Thread: Shaving

Having recently discovered the joys of DE Wet Shaving, does anyone else shave using this gear or better yet a straight razor?

I'm talking double edge razor blades into a safety razor, a brush - badger, boar or synthetic and shaving cream / soap.

I'm already getting better shaves than I did with Gillette cartridges - Mach 3, Fusion.. i've used them all...

You can get into this rather cheaply, or expensively, just depends what sort of gear you buy and how into it you get.

My 'starter' kit set me back 120 dollars which included a Merkur Progress, a very decent badger brush, some shaving cream, alum block and some blades.

Some amazing smelling creams and soaps out there that also perform fantastically lather wise too. Some really good brands to look out for are Taylors of Old Bond St, Geo F Trumper and Proraso.

Anyway, after that initial outlay, with the blades I'm now using, it boils down to 38 cents a blade which last me 3-4 shaves. A tub of shaving cream will last you months and a brush practically forever if you look after it.

Got any shops or places on where to start off getting gear from?

For nicks I just use the same thing I use for Judo.

http://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/p...Styptic+Pencil

I'm primarily shopping at Fine Shaving Products for a Smoother Closer Shave - Shaving.ie - Chris is a really helpful guy and orders are processed within a day or so. Takes about a week to hit canberra from ireland. He's one of the cheapest suppliers on the net.

An aussie based one is Men's Biz - Men's Skin Care and Shaving Products. they have some great stuff and send samples with every order, but they are expensive. I was a little pissed to see that I could get some shaving cream - Taylors of Old Bond St - Jermyn St Collection to be exact, for about 4 dollars cheaper from a brick and mortar store in a westfield shopping centre.

If anyone is keen on this, I suggest you buy a starter kit, or a second hand razor and have a go. Taylors do a sample pack of all their creams so you can get to try all of them fairly cheaply.


Yup styptic pencils are great. Word of warning, if you mess your face up one shave, dont rub alum all over it, you may as well put petrol on it and set your face on fire.

An aussie forum - http://www.paste-and-cut.com.au/ can be used for a source of more info and possibly some freebies if people have some gear spare.

Shaving.ie in Ireland is great, I bought most of my startup gear from them.
MensBiz is good but as Minorci said a little expensive, but if you join paste and cut forum you get a discount.
Connaught Shaving is good - also UK based and they have an ebay shop too
Those are the three I have used.
I priced up my starter pack from a shop in Perth and it was around $450 but from Shaving.ie for the same gear it was around $220,so definitely some savings to be had.

I have stacks of blades and creams etc so if anyone wants some advice or info just let me know.

Thanks for the tips guys. It's something that I've been keen to look into never really knew where to go for the gear beyond retail junk. I've been annoyed at the standard supermarket razers for years. I'll probably grab some stuff over the next few weeks.

And rofl @ covering your face with alum. Would pay for someone to record a video of themselves doing that.

I used to use those burshes / razors. I inherited them from my grand-dad, so they were vintage and really fucking good quality. The razor had an ivory handle.

Unfortunately, after moving to SA, my Dad couldn't find it among all the boxes. So it's gone forever.
Not sure why I didn't continue with the style of razor though; as they rock.

Wealth of knowledge in this thread at OACU Overclockers Australia Forums. This first got me interested however didn't make the time to do so back in Darwin.

hmm looks very interesting.

Easier to cut yourself im guessing? misconception?

Can be if you aren't careful. Get your technique right and you will be fine

I actually have a cut throat/straight razor, yet to use it, based on fear of slitting my own throat. bought it about 12 months ago with full intention to start using it.
its a little Dull, finding a good cheapish strop is annoying, i tried to find a fine wet/dry stone for it, but nothing i could find locally was fine enough.
any hints on using it to make sure i minimize the damage?