Details, we want details

I will answer the two P.Ms that I got sometime this weekend when I have time to take a few photos as words will not help. Thanks.

A decent soap makes all the difference. Ditch your cans of mousse or gel and forget the slimey vials of oil; a rich, thick lather comes only from soap.

If you're scared or even scarred of cut throats, inflate a balloon, brush up and practice with pressure and angle.

Also, leave the soap on your face for a good few minutes before shaving. It needs time. Rushing with a can of gel is fruitless: it'd be dry and crusty before you've begun. Try the luxury of a decent soap bowl and you'll never go back. (Order online for around CHF20; Zurich retail prices can be CHF50+...)

The razor itself is a Mühle with a textured chrome handle:
http://www.nassrasieren.ch/artikelde...13&Marke=Mühle

Badger is this:
http://www.nassrasieren.ch/artikelde...56&Marke=Mühle

Soap:
http://www.nassrasieren.ch/artikelde...0Bond%20Street

Got a few nicks first time round, but I'll get there soon enough.

Nice set up. How is the soap scent?
an alum block is great for nicks and people who dont like alcohol based after shaves.

Actually very subtle, he suggested 2 others but I found them to be too strong.

I bet one was tabac.

Don't recall TBH, but one was very heavily perfumed and the other was Lavender and would have made me smell like my Nanna.

The alum didn't work too well for me, witch hazel worked with me much better.

I have the cream version of Taylor Luxury that is in the "Sunday set-up". It has very distinctive smell, not too strong, quite gentle and hard to describe. Nothing flowery, or too aggressive, certainly no "100 years unopened attic" that Tabac does.

I also use witch hazel, or more specifically DaVinci water. 1/2 witch hazel, 1/2 rose water. Works better than any other after shave I have had and much cheaper too.

Where did you get it from, if I may ask? I just stumbled across witch hazel apparently called here "hammamelis" in some Eastern/Indian/Oriental/Hippie shop .... but they don't sport it anymore.

I get the witch hazel from berg apotheke in stauffacher (zh). But should be available in most natural pharmacies. The rose water I get from an Indian cash and carry.

Managed to find somewhere from ebay germany who shipped brush and soap to CH. So now I have a Mühle Badger, and Hasslinger soap. So far not the greatest for lather but works fine in softening the hair.

Building a great lather is something that takes time (not long) to master. It's not as easy as pressing a button, but not rocket science either. A few tips are to soak both the brush and soap in hot ( but not boiling) water. After shaking out the brush a few times Load the brush up with soap, use more product than you think you need, at least 3/4 of your brush should be caked with soap. Now start to whip the lather in a bowl and only adding water a teaspoon at a time. Whip, add water, whip, add water, whip some more until you get a lather explosion and your whole bowl is full of lather. The lather should not be runny or full of bubbles. It should have a consistency of whipped cream. Check out this link
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...utorial-Part-2

So I popped my DE cherry today. Shaved for the first time with my Edwin Jagger DE89L, and Crystal Platinum Super + blades (israeli made). Soap as mentioned before was Hasslinger Sandalwood.

Did 2 passes and not a single nick or cut. Took me around 6 mins all up (not including mixing the lather). Definitely found it to be a smoother shave, and nowhere near as difficult as some make it out to be.

I'll do this a few times more before I attempt to go against the grain. I get ingrowns easily so am a little apprehensive to try it.

The crystal blade seems nice. Dont think I need anything sharper so I'll stay clear of Feather for now.

I use the old Sensor Excel blades, have for years after trying the various new ones that are more expensive and work less well (shave too close, cause too much irritation, etc). I avoid DE blades because I only shave in the mornings and I'm not a morning person. Speed is more important to me and concentration is not always assured! I get around 20 shaves with each blade, then they get a bit scratchy and I chuck them. This with quite a heavy beard!

I do use soap or cream and a very good badger brush, and have for over 20 years, since I first walked into Trumper in London on a whim and walked out with their sandalwood soap and a best badger brush.

The brush lasted until a few months ago, so I ordered a new one from Simpson, also best badger. The quality is amazing, even nicer than the Trumper brush I wore out. True luxury.

The water is soft here, and I lather directly on to my face, so I use cream these days. I used to like Proraso but can't find it anywhere anymore. I just buy some Palmolive at the supermarket, and get a perfect shave with no irritation. The water is very soft here, so that helps.

I've tried various things and blades over the years, save for a straight razor, and I've found the most important thing in getting a good shave for myself is a good brush and to shave after showering. I like the idea and feel of a proper DE but it's not for me, unfortunately.

this for real!? 20 shaves with one blade? I find this hard to believe...

Hurk! Wow. I was interested in seeing what a cut-throat razor would be like, but some of the prices to set up are just a little out of my league right now. Some of those DE jobs look good though. Interesting thread, I can see I'll have to go back through and see if there are any other good links from it that I can make use of in pricing a setup.

I've managed to make my Mach 3 blades from NZ last this long because I hardly have any facial hair and it grows slowly so I only need to shave ever few days, but they will go away soon enough!

Seems so long ago when I stopped using an electric razor, never quite got the sort of ideal shave I had hoped for with any consistency

I use the standard Gillette Fusion ProGlide and I do that only because it became impossible to find the Mach3 turbo blades or razor itself - after about 2 years, the razor tends to break in the neck section...I was probably most satisfied with that 3 blade power model but the 4 blade is fine too...Blades are expensive but I usually buy abroad in quantities for 12-18 months as I shave 2-3 times a week...I probably get a month out of each blade

I did develop a little routine that is probably not all that common among shavers, even with a standard razor...Thought I'd pass it along as it's a religious part of my shaving routine...American Crew Essential Shaving Oil



I place about a dime sized amount of the oil in the palm of my hand and liberally apply it to the areas of my face/neck I intend to shave - after those areas have been made wet with warm water (Usually right after getting out of the shower in the AM)...I then apply shaving foam over the oil/water mix already on the areas I intend to shave - I was first told it's better to let the oil sort of absorb a little into the pores...From there, shave as you would normally

BTW, I've long heard it's always best to shave with the grain rather than against it...Although to get the closest shave, you do have to go against it in places...Best, I believe, to go with the grain first time through and then touch up areas that need it going against

The advantage from this routine is for ingrown hairs...Before this routine, I would often get ingrown hairs that can be both painful and laborious to remedy...I suppose it's owing to the hair on my face & neck having a swirly/curly growth pattern...If I follow this routine, I rarely come across an ingrown hair...I believe the oil helps the hair that are closest to the skin stand up more to be caught by the shaving blade...One bottle at around 11 USD lasts me about 6 months...American Crew are supposedly pulling this product but I have a good supply for a few years yet...Although, I always wondered whether ordinary olive or cooking oil would do similar

Straight edge razors are a curiosity to me still and while I am tempted to give it a go, just feel I'm too clumsy in the bathroom with such a dangerous weapon so close to the carotid I once punctured an eardrum with a q-tip along with a host of other bathroom injuries

Very soft water here, probably helps.

I just went back to soap over cream and I'm getting even better shaves, really comfortable

I just use a bit of water on the soap, work up a dry lather with the brush, then lather up the rest of the way on my face. Beautiful!

I tried shaving oil years ago but it made the cut hair stick between the twin blades, making it impossible to shave without constantly cleaning the razor. Otherwise a cool product, I guess it would work well with a DE razor.