First DE shave: Schick Krona

Quick update: Persona Red is my new blade choice, for sure. Even my rushed, hung-over shaves are irritation-free and the razors Unky was kind enough to give me make shaving a dream.
:thumbup:
 
I went to order some IP Reds from West Coast Shaving and they were out of stock:(

The nice thing about the Slim is that you can take it from so mild it barely cuts to insanely aggressive just by twisting that adjuster. I am glad you are enjoying the razors, I don't think I have even touched the Tech in over a year before sending it to you and the Slim had been sitting on the shelf for a good 6 month without use. I started using open comb razors almost exclusively and when I need a break from them I use my Red Tip or Canadian Rocket
 
I started with feathers and used them exclusively for my first 6 months. I've since switched to Astra Supers (green), and I love them. They are a lot cheaper and plenty good.

That said, if you are starting wet shaving, I have to differ with Unk on this one. I am 100% against blade sampler packs. If you are a new wet shaver and you are having irritation or any other problem, how do you know the problem is the blade? How do you know it isn't your technique or something else? I suggest picking one quality blade (all the suggestions here are good, including the feather... which some people say you shouldn't start with, but I started with them) and stick with it for at least a month, ideally longer. Once you have your technique down, then you can branch out and see what products you prefer. I only advise against Merkur blades. They seem to be universally canned on the wet shaving forums, and they are very expensive, to boot.
 
Your objections to blade samplers is unfounded, its not like you get one or two blades of each type, you get a package of each type of blade in the sampler, 5-10 blades of each. Even with a 5 blade pack is almost enough for a months shaving with one blade type. the benefit of the sampler is that it is much cheaper and easier to get a bunch of different manufactures blades.

Magnaminous_G said:
I started with feathers and used them exclusively for my first 6 months. I've since switched to Astra Supers (green), and I love them. They are a lot cheaper and plenty good.

That said, if you are starting wet shaving, I have to differ with Unk on this one. I am 100% against blade sampler packs. If you are a new wet shaver and you are having irritation or any other problem, how do you know the problem is the blade? How do you know it isn't your technique or something else? I suggest picking one quality blade (all the suggestions here are good, including the feather... which some people say you shouldn't start with, but I started with them) and stick with it for at least a month, ideally longer. Once you have your technique down, then you can branch out and see what products you prefer. I only advise against Merkur blades. They seem to be universally canned on the wet shaving forums, and they are very expensive, to boot.
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Unky, I'm 100% in agreement with you and think the blade sampler as you describe it is a good idea if you are telling people to wait a month between switching to a new razor. My only concern is that I think the new guys here are thinking that a "sampler pack" of blades means trying out a new blade every day (or worse, trying a new blade every time they have a shaving problem). If they do that, they are going to be chasing the dragon, thinking the problem is just the "wrong" blade/razor/brush/cream/soap/bowl or whatever.

Sure, if they want to buy a bunch of different products up front to save money, why not? But if they are buying a bunch of different products with the goal of trying a zillion different combinations of blade/razor/brush/cream/soap/bowl within their first month, trying to get the perfect shave when the real problem is basic technique (beard prep, building lather, shaving), then of course I have to disagree with that. You know as well as I do that that is probably the #1 mistake that new wet shavers make. Plus it creates a new AD in addition to knives. :D
 
There is absolutely no way I would have put up with the irritation I was experiencing for a whole month without trying a different blade. While swapping blades every day to try and 'chase the dragon' wouldn't be as productive as correcting poor technique, it wouldn't hurt to see if a blade change helps. I can't think of a reason why someone would take Unky's advice on trying different blades to alleviate an issue but ignore the basic advice given to beginners all the time: Start with good equipment and get your technique down.
 
Blais said:
There is absolutely no way I would have put up with the irritation I was experiencing for a whole month without trying a different blade. While swapping blades every day to try and 'chase the dragon' wouldn't be as productive as correcting poor technique, it wouldn't hurt to see if a blade change helps.
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In your case, it looks like you guessed correctly and fixed the problem with a different blade. That's great. I'm curious as to how you knew the problem was the blade if you had only been wet shaving for a month. I'm also curious as to what the first blade was that was so terrible, and what the new blade was. Also, what was the problem with the first blade? Was it pulling? Was it too sharp?


Blais said:
I can't think of a reason why someone would take Unky's advice on trying different blades to alleviate an issue but ignore the basic advice given to beginners all the time: Start with good equipment and get your technique down.
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I can think of plenty of reasons, principally two: 1) impatience, and 2) frustration. New wet shavers hear stories about how good wet-shaving is: about how they will get an irritation-free, baby's backside smooth shave every time. So, excitedly, they go out and get their first set of equipment and try their first shave... and hack their face up to a bloody mess because they didn't prep their beard correctly, built a crappy lather, and used too much pressure at the wrong angle while shaving. Instead of going back and reading the tutorials and watching the videos and starting afresh with patience and concentration on technique, they instead try a new soap or a new blade or a new brush or a new razor or a new beard-prep product, etc., hoping that will fix the problem. It happens all the time. There aren't many examples on BF, but if you read the dedicated Wet Shaving forums, you will see that. In response, experienced wet shavers are always having to inform new members that they need to focus on technique and stop chasing the dragon and blaming the blade/razor/brush/cream/soap/bowl or whatever.
 
Magnaminous_G said:
In your case, it looks like you guessed correctly and fixed the problem with a different blade. That's great. I'm curious as to how you knew the problem was the blade if you had only been wet shaving for a month. I'm also curious as to what the first blade was that was so terrible, and what the new blade was. Also, what was the problem with the first blade? Was it pulling? Was it too sharp?
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I didn't know the blade was the problem. If you actually went back and read the thread instead of wandering in for an argument, you'd have a better idea of how I ended up solving my problem.
I don't mean this to sound rude or anything but your argumentative and arrogant tone isn't convincing me that you're someone I should be taking advice from.
 
When I returned to DE shaving after decades in the cartridge indoctrination zone, my technique wasn't at all good. Pressing too hard due to being used to light flimsy razors, however, that very soon corrects itself and for obvious reasons!. I re-learned fast. Nevertheless, I experienced great differences between blades some good, some worthless some outstanding. Hardly surprising as our beards are individual and will respond to different blades differently, no technique skills will alter that. Some toothpastes suit my teeth, others cause problems and it's not technique there either. Likewise soaps/creams some work well for me but badly for other people, it's not my lathering skills (clearly that can play a role if you are inattentive or pushed for time) but my skin. Many people rave about the Turkish soap Akro, certainly whips up effective lather but leaves me with spots and I can't stand the WC cleaner smell!

Sampler packs, blades or small soap/cream samples are a good idea and encourage people to enjoy DE shaving.

Regards, Will
 
willgoy said:
When I returned to DE shaving after decades in the cartridge indoctrination zone, my technique wasn't at all good. Pressing too hard due to being used to light flimsy razors, however, that very soon corrects itself and for obvious reasons!. I re-learned fast. Nevertheless, I experienced great differences between blades some good, some worthless some outstanding. Hardly surprising as our beards are individual and will respond to different blades differently, no technique skills will alter that. Some toothpastes suit my teeth, others cause problems and it's not technique there either. Likewise soaps/creams some work well for me but badly for other people, it's not my lathering skills (clearly that can play a role if you are inattentive or pushed for time) but my skin. Many people rave about the Turkish soap Akro, certainly whips up effective lather but leaves me with spots and I can't stand the WC cleaner smell!

Sampler packs, blades or small soap/cream samples are a good idea and encourage people to enjoy DE shaving.

Regards, Will
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Thanks Will, well said.
:thumbup:
 
unky_gumbi said:
I don't know much about the Parker line, but I don't think they are bad razors, I just wouldn't buy a new razor on Ebay. If you want new check out West Coast Shaving if you want inexpensive look to the vintage razors. I still wouldn't buy as quickly from Ebay because the prices can be inflated if you don't know what you are looking for, same thing goes with antique mall. There are still good deals to be found on both, but for me the best place to find inexpensive vintage razors are at flea markets and the occasional yard sale. Just don't expect to find perfectly clean razors at either, they will be covered in soap scum:barf: but it cleans off easy enough. The older razors are usually nickle plated brass, much more durable than new razors, but if it has a lot of green corrosion on it, badly bent teeth or missing on open comb or a safety bar the is bent walk away its not worth it unless it is free.

A really good starter vintage DE is the Gillette Tech, there are lots of them out there, they are cheap, and very mild. West coast Shaving will cover you for your blade, soap and brush needs. Canned goo just wont give you the same results as a good shaving soap and brush will. Budget in the $100 range for start up cost, you can do it for a lot less, but in that $100 range you get things that will last most of your lifetime even if you are a teen just starting to shave:p
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Thanks for the link and the great info Unky!:thumbup:
 
i too took up wet shaving with a de about 4 months ago. i use a 3-4 pass method with a merkur 20c and have had good results. i have found that blades like derby work well with a 3-4 day growth but not so well with every day shaving while others like blanzos (i think is their name) work well with daily shaving but not with a weekends worth of stubble. i have th same limitations as the op as far as whats available locally but have been able to find wilkinsons. they are ok but i plan on trying feathers and a few others before choosing a primary.
 
unky_gumbi said:
A really good starter vintage DE is the Gillette Tech, there are lots of them out there, they are cheap, and very mild. West coast Shaving will cover you for your blade, soap and brush needs.
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Thank you for that. As a Mach 3 Turbo guy who wants to get into DE and doesn't know my bleep from a hole in the ground, this is most helpful. :thumbup:
 
You got a great razor in that Gillette ajustable "Slim. A slim was my daily use razor for over 3 years. I dropped it and the door fell off I miss that thing. I'm hoping to find a 1966 #2 some day. Personally I couldn't say if a sample pack is a good idea or not I've never gotten one. I used locally availible, Personas I believe they were for at least 6 months or so when I first started DE shaving. Then I took a leep of faith and bought 200 Derbies over the net mainly for the cost savings. Well I used those for a few years and they worked great. You really do learn how to use a blade if you keep at it. This year I've tried Astra, another leep of faith 100 pack, Feathers a ten pack as a ad on to another idem, and Wilkinsons from Walmart. I've found a small difference between them all but I can get a good shave from them all. So for me the blade doesn't make as much difference as you'd think it does from reading about blades on the net. I'd suggest trying that first brand of blade you used again in the Slim I bet it just may work a little better. Maybe not as good as the reds you have now but probably better than your first try with them.
 
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