Contentment - The Shaving Edition

I'm doing really well, Celestino. Just like you: Love, laughter and shaving (with some hiking and bike riding thrown in). The Pacific Northwest suits me perfectly. Hope you're doing well, my friend.

Great to hear, my friend and the Pacific Northwest is a lovely place to live and I am doing very well.

Hi, yohannrjm.  What a great thread with lots of insight.  I enjoy making the occasional purchase but have never been one to binge buy.  My last razor purchase was the Rex Ambassador adjustable and I am really enjoying it.  It is, by far, my most expensive razor buy but, for me, has proven well worth the money.  Having said that, this morning’s shave was with a Gillet NEW (short comb) that I bought off eBay years ago for no more than $8.00 and it remains one of my favorites.

Where I might disagree with you is shaving soap.  Some really do lather much easier than others, some are awful for me, such as Mitchell’s Wool Fat, and some I can work into a good lather but the effort simply isn’t worth it when soaps from Desmond’s Barrow, Stirling, and Barrister and Mann (except the Reserve formula which falls into that not worth the effort) just work.  Obviously, this is just me as so many others sing the praises of both the Fat and B&M’s Reserve.  This, for me is what makes the hobby aspect of shaving so worthwhile.  We don’t need a lot of stuff, expensive or not, and various techniques are more often the way to a good or bad shave but even if I don’t binge buy, the variety of hardware and software continues to intrigue.

Again, you have started a fascinating thread and I look forward to the thoughts of other members.

I hope your family and you are doing well.  All the best.

Freddy - I'll admit that when I was writing that, there was a small voice in my head whispering, "Williams Mug Soap!"

However, while I never learned to like Williams, I eventually got it to work pretty well for me. I'm not going to be buying any more of it, though.

Mitchell's Wool Fat is another matter. When I first started using MWF, I couldn't get it to work, but after figuring out that......

A) It works best as a face-lathering soap
B) It is very hard and needs some extra loading time, and
C) It rewards frequent use

.....I was able to get it to work consistently for me. Honestly, I like it. Maybe I've been blessed with good water and perfect MWF conditions, but I've lived in 4 states and a few more cities than that since I started using it and have not had an issue using it in any of them.

That being said, there are soaps with nicer scents that lather more easily.

Anyway, the soaps and creams I have retained range from cheap ones to some more expensive ones, and tallow to glycerin based, and they all work well. I'm sure there are rubbish soaps, but I've mercifully been spared any experience with them (apart from the aforementioned Williams).

As you say, variety is nice to have, and I will retain and enjoy what soaps and creams I have.

yohannrjm Great thought provoking thread.

I am probably on the downward slope for buying new items and upward slope for learning and enjoyment.

I haven't much to add yohannrjm, except one more heartfelt thanks for starting this thread and sharing your thoughts. It's good to be reminded that wisdom is alive and well in our corner of the world, and that it is there for the taking.

yohannrjm - I could not get MWF, now my go to soap, to work until I tried using it as a puck, rubbing the disk against my wet stubble till I had my beard covered than using a dripping wet brush to face lather. Never could get a properly loaded brush to face lather. This method seems to work for me without fail. Have you tried this method?
As far as the contentment goes, I agree completely. While I have never found one setup that works best for me all the time, I have sufficient variety of razors, blades, soaps/creams to get the shave I want, as close as I want, pretty much every shave. I am so content I canceled a razor I had funded on Indiegogo over a year ago because I just can't see any reason to get another razor. I even have half a dozen cart razors for travel or when I am pressed for time, or just because that is what I feel like using that morning. So yes, contentment is here, after more than four years exploring/buying equipment, finally.

yohannrjm - I could not get MWF, now my go to soap, to work until I tried using it as a puck, rubbing the disk against my wet stubble till I had my beard covered than using a dripping wet brush to face lather.  Never could get a properly loaded brush to face lather.  This method seems to work for me without fail.  Have you tried this method?
As far as the contentment goes, I agree completely.  While I have never found one setup that works best for me all the time, I have sufficient variety of razors, blades, soaps/creams to get the shave I want, as close as I want, pretty much every shave.  I am so content I canceled a razor I had funded on Indiegogo over a year ago because I just can't see any reason to get another razor.  I even have half a dozen cart razors for travel or when I am pressed for time, or just because that is what I feel like using that morning.  So yes, contentment is here, after more than four years exploring/buying equipment, finally.

Welcome to DFS, joncr.

yohannrjm - I could not get MWF, now my go to soap, to work until I tried using it as a puck, rubbing the disk against my wet stubble till I had my beard covered than using a dripping wet brush to face lather. Never could get a properly loaded brush to face lather. This method seems to work for me without fail. Have you tried this method?
As far as the contentment goes, I agree completely. While I have never found one setup that works best for me all the time, I have sufficient variety of razors, blades, soaps/creams to get the shave I want, as close as I want, pretty much every shave. I am so content I canceled a razor I had funded on Indiegogo over a year ago because I just can't see any reason to get another razor. I even have half a dozen cart razors for travel or when I am pressed for time, or just because that is what I feel like using that morning. So yes, contentment is here, after more than four years exploring/buying equipment, finally.

Welcome to DFS!

About MWF - No, I never had to resort to rubbing the puck on my face, though (since I like shave sticks) I had thought of making a shave stick out of the puck of MWF. The fact is, I like the look of the MWF ceramic container, so I keep it in there. When I first started using it, and was having problems with it, a guy on The Shave Den suggested to me that I try face lathering, and his advice was, 'Work the soap with your brush until you are sure you're ready to go....and then load it for 30 sec more." Since I started doing that I didn't have any issues with it and have not tried any other technique of using it.

Your story sounds a lot like mine. I still retain my interest in this hobby and I love seeing what new equipment is being produced, but I am happy with what I have and don't feel the need to keep adding to the den at this stage.

I have been "content " for almost a couple of years (and I have only been Wet shaving for 3), but it was more related to paying more attention to other stuff.

Now that that is settled, I have been on the lookout again for new gear and sort of on a buying spree again.

Guess I'm still on that part of the Journey!

Enviado desde mi moto g(6) plus mediante Tapatalk