There is SOMETHING in there...I forget what it is. It may be the oil you speak of. I can't remember!
There is SOMETHING in there...I forget what it is. It may be the oil you speak of. I can't remember!
...Where did you get that hat, where did you get that tile? Isn't it a nobby one and just the proper style! I should like to have one just the same as that. Whereever I go they'd shout "hello, where did you get that hat?..."
"Not Yet Published" - My Writing and History Blog
Heh, I'll definitely keep my eyes peeled for one of those bad boys. For now I'm going to keep practicing with grandpa's Gillette and see if I can't get some even better results. My wife found some all-natural after-shave balm at the local organic market, so I think I'll invest in some of that as well to complete the experience. The grain of my hair on my neck and under my chin is very strange, grows in all sorts of weird directions, so it makes it a bit difficult to get a really close shave everywhere.Originally Posted by Shangas
The Odyssey continues...
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/9912/gtsig.jpg
“Nowhere in the world will such a brotherly feeling of confidence be experienced as amongst those who sit together smoking their pipes.”
http://s198.photobucket.com/albums/a...t=IMG_1314.jpghttp://s198.photobucket.com/albums/a...t=IMG_1313.jpghttp://s198.photobucket.com/albums/a...t=IMG_1311.jpgThis thread got me thinking...I should get back into the wet shave business instead of the electric. So here is what I have to start with: A gillette safety razor, and a 'precision-blue beard stropper' made by The Beardsley and Wolcott MFG Co.. Unfortunately it needs to be restored as the leather windings are starting to desintegrate. Has anyone ever heard of these people or seen this before? I have a brush as well-Boars bristle I think. Is there a store where I can buy the missing pieces or do I have to go to several different places?
Mike
I'm guessing by the look of that wind-up contraption that it's actually a machine intended for stropping straight razors, so it's not required for use with your safety razor. Safety razors take those old fashioned flat razor blades you can still buy at most drug stores. Of course you want to make sure your old safety razor is immaculately clean before you begin. As to which specific kind of blades to buy, others on the forum could better advise you; in my case, my choices were limited to two options so I bought both to try out. Your boar brush is fine to start, but badger is the best; my brush is a boar at the moment but I'll buy a badger if I decide to keep at this.
Then you'll need to buy either some proper shave soap or shave cream (not that aerosol crap in a spray can). Personally, I like the extra-old style of using shave soap, because creams were a more recent (still very old) invention.
It's advisable, although not required, to get some good natural pre-shave oil to spread on your face before the lather and a good natural aftershave balm (stay away from anything with alcohol, it does nothing good for you). Also I strongly advise getting a styptic pencil and/or alum block; I know mine has been very necessary in my first two shaves. Stings like hell; as they say, pain is a good teacher.
Everything I learned about how to do this I gleaned from the book "The Art of Shaving" and posts on Art of Manliness, provided here:
http://artofmanliness.com/2008/01/04...-your-grandpa/
http://artofmanliness.com/2010/08/19...-shaving-gear/
Also there are several forums devoted to the classic wet shave. One of the best, I'm told, is Badger and Blade:
Badger & Blade - Home
Incidentally, the authors of the aforementioned book also run a store by the same name which has locations in a few different cities. If you have one in your area, I guarantee they have everything you need to get started. You could also try Amazon.com; in my experience they sell darn near everything!
Best of luck to you! Welcome to the brotherhood of vintage shaving!
Last edited by Gin&Tonics; 06-26-2012 at 11:12 PM.
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/9912/gtsig.jpg
“Nowhere in the world will such a brotherly feeling of confidence be experienced as amongst those who sit together smoking their pipes.”
Wow what WAS that thing? Lol! I've never seen anything like it and wouldnt begin to know how to use it. Pretty cool though.
My dad passed away, so those websites are where I learned everything I know about the subject too.
I just posted this on another thread before I saw this one. Check out "Mantics" shave You Tube Videos. http://www.youtube.com/user/mantic59/videos
Those videos are the best around and will show you EVERYTHING you need to know about wet shaving...and I mean EVERYTHING!
To Gin/Tonics...Once you get the bug for the vintage shave stuff, it's hard to stop. 7 months ago, I got back into wet shaving and bought 1 new Merkur Razor. I then bought 1 vintage Gillette. That was all it took...
Since then I have bought over 300 razors (restore/sell) and have about 100 in my collection. These are just a few. I ran out of room and need to buy a couple of more curio cabinets.
My razor is 'adjustable' in that I can bend the blade to different angles. Is this so you can adjust the depth/coarse/fine cut?
Mike
In a matter of speaking...yes. The adjustablility gives you a mild to aggressive shave. The lower the #, the milder the shave. Gillette adjustable on the #1 setting has a blade gap opening of .56mm. #5 is .81mm and #9 is 1.14mm opening. Many guys will use a higher # setting if they have a growth of more than a couple days, then they dial it down a bit for the next pass; and so on. This is how you can achieve an extremely close shave with no irritation.
On the Adjustables, Gillette's especially, it is very important to make sure the head is open before changing settings. Otherwise it can stress the mechanism.
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