Tried the D/E for months and still get a better shave with mach3

ChrisJS1

ChrisJS1

Joined
Feb 23, 2012
Messages
132
As far as I'm concerned I have tried everything I can to improve my D/E shave. I have used different soaps, blades and I have watched many vids. The other day I decided to bust out the mach3 and using the wet shaving method and 2pass technique, I got a very superb shave with a mach 3. The goop is gone forever, but I think I'm going back to the mach 3.
 
You will get a closer shave with a Mach3. The question is whether of not you consider closer the only factor that determines your concept of better. I get a much more comfortable shave from a DE and can get similar results to a Mach3 if I do a triple pass. I usually just do a single pass and call it good there, as it gets more than close enough for the day.
 
I get a closer shave from DE. But, shaving is as unique as your face. Fino out what works for you.
 
Yeah I should've been more clear. The shave is closer and less irritating with the mach 3. Guess I'll post an ad for my merkur 38c and remaining blades.
 
I do not know anyone who can't get a better shave (closer, less irritating, and cleaner) with a DE. You have not tried everything, I guarantee. "I have used different soaps, blades and I have watched many vids." Some of us strongly discourage so-called "sampler packs." They give new wet shavers the false impression that the problem with their first wet shaves is using the "wrong" blade or other product. Everyone's face is certainly different and everyone has their favorite blade/razor/brush/soap/etc. But for the new wet-shaver, there is nothing more essential (not even the "perfect" blade) than perfecting technique. There are three areas of skills that *will* require time and practice to get the muscle-memory and technique down: beard prep, lathering, and shaving.


Beard prep

Beard prep is about getting the skin and whiskers in the ideal state for shaving: skin supple and whiskers soft. Lots of hydration and some heat (without overdoing it and making the skin red and raw) are the keys. Either after a good, hot shower and soap wash or--if not showering--after lots of splashing with good, hot water and maybe even holding a hot (not scalding), wet towel against the beard for a few minutes.


Lathering

Lathering is about getting a good lather that is slick and cushioning. It should not be so thick that it clogs the blade, and it should not be so thin and bubbly/airy that it dries into dust on the skin during the shave. It should be nice and slick on the face and on the brush for 4 good passes and should rinse cleanly and easily from the razor under a stream of water. The key is usually using more product (more than you think you need, that is) and whipping longer, and only adding water judiciously.


Shaving

Shaving is about *not* using a Mach 3. Your muscle-memory for using a Mach 3 needs to be unlearned. Your wrist and hand and face need to be untrained and then retrained. The way you hold a DE razor, the way you work the angles, and the pressure you use against the face is completely different. A light touch, a guided angle, and lots of patience for a month or longer will get you there. The key is to start with *one* WTG pass. Then try adding an XTG pass after a week or more. Then add an ATG pass, concentrating on short, ultra-feather-light strokes after a few weeks of that.


Why new wet shavers quit

The main problem that causes new wet shavers to quit early (and I suspect this is what happened in your case, even though you mention months... hopefully not months of the same mistakes, which will be *very* difficult to unlearn/retrain if you ever decide to try wet shaving again) is that they didn't get the three skills down first, were impatient and went straight for the BBS ultra-close 3-pass shave (leading to discouraging and frustrating irritation and bleeding), and/or fell for the "sampler" mentality that says your bad shave was caused by a product that needs to be switched out, leading to a constantly changing lineup of soaps/creams/blades/razors/etc. (when actually, it was probably one, two, or all three of the three skills that was lacking and not really the product, unless it was a cheap or non-recommended product).

- Mag
 
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I use a straight razor, have for a year now. Took me about three months before I got it down right. I shave after showering, making sure beard has been subjected to hot water for at least 5 minutes. Three passes, stropping the razor before and in between passes. Wtg, Atg, then wtg again. It takes about 15 minutes before I finish, but the shave is closer, face is smoother than with my old Mach 3. I've saved quite a bit of money on replacement blades and I enjoy using the razor more. I don't have to shave every day, maybe every other day so it doesn't eat up too much time. If you don't like it, try to refine your technique. I find that I pay more attention to my face now, after using a straight razor. It's not for everyone though, but whatever you do don't go electric! I still have my Mach three for traveling, but won't use it at home.
 
I'm sorry to hear you've had disappointing results. One thing though, that Mach 3 habit is going to be vastly more expensive than DE shaving.....

Naturally, our faces are all different etc but the shave I get with a Feather is simply leagues ahead of ANY cartridge razor. My beard is mixed and tough, 2-3 days stubble is substantial. A DE shave can make it so smooth that it doesn't even feel like I have any beard for some hours. The cartridge razors were fast but they just could not get this close, leaving the face with plenty of patchy shadow. I also used to get lots of ingrowing bristles with cartridge shave, not any more. in fact my skin looks a lot healthier-the effects of closer shave (I used brush&soaps with Mach 3 so it's not just the canned crap either)

The extra weight of a DE razor is key, this means angle of shave when using on is very significant-not so much this "no pressure" mantra you can hear.
 
ChrisJS1 said:
Guess I'll post an ad for my merkur 38c and remaining blades.
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Try doing that with a used Mach III handle and an open pack of blades and see how many offers you get.

One of the minor advantages of DE is that the stuff retains it value. Why? Because it is well-made, not just a throw-away piece of plastic.

Anyway, if Mach III works for you, that's great... just pray to God that Gillette never changes it or discontinues it. One of the other minor advantages of DE is that it's multi-sourcable.
 
I think people forget that almost all of the techniques used with a DE can be applied to a Mach3. Do that and I think you'll be surprised--there's very little likelihood that you'll get poor results. I firmly believe that a Mach3 will give a closer shave than a DE due to its little finned rubber gripping strip that lifts the hairs above their usual level. However, I find a DE less expensive by far, more enjoyable to use, gives less irritation, and still gives a very close shave indeed. You can still get a BBS shave out of them with a little extra effort, and the overall quality of that shave will be higher.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
You will get a closer shave with a Mach3. The question is whether of not you consider closer the only factor that determines your concept of better. I get a much more comfortable shave from a DE and can get similar results to a Mach3 if I do a triple pass. I usually just do a single pass and call it good there, as it gets more than close enough for the day.
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FortyTwoBlades said:
I think people forget that almost all of the techniques used with a DE can be applied to a Mach3. Do that and I think you'll be surprised--there's very little likelihood that you'll get poor results. I firmly believe that a Mach3 will give a closer shave than a DE due to its little finned rubber gripping strip that lifts the hairs above their usual level. However, I find a DE less expensive by far, more enjoyable to use, gives less irritation, and still gives a very close shave indeed. You can still get a BBS shave out of them with a little extra effort, and the overall quality of that shave will be higher.
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That's not been my experience.

I've kept my remaining Mach3 Turbo blades and will use them if I'm running behind. It only saves me about 5 minutes, but sometimes...

I find the closeness of shave with a Mach3 to be similar to a DE shave after my DE shave has had 8 hours or so to regrow. In other words, a Mach3 shave equals a 5 o'clock shadow DE shave.

I shave the same pattern with both.

To the OP: To each his own. Obviously, use what works best for you.
 
I sold my last Mach3 cartridge pack last November... more than a year ago. If I'm in a rush, I'll just do a quick, one-pass WTG shave with really crappy, slapped-together lather. I face-lather now, so that means rubbing the Speick quickly over the beard and using an overly-wet Duke 2 to whip up a pretty bad, thin lather. It's enough to get a decent one-pass shave in, though. Sadly, this happens more than I'd like...
 
The Mach3 is the very reason I went looking for something else, as it never did work as well as the TracII. With that in mind the DE is the best and closest shave I can get. The Bic Metel is the only other razor that = a DE for me. But the DE didn't work right away. I did have to learn it. I almost quit and went back to a cart. I started thinking maybe it is the razor, maybe the blades, maybe my lather. I was tempted to get a bunch of different stuff and get these super great shaves I was reading about on the net. Well my cheapness got the better of me and I ordered 200 Derbies and said that was all I was going to get and use them up. so for 3 years VDH soap, Derby blades, and a Slim was the only thing I shaved with. And wouldn't you know my shaves got better and better. Now I can find what blades work best and how they and different Razors preform. But you know what? I can use just about anything and get a good shave. Now I look for what gives me the cheapest shave for what I like. And sometimes I just try something new for the heck of it. Don't blame the equipment or your beard. You can get a great shave if you just keep at it.
 
db said:
The Mach3 is the very reason I went looking for something else, as it never did work as well as the TracII. With that in mind the DE is the best and closest shave I can get. The Bic Metel is the only other razor that = a DE for me. But the DE didn't work right away. I did have to learn it. I almost quit and went back to a cart. I started thinking maybe it is the razor, maybe the blades, maybe my lather. I was tempted to get a bunch of different stuff and get these super great shaves I was reading about on the net. Well my cheapness got the better of me and I ordered 200 Derbies and said that was all I was going to get and use them up. so for 3 years VDH soap, Derby blades, and a Slim was the only thing I shaved with. And wouldn't you know my shaves got better and better. Now I can find what blades work best and how they and different Razors preform. But you know what? I can use just about anything and get a good shave. Now I look for what gives me the cheapest shave for what I like. And sometimes I just try something new for the heck of it. Don't blame the equipment or your beard. You can get a great shave if you just keep at it.
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+1,000,000,000
 
Rick in KY said:
That's not been my experience.

I've kept my remaining Mach3 Turbo blades and will use them if I'm running behind. It only saves me about 5 minutes, but sometimes...

I find the closeness of shave with a Mach3 to be similar to a DE shave after my DE shave has had 8 hours or so to regrow. In other words, a Mach3 shave equals a 5 o'clock shadow DE shave.

I shave the same pattern with both.

To the OP: To each his own. Obviously, use what works best for you.
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I totally agree with you Rick.

Merry Christmas to all wet-shavers.

Will
 
willgoy said:
Merry Christmas to all wet-shavers.

Will
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Thanks Will :) I'm looking forward to my Christmas Day shave (and those before then), wheras I always looked on shaving previously as a chore :thumbup:

Merry Christmas everyone and happy shaving.

Jack
 
Thanks Jack. I know what you mean, I shave every two or perhaps three days and tend to look rough, but on Christmas Day it has to be a shave day whatever. And, a nice brush and some decent lather feels really good!
 
Chris,
just like you, I recently turned to DE shaving to give it a try. I was convinced that I could get a better shave (compared to cartridges (sidenote: I've used soap and brush for the last ten years or so), and irritate my skin less. Multibladed cartridges, while faster somehow, left my skin irritated, I had more ingrown hair, and I felt I should try something else. I shave every 2/3 (sometimes 4) days, and cartridges on longer hair are nasty.
It did took some time, but I know I won't walk that road back. Also, saving money is never a bad thing.
We're not all the same, and (as for anything) what works for you is what you should stick to, be it cartridges, DE, straight razor, beard growing, or napalm :D but there's one thing I'm convinced of: no matter what beard and skin you have, no good cartridge shave can beat a good DE shave. I still can't get a good DE shave all over my face, but in those areas where I'm able to do it, it feels just like it should feel (and how cartridges never made my skin feel that way).
Yet, techniques are different, and you might just happen to be a great cartridge shaver and (so far) a relatively poor DE shaver. As a recent convert, it's just bad to hear your experience was different from mine.
Merry Christmas to all the DE and straight razor shavers :)

:cool:
 
DE's 100% of the time for me, I keep a can of barbasol for when I need a quick shave. I can honestly say I will never use a cartridge again unless forced to.
 
ChrisJS1 said:
As far as I'm concerned I have tried everything I can to improve my D/E shave. I have used different soaps, blades and I have watched many vids. The other day I decided to bust out the mach3 and using the wet shaving method and 2pass technique, I got a very superb shave with a mach 3. The goop is gone forever, but I think I'm going back to the mach 3.
Click to expand...

Could be that you have to try a different razor as a more or less aggressive razor, fixed or adjustable, or one with an open vs closed comb is part of the equation. Straights give you total control of all factors, DEs most, and the Mach 3 really none. I look at the catridge razors as a quick fix when time simply does not allow the use of a straight or DE. Part of the challenge and much of the reward is in continuing the pursuit and gainning more knowledge as to what works for you. Good luck, hope you keep at it and find your right answer.
 
I have been using a DE for about 2 years and have found older razors that are less aggressive (using a '61 gillette now instead of merkur long handle classic) with a feather blade have been the best combo for me. I played around like you did as well and it just took a bit to find the best cream/brush/razor combo...the best help though was me learning the skill of using the DE. Give it a good go and hone the skill as every tool is only as good as we can use it.
 
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