Safety Razors

Amalgam

Insect Overlord wrote:

Tell me more about that aftershave.

A silky, powdery, talc like sensation with a hint of.. Vicks Blackcurrant lozenges and Geraniums.. strangely. (Geraniol scent is one of the ingredients)

Very old school barber. Soothes and dissipates any shaving 'heat'. Scent is not strong, it vanishes quickly. If you want to stink after a shave. Floïd is not what you want.

Search for the word Floïd (with the two dots..) in my post history. I rattled on about it a lot previously..

Bear in mind, the bottle pictured is the Italian Floïd, the Spanish Floïd is a totally different experience.

source

Insect Overlord wrote: »

Tell me more about that aftershave. I've been using the Speick after-shave lotion for the last few months, but I'm tempted to try new things if I get decent recommendations.

I have some floid at home mate, I'll put a small bit in a bottle to try before you buy it, but it is a rather good after shave.

Insect Overlord

Gentlemen, the pair of ye. Cheers.

Gran Hermano

Amalgam, I picked up the Muhle and mentioned it here

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=72974444&postcount=2667

It is a beast of a razor and seriously aggressive. I hadn't used it in a few months but had spotted an upsurge in comments lately on other shaving fora and decided to give it a try again. I think Connaught had it on offer recently.

I tried it over the last couple of weekends with a feather and a polisilver. You seriously have to watch the angle and zero pressure. It will give you a shave as close as a straight but I find if I use it more than 1-2 days in a row it will feel like I've removed some skin. It works best for me with more than one day of stubble and you need a soap with serious cushion and protection (Nanny's hard shaving soap works great).

I use my other combs, especially the vintage Gillette New a lot more. The Muhle is a beautiful design and a looker.

Amalgam

Doh, I even thanked you for that post..

You're right about the resurgence, probably on the back of Mantic59's video.

Gran Hermano

Thanks for posting up Mantics review, I'd missed the fact he'd reviewed it.
I agree with his thoughts on it and I also nicked myself for my first few shaves when I got mine. The angle is the real thing to watch I used a real shallow 30 degree angle and I escaped nick free for the last few shaves. ( I'll probably loose an ear or lip when I use it next for tempting fate).

His video really shows how nice the design is. The head has a nice chunky feel to it, especially the base plate. If your normal go to razor is something like a HD or safety bar Muhle you'll find it aggressive as hell.

I'm really fighting the urge to buy an Ikon razor, I haven't bought a razor since the R41 but I'm really liking the look of the Ikon razors with one side open comb and the other side a safety bar. I have a bowl of Martin de Candre soap in the post and due this week but I don't think it'll be enough to distract me from the Ikon. I guess I already know where my next bonus cheque is going

http://ikonrazors.com/shopping/index.php?main_page=popup_image&pID=121

Dyr

Insect Overlord wrote: »

Tell me more about that aftershave. I've been using the Speick after-shave lotion for the last few months, but I'm tempted to try new things if I get decent recommendations.

I'm gonna be honest here, I think floid just smells like talcum powder. Plus the scent does'nt hang around too long. On the plus side its a huge bottle so you can't argue with the price

Amalgam

There was a rather nice looking, 'Stout shaving soap' featured on Nationwide this evening.. (09 March 2012).

Crafted by Anita McDermott (http://thesoapbox.ie/), involved with the Limegreen Umbrella collective, based in Sligo.

http://www.rte.ie/player/#!v=1139732

Slide to 09:50 for the the soap feature. Nicely presented.

Gran Hermano

It couldn't be any worse than The Handmade Soap Company's shaving soap.
I said I'd give it a chance when they reformulated and allegedly improved the formula. Whilst it is a nice soap with good ingredients it is useless for shaving, no slip or protection. You'd be better off shaving with a bar of Dove.

hitemfrank

Gran Hermano wrote: »

It couldn't be any worse than The Handmade Soap Company's shaving soap.
I said I'd give it a chance when they reformulated and allegedly improved the formula. Whilst it is a nice soap with good ingredients it is useless for shaving, no slip or protection. You'd be better off shaving with a bar of Dove.

It's going through another reformulation apparently.

KH25

Just received a Muhle R89 and a sample pack of blades from shaving.ie. This is my first safety razor and Im looking forward to getting to use it.

MetalBren

i just had a shave with a merkur open comb 15c, which i bought out of curiousity. it was amazing! fantastic shave! going to alternate it with my dovo!
The joys of wetshaving, shaving no longer an annoying task but a hobby... probably sounds corny though! :P

Michael G

I have come to prefer the 15C over my Feather All Stainless. Seriously.

MetalBren

its an excellent piece of kit... i got a sample pack of 14 blades, will probably try the feather blade next time.
should have done this years ago!

Genghiz Cohen

MetalBren wrote: »

probably sounds corny though! :P

You realise that it is an obsession for most posters here.
Thinking of it as a hobby makes you a n00b

MetalBren

Genghiz Cohen wrote: »

You realise that it is an obsession for most posters here.
Thinking of it as a hobby makes you a n00b

I'm not going to deny i'm a n00b, everyone has to start somewhere

Genghiz Cohen

Just got a Futur... Will have to wait until tonight to give it a go.
Got to hold a Progress also, really disappointed, the grip is just not nice.

Genghiz Cohen

Genghiz Cohen wrote: »

Just got a Futur... Will have to wait until tonight to give it a go.
Got to hold a Progress also, really disappointed, the grip is just not nice.

Mmmm, that's a good shave...

Gran Hermano

Genghiz Cohen wrote: »

Mmmm, that's a good shave...

I like the Futur - it has a nice heft to it and a modern design. I like the audible feedback it gives and how you can adjust it to just the right level of closeness you need at any time. I don't like the cap - it's the only razor I sliced my finger on when changing blades and I find the grip could be better on the handle. I also find it a tad cumbersome for shaving under the nose.

Don't dismiss the Progress. It would be my desert island razor if I was restricted to only one DE. Yes the plastic on the end of the handle sucks but it's a great jack of all trades.

Amalgam

Gran Hermano wrote: »

Don't dismiss the Progress. It would be my desert island razor if I was restricted to only one DE. Yes the plastic on the end of the handle sucks but it's a great jack of all trades.

There's a nice choice of aftermarket modifications for the Progress, so, if you really really hate the plastic nugget, you can change it..

Just from the top of my head, I'm sure there's others.

Mergress http://www.leesrazors.com/products/Mergress-Adjustable-Safety-Razor.html

(occasional stock, various woods) https://sites.google.com/site/bobsrazorworks/

Shaving.ie

Amalgam wrote: »

There's a nice choice of aftermarket modifications for the Progress, so, if you really really hate the plastic nugget, you can change it..

Just from the top of my head, I'm sure there's others.

Mergress http://www.leesrazors.com/products/Mergress-Adjustable-Safety-Razor.html

(occasional stock, various woods) https://sites.google.com/site/bobsrazorworks/

Never understood why Merkur don't offer an option with a chrome knob... It would be an instant success.

Gran Hermano

I picked up an aftermarket metal knob for my standard Progress some years back from cooncatbob over on B&B. This was before Lee's razors had their offering, Lee's shipping was also a crazy price. I didn't bother getting the aftermarket mod for my long handled Progress and at this stage I dont think I'd bother.

Saying that, Chris if you manage to get any Mergress stock in I'll order one

Michael G

The Progress was my starter razor but after a while I found it a bit clumsy. Now using a 15C and a Feather All-Stainless.

Sofaspud

A couple of days ago my dad handed an old safety razor and brush that he found on a job when he was doing a clearout. I was a bit excited by a Gillette Rocket case but it turned out to be an English Tech (identified on Badger & Blade)
The brush has an interesting design, it did have a sticker on it that said "Great Wall - Pure Bristle" but that came off when I cleaned the brush. I disinfected the razor and gave it a quick wash and tried it out, but it still needs a good shining. Shaves well though.
A guy in America saw that I had the case, which he needs and offered a trade of a ball-end tech or a 40s superspeed. I don't have any TTO razors so thinking I'll take the superspeed.

Michael G

"Great Wall" things were made in China around 20 or 30 years ago.

Genghiz Cohen

Gran Hermano wrote: »

Don't dismiss the Progress. It would be my desert island razor if I was restricted to only one DE. Yes the plastic on the end of the handle sucks but it's a great jack of all trades.

I kinda have to, it just doesn't feel nice in my hand.

hitemfrank

Sofaspud wrote: »

A guy in America saw that I had the case, which he needs and offered a trade of a ball-end tech or a 40s superspeed. I don't have any TTO razors so thinking I'll take the superspeed.

For me, the 40's style superspeed was the best vintage Gillette I shave with. I only shaved with a 40's type superspeed, a 50's type superspeed, a Fatboy and a Slim but the 40's SS was definitely my preferred of the four.

lafors

Well I'm getting fed up with the price of multiblade razors plus the fact I always tend to get small spots around my chin and my skin feels swollen/puffy the day after a shave so I'm going to try a safety razor to see how it compares. I have very patchy growth, been like that since I was a teenager so I'll see how it goes.

I ordered up these from shaving.ie the other day...
50 Blade Premium Selection Sampler
Merkur Futur Polished Chrome
Muhle White Badger Hair Shaving Brush
Proraso Sensitive Shaving Soap with Aloe and Green Tree

I'll take my time with it initially, been watching the videos on youtube by mantic59. Will try not to butcher myself on the first go

Michael G

Congratulations. You'll never go back

keith16

Hi All,

Thinking of dumping the old cartridges and picking up a safety razor.

Had a read through some of the thread, not really sure where to start tbh, a wealth of info.

Any suggestions for someone starting out? One I picked out from the thread was the Feather AS, but seems a bit pricey and I'm afraid I won't like it and just go back to the cartridges.