[customcoco]

Quote:

I have a second unused puck of DaVinci, you can have it if you want to give it a try. Just PM me your address and I'll send it to you.
DaVinci is mainly a brush company, make-up brushes for the ladies (pretty expensive but well worth it according to my wife) and IMO the best badger hair shaving brushes around, beats the 4 I had before that (2 boar, 2 badger). I had been reading a bit on The Badger and Blade and found a thread there of some people claiming the same.
Mine is a 25mm silvertip by the way and the density is really high. Model 292, one of those with the classic white handles, I don't like the looks of the modern ones. Pretty hard to find the white ones.
Check their site, there's a video there on how the brushes are made. It's a German company by the way, not Italian.
 
I tried the l'Occitane shaving cream (tube) as well this week. Really good stuff, fantastic lather, thick and smooth. Still trying to decide between the cream and soap though.
Their Cade range is way better than the other ranges for shaving but not so good for the fragrance stuff. I bought a shower gel, deo and cologne (LoL     ) from their Eau de Beaux range, smells a lot better than their Cade range. The shaving products of Cade have no particular smell though so that's fine.
 
Also bought me an el-cheapo Feather DE razor with Feather blades. Tried it for the first time yesterday. Not a perfect shave (some very close spots and some not close enough) and no cuts but some bleeding from the skin bursting open due to not being used to it, nothing that a splash of cold water and some aftershave couldn't fix. Mainly due to not knowing the technique well enough yet though. Very different from those multiblade cartridge razors.

 
Thanks for the offer, I'll gladly accept it if you are sure that you do not like the soap.
 
My order for the karité soap has been cancelled... So I'm going to order a puck of Provence santé (which is shea butter based too), It's pretty cheap (6 euros/100g) and it has gathered raving reviews on B&B and the shave den (great forum btw..)...
 
A butterfly razor? I've never tried one but I've heard that it holds the blade less tightly than a classic 2/3 piece razor, which may explain why you end up with such a disparate shave quality.

 

[AppleheadMay]

Tried the soap a second time, got the lather a bit thicker but it dissapears on the skin too quickly for me. PM me you're address and the unused puck will be on its way.
 
By butterfly you mean the kind that folds open to put the blade in? That's what I have yes.
Was thnking of getting me a Merkur Futur (adjustable) or 38C (closed comb). Would those be better?

 

[customcoco]

Quote:

Tried the soap a second time, got the lather a bit thicker but it dissapears on the skin too quickly for me. PM me you're address and the unused puck will be on its way.
 
By butterfly you mean the kind that folds open to put the blade in? That's what I have yes.
Was thinking of getting me a Merkur Futur (adjustable) or 38C (closed comb). Would those be better?

Thanks a lot

 
Before you change the razor, have you tried any other type/brand of blade? The feathers are (some of) the most aggressive blades around, they may just be too much for you since you're a beginner.
 
I've hear that the merkur futur is a very aggressive razor, even in its mildest positions. I also think that it would preferable to learn on a normal (not adjustable) razor. It will force you to think about your technique instead of tweaking the razor to get the desired shave.
I've never tried the 38C.
I use a Mühle R89 : http://www.shaving101.com/index.php/product-reviews/safety-razors/73-muhle-r89-safety-razor.html

 

[AppleheadMay]

Yep, I read about the Feather blades being aggressive but the cheap Feather butterfly razor I have is known (I read somewhere, not sure how correct the info is) as non-aggressive. Not sure where that puts the combo though.
 
The R89 is Muehle's version of the Merkur 34C, albeit in 3 pieces.
The R89 Grande is the equivalent of the 38C, which is simply a large-handle version of the 34C.
So either the 38C or R89 Grande would do for me. I have rather large hands, hence the choice for the larger handle.

 

[stickersteve]

I recently switched to a safety razor after years of using the fusion type blades. Safety blades are cheap, and give a great shave. No nicks so far. Straight razors look very difficult to use on yourself. Believe it or not they have great shaving reviews on youtube.
 

 

[AppleheadMay]

Quote:

I recently switched to a safety razor after years of using the fusion type blades. Safety blades are cheap, and give a great shave. No nicks so far. Straight razors look very difficult to use on yourself. Believe it or not they have great shaving reviews on youtube.
 

 
Yep, this guy has reviews and tutorials on YouTube and he's no BSer.
I'm switching from Fusion to DE as well atm.
Need to find a better DE razor than what I bought now though. Just found this cheap Feather at the local store and thought it'd give me an idea of what to expect but it seems like it was a poor choice.
I'll go with Coco's advice as it confirms what I read.
 
Edit: Going to get me the R89 Grande: 3-piece thus lighter and smoother than Merkur.
What blades do you use by the way Coco?

 

[customcoco]

Quote:

 
Yep, this guy has reviews and tutorials on YouTube and he's no BSer.
I'm switching from Fusion to DE as well atm.
Need to find a better DE razor than what I bought now though. Just found this cheap Feather at the local store and thought it'd give me an idea of what to expect but it seems like it was a poor choice.
I'll go with Coco's advice as it confirms what I read.
 
Edit: Going to get me the R89 Grande: 3-piece thus lighter and smoother than Merkur.
What blades do you use by the way Coco?

 

Great choice !
 
I use derbys and wilkinsons. I really like the wilkinsons, they're a nice compromise between comfort and precision...

 

[OckhamsRazor]

The Muhles are very nice razors, but the Edwin Jagger DE89 series uses the same head design and costs a lot less. They're fantastic razors.

 

[customcoco]

Quote:

The Muhles are very nice razors, but the Edwin Jagger DE89 series uses the same head design and costs a lot less. They're fantastic razors.

They use the same design, but they're not made the same way. Different handles and the fit'n'finish seemed to be superior on the mühle.

 

[OckhamsRazor]

Quote:

They use the same design, but they're not made the same way. Different handles and the fit'n'finish seemed to be superior on the mühle.

Oh yeah, definitely. I was just pointing out another good option for those looking to save a little cash.

 

[customcoco]

Quote:

Oh yeah, definitely. I was just pointing out another good option for those looking to save a little cash.
 

Have you tried both? Do they feel the same on your face? I've never had the chance to do a real world hands-on comparison...

 

[OckhamsRazor]

Quote:

Have you tried both? Do they feel the same on your face? I've never had the chance to do a real world hands-on comparison...

Truthfully, I haven't either. However, I belong to a couple of wet shaving forums and the consensus is that the heads are the same, but that the different handles result in a somewhat different feel and balance; the EJ is a little more handle-heavy than the Muhle. 

 

[Phoenix Jackson]

I pull them off.  Never shaved from the very beginning.  I use thread when rushing.  Tweezers when I got time.

 

[SoupRKnowva]

I pull them off.  Never shaved from the very beginning.  I use thread when rushing.  Tweezers when I got time.

Holy cow, doesn't that hurt?

 

[Phoenix Jackson]

Nah. Especially the beard. Moustache could be a bit tear-jerking at first. I got used to it.