Shaving

Second blade in the pack: I went with Astra this time. HUGE improvement. Closer shave than I was getting with the Gillette blades I bought with my razor way back when. I feel like maybe the Derby blades didn't get a fair shake because I had almost a week of growth, but fuck that, it was pretty awful.

If you're ever in Walmart, pick up a pack of their Black Labeled Wilkonsons. $1.79/10. Not a bad blade.

Eric

chaos_sl said:

Second blade in the pack: I went with Astra this time. HUGE improvement. Closer shave than I was getting with the Gillette blades I bought with my razor way back when. I feel like maybe the Derby blades didn't get a fair shake because I had almost a week of growth, but fuck that, it was pretty awful.

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Astras are my 2nd favorite blade behind feathers, I used them for months when I first started DE shaving

I have the same experience with Derby's, I don't shave with them so much as yank the hairs out of my face. Astra's are my go to, I need to give feathers another go tho, when I first made the switch feathers fucked my face up, but I think thats on me, I bought a 100 pack of astras about a year ago so when that runs out I'll give feathers another go.

I'm about halfway through my initial sample pack of 16 blades. So far my favorites are Derby, Astra, and Feather. It's funny, because I'll think that a blade is good until I try the next one and I realize how bad the last one really was.

cowman_sl said:

I have the same experience with Derby's, I don't shave with them so much as yank the hairs out of my face. Astra's are my go to, I need to give feathers another go tho, when I first made the switch feathers fucked my face up, but I think thats on me, I bought a 100 pack of astras about a year ago so when that runs out I'll give feathers another go.

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Yeah that was exactly the feeling, like it was pulling the hairs out of my face.

I'm going to go ahead and try all the different blades in the sample pack but right now I am pretty satisfied with the Astras. These Feathers sound like a pain in the ass with having to order them from overseas and shit, are they really that much better?

chaos_sl said:

Yeah that was exactly the feeling, like it was pulling the hairs out of my face.

I'm going to go ahead and try all the different blades in the sample pack but right now I am pretty satisfied with the Astras. These Feathers sound like a pain in the ass with having to order them from overseas and shit, are they really that much better?

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They really are noticably sharper, however some people also so that makes them not last as long (they dull faster). And yeah, you pay a premium when you buy them, They average about $20 for a 100 pack and I got my Asta 100 pack for 10 bucks so price point and shit. This is gonna sound silly but when I first used them I thought "shit, these aretoosharp" cause I was constantly getting nicks with them. Worth a shot tho, you might like em.

I just love that the "pricey" blades are still only like 20-25 cents apiece. I'm so goddamned happy to not be paying $35 for 8 gillete proglide cartridges anymore. $20 worth of feather blades are going to last me a full year.

No shit. I was stupid paying for those cartridges for all those years.

So I've been using a Braun series 7 electric razor for about 5 years now and have finally decided to ditch it. Thanks to this thread I picked up the following.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/r.html?R=11..._26725410_item

http://www.amazon.com/gp/r.html?R=11..._26725410_item

http://www.amazon.com/gp/r.html?R=11..._26725410_item

I have sensitive skin and growing a beard isn't an option because it's pathetic looking. Any opinions on what blade i should try first from the sample pack(first link)?

Start with the Astras, I've never known anyone to outright hate those. I like them, and they're a good, forgiving blade to start figuring out what you are doing. Maybe use 2 or 3 of the Astra blades over a couple weeks, then try out the others(besides the feathers), then come back to the Astra at the end to compare all the "normal" blades to the Astra again with your vastly superior shaving ability after many weeks of practice. Once you have a month or two of experience, and are real comfortable with everything, bust out the feathers. I love feathers, but had I started with them, I'd probably have bled to death, they're crazy sharp.

I shave my head, and it took a while to be able to do it with a DE razor. When I first started DE shaving, I tried shaving my head and just absolutely butchered it, I was bleeding all over the place. I tried again a few months after that, once I started using feather blades and I felt like I had a good handle on DE shaving, and I tore the hell out of my head again. I kept using a cartridge razor for a couple more months before I finally worked up the nerve to try it again, but I've finally got my method down.

I only shave my head maybe twice a week, so I end up having a decent amount of hair to shave each time(much more than on a typical face shave). I found that the best way to do it was to do an easy, light pass all over my head once, just to trim down the hair, not get my head smooth. After a quick once-over, I rinse, then re-lather my head and use a little more pressure to finish the shave off and get everything smooth. The key with your head is to just go SLOW. With a cartridge razor I could just go to town rapid-fire style and get my head shaved fast. I really have to take my time and take it slow with a DE. If I go too fast the razor nicks various bumps on my head and tends to bounce around more, causing cuts and irritation. Just go slow, and do 2 passes, and you should be fine.

I ended up trying that shave butter from dollar shave club, that shit is incredible.

joeboo_sl said:

I just love that the "pricey" blades are still only like 20-25 cents apiece. I'm so goddamned happy to not be paying $35 for 8 gillete proglide cartridges anymore. $20 worth of feather blades are going to last me a full year.

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Some people say a proglide cartridge can last a year. I haven't tried myself and am quite skeptical. If my straight razor can get dull from cutting my skin, I see no way that small dinky razor blades can go through 300+ shaves and still be able to shave smoothly.

The Dauntless One_sl said:

Some people say a proglide cartridge can last a year. I haven't tried myself and am quite skeptical. If my straight razor can get dull from cutting my skin, I see no way that small dinky razor blades can go through 300+ shaves and still be able to shave smoothly.

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"Some people" = women shaving the 3 hairs they have on their upper lip?

joeboo_sl said:

Start with the Astras, I've never known anyone to outright hate those. I like them, and they're a good, forgiving blade to start figuring out what you are doing. Maybe use 2 or 3 of the Astra blades over a couple weeks, then try out the others(besides the feathers), then come back to the Astra at the end to compare all the "normal" blades to the Astra again with your vastly superior shaving ability after many weeks of practice. Once you have a month or two of experience, and are real comfortable with everything, bust out the feathers. I love feathers, but had I started with them, I'd probably have bled to death, they're crazy sharp.

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What a weird experience. I used the Astra blade and was a really weird shave. I felt like next to nothing while shaving, it felt as if I was just brushing smooth metal across my skin. I was convinced I put the blade in wrong or something and it wasn't contacting the skin. Then I noticed it actually was removing the hair so I continued. Used the Razorock when I was done and once again felt nothing from it, was expecting a cooling sensation or something but got like no feedback. Amazing how close the shave was compared to shitty electric shaver. My face isn't irritated or anything and feels really smooth. So glad I read this thread. Thanks all.