Thread: Beginner DE Instructions

I posted these instructions to a friend that I have loaned a DE setup to and figured they might help a beginner on here too. Otherwise, perhaps some of the experienced folk here can chime in on anything in the instructions that they disagree or agree with...

Hey Mike,


I packaged up a selection of shave gear for you as a loaner and will
ship it out on Monday, includes:


Straight Razor Designs Sandalwood Soap
Kent BK4 Silvertip Badger Brush
Edwin Jagger EJ89 DE Razor
Assorted DE Blades
Trumpers Sandalwood Skin Food


The proper way to prepare for a DE shave is to first take a hot
shower. Before getting in the shower however you want to prepare the
soap, mug, and brush. The mug should be something with character,
your grandpa's old shave mug for example or a good sized coffee mug.
Put the mug in the sink and fill the sink to cover the cup and brush
with the hottest water you have. Open the soap and squeeze a brush
full (1T) of the hot water onto it and let it set with the lid on.
Leave the brush soaking in the sink with the mug in the hot water
while you shower.


While in the shower shampoo your beard first. Then massage in hair
conditioner and let that soak in for the duration of the shower, this
helps to soften the beard for a great shave. Finish the rest of your
shower then just before stepping out rinse the conditioner. This
gives it the longest time to work its way in to soften the beard.
When you dry off leave your face wet.


Remove the now hot mug from the water, empty, and pour the water from
the top of the soap into it. Give the brush a shake or two so it is
still wet but not dripping and swirl it lightly over the soap for 10
seconds until the tips of the brush are well loaded with soap. Work
up a thick lather in the shave mug with the brush. After a minute it
should form the consistency of meringue with progressively finer
bubbles and then it will start to shine. This surface sheen is a
sign of a good lather. If you have trouble working up a good lather
add a couple drops of the Trumpers Skin Food. It should work up
easily as this is very high quality soap and brush.


A complete shave is done as a prep lather with towel soak and then a
3 pass shave: WTG (with the grain), XTG (across the grain), and ATG
(against the grain) followed by an after shave and post shave balm.
Save the ATG until you get good at it. You should get a BBS (baby
butt smooth) or at least a DFS (damn fine smooth) shave with just WTG
and XTG and many people never even bother with ATG as it can irritate
if not done right. Total shave should take around 5 minutes.


To prep you apply a couple drops of the Trumper's Skin Food to your
beard with your fingers and massage in. Follow this by a good
lathering of soap with the brush. Work the lather in lightly in
circles. No need to press, let the tips do the work to stand up the
hairs for a good shave. Spend some time lathering as it is relaxing
and further softens the hairs for the shave. A couple minutes of
lathering is a treat. Once lathered up good take a hand towel and
from the hot water of the sink (steaming if possible) and hold it to
your face over the lather. Enjoy the warmth for a couple minutes
before rinsing the lather from your face with the hottest water you
can stand. That is the prep, total time 2 minutes. Good prep is
crucial to a great shave. It also makes your blades last twice as
long.


Re-lather your face for the first pass, WTG. Always hold the razor in
the hand on the side of your face you are shaving on. Eventually you
will become ambidextrous with it. With the other hand stretch the
skin from behind the razor. One side of the face, one side of the
razor, other side of the face, switch hands, other side of the razor.
Start with side burns all strokes down. Rinse the razor after every
stroke or two. The angle of the blade to the face should be 20
degrees. Since the razor head holds the blade at another 20 or so the
handle should be about 45 degrees from the face. Using a quality
blade and a good prep you won't even know it is cutting, just a damn
smooth shave with the hair just falling off. Don't press it into the
face, let the weight of the razor do the work and take your time
there is no rush. First pass on whole face should take only a minute
or two. Don't rush it. Enjoy the experience.


Again rinse your face with hot water and re-lather for the second
pass, XTG. This time try going in a direction 90 degrees to the
first pass. Same thing, take your time. Even though the shave is
ultimately smooth it is a very sharp razor and will remind you of
that if you try and rush it. The key to a smooth and irritation free
shave is in keeping your skin tight by contorting your face and
stretching your skin lightly with your other hand behind the razor as
you go. If you find your hand unable to grip the skin to stretch
they sell what is called an Alum block which you can dab your fingers
on to give grip. Alum block is also an excellent aftershave rub.


For the final rinse instead of hot water switch to cold. Rinse the
blade while you are at it and the mug and brush. You want to get the
soap out of the brush by gently squeezing it out under the water.
Squeeze the water out of the brush and shake it dry. Leave it
standing in open air until the next shave. Dry the razor as well.
Some people take the razor apart to dry it but i just dab it with a
towel and let it go. The blades are cheap and the good ones are
stainless.


Post shave, pat dry your face and apply a few drops of the skin food
as a final balm. Some people enjoy a good aftershave like Pinauds
Clubman or Bay Rum splash after drying their face and before the
final balm. Shave complete.


There are thousands of great products for shaving, check out
The Finest In Gentlemens Shaving And Grooming Needs for products and i encourage you
to log into Straight Razor Place - Welcome to Straight Razor Place forum to learn more and
share the experience.


A single razor blade should last you at least 5-6 shaves, about the
same as a mach cartridge but at a fraction of the price and with a
smoother less irritating shave. The brush should last forever. The
soap should easily last a couple years. I gave you a few assorted
blades to try, most people find Feather brand blades to be the
sharpest however they are also the priciest. You can get a box of 30
for $12 online,
Amazon.com: 30 Feather Razor Blades NEW Hi-stainless Double Edge: Health & Personal Care
. Compare that to 30 mach cartridges at $120+ and leaving you with a
much much better shave without the plastic and far less for the land
fill.

.... Finish the rest of your
shower then just before stepping out rinse the conditioner. . . .

I just leave the conditioner on my face, and lather over it.

I use a much simpler prep sequence that works _for me_ -- my soaps / brush / razor / beard / skin. There's nothing _wrong_ with your instructions, but there sure are a lot of them!

charles

That is some seriously thorough prep. It looks good, but you might want to mention a more basic prep option for when your friend is in a hurry. That is a bit YMMV, of course. Some guys really like elaborate prep.

The one thing that strikes me is that 5-6 shaves on a blade is... far from universal. It depends a lot on blade, how many passes they take, prep, and, especially, beard. If your friend has a light, soft beard that can be shaved smooth in a couple of passes then 5-6 shaves is viable. If he has a thick wirey beard that takes 4+ passes, then he'll be lucky to get 3 shaves on most blades. Once it starts tugging, it is time to toss the blade, because once it dulls, you'll start to apply pressure, and that's when it will cause nicks, razor bumps, and that all too familiar flayed feeling.

Related to that, feathers are a bit tricky for a newbie, and, unless he has a super thick beard that really requires the sharpest blade out there to cut it well, he will probably have a better experience with something milder like an Israeli persona or, perhaps, a shark. I personally like feathers and other super sharp blades, but I wouldn't suggest one to a new De shaver, especially one who, doesn't sound like he has an extra wirey beard. YMMV, of coruse.

Before shower splash cold water on face from sinkful of same.
Wash face/neck with soap and cold water.
Using cold water lather up shave soap.
Apply cold shave soap to face.
Shave and repeat.

Much simpler.


Mick

Very thorough instructions!