Anything that can go wrong will happen while I'm shaving...

Hey Paul mrdoug! I echo exactly what Mike HighSpeed noted, a great story and history here on DFS!!




Thank you very much for giving the back stories of these brushes. You set about your shave and have a great reminder of someone or some time. That is so cool! And very glad all ended up nice and tidy and even!

How did I miss stating what I originally intended !?!?!?

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY !!!!!

How did I miss stating what I originally intended !?!?!?

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY !!!!!

Lol, thanks Dave.

I dropped a lot of info in a single post. I'm surprised anyone caught that line among, all of the brush talk.

Have a great day!

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Hey! Let's get some more pixels on this thread!!

Well, more whatever text is, anyway.

Pre-shave products. Discuss.

Okay, I'll start. Way back in late 2015, as I was a young grasshopper learning to shave traditionally, I was much influenced by two guys. The first was Mantic59, the Sharpologist blogger, and the second was Michael Ham, who wrote Leisureguy's Guide to Gourmet Shaving. From the latter I learned about razors and shaving in general. From the former, I learned about a pre-shave routine I've followed now for years, which is to put hair conditioner on my beard while in the shower. I rinse it off at the end and then move to shaving, once I am dry and the shower stall straightened out (one must put things back in their proper place!!).

Maybe a year ago, you (Paul) gifted me an Ethos pre-shave stick, which I use on occasion. And another friend gifted me half of a bar of unscented Stirling pre-shave soap. If I recall, you also used the PAA The Cube for a while. Any update on The Cube? I see some folks posting it in pictures in another 'hood and it is now in the wonderful CK-6 formula. As I need more stuff to play with (right!), I thought I'd ask for your thoughts.

Many thanks and hope all is going as well as can be expected in these crazy times!

Hey! Let's get some more pixels on this thread!!

Well, more whatever text is, anyway.

Pre-shave products. Discuss.

Okay, I'll start. Way back in late 2015, as I was a young grasshopper learning to shave traditionally, I was much influenced by two guys. The first was Mantic59, the Sharpologist blogger, and the second was Michael Ham, who wrote Leisureguy's Guide to Gourmet Shaving. From the latter I learned about razors and shaving in general. From the former, I learned about a pre-shave routine I've followed now for years, which is to put hair conditioner on my beard while in the shower. I rinse it off at the end and then move to shaving, once I am dry and the shower stall straightened out (one must put things back in their proper place!!).

Maybe a year ago, you (Paul) gifted me an Ethos pre-shave stick, which I use on occasion. And another friend gifted me half of a bar of unscented Stirling pre-shave soap. If I recall, you also used the PAA The Cube for a while. Any update on The Cube? I see some folks posting it in pictures in another 'hood and it is now in the wonderful CK-6 formula. As I need more stuff to play with (right!), I thought I'd ask for your thoughts.

Many thanks and hope all is going as well as can be expected in these crazy times!

Hey Eric,

Wow. I don't post here much. Lol. Well, I'm glad you popped in.

So, The Cube ... if my memory is correct, I felt it was doing a good job for a preshave. Moisturizing and softening. However, I think it may have been more so the process rather than the product. I discontinued use and currently just use warm water for a good long time. With this longer preshave time, it seems to work well as the cube did.

Sometimes I do use the Stirling Ice Drops in my preshave rinse. That way I can start the shave cool and refreshed. Most of the time I only use it for the last pass... But once in a while it's a nice starter, too.

Fwiw, I've tried showers too, but it seems to work about as well as the thorough (excessive) rinsing.

Hmm. That's about it for my preshave. Simpler seems better for me.

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Thanks Paul, that helps me, truly. I know you've been on journey to find what works best for you and your skin, so reading your thoughts while knowing some of the background helps. I don't know if using conditioner does anything in reality. On mornings when I jump out of bed and just shave and go, no shower (eww!), there is no time for conditioner. And I don't really notice any difference in the shave. Same with using these pre-shave soaps or lather enhancers. Maybe the first pass lather is thicker? But I don't know if I notice an improvement in slickness. The only time I really noticed a big difference was when I used a shave stick a few years ago. THAT seemed to really make great lathers and, if I recall, a bit slicker. But that was so long ago now, that I'd have to revisit it and frankly, my routine is just about where I like it. It's routine and I can mostly get set to shave while still waking up!!

Have a good day, my friend!

Thanks Paul, that helps me, truly. I know you've been on journey to find what works best for you and your skin, so reading your thoughts while knowing some of the background helps. I don't know if using conditioner does anything in reality. On mornings when I jump out of bed and just shave and go, no shower (eww!), there is no time for conditioner. And I don't really notice any difference in the shave. Same with using these pre-shave soaps or lather enhancers. Maybe the first pass lather is thicker? But I don't know if I notice an improvement in slickness. The only time I really noticed a big difference was when I used a shave stick a few years ago. THAT seemed to really make great lathers and, if I recall, a bit slicker. But that was so long ago now, that I'd have to revisit it and frankly, my routine is just about where I like it. It's routine and I can mostly get set to shave while still waking up!!

Have a good day, my friend!

No problem. I'm still, honestly, trying to mitigate the more painful shaves. My skin has gotten so sensitive in the past year or so.

I am now just using the same 2 soaps without scent. No preshave product, just lots of preshave moisture (water). Post shave I have two 'balms' I use, and both get used in almost every shave:

After three passes, I apply the Stirling glacial balm. It seems to clear any irritation and the thickness of it kinda 'freezes' (gels?) the tiny hairs in place. Otherwise, they like to hide and are darn good at it... Think of a game of whack-a-mole, but on an Olympic level. Lol. I then do a cleanup pass with the balm on. Boom, I clear a LOT of stragglers and tiny leftover hairs this way. Finally, after I'm happy with the results, I use the PAA Menthol Star jelly. As it has a bit of alcohol in it, I feel like it'll cure whatever damage I may have done going for that BBS shave I always seem to demand.

That's my shaves (these days) in a nutshell. Now if you'll follow me, our next stop is the Dysfunctional Shavers Gift Shop.

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While I'm on a roll, posting here, let me ask anyone who knows...:

Has anyone tried the new A&E Ultima base (specifically the unscented)? I'm curious how soft or hard the base is. Also, does anyone have an opinion on how good it is (my 'Gold Standard' is Zingari Man). My history with A&E hasn't been stellar, but their new base appears to be Lanolin free (and I only buy scent free now).

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I went to the A&E website, and unmasked is on sale ($1 whole dollar) but there is a 10% IAMSPECIAL coupon code. Probably an expensive try, but it has me thinking (dangerous, I know!).

If I am doing my maths right, it brings it down to $21.55. Soap is called Unmasked.

I went to the A&E website, and unmasked is on sale ($1 whole dollar) but there is a 10% IAMSPECIAL coupon code. Probably an expensive try, but it has me thinking (dangerous, I know!).

If I am doing my maths right, it brings it down to $21.55. Soap is called Unmasked.

Ooh wow, while $20 isn't horrible for a high end soap, I've had bad enough luck with A&E that I don't know it's worth it. Anyone know if it's a hard soap or a soft one?

You know, both Maggards and TRC offer samples. Might be a better idea for me, considering the history.

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