Newbie here- evaluate my setup!

EricTheBeardlessWonder

EricTheBeardlessWonder

Forum GOD!
Hello all! I’m new to the forum and I’ve been using a safety razor for about five weeks now. I had been using Dollar Shave Club cartridges for the past several years. While browsing Walmart I spotted a Van Der Hagen safety razor and it got me interested. On a whim I used some pocket change to buy this-
2227B512-188E-4C9B-85D6-BC648232D581.jpeg

It came with all you see here for $49.50- a Gentleman Jon (henceforth abbreviated GJ) safety razor with five Astra blades, badger brush, alum block, shave soap puck and a tiny thimble for lathering.

Since that time I have purchased and switched to Viking Revolution (VR) Sandalwood Shave Cream. I also ordered a 100-count blade sampler pack with 18 different brands. So far I have really enjoyed the shave cream. I haven’t been using any pre-shave oil or aftershave. I’ve been using the GJ DE razor, brush and bowl. After four weeks of using the Astra blades (replaced every Wednesday) I am currently using a Shark Super Chrome blade.

I have on order another VR Shave Cream, two 1 oz bottles of VR Pre-Shave Oil, two 2 oz bottles of VR Aftershave Balm and a Fine Accoutrements Lather Bowl.

So far my favorite part of safety razor shaving has been the lathering process. I’ve been shaving every morning after a hot shower and I’ve found it quite enjoyable to pamper myself this way.

The only issue I’ve been running into is razor burn on my neck. I don’t know if I’m shaving too frequently, or if I’m not doing the right angle or direction, or what might be wrong. I’m hoping the introduction of pre-shave oil and aftershave balm help fight the burn.

As my username suggests I go for a clean-shaven face. I appreciate any insight you might have into my product choices and with regards to shaving practices. Thanks!
 
Blademonkey

Blademonkey

Forum GOD!
Hello and welcome, you seem to have everything you need for a good shave as as been said above watch your angles and use no pressure on the razor when shaving and you should be ok, the neck is quite a sensitive part if your skin and may just need more time to adjusts to the DE shaving experience, keep at it and enjoy! :) P.
 
R

R181

Grumpy old man
Welcome to the forum. There is a tendency when going from carts o DEs to use too much pressure for a DE and difficulty in getting the angle right for a DE. Carts also have pivoting heads which makes the angle self adjusting but with a DE you have to adjust as you go to follow the curves of your face. Get the angle right when doing your neck and keep the pressure down which should help get rid of the razor burn. In the meantime as balm will help calm the burn.

Bob
 
halvor

halvor

a most elusive fish
In addition to the above, two more things: You could do a mapping of the beard growth direction on your neck to make sure you don’t go against the grain there. Second, giving your skin a break from time to time can do wonders, ie skip a day now and then!
 
les24preludes

les24preludes

Forum GOD!
Changing soaps to your taste is easy and enjoyable. Blades matter - my top choices are Nacet, Gillette Silver Blue and Astra, which you have. Brushes...... Think of trying a synthetic like Yaqi Sagrada Familia which has many fans, and my top choice at a low price.

But razors.... now that's where the real choices start. The question will come as to how efficient you want it. Efficiency is very simply (actually more complicated) the gap between blade and bottom plate. Bigger the gap, more efficient. Shavers vary hugely in preference. Some like mild (little gap) because it's less aggressive. BUT... you may have to use more strokes, and repeated strokes can cause razor burn. Go more efficient and the opposite happens - you may get a few nicks at first but the efficient razor slices through the hair and you get a smooth face pretty quickly. Less razor burn but take more care. For cheap and very efficient get a Muhle R41. Famous efficient razor. Once you've compared that with your present mild razor you'll know your preference. I go R41 all the way.

Think of getting an aftermarket handle. Handles are important. Stainless steel will be heavier unless it's shorter, aluminium and titanium will be lighter. You want a nice girth and especially with titanium you can get a bigger handle at a light weight. Stainless gets heavy once the diameter and length increase. I don't go over 100g total.
 
halvor

halvor

a most elusive fish
EricTheBeardlessWonder said:
Thank you, all!

@halvor How do I map the beard growth direction?
Click to expand...
Two ways: either let your beard grow for a few days and take a picture from a low angle, in which case you may see the hairs point in the direction of growth. Or, preferred option I’d say, you simply feel your way by letting your fingers run across the neck in all directions on at least a day’s worth of growth. You may find that it’s all over the place, with patches or sections. For me there’s a lower ‘belt’ outwards in both directions from the Adam’s Apple, upper part of the neck is pretty much all downward, with a couple of trouble spots on the chin/jawbone.

If you don’t trust your memory or find it’s seriously a maze, record it by drawing arrows on a print-out like these.
 
Chris

Chris

Forum DOG!
Staff member
les24preludes said:
Efficiency is very simply (actually more complicated) the gap between blade and bottom plate. Bigger the gap, more efficient.
Click to expand...
Partially. The entire head geometry has to be taken into account, blade gap is only one part of that and is really meaningless unless you're comparing two razors that are otherwise identical.

At this point if you're not getting the results you want it's likely to be down to technique. Don't fall down the rabbit hole of swapping equipment to try and get a better shave.
 
TobyC

TobyC

Patriot
les24preludes said:
Changing soaps to your taste is easy and enjoyable. Blades matter - my top choices are Nacet, Gillette Silver Blue and Astra, which you have. Brushes...... Think of trying a synthetic like Yaqi Sagrada Familia which has many fans, and my top choice at a low price.

But razors.... now that's where the real choices start. The question will come as to how efficient you want it. Efficiency is very simply (actually more complicated) the gap between blade and bottom plate. Bigger the gap, more efficient. Shavers vary hugely in preference. Some like mild (little gap) because it's less aggressive. BUT... you may have to use more strokes, and repeated strokes can cause razor burn. Go more efficient and the opposite happens - you may get a few nicks at first but the efficient razor slices through the hair and you get a smooth face pretty quickly. Less razor burn but take more care. For cheap and very efficient get a Muhle R41. Famous efficient razor. Once you've compared that with your present mild razor you'll know your preference. I go R41 all the way.

Think of getting an aftermarket handle. Handles are important. Stainless steel will be heavier unless it's shorter, aluminium and titanium will be lighter. You want a nice girth and especially with titanium you can get a bigger handle at a light weight. Stainless gets heavy once the diameter and length increase. I don't go over 100g total.
Click to expand...
You're sending him on a shopping spree to buy the stuff you like, let him shave for a while with what he has, the razor he has is pretty good, and I think the R41 would just give him more neck irritation at this point.
 
TobyC

TobyC

Patriot
chris.hale said:
Partially. The entire head geometry has to be taken into account, blade gap is only one part of that and is really meaningless unless you're comparing two razors that are otherwise identical.

At this point if you're not getting the results you want it's likely to be down to technique. Don't fall down the rabbit hole of swapping equipment to try and get a better shave.
Click to expand...
Yep, Bingo! Or Yahtzee! Or whatever.
 
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