shouldn't be a problem.

Razor preferences are highly subjective, but FWIW, it seems like most people who have tried the AS D1 consider it to be among the best. The most common dissenting complaint is finding it too mild, so I wouldn't worry about it being too aggressive.

Personally, I don't consider "mild" to be a pejorative in the first place. All "mild" really means is that it might take more strokes to accomplish the same result as a more aggressive razor. You might think that getting a really close shave with a mild razor would thus take longer than doing so with an aggressive razor. Perhaps counter-intuitively, I've found that just the opposite is true for me. In order to maintain the same comfort level, I have to go much slower with an aggressive razor. I may make fewer strokes, but the total time commitment winds up being greater.

As far as advice goes:

• Run your hands in all different directions all over your face. Develop a really good feel for the direction of the grain and where it changes. It's a good idea to be familiar enough with your face that you can shave exclusively by feel. Shaving without a mirror (or with your eyes closed) is a good exercise.
• I haven't used them myself, but by reputation, Feather blades are really, really sharp. This actually results in a more comfortable shave, but you might want to pick up a pack of blades by some more middle-of-the-road brand to use at first. I'm not familiar with what brands are available in the UK, but probably anything you find will be duller than a Feather.
• The key to get a really close, comfortable shave is gradual reduction. Commit yourself to making multiple passes with a feather touch. When you're doing it right, you'll always feel slightly unsure whether the razor is doing anything at all. It may seem tedious at first, but you'll get a lot faster with practice. You'll also figure out when and where you can afford to bend that rule by applying pressure, but that's a very face-specific thing.
• Remember that there are a lot of angles between "with the grain" and "against the grain". For most of my face, I can get by doing one stroke with the grain, one across the grain at 90o, and one against (180o). In some of the courser areas on my neck, I have to use more gradations or else it has a tendency to be uncomfortable and produce ingrown hairs. In those areas I might instead do as much as one with, one at 45o, one at 90o, one at 135o, and finally one against. That sounds like a lot, but in practice it only takes a few seconds.

_________________
Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

Rats. I might have missed my chance on the feather. Never mind. Do you think I can lather up using a bit of flannel? I have no brush where Im staying at the moment, but do have some shaving cream & my dads black beauty.

Black beauty...is that the 60s/70s-ish adjustable TTO Gillette? If so, that should be a good, solid razor. The head design is practically identical to the old Superspeeds; the main difference is just that it's adjustable. Again, it's highly subjective, but for what it's worth my red tip Superspeed has become my daily razor of choice.

Can't say I've ever tried lathering with flannel, but it suspect you could in a pinch. It's certainly worth a try. Brushes are handy instruments, but they're hardly essential. If you were so inclined, I'm sure you could build up a lather in a bowl with a wire whisk. I don't recommend applying it to your face with a whisk, though.

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Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

and then I could shave with SANDPAPER ! yeah
! All mcguyver like!

Can I borrow your vintage razor to shave my legs/ Thanks.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

Having your wife/girlfriend/whatever borrow your razor is actually not nearly as annoying when you use a traditional safety razor instead of disposables. You just have to strike a deal: he'll always leave the seat down if you'll always pop a fresh blade in the razor when you're done using it. Shaving your legs once probably puts about a week's worth of wear on the blade compared to face shaving.

Also, I'm just going to leave this here:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?&_nkw=lady+gillette&_sacat=0&_from=R40

It's basically just a blue tip SuperSpeed with a longer but lighter handle.

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Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

Amusingly enough... I missed this thread initially, but I would like to chime in; I got my first Safety Razor with the last thread on the last glade incarnation. I got my second shortly after from a Kingman Az Antique Shop.

My first was a Merkur "classic 1904"

The Antique one IO picked up was a Gilette Superspeed (Mine is not the one linked)

And since my ex worked at Walgreens... they had a bunch of the DE blades marked for clearance @ $0.50 a pack, so I grabbed their last 10 packs of blades.

I use the stupid brush and mug from the Van Der Hagen Set.

And I love the C.O Bigelow/Proraso Shave Cream.

For post shave I use the Alcohol free Nivea Sensitive Skin Balm. Pre Shave I use Johnson and Johnson Baby Gel with Lavendar. I also make sure I have styptic alum pens available (for the oopsies), I keep a piece of Cork with all of my shaving supplies too. I use this when I am changing blades to make sure that there are no burs or barbs on the edge of the blades.

This is the second best shave I have ever had. Only bested by the straight razor shave I get from my barber. The DE Safety razors are the only thing I can use that does not result in a horrible razor burn. It is nice to enjoy shaving again.

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Darksiege
Traveller, Calé, Whisperer
Lead me not into temptation; for I know a shortcut

I have a brush set but honestly don't ever bother. I don't notice any difference in the end result and it's not really enjoyable to run a razor blade over your face, regardless of how you prepped.

I love this stuff: Jack Black Beard Lube & Hand Healer (post-shave).

I already told you I use a blowtorch.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

DE couldn't find his blowtorch this morning.

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Holy shitsnacks!

^ I giggled

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Still a beard guy. Do not shave at all.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones