Any dedicated wet shavers here?

il dottore wrote:
Paleocon wrote:
il dottore wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

The razor I use most often is the 1940's era Super Speed, but I occasionally use a Slim or Fat Boy.

I keep reading about these vintage Gillette, what's the deal about them other than historical interest?

TTO is so much easier and safer than three piece razors like your Merkur or EJ. That and the older Gillettes were made during a time where folks actually cared about manufacturing tolerances and the quality of an older Super Speed is head and shoulders above similar TTO razors you see currently coming out of India.

The balance is right, the angle is perfect, and the razor is built to last.

B-but I just bought my Mühle! It's three piece and new! Manufactured in Germany (I think)!
Why do you have to tempt me?! Are the Gillettes hard to come by? How expensive?

There were literally millions of them made. Some of them won't win any beauty contests nowadays, but they are perfectly functional. And since they were built to last, there are literally millions of them around.

Here is one in pretty good shape for $27 and free shipping.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gillette-40s...

avggeek wrote:
AnimeJ wrote:

While you can travel with a handle sans blades, and can usually find blades in most drug stores or wal-marts, they're stupidly expensive and unless you like Wilkinson Swords, won't be your preferred blade either.

I'm actually trying out a pack of Wilkinson Swords right now and am actually finding them relatively decent - does that make me a DE razor plebeian? :O

Nah, if it works, it works.

KingGorilla wrote:
AnimeJ wrote:
KingGorilla wrote:

I have been curious about traveling now that razors are the supreme threat to American freedom. Also, any toiletry item is considered a plastic explosive. And with the cost of checking bags, I am more and more carry on only. I have been debating getting an electric for when I travel figuring that finding decent DE blades might be hassle.

If you're totally against checking luggage, you might want to buy some cheap disposable cartridge razors to fly with. While you can travel with a handle sans blades, and can usually find blades in most drug stores or wal-marts, they're stupidly expensive and unless you like Wilkinson Swords, won't be your preferred blade either.

Some of it is the money. Now every airline is weighing bags like you are off to Hong Kong. It is also the convenience of just rolling off the plane and straight to a cab. My wife and I have it down to a science where we can pack for a week with carry on only. But it seems I will stick with disposables and hotel barbasol for now. When I went on my loathsome trip to Florida I shaved before I left on Friday at home and was still business smooth for the morning meetings. So I did not even carry on one of my travel disposables. But even those can be worrisome because TSA agents tend to not be the most informed on their own regulations, and arguing what is allowed and what is not will likely get you booted these days. So in short, this is why I prefer trains.

Something funny. We were watching Skyfall, and while 007 is in Beijing, he is shaving with a straight razor. And all I could think is that there is no way in hell he got on a plane with that.

Yea, I forget all too often that most people get charged for check luggage; whenever I've had to fly for work it's been free, since I was on active duty and could just wave the magic ID card to get free checked baggage. I agree on the whole security agent nonsense too(I say security vice TSA, because overseas you run into just as much bullsh*t), having lost $20 worth of cartridges flying out of Doha two years ago to a dumbass Qatari security guy.

Oh, Bond and his straight: he gets a pass on that the same way he'd get a pass on his sidearm. Just tuck it in a pocket and bypass the metal detector.

Aaargh Paleocon!!! Why did you do this to meee?!

il dottore wrote:

Aaargh Paleocon!!! Why did you do this to meee?!

Because he cares about your safety. I can confirm that TTO are much safer. The 3 piece set-ups make changing a blade much riskier.

I started watching GOT this week and noticed a wet-shaving scene. I was delighted, although the context was a little surprising.

Spoiler:

It was the scene with Renly and Loras that I don't recall being in the books.

S0LIDARITY wrote:
il dottore wrote:

Aaargh Paleocon!!! Why did you do this to meee?!

Because he cares about your safety. I can confirm that TTO are much safer. The 3 piece set-ups make changing a blade much riskier.

I started watching GOT this week and noticed a wet-shaving scene. I was delighted, although the context was a little surprising.

Spoiler:

It was the scene with Renly and Loras that I don't recall being in the books.

I think I might actually have a Fat Boy left for a deserving candidate for Paleominiondom. As Solidarity knows, the prerequisites are steep, but the responsibilities are pretty trivial.

Paleocon wrote:
S0LIDARITY wrote:
il dottore wrote:

Aaargh Paleocon!!! Why did you do this to meee?!

Because he cares about your safety. I can confirm that TTO are much safer. The 3 piece set-ups make changing a blade much riskier.

I started watching GOT this week and noticed a wet-shaving scene. I was delighted, although the context was a little surprising.

Spoiler:

It was the scene with Renly and Loras that I don't recall being in the books.

I think I might actually have a Fat Boy left for a deserving candidate for Paleominiondom. As Solidarity knows, the prerequisites are steep, but the responsibilities are pretty trivial.

Are they being Italian, member since more than 5 years and not owning an adjustable razor? In that case, I'm your man! Especially without responsibilities

Yeah a Gillette Butterfly is on my Chrissy Pressy list.

il dottore wrote:
Paleocon wrote:
S0LIDARITY wrote:
il dottore wrote:

Aaargh Paleocon!!! Why did you do this to meee?!

Because he cares about your safety. I can confirm that TTO are much safer. The 3 piece set-ups make changing a blade much riskier.

I started watching GOT this week and noticed a wet-shaving scene. I was delighted, although the context was a little surprising.

Spoiler:

It was the scene with Renly and Loras that I don't recall being in the books.

I think I might actually have a Fat Boy left for a deserving candidate for Paleominiondom. As Solidarity knows, the prerequisites are steep, but the responsibilities are pretty trivial.

Are they being Italian, member since more than 5 years and not owning an adjustable razor? In that case, I'm your man! Especially without responsibilities ;)

I never said "without" responsibilities.

The exact wording I gave to Solidarity and others was....

Some day, and that day may never come, I will ask of you a favor. That favor, you cannot refuse.

In that case I think I'll leave it to braver men

KingGorilla wrote:

Yeah a Gillette Butterfly is on my Chrissy Pressy list.

il dottore wrote:

In that case I think I'll leave it to braver men

KingGorilla wrote:

Yeah a Gillette Butterfly is on my Chrissy Pressy list.

Fair enough, but know that I am a merciful and benevolent don.

Paleocon wrote:
il dottore wrote:

In that case I think I'll leave it to braver men

KingGorilla wrote:

Yeah a Gillette Butterfly is on my Chrissy Pressy list.

Fair enough, but know that I am a merciful and benevolent don.

If I'm being serious for a moment: I'd like it very much (what's not to like? A vintage adjustable, it's exactly what I don't have!), but considering that I'm new to classic shaving I'm sure there are worthier recipients here. I probably don't even meet the very steep prerequisites!

il dottore wrote:
Paleocon wrote:
il dottore wrote:

In that case I think I'll leave it to braver men

KingGorilla wrote:

Yeah a Gillette Butterfly is on my Chrissy Pressy list.

Fair enough, but know that I am a merciful and benevolent don.

If I'm being serious for a moment: I'd like it very much (what's not to like? A vintage adjustable, it's exactly what I don't have!), but considering that I'm new to classic shaving I'm sure there are worthier recipients here. I probably don't even meet the very steep prerequisites!

Do you want to shave with one of the best DE's out there? Are you willing to owe Don Paleocon a favor?

I'm pretty sure you meet the prereq's.

Unless they are being Italian, member since more than 5 years and not owning an adjustable razor. In which case I might be your only candidate. I'm a very weak-willed (but loyal!) capo.

il dottore wrote:
Paleocon wrote:
il dottore wrote:

In that case I think I'll leave it to braver men

KingGorilla wrote:

Yeah a Gillette Butterfly is on my Chrissy Pressy list.

Fair enough, but know that I am a merciful and benevolent don.

If I'm being serious for a moment: I'd like it very much (what's not to like? A vintage adjustable, it's exactly what I don't have!), but considering that I'm new to classic shaving I'm sure there are worthier recipients here. I probably don't even meet the very steep prerequisites!

If you think you are ready for a true vintage, try the GEM Micromatic. It is like shaving with a sharpened snow shovel.

Pay no attention to me or my friend RICO, just taking notes and reading the news upside down.

How are safety razors on uneven skin? I have a mole on my face, and while my Gilette Mach3 glides over it with no trouble, I've held off on getting a safety razor because I'm worried it wouldn't be quite so forgiving. Perhaps I'll just pick one up and give it a try though.

complexmath wrote:

How are safety razors on uneven skin? I have a mole on my face, and while my Gilette Mach3 glides over it with no trouble, I've held off on getting a safety razor because I'm worried it wouldn't be quite so forgiving. Perhaps I'll just pick one up and give it a try though.

I have a mole on my neck which sticks out a millimeter or so, and I have to avoid it not to cut it. Had no such trouble with the Mach3 either.

il_dotore: Take the damn razor before you find a horse head with shivgee and kukri marks in your bed.

complexmath wrote:

How are safety razors on uneven skin? I have a mole on my face, and while my Gilette Mach3 glides over it with no trouble, I've held off on getting a safety razor because I'm worried it wouldn't be quite so forgiving. Perhaps I'll just pick one up and give it a try though.

I have no issues shaving with a mole on my cheek. If you are holding the DE razor at the correct angle and not using a crap ton of pressure it will glide right over. That said, if you ham fist it up, you will get cut. just like with any other razor.

boogle wrote:

il_dotore: Take the damn razor before you find a horse head with shivgee and kukri marks in your bed.

Yeah that "sharpened snow shovel" comment did sound a bit ominous...

complexmath wrote:

How are safety razors on uneven skin? I have a mole on my face, and while my Gilette Mach3 glides over it with no trouble, I've held off on getting a safety razor because I'm worried it wouldn't be quite so forgiving. Perhaps I'll just pick one up and give it a try though.

I too have a beefy cheek mole; I have less issues with my DE than I did with any of the cartridge systems.

Paleocon wrote:

If you think you are ready for a true vintage, try the GEM Micromatic. It is like shaving with a sharpened snow shovel.

Do you own one of those primitive artefacts? How extensive is your collection?

il dottore wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

If you think you are ready for a true vintage, try the GEM Micromatic. It is like shaving with a sharpened snow shovel.

Do you own one of those primitive artefacts? How extensive is your collection?

Yes.

Very.

Is it fit for public display? Would be cool to see some of the more antique/weird pieces.

In more general terms, are you guys up for some shaving set show & tell? Like a poor man's Badger & Blade

il dottore wrote:

Is it fit for public display? Would be cool to see some of the more antique/weird pieces.

In more general terms, are you guys up for some shaving set show & tell? Like a poor man's Badger & Blade :)

Most of my gear is pretty beat up cosmetically, so it isn't terribly display-worthy, but, like I said, the stuff is built to last so it is perfectly functional.

If you want shave gear pics, B&B is great.

I saw this on /r/wicked_edge, figured you guys might be interested in it, since there's been a lot of DE talk lately.

Also, you can find a ton of images of folk's shaving gear there as well.

My last trip to the antique store saw 3 GEM Micromatic razors. One of them was an army issue-pretty nifty piece to display because of the army seal on the case.

AnimeJ wrote:

I saw this on /r/wicked_edge, figured you guys might be interested in it, since there's been a lot of DE talk lately.

Also, you can find a ton of images of folk's shaving gear there as well.

Nice article! Would have been very handy a couple months ago… but it seems like I was on the "right" track anyway, choosing between the Merkur HD and the Edwin Jagger/Mühle.
On this topic, any shaving blogs you guys think are worth following? I quite like The Close Shave, but I haven't found other good ones yet.

I finally got around to using Proraso shave soap this morning. Wow, it's a lot easier than other soaps. It took me all of 30 seconds to get a nice thick lather going and it felt like a better lubricant too. I got the for sensitive skin variant and I'm not wild about the scent but it's probably one that I'll build a Pavlovian response too.

So, I've been doing the cold water shave for the last three days. Read a few pieces about it (most prominently the one on Art of Manliness) and decided it was worth a try since I always get razor burn/bumps on parts of my neck. Huge difference! By far the most comfortable, close and irritation free shaves I've had yet. My neck is thankful.

S0LIDARITY wrote:

I finally got around to using Proraso shave soap this morning.

Still liking it? Was thinking of getting the green or red tube of cream, anyone try those?