Art of Shaving - Shaving cream and razor reviews?

I use my Ka-Bar knife and motor oil typically.

I use this LINK

with a dollar shave club razors and love the combo

I use a 2 sided safety razor, lather up the soap with my badger brush. Great feeling shave, and people who know you do it will think you are a boss.

BUT

It does take some practice and time to get used to. Get ready for a few cuts. And if I were you I'd just order a starter set off amazon.
Something like this

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double edge safety razors really are worth the investment

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I bought a couple hundred blades for $20 back in December of 2012. I haven't even used half of the blades so far. I bought the razor for less than $50, soap puck and brush for $20-ish. So, I've spent less than $100 and will still probably get another 9-12 months out of my current supplies.

It would cost about $300 just to get the number of blades I got if I went back to the Gilette Fusion. That doesn't include the shaving gel that I used far more of than this soap puck that has lasted a very, very, very long time.

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I hate shaving

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double edge safety razors

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This...I have used one for years...You spend $35-40 on a decent razor and then $15 a year on decent blades. If you nick yourself, you will get better. If you cut yourself, you are doing something wrong. PRE-shave lotion is a must

Used their products a few times after getting them as a gift. I could definitely tell the difference for what it's worth.

If money is not a concern, I'm telling you you can't beat Gillette fusion. The Art of Shaving lotions and the pre shave are great stuff, however.

All that safety-razor shaving stuff seems more of a hobby than practical, but I'm sure it's a money-saver over buying gilettes every month, and effective. Personally, I go for efficiency:



It even cleans itself.

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It does take some practice and time to get used to. Get ready for a few cuts. And if I were you I'd just order a starter set off amazon.

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I would go way cheaper than that little rec, for someone starting to see if they like it. Feather butterfly/twist to open handle razor ($20 on Amazon), Any cheap badger brush (I'm looking into synthetic but haven't pulled the trigger yet, still, $10-15 either way for a starter), sample pack of blades (100 for $25 covering 7 or so types is easily findable on Amazon, though I would recommend Astra blades, either chrome or stainless, if you'd rather just a single style, usually run 12-17 cents/blade if I remember correctly), Taylor of Old Street Bond soap (~$12), coconut oil as a pre shave (another 5-7, probably want to avoid if you have an acne problem, but I haven't ever had a problem with it), available at any pharmacy or grocery store for about $5-7, Skin Bracer (blue) aftershave ($3-5 range). Any coffee mug works to lather the soap. You can invest in a stand and a nicer bowl/mug if you want to continue shaving this way. And then you have everything, at a slightly lower cost than your stand, handle, brush, bowl set for less. Everything above can, at worst, be relegated to 'travel duty' if you want a nicer/heavier handle and brush later.



You can search for the 'refined men hot shaving cream' on google and find the thread here from a few weeks ago. It went several pages and touched on very similar topics that have been covered here (and presumably will be covered later in this one).

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If money is not a concern, I'm telling you you can't beat Gillette fusion. The Art of Shaving lotions and the pre shave are great stuff, however.

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Gillette Fusion wins in terms of convenience. The shave is only about equal to a DE razor, though. With a Fusion, if you are in a pinch, you can shave in the shower with no mirror, no cream, and still come away with a decent shave without much/any razor burn (depending on beard thickness and days since last shave). You won't be able to do that with a DE. I have a real finicky spot on my neck that likes to get 'burned' about 1/3 the time, regardless of prep. I didn't really have that problem with a multi-blade.