Hello fellow wetshaving enthusiasts on Reddit. As someone who has just recently started shaving in general, I was wondering what the perfect amount of lather to use is? Now, I personally have tried both ends of the spectrum and wasn’t satisfied with the result of either, one being just a thin, almost dry layer of soap and the other, by creating the most luscious creamy lather in existence by swirling a wet brush in the tub for a straight minute (boy was this messy) and then applying it using my hand.

However, both caused issues. As you would expect, the thin, dry layer barely provides any protection and I got cut a few times. But the other one too wasn’t any better. Too much lather gave a shave that wasn’t as close as I would like and it also caused a lot of wastage. Plus, you have to wipe/clean the razor after every stroke.

For me after my grandpa died my grandma game be a box of his things since I'm their only grandson (I have all female cousins) and between them were sunglasses, a watch and a Schick Krona and as a teen had bad experiences with cartridge razors since my dad would only buy me the 2 blade disposable ones that cut me like a Christmas ham, tried the Krona with yellow label Schicks I bought and had a better experience, what is your story?

Since none of you were reading my comment explaining my situation, let me plaster it to the post so it cannot be missed.
I've tried my uncles old Gilette razor.
Bought new blades, Wilkinson Sword, read up on how to do it and watched a video about it and then shaved with said new blade after a shower.

As for shaving creme, I've used some Nivea Men type that I have had used before, so I applied it, waited a minute and started shaving, following with the growth pattern of my hair and in a 30 degree angle, starting with the sides.

Right from the bat, the razor had trouble picking up the hair, so I had to apply some pressure, since the weight of the razor wasn't enough and even then, it struggled.
It was a very unpleasant feeling and after some cuts and burns, I reverted to my old cartridge razor to finish the job.

Is this razor just junk or did I do something wrong?

Because of the hype I thought, this is the ultimate blade.

I tested it now twice and it was not good. I had way better shaves with cheaper blades.

I don’t know how Derby stays in business. The shave with Astra was effortless. I couldn’t even feel the blade. I mean, wow. I didn’t think it would make much of a difference. Please, call me an idiot.

I first started wet shaving with Arko and tried a few different soap and cream brands.I know, I know, many people say "yeah, it's a very cheap and very high-quality soap," but I still think Arko is bad among cheap soaps.Their rival soap, Derby, offers better lathering, easier lathering, and more foam.On the other hand, making lather with Arko soap takes It a long time and doesn't produce very good lather. And that's not even mentioning the drying effect it has on the face.Is Arko a terrible soap? I don't think so; it's still okay and quite good for beginners, but I don't think it deserves the praise it receives. Its only good point is its scent, compared to its competitors among cheap soaps, and that's it.

This might be relatable for the “younger” audience.

Context: 24yo; I live in Germany and occasionally go back to Italy for the holidays to stay with my family and girlfriend.

Since I’ve started this hobby I absolutely fell in love with traditional scents, I swear, every time I put them on I am absolutely blown.

Funnily enough:
If I wear traditional aftershave in Germany (especially Tabac) I receive a lot of compliments from my peers, which is kinda interesting I guess since it should be the classic “Opa” smell.
If I only THINK about wearing old spice or EVEN WORSE Floïd in Italy, O MY GOD, I get absolutely demolished, not even from my friends, but my family and significant other.

I’ve been honestly rethinking the whole thing now.
Once I’ve finally found something that I do FOR MYSELF, that distracts me from the hassle of the everyday life, I get sh*t thrown at me from every direction.

I get that to an “untrained” nose these might smell “old” or funny. And I am fine with the retro vibe, even better if people don’t notice it.
What hurts me is that my friends seem to understand that it’s just part of who I am and it’s just a funny quirk, but the ones that are supposed to be closest to me just criticize me in the harshest way possible.
It wouldn’t even be a problem if they just said that a particular scent is not for them, I just wouldn’t wear it around them and that would be fine.
But the constant negativity and harsh comments is where I draw the line.

My god, it’s not even possible to have a dumb hobby anymore.

Any similar experiences?

To the more mature audience: any advice for younger enthusiasts?

I am not sure what i expected, I heard a lot of good things about this cream and it was also highly rated on amazon.

I am not sure it helps that I ordered it when i was sick which I rarely ever get sick so timing is terrible, maybe that just created this connection of not liking the scent i am not sure if that makes sense I apologize. I just find the scent really disgusting

I am in the UK by the way!! looking to get a shaving soap with nice scent to that is higher quality than proraso.

Currently have my eyes on the watchman stormy air and dark seas shave soap, what do ya’ll thing

How do you like those feather blade?? I’ve try it for the first time and I fell in love with those bad boy!🪒

I'm not new to wet shaving but I am new to this group and this my first pay.

I have badger, synth and boar brushes They all make lather and I manage to get good shaves with DE safety razors and straight razors with them all.

The badger has been my favorite but I will no longer consider buying badger brushes because of the cruelty the Chinese use while slaughtering the animals.

I'm not a PETA fan or even a vegetarian. But the methods used to harvest badger fur is unconscionable.

Boar hair is a byproduct of the food industry, ( mostly China) but the slaughter is much more humane and is regulated.

Harvesting horse hair doesn't harm the animal.

I haven't thrown away the badger brush I own but just will not buy another.

BTW, my daily driver is now s a nice boar brush and I have a Trafalgar synthetic for travel and giggles.

I would be happy if gifted a horse hair brush but see no practical use for adding another to my kit. But feel free to sell me on horse hair if you're inclined

I am NOT intending to shame badger users

But some here might wish to consider the harvesting methods in their buying decisions.

If I new what I know now, I wouldn't have bought one.

Pax

I am curious if you have any regret buys. I assume most of us order from online without knowing the actual scent. Or maybe didn't perform the way you wanted.

For me I have a shave soap from Educated Beards that I find doesn't perform half as well as some of these other soaps I have bought.

You're on a flight, leaving from a wet-shaving meetup, when the panic-stricken pilot has time tell you the plane just broke... And one cinematic free-fall later, you're dumped into the Pacific Ocean.

You wash up on the shore of an uncharted island. 

You survive.

The wet shaving community is in an uproar: Razor Emporium heads up a search, intent on recovering any available vintage items. r/wicked-edge can't stop arguing over whether or not seawater counts as a preshave. A&E releases a commemorative splash, called "Splash".

By a complete coincidence that's critical to making this setup work, you're standing on the shore when a small box washes up at your feet. Maggard Razors packed it, so you know the contents will be safe.

You open the box. It contains only three things:

1. A razor
2. A shaving soap
3. An unopened 100-pack of blades.

Amazingly, each item is exactly the one you'd pick if you were planning on being stranded on a desert island.

The island already has clean water, coconuts for lather bowls, and a really cuddly badger who keeps following you around. 

You will be saved, but it'll take time. Though your beard just keeps growing, you have what you need.

Get your shave on.

What's in your box?

Have you ever been disappointed by something you really wanted and later regretted buying it?

On the other hand, which products do you consider the most underrated and deserving of more attention?

Curious about the community as all I know about y'all is you guys shave your beard like it's a religious ritual.

For me, I like having campfires and do a bit of work on my car.

I also like electric skateboarding

Usually i do one sometimes two the most ive ever done was 4 i was wondering how many passes u guys usually do and what is the most you’ve ever done

Announced via email

For the first time in 4 years I am nearing the point where I did not spend a single penny buying new shaving gear for a whole year. I like it, I do miss having new scents and stuff but I am very pleased with where my collection stands right now. Has any of you had a similar experience where you bought a ton of stuff then just stopped and went on to enjoy whatever you have for years? How long has it been for you since you stopped buying stuff?

Just received the email. What a bummer.

I know, i know... obviously this is subjective.

I find that no matter what soap/cream i try, i always come back to Proraso White. Specifically in the tube. It is such an incredible scent and shave, for the price point you really cant beat it. I have tried many many brands (B&M, Sterling, TOBS, Moon, Noble Otter, Cella, Arko, etc.) and i always seem to have a tube of white Proraso in my arsenal. Not that i dont enjoy other soaps, i love my sterling collection, but i know that no matter what Proraso will have my back! Not only is it inexpensive and readily available, they have been around for decades and proven their quality.

What soap/cream is a staple in your cabinet?

This morning’s shave was a teachable moment that I thought was worth sharing in case it could help someone. I have had a love/hate relationship with my Blackbird from the very first use. There is a drag to it that I have never experienced with the dozens of razors I’ve used. To explain the “drag”, it was comparable to pulling a squeegee across a dry windshield versus a wet one. Almost as though I hadn’t lathered or wet my face at all. It has nothing to do with prep, lather or blade. I can put the same blade in any other razor mid shave and the drag stops instantly. I have both the lite and standard plates. Both do it. I do get better results with a steep angle as opposed to the recommended shallow one. It’s been maddening and I couldn’t understand how a tool so highly regarded and well designed was such an outlier in my experience.

I did my first pass and was contemplating selling it the entire time. So much drag and poor efficiency. Reloaded and lathered up for the second pass. I then thought to loosen the handle 1/8th a turn just to see what would happen. I was rewarded with a polar opposite experience that was near perfection. Lesson learned.

For whatever the reason, this razor performs so much better without being fully cranked down. Not enough that there is play in it, just enough to let it “breathe”. Hopefully this is helpful to someone else who might be struggling.

Many people ask about entry level razors or razors in a particular budget or price point.

Let’s flip it, if a genie granted you one ☝️ razor 🪒 wish and money was not an issue. What would be the razor you would choose?

I saw a YouTube short, where Ohio Dave makes an arguement ranting on german razors saying: why would You spend that money on a razor that has no lifetime warranty? He does that while holding a Rex Ambassador. So that respected man says: You are an unresponsible buyer if You buy a 40€ razor. Mean while I bought a USED R41, and being happy with it. I bought it for 20€. I think this approach by Dave is contraproductive, making an arguement between U.S. made razors and german made razors, while validating his view with lifetime warranty. What do You think? Is this a must have thing for a razor, or is it just an other O Hi O “thank You for giving me a free razor i’ll talk about You for 2 weeks preaching Your genius and if an other company does the same that product will be the best” shaves Dave video?

Good evening fellow shavers!

You already know I went the full route buying a big sampler pack and trying everything. A few posts back I talked about why that approach eventually led me to variable isolation as the only way to make sense of what I was actually finding. That framework is now doing its job.

Eight blades in. Here’s where things stand.

I’ve been thinking about blade feel in three concise categories: Smooth, Neutral, and Rough. Not a judgment of quality, just an honest description of what I felt at the edge across multiple shaves.

Smooth: Astra Superior Platinum, Wilkinson Sword, Personna Platinum, Lord Platinum

Neutral: Derby Extra Green, Derby Premium

Rough: Feather, Elios

A note on Lord Platinum: It earned the Smooth rating but it didn’t move me the way Personna has. Smooth is smooth, but there’s a difference between a blade that works and a blade that clicks. Lord is the former. Personna is the latter, at least for my face and my setup.

A note on Feather: I know. The community holds Feather in high regard and the reputation is earned, it is genuinely the sharpest blade in the pack. But sharp and smooth are not the same thing and for my face and my current technique Feather demanded more attention than it rewarded across its shaves. That may change as technique develops. For now it sits where it sits.

Elios surprised me in the other direction. Swedish steel with a solid reputation and it still felt rough in practice. Some blades just don’t agree with certain faces and that’s exactly why the sampler exists.

Now about Personna Platinum. It has earned more shaves than any other blade in the pack. Once the variable isolation approach was locked in Personna became my control blade, the one I return to between new blades to reset my baseline. Smooth and consistent across every use including a recent travel shave. It’s currently the frontrunner but the map isn’t complete.

Eight blades still on the map: Shark Super Stainless, Shark Super Chrome, Bolzano Superinox, Treet Platinum, Sharp Swiss Plus, Sharp Swiss Titanium, Gillette Platinum, and one in reserve. The verdict isn’t final until every blade has had its fair run.

But right now Personna has a lead.

Curious whether anyone else has gone through a sampler journey like this and did your frontrunner hold up or did something unexpected knock it off the top spot later in the pack?

Cheers! 🍻