Equipment Crew- Part III

[jackbravo]

I was surprised by the quality of finish in the Merkur, I wasn't expecting it to be all that great for the price I paid, but the chrome is very nicely done. I was going to choose between this, or the Bluebeards Revenge Scimitar. I went with this as I liked the weight/heavy duty feel, and its been about longer with a loyal following.

The Taylor Cream seems nice so far, and the Mrs likes the smell of it, but its not a smell I would want everyday, so I'm on the look out for another next month. I was thinking of going for Keets suggestion on the Proraso but I'll take any other recommendations.

that's a nice looking kit. i've been wanting to try that taylor and bond. the only thing I would change is the brush. This HIS brush is highly reviewed on the badgerandblade forum, and is available from amazon. It's supposed to be the best brush under $100. Though, I'm not sure if amazon uk has it. Click pic for review.

[ProtienandIron]

That brush certainly gets good reviews. Theres talk of it being offered over here soon, so I'll keep an eye out for it. The brush I got feels good right now, and according to reviews it breaks in even better, if it lasts me 6 months I'll be happy, I'll be looking to upgrade then. I've neglected this for so long that it meant I had to buy all new, which is quite an expenditure, but now I've got it I think it'll pay for itself in the long run with the amount saved on blades.

[morebarbell]

I was surprised by the quality of finish in the Merkur, I wasn't expecting it to be all that great for the price I paid, but the chrome is very nicely done. I was going to choose between this, or the Bluebeards Revenge Scimitar. I went with this as I liked the weight/heavy duty feel, and its been about longer with a loyal following.

The Taylor Cream seems nice so far, and the Mrs likes the smell of it, but its not a smell I would want everyday, so I'm on the look out for another next month. I was thinking of going for Keets suggestion on the Proraso but I'll take any other recommendations.

I bought the Crabtree & Evelyn brushes based on reviews at B&B but I haven't looked at that site in a long time. I think it cost $50 on sale. It's lasted six years so far and it's still going strong. It makes enough lather for myself and the rest of the neighborhood. I do hang my brushes upside down on a rack to keep it in good condition. The one that you picked looks good to me.

I've had my Merkur razor for quite a while and it still looks brand new.

I'd second Keets recommendation of Proraso.

An ex gf bought me a few of the more expensive creams in some of the more popular scents like lime, avocado, sandlewood, rose... I think one may have been coconut (no homo)... but I'm happy with Proraso. And some of the more expensive creams are a little like candy, especially the real sweet smelling ones. A little bit is nice once in a while but every day might be too much.

[ProtienandIron]

I bought the Crabtree & Evelyn brushes based on reviews at B&B but I haven't looked at that site in a long time. I think it cost $50 on sale. It's lasted six years so far and it's still going strong. It makes enough lather for myself and the rest of the neighborhood. I do hang my brushes upside down on a rack to keep it in good condition. The one that you picked looks good to me.

I've had my Merkur razor for quite a while and it still looks brand new.

I'd second Keets recommendation of Proraso.

An ex gf bought me a few of the more expensive creams in some of the more popular scents like lime, avocado, sandlewood, rose... I think one may have been coconut (no homo)... but I'm happy with Proraso. And some of the more expensive creams are a little like candy, especially the real sweet smelling ones. A little bit is nice once in a while but every day might be too much.

That proraso is almost certainly going to be my next buy. Those C+E brushes look very good for the price, and have a nice style to them. 6years of use makes it sound like even more of a bargain. I need to get a drip stand for mine.

[AttyGuy]

For all you mothers, but not you Mothers, Happy Mother's Day!

[rthawker]

Hooray! I will finally be able to quit my gym membership! BFS has a warehouse here in Salt Lake City and they were having a huge sale on a lot of equipment. I hadn't originally planned on going but as the wife and I were running errands I mentioned it and she said lets go. I got these three pieces for $1450.00.





The rack is used but it also comes with the platform and two sets of spotters, one short and one long. The Lat machine will have the low row as well and I believe it is new if not a floor model. He said he would have it pulled from the warehouse when I pick it up tomorrow. The GHD isn't as comfortable as the Rogue Abram that I've been using at my current gym and it makes the movement a little more difficult but I guess I'll just have to get stronger. They also have a table full of small stuff for $5 each so I'm going to stock up on attachments for the lat machine too. I'm just so happy to finally be done with the dopes at my gym and to also work out at more reasonable time than at 9:00pm after the kids go to bed.

[Wildtim]

Very nice stuff.

[KBKB]

Below are two of the snakes I saw while riding my bike today. I saw the rattler first and what might be a bull snake perhaps 400 yards later. The second snake was curious about my camera and started slithering towards me as I snapped a bunch of photos. As I've mentioned in the past, I do exposure bracketing. In the frame one tenth of a second earlier and the frame one tenth of a second later, the snake isn't showing it's tongue. But, luckily, I got it as it darted out for the -0.7EV exposure. (I would've preferred using one of the other exposures, but I liked the one where its forked tongue was out the best. I just bumped the exposure compensation up an extra bit while processing it.)

[Stasher1]

Hooray! I will finally be able to quit my gym membership! BFS has a warehouse here in Salt Lake City and they were having a huge sale on a lot of equipment. I hadn't originally planned on going but as the wife and I were running errands I mentioned it and she said lets go. I got these three pieces for $1450.00.

http://www.biggerfasterstronger.com/...0197-500px.jpg
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The rack is used but it also comes with the platform and two sets of spotters, one short and one long. The Lat machine will have the low row as well and I believe it is new if not a floor model. He said he would have it pulled from the warehouse when I pick it up tomorrow. The GHD isn't as comfortable as the Rogue Abram that I've been using at my current gym and it makes the movement a little more difficult but I guess I'll just have to get stronger. They also have a table full of small stuff for $5 each so I'm going to stock up on attachments for the lat machine too. I'm just so happy to finally be done with the dopes at my gym and to also work out at more reasonable time than at 9:00pm after the kids go to bed.

Congrats! Looks like you scored some nice pieces there. Looking forward to seeing pics of them in their new home.

For the most part, I'm a "live and let live" kinda guy...but there's something about the sight of a rattle snake that makes the irrational side of my brain scream "Shoot it, shoot it! Kill the damn thing! What the hell are you waiting for? Shoot it!!!"

[animalfan]

Hooray! I will finally be able to quit my gym membership! BFS has a warehouse here in Salt Lake City and they were having a huge sale on a lot of equipment. I hadn't originally planned on going but as the wife and I were running errands I mentioned it and she said lets go. I got these three pieces for $1450.00.

Nice! With the weather finally getting better, I'll be using my home gym more often. Hope to have the garage heated before next winter.

That's a fantastic pic!

[KBKB]

BFS has a warehouse here in Salt Lake City and they were having a huge sale on a lot of equipment. I hadn't originally planned on going but as the wife and I were running errands I mentioned it and she said lets go. I got these three pieces...

Very nice! I especially like the looks of the lat/row machine.

For the most part, I'm a "live and let live" kinda guy...but there's something about the sight of a rattle snake that makes the irrational side of my brain scream "Shoot it, shoot it! Kill the damn thing! What the hell are you waiting for? Shoot it!!!"

We see quite a few of them here. I was actually concerned for its safety. Both snakes were lying across the trail in order to warm up. I had to nudge the tail of the rattler twice before it woke up. When I poked it's tail with a stick again a few minutes later, it assumed the defensive posture, but still stayed pretty much glued to the spot it occupied ever since I first saw it. Only by spewing a mouthful of water on it was I able to get it to move off into the grass.

That's a fantastic pic!

Thanks!

[Keetman]

....So, some of my new shaving gear turned up today and I got to give it a whirl. I've always seen shaving as a complete chore. But now I think thats going to change. I've got some nice products that no longer smell of harsh chemicals, and the cost of blades is ridiculously cheap, to the point where I can change it every shave if I wanted to.

The stuff I bought was very reasonably priced but I'm happy with the quality at this stage. I bought the Merkur 34c heavy duty razor, and Astra blades, as well as some Feather blades which are meant to be amoung the sharpest. The shaving cream is Taylor of Old Bond street, which seemed to get a load of good reviews. Grosvener badger n bristle brush, was very cheap, but is very heavy and well made for the price- and a massive improvement on the brush I have been using for the past year. I also got some shave oil which is a new concept on me, but thought I'd give it a try. i never thought I would be talking about shaving gear on a forum, but I'm glad you guys introduced me to it. Cheers.

LoL....I forget exactly how I was turned on to DE shaving, but I actually believe it was from a thread in the misc about shaving! I started reading about it and like you, decided to try it out. Like I said before, it didn't do much for me originally, but since I've been using the astra blades, my success has been much greater and this is how I shave now. My only real complaint now is that in the mornings it sometimes adds too much time to my routine, so I will usually try to shave before I go to bed. I like the process, but it takes away from it if I have to hurry....not to mention increasing my chances of nicking my self....and with the DE....a nick is a bit more aggressive than with normal commercial razors. Speaking of which....I'd suggest you get a styptic pencil if you don't already have one. It takes a whisper thin movement to draw blood with these things and there will obviously be a learning curve for you.

I am still quite the novice, but I really do like the shave I get with my setup. Good luck.

Here is my setup. I haven't gone too crazy with all this. In that picture of my normal gear, I've got about $135 invested, but that includes the $40 scuttle and about $12 or so for the acrylic razor stand....neither will need to be replaced and the scuttle wasn't necessary. I chose a simple $10 Tweezerman badger brush because it got a lot of good reviews and it was cheap for a badger brush. I know there are plenty of brush snobs out there that would scoff at this purchase....but I wasn't spending $50 on a brush out the gate. To be honest, the brush seems like little more than a vehicle to me and the tweezerman is working just fine....I could be missing something, but I doubt it.

I bought some Pinaud clubman aftershave....its a little "old school" for most...but I do like its barbershop style smell. I also have the astra's and I like them enough that I'll get them as long as they make them. The little bottle of Crew Oil is preshave oil. I'm not convinced this is necessary either and at $12 a bottle, I think there are other options. It certainly doesn't become the wonder product the ad says it will.

In case you're not aware...the scuttle holds water in the bottom and the front reservoir. It is heated to give a warm shave and the brush stays in the front to keep it warm too while you're shaving. The inside of the bowl has special textures to help create the lather. My experience with this has been mostly.....meh. It is well made and is a nice cup for lather. However, its inconvenient to heat, doesn't really warm the soap up any discernible amount, and if I keep the brush in the reservoir between passes, it becomes too wet and the soap becomes a mess. Just some observations on my part, but if I had it to do over again, I'd probably have the same maker provide me a simple bowl instead.




This is another little razor I ended up getting off of Ebay. Its a Stahly "live" blade. Its an interesting little razor that can be wound up to vibrate while shaving. I got it because it had a nice wide handle though. I thought it would be easier to grasp when shaving the back of my head. It is, but its a milder shaver than the Edwin Jager (above) and I preferred the more aggressive shave I got with it so I don't even use the Stahly anymore. I still think its interesting though.



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[morebarbell]

That's a nice setup. I did a search on Gmail and pulled up my purchases. I spent around $100 for two razors, two brushes, and a plastic stand in 2007. I bought two Merkur razors for 22.50 each shipped from amazon and two Cream Best Badger Small 130291 brushes for $25 each after coupons (original price was $35) from Crabtree-Evelyn. Now they raised the price on the Best Badger to $65 each and sell the Pure Badger for $35. I couldn't find the receipt for the blades that I bought on eBay. I don't have a scuttle. I make lather on my face and use cold water for after shave.

[Accutron]

KB, very nice snake pics I always like to see you photos of nature in that desert area.

[ProtienandIron]

Great pics as always KB. The pre strike one at the top is wall art material for the gym IMO.


@Keet. Great pic, nice to see exactly what you're working with. The styptic pencil is on my to buy list now. The scuttle you had made has got to be amoung the best looking I've seen, I'm glad you explained it because I've been trying to figure out how it works. I would offer to buy it off you if I didn't think my boy would knock it over. At the moment I'm using a chrome bowl which I found amoung my camping gear. Its the perfect size, and nice and easy to clean when finished. My original plan was to use the dutch army mug, but from first use I found its depth and shape a little impractical (fine for the field though). Right now its acting as a stand/tidy for my razor, brush, and oil. The bowl is just the right size to fit my Taylors Cream tub in, so it saves a little space on the shelf.

Like you, I'm not sold on the whole pre shave oil thing after I tried it last night. Before I bought it, it seemed like everyone was recommending it on the shave forums, now all I see is people saying "don't bother" lol. I toyed with the idea of making my own, but then it just seemed cheaper to buy a pre made for my first. I'm glad I did, as I won't be bothering now.

I like the tabasco looking bottle on that Pinaud its not a brand we get here, but I like old school smells, hence the old spice in my pic. I find a lot of the modern ones to be a bit too floral for my tastes.

Good choice of razors, I like the idea of a compact one like that for my hiking. As you know in our job, we live away from home a lot on normal duty or courses, so any other razor I buy one day can always be put to regular travel or work use. I'm tempted to try another someday, but for now I have to fight the urge and stick with my Merkur. I've bought a load of different blades to try (derby, wilkinson, shark, gillette, and more), but I bought a load of astras, so for now I'm going to keep it consistant with them before I go switching things up. So far the Astras (blue n white) feel fine to me, but it will be interesting to see if other blades make a difference, good or bad.


@Mbarbell. Looks like you got some good prices. It seems like we have all spent quite a lot so far, but in the long haul, they are likely to pay for themselves... assuming we don't all go wild buying multiple razors and other unnecassary duplicates. I feel like we need a shaving thread in here, but its probably the wrong forum for it... that said, its got more relevence then some of the stuff asked.lol

[Keetman]

.......@Keet. Great pic, nice to see exactly what you're working with. The styptic pencil is on my to buy list now. The scuttle you had made has got to be amoung the best looking I've seen, I'm glad you explained it because I've been trying to figure out how it works. I would offer to buy it off you if I didn't think my boy would knock it over. At the moment I'm using a chrome bowl which I found amoung my camping gear. Its the perfect size, and nice and easy to clean when finished. My original plan was to use the dutch army mug, but from first use I found its depth and shape a little impractical (fine for the field though). Right now its acting as a stand/tidy for my razor, brush, and oil. The bowl is just the right size to fit my Taylors Cream tub in, so it saves a little space on the shelf.

Ya gotta have a styptic pencil or some other type of nick stopper. I mean, its like anything else...its far better to not cut yourself. However, you're dealing with a razor and an old school safety razor at that (irony is thick at the "safety" name...although I understand they probably named it this in regards to it being safer than Wildtim's straight razor ). You're also dealing with a soft material (skin), different angles, inability to see, and sometimes....the clock. Stuff is going to happen and while I cut myself far less than when I was 16.....there are times when I feel the need to put a tourniquet on my neck .

I did buy an alum block after it being suggested on B&B, but I didn't like it for some reason. I can't even remember why, tbh. I got it in January and only used it a few times. Since then I've bought a new 2 pack of styptic pencils and until I break them or lose them, they'll be just fine.

The scuttle is a neat idea, maybe I'm using it wrong. It might also be that I got it just about the time I got that home made soap on ebay. I immediately put the puck in the bowl and microwaved it.....turning it immediately to milk....which I had to let sit for about 24 hours before I could shave with it. Now the puck is molded to the bowl and I can't try anything new in it until its gone. This might also be part of the problem with keeping the brush in the front...it makes the soap too sloppy, but I'm not sure if that is going to be universal, or just with this crappy soap.

I can tell you that the scuttle is a Robert Becker creation. He is well known on the B&B site. I thought he made a beautiful product for a reasonable price and his customer service was impeccable. When my scuttle arrived, as I pulled it out of the box I found this:


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I called him immediately before I'd even unwrapped it as much as you see in the picture. He felt terrible and said he had never had one break on him before. He had to make another one, so it couldn't come immediately, but he stayed in great communication with me, offered no excuses or arguments, and shipped out a new one in perfect condition in a reasonable amount of time. He has a long lead time because he gets plenty of word of mouth from B&B, but he makes a good product and I'd buy from him again. Oh...I fixed the handle on the first one with JB weld....not sure if it will work in the long run and its not exactly a work of art.....but I technically have 2 now!

Like you, I'm not sold on the whole pre shave oil thing after I tried it last night. Before I bought it, it seemed like everyone was recommending it on the shave forums, now all I see is people saying "don't bother" lol. I toyed with the idea of making my own, but then it just seemed cheaper to buy a pre made for my first. I'm glad I did, as I won't be bothering now.

Yea, I'm not convinced that just about any type of body oil wouldn't work exactly the same and be purchased at the grocery store for a fraction of the cost.

I like the tabasco looking bottle on that Pinaud its not a brand we get here, but I like old school smells, hence the old spice in my pic. I find a lot of the modern ones to be a bit too floral for my tastes.

You might want to keep an eye out. Pinaud has been around for about 200 years....someone in the UK has to sell it.

I did find this link for you to a company in your country, but right now they are out of stock. You might contact them if you're interested. Its definitely an old school smell....but in a good way. I like it and unless I'm using lotion (which is nice sometimes since I shave my head too), I prefer this tried/true original from a product that's been around since Napoleon .

http://www.manmachine.co/ed-pinaud-c...ion-370ml.html

Good choice of razors, I like the idea of a compact one like that for my hiking. As you know in our job, we live away from home a lot on normal duty or courses, so any other razor I buy one day can always be put to regular travel or work use. I'm tempted to try another someday, but for now I have to fight the urge and stick with my Merkur. I've bought a load of different blades to try (derby, wilkinson, shark, gillette, and more), but I bought a load of astras, so for now I'm going to keep it consistant with them before I go switching things up. So far the Astras (blue n white) feel fine to me, but it will be interesting to see if other blades make a difference, good or bad.

This definitely has the potential to be as bad as the exercise equipment. I mean...I've found sites that sell $200 brushes....seriously? Right now I can't see much reason to buy any other razors unless I start collecting them. However, I have too much crap as it is....I'm not sure I want to start collecting anything right now. I'd rather spend my time/resources trying to find really good soaps and aftershaves.....I feel pretty good right now with the razor and the blades I'm working with. The soap/lather is a mystery to me that I'm working on and while I like the Pinaud....I think the aftershave situation is more of an art than a science. For different situations I prefer different ways to wrap up the shave.....actually right now I have 2 options...but I'm working on it .

[Accutron]

Not related to anything you guys are saying, so ignore the didnt read part, but here is another funny crossfit exercise, LOLOLOL

Throwing a bar into the air, standing with a ball right around your feet, I wonder who invents these exercises...

[Keetman]

Not related to anything you guys are saying, so ignore the didnt read part, but here is another funny crossfit exercise, LOLOLOL

Throwing a bar into the air, standing with a ball right around your feet, I wonder who invents these exercises...

LoL.....there's a member here that likes to use crossfitters as an example of people that are doing it ok even though they don't use the "standard" equipment we tout. This clip illustrates nicely why that opinion is fairly irrelevant.

I have no general problem with crossfit....its ultimately people trying to better themselves and push themselves. However, this is just dumb. Unless you're a circus entertainer and are trying to make money by doing incredible things.....the risk here far....FAR outweighs the gain. The chances of missing that bar are pretty great and the injury could be severe.

Nothing anyone can say is going to change my mind. This is retarded.

[Wildtim]

I guess I'll throw a couple old shave of the day photos out there too.



This one has a picture of what I use for a scuttle when I'm going for the luxury shave Its a corning soup mug and a 4" ramikin put together. The aftershave is a nice moisturizer and a good scent.



Mostly the same stuff but this is trader Joes shave creme, it doesn't lather much but is very slippery it likes to clog safety razors though.



Clubman and Palmolive. Great classic scents and a good cheap creme. I've used Clubman as my go to since I was in high school, reminds me of the barber shop I got may hair cut as a kid. They used clubman talc.



I tried to go artsy with this one, not real imformative just cool. The razor was a give away back in the twenties, buy a subscription to Michigan Farmer Magazine, get a free razor, this one is mint (and a biotch to sharpen).

[Accutron]

LoL.....there's a member here that likes to use crossfitters as an example of people that are doing it ok even though they don't use the "standard" equipment we tout. This clip illustrates nicely why that opinion is fairly irrelevant.

I have no general problem with crossfit....its ultimately people trying to better themselves and push themselves. However, this is just dumb. Unless you're a circus entertainer and are trying to make money by doing incredible things.....the risk here far....FAR outweighs the gain. The chances of missing that bar are pretty great and the injury could be severe.

Nothing anyone can say is going to change my mind. This is retarded.

True...I dont really know much about Crossfit, but the idea to me is that you do a general cross section of exercises for general fitness. You cant climb ladders or move bags of cement all day, so you do similar exercises in the gym, that makes sense to me. But some people get really hyped up and carried away.

Its easy to do a bench.squat.dead.mil press, those are kind of simple, throwing bars in the air, or overhead press when standing with one leg on a kettle bell what are you even doing?

Still people like Crossfit and will call me out for picking some bad examples, so here is an early crossfit pioneer, lololol. (Atty you can save this pics for the Yorks!)

[ProtienandIron]

Thanks for the link Keet, they sell some good stuff. I'll be keeping an eye on it. its a shame about the broken bowl, but its good to see him honour the sale, especially considering how busy he is. With regards to lather, if you are ever looking for an easy one, go for some Taylors, its nothing short of spectacular. What sold it to me was the vids on YT showing it in action.


Nice pics Wildtim. My whole life has been building up to using a straight razor. I've been pricing them up for a few days now as a way of giving me something to work towards. I think I need to get some mileage out of the DE, but then after that, I think I may have an idea for a christmas present. I'm liking the look of the Boker razors, but I need to do a lot more research yet.

Lol @ the crossfit gif. Unfortunatly Crossfit could have been good for what its designed for, but its been taken over by idiocy IMHO.

[Stasher1]

I dug out my old 60's Gillette and picked up a new pack of Wilkinson blades yesterday ($1.76 at Walmart ) and gave it a whirl for the first time in at least a decade. I had actually forgotten how well it worked, and it's definitely more economical than the disposable crap I've been buying @ $8 or so for a four pack.

Now you guys have me eyeballin' a couple Merkurs.


Damn Equipment Crew.

[Keetman]

I dug out my old 60's Gillette and picked up a new pack of Wilkinson blades yesterday ($1.76 at Walmart ) and gave it a whirl for the first time in at least a decade. I had actually forgotten how well it worked, and it's definitely more economical than the disposable crap I've been buying @ $8 or so for a four pack.

Now you guys have me eyeballin' a couple Merkurs.


Damn Equipment Crew.

LoL.... you don't have to go crazy man. You can get into a nice new DE for $30-40, $10 for some astra blades, $10 for some soap, and another $10 for a tweezerman badger brush like I was talking about, then just use an old coffee mug to lather up!. Bam.... $70 and you're dancing for a long time. That pack of Astra blades for $10 gets you 100 blades shipped to your door....as long as you like them of course....its a great deal.

The problem with this is that we all know it doesn't end there....don't we? I'm currently perusing amazon for a beautiful Merkur Futur.....that is an absolute non-necessary part of this silliness.

[Stasher1]

LoL.... you don't have to go crazy man. You can get into a nice new DE for $30-40, $10 for some astra blades, $10 for some soap, and another $10 for a tweezerman badger brush like I was talking about, then just use an old coffee mug to lather up!. Bam.... $70 and you're dancing for a long time. That pack of Astra blades for $10 gets you 100 blades shipped to your door....as long as you like them of course....its a great deal.

The problem with this is that we all know it doesn't end there....don't we? I'm currently perusing amazon for a beautiful Merkur Futur.....that is an absolute non-necessary part of this silliness.

I'll definitely wind up with a new Merkur within the next week or so, but I'm also looking at some vintage Gillettes, Gems, and Schicks as well. My old Gillette has never given me a moment of trouble in the 25+ years I've owned it, and it's American-made.

I'm still not sold on the brush and other stuff, though. I shave in the shower, so the majority of that stuff just seems like it would be a PITA.

[Keetman]

........
I'm still not sold on the brush and other stuff, though. I shave in the shower, so the majority of that stuff just seems like it would be a PITA.

Slight confession....and this is going to make some purebloods dry-heave......


When I'm in a hurry before work.....I have broke out the Barbasol can shave cream and taken care of business with it and my Edwin Jager. No brush, no mug, no frothy lather......just foamy cream and my DE.

It worked just fine.

I really like the mug & brush and lathering up with the soap....but with my current woas and ill success with the soaps I've tried.....it can be a pita. As far as the brush goes...I just absolutely fail to comprehend what a $60 brush is going to bring me that the $10 tweezerman can't. The brush isn't what's giving me fits with the lather...because I've had some successful tries and what I have seems to get it on my face just fine.

I will continue with the M&B..... because I like the whole concept....but I'm not even pretending that I'm making miracles happen on my beard!


I guess this would be the equivalent of "....weight is weight...."

[rthawker]

I'll definitely wind up with a new Merkur within the next week or so, but I'm also looking at some vintage Gillettes, Gems, and Schicks as well. My old Gillette has never given me a moment of trouble in the 25+ years I've owned it, and it's American-made.

I'm still not sold on the brush and other stuff, though. I shave in the shower, so the majority of that stuff just seems like it would be a PITA.

I shave in the shower as well. I have a shaving mirror that is suctioned to the glass and my brush fits perfectly in the razor holder that is built into it. I keep a tube of cream on the shelf and I just put a dallop on the brush and lather directly on my face. No need for anything else.

[matrix563]

True...I dont really know much about Crossfit, but the idea to me is that you do a general cross section of exercises for general fitness. You cant climb ladders or move bags of cement all day, so you do similar exercises in the gym, that makes sense to me. But some people get really hyped up and carried away.

Its easy to do a bench.squat.dead.mil press, those are kind of simple, throwing bars in the air, or overhead press when standing with one leg on a kettle bell what are you even doing?

Still people like Crossfit and will call me out for picking some bad examples, so here is an early crossfit pioneer, lololol. (Atty you can save this pics for the Yorks!)

giving this post

[Wildtim]

LoL.... you don't have to go crazy man. You can get into a nice new DE for $30-40, $10 for some astra blades, $10 for some soap, and another $10 for a tweezerman badger brush like I was talking about, then just use an old coffee mug to lather up!. Bam.... $70 and you're dancing for a long time. That pack of Astra blades for $10 gets you 100 blades shipped to your door....as long as you like them of course....its a great deal.

The problem with this is that we all know it doesn't end there....don't we? I'm currently perusing amazon for a beautiful Merkur Futur.....that is an absolute non-necessary part of this silliness.

Or you could be an absolute cheapass like myself. My favorite razor is a vintage Gillette I got for free but I tried a dozen I picked up at a flea market for about a buck each. Mug from the dollar store a six buck brush from CVS and a pack of carbon platinum blades from the same source. Your in business for less than $20. If you think it could be smoother you can step up the blades and save for a better brush. I actually spend way more on my soaps than anything else. Of course I have spent way way more than that over time especially on the straights.


If you want a straight I would start here:

http://straightrazorplace.com/classifieds/

Odds are anytrhing sold here as "shave ready" actually is. Most places have no idea how sharp a razor actually has to be most new ones are barely half way there.

[morebarbell]

Tim, Neat straight razor. One of these days I'll pick one up. The bay rum is also something that I had intended to try.

Stasher, I hate to say it in an equipment forum... but that Gillette is probably the only razor you'll need unless you want a different style.

[morebarbell]

Not related to anything you guys are saying, so ignore the didnt read part, but here is another funny crossfit exercise, LOLOLOL

Throwing a bar into the air, standing with a ball right around your feet, I wonder who invents these exercises...

Maybe dentists and oral surgeons?