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Back to my roots! How about you?

Dragonsbeard

Dragonsbeard

Shave Enthusiast
Artisan Retailer
I woke up this morning thinking about wet shaving and the first day I threw away my cartridge razor and started to use a DE razor. The short story is I was getting really bad shaves with carts and irritation, razor bumps and red spots. So I remembered back when I was a kid watching my day shave in the morning using a DE razor that he had to twist to open ( Don't know what it was but I know it was Gillette as he said that's all he'd use ) I'd watch him as he'd use his shaving brush and mug with his Old spice shave soap. I also remember he had the cream but not sure what year he got that. Anyway getting back to my transition from cart to DE which was 17 yrs ago I had no idea what to buy as far as a razor so I went looking on ebay and was looking for a DE razor that twist to open like my dad had. So after looking I came across a razor referred to as a Gillette Fatboy and the name alone is what got me. Loved the name and that fact is was a twist to open and looked similar to what my dad had but I'm pretty sure it wasn't a fatboy knowing what I know now. Anyway it looked like it was in what we'd call mint condition today and sure enough when it was delivered to my house it was in great condition. I used the Fatboy exclusively for the first 5 years of wet shaving. Also used only 2 shave soaps. One was Old Spice in memory of my dad but the one that I really loved was Proraso Green as I had talked to at the time a friend of mine who was an Italian barber and that's all he used and highly recommended and I used that almost daily along with my Fatboy and Gillette Silver blues until I learned of Feathers and that was love at first shave. So after using my Fatboy for the 5 yrs and I took really good care of it I started to accumulate other DE and a couple of old Gem SE razors. One day I saw where someone had their razor replated in Rhodium and I thought wow that looks beautiful so off mine went to get plated in Rhodium and though it's been many years now the razor still has a special place in Den and it will never leave and be passed on to my son.

Anyway I got up this morning and said I'm going back to my roots and so I took out the Fatboy. Loaded a GSB in it. Got out all my Proraso Green products and a Proraso Professional Barber shop boar brush and had me a wonderful " Back to my roots Shave " Started oui on setting 7 as that was always my first pass setting and then I'd go down to setting number 5 for the remaining 2 passes. Back then there was no skin stretching or any fancy techniques I use now so a 3 pass shave and sometimes a touch up was needed to get a BBS shave. Anyway I love all the gear I used today and lI also love the way Proraso Green smells so the gear I used today will always have a place in my den! I will note the body powder is new and we will have to see if that stays available but in this hot weather it's refreshing.

Great memorable shave!


So what were your roots in wet shaving and what gear and products did you start out with and how long ago?



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I shaved with carts from around 1982 until 2013. My face is pretty much indestructible, so I'd shave every 4-5 days with just water. It hurt, but I didn't know any better. Then, in 2013, I discovered Dollar Shave Club, and signed on. Around the same time, I googled and discovered the other place and the now classic Mantic59 how to videos. I was hooked and bought, in short order, a Edwin Jagger DE89lbl, and Omega 48 boar brush, and some TOBS Grapefruit and Proraso Green. For Aftershave, I used Aqua Velva. I used this lineup for years. I began frequenting forums and found the Cadre in March. I collected around 16 vintage razors back in 2013-2014, when they were much cheaper. I started buying modern razors this Spring, but a replated Fatboy from @Techichi arrives this afternoon. I've collected a total of 20 razors and 100 soaps and several dozen Aftershaves. My AD has run amok during the pandemic, but it seems to have run out of steam along with my running out of room. Yesterday, I did as you did, and broke out trusty old Proraso Green. It was a trip down memory lane, although I have to say that I really enjoy going through my soaps and relishing the variety. Hopefully, tomorrow I can put the new Fatboy to good use with some Ethos/CBL Lime soap and splash! My Sunday shaves are special.

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fhalden said:
I shaved with carts from around 1982 until 2013. My face is pretty much indestructible, so I'd shave every 4-5 days with just water. It hurt, but I didn't know any better. Then, in 2013, I discovered Dollar Shave Club, and signed on. Around the same time, I googled and discovered the other place and the now classic Mantic59 how to videos. I was hooked and bought, in short order, a Edwin Jagger DE89lbl, and Omega 48 boar brush, and some TOBS Grapefruit and Proraso Green. For Aftershave, I used Aqua Velva. I used this lineup for years. I began frequenting forums and found the Cadre in March. I collected around 16 vintage razors back in 2013-2014, when they were much cheaper. I started buying modern razors this Spring, but a replated Fatboy from @Techichi arrives this afternoon. I've collected a total of 20 razors and 100 soaps and several dozen Aftershaves. My AD has run amok during the pandemic, but it seems to have run out of steam along with my running out of room. Yesterday, I did as you did, and broke out trusty old Proraso Green. It was a trip down memory lane, although I have to say that I really enjoy going through my soaps and relishing the variety. Hopefully, tomorrow I can put the new Fatboy to good use with some Ethos/CBL Lime soap and splash! My Sunday shaves are special.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
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Good back to the roots story and I think your going to love your new Fatboy! Congrats!
 
Interestingly, my first foray into wet shaving was with creams and a brush, but I was still using carts at the time. I wanted to find better creams than the standard, so did some research and started trying a few. My wife knew I was researching things, and she surprised me with a nice handmade silvertip badger brush, bowl, and stand from PC Woodcraft (brush and stand seen here)
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I settled on a couple of creams that I really liked (one of which was Proraso green!), and kept using carts for a while, but would whip up a bowl lather.
I was a bit leery of trying a DE, but finally decided to give it a shot in early 2019... picked up a Merkur 34C, and started shaving. I used that razor for a few months, then decided to start trying others. I found a few vintage razors at local antique stores, but most of the TTOs, I could get to work well for me. I tried a couple of vintage adjustables. I do have a nice Tech that shaves great.

I've gone thru a few modern DE razors, but whittled it down to only 3 at the moment.
 
My journey into the world of wet shaving started 7 years ago in August of 2013. For most of my adulthood, shaving was a chore and rarely satisfying. Using cartridge razors never seemed to result in a smoothly shaved face, and often left my skin irritated.

I remember walking past an Art of Shaving store in a mall one day and then doing some research on shaving. I returned to the AoS store and purchased my first DE razor, a Merkur, Merkur blades, an AoS brush, and AoS Sandalwood preshave oil, soap, and balm. Yes, I went full in!

The preshave was too oily, the blades were not great, and the brush was awful, but shaving became fun.

I ended up watching some You Tube videos and found this new hobby. Within a short period of time, my technique improved and I began buying different DE razors. From their, the gateway opened into the world of straight razors and single edge razors, as well as all the artisan brushes and software.

The half hour or so a day that I spend shaving has become some of the most cherished moments oh my day. And, along the way, I have met some wonderful people.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
NickCard said:
My journey into the world of wet shaving started 7 years ago in August of 2013. For most of my adulthood, shaving was a chore and rarely satisfying. Using cartridge razors never seemed to result in a smoothly shaved face, and often left my skin irritated.

I remember walking past an Art of Shaving store in a mall one day and then doing some research on shaving. I returned to the AoS store and purchased my first DE razor, a Merkur, Merkur blades, an AoS brush, and AoS Sandalwood preshave oil, soap, and balm. Yes, I went full in!

The preshave was too oily, the blades were not great, and the brush was awful, but shaving became fun.

I ended up watching some You Tube videos and found this new hobby. Within a short period of time, my technique improved and I began buying different DE razors. From their, the gateway opened into the world of straight razors and single edge razors, as well as all the artisan brushes and software.

The half hour or so a day that I spend shaving has become some of the most cherished moments oh my day. And, along the way, I have met some wonderful people.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Welcome to the Cadre
 
Spider said:
Hey Frank. We recently had a similar post, where a bunch of us have already shared our beginning stories.

If you want to read those: Your story about your first steps in wet shaving
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Hi KJ

It figures I’d start a new thread when there’s already one where I could have just posted my story. I’ve been working a trillion hrs a week so I’m pretty far out of the loop! Lol
Thanks for the heads up and hope your doing ok over there and thanks for your service!
 
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