Father's Day Gift - Shaving Set

[Young Scrappy]

He shaves everyday but he's old school but I heard good things about a shaving brush. I think he uses Mach 3.

I'm looking to spend $50 - $75 on a shaving brush and a good shaving cream. With the shaving brush, how do you apply the shaving cream to it? Is the brush dipped into a bowl of some sort with hot water and shaving cream? So do I need to buy a bowl? Please help.


I saw this but there's no bowl.

http://www.classicshaving.com/catalo...11/5844346.htm

 

[amerikajinda]

Check out mantic59's videos (there are 34!) on youtube to get up-to-speed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7Aj...eature=related

 

[Tcameron]

Check out The Art of Shaving. Rather pricey, but for 38 dollars you get pre-shave lotion, shaving cream, aftershave and a brush. The full size kit goes for $100. http://www.theartofshaving.com/taos6...group=20&cat=8 I use the Sandalwood scented and it's absolutley divine. With a shaving brush you can use a wodden bowl that uses shaving soap and just add a little water to create lather, or use the smallest amount of this shaving cream in a shallow bowl or mug to lather up. you usually run hot water into a mug with the brush in it to heat the mug and wet the bristles of badger hair. You then let the badger hair drain out and begin whipping inside of the mug to crater lather. Hope this helps!

 

[Thomas]

...try visiting badgerandblade.com for some more info. I think there are a few other vendors who sell similar set-ups, but their site addresses escape me at the moment.

 

[eidolon]

Originally Posted by Thomas

...try visiting badgerandblade.com for some more info. I think there are a few other vendors who sell similar set-ups, but their site addresses escape me at the moment.
menessentials.com has the $100 Art of Shaving kit for $10 off today (qualifies for free shipping too). I actually just bought it because my brush fell apart and I needed some new gear.

 

[phil47]

Art of Shaving brushes are generally over-priced and mediocre. If you're looking for a brush from a "bricks and mortar" store look for a Crabtree & Evelyn store: their $35 Best Badger Brush is made by a respected British manufacturer and is a great price. If you don't mind online you can find brushes at Amazon. Some other online vendors include Classic Shaving, Em's Place, and Lee's Razors. Mantic59 mentioned above also has a blog with some helpful links.

 

[eidolon]

Originally Posted by phil47

Art of Shaving brushes are generally over-priced and mediocre. If you're looking for a brush from a "bricks and mortar" store look for a Crabtree & Evelyn store: their $35 Best Badger Brush is made by a respected British manufacturer and is a great price. If you don't mind online you can find brushes at Amazon. Some other online vendors include Classic Shaving, Em's Place, and Lee's Razors. Mantic59 mentioned above also has a blog with some helpful links.

You can get the $35 brush online from Crabtree & Evelyn.

 

[mikej77]

Another place to check out is www.groominglounge.com. They are based out of DC/VA but carry some nice products on their website.

 

[Young Scrappy]

I went with Crabtree badger brush and holder. I got the art of shaving lavender shaving cream. Am I doing disservice for letting him still use the Mach 3?

 

[Gradstudent78]

Originally Posted by Young Scrappy

I went with Crabtree badger brush and holder. I got the art of shaving lavender shaving cream. Am I doing disservice for letting him still use the Mach 3?

The Mach 3 is fine, it's easy to use with little to no learning curve involved. Other methods, including double edge razors and straight razors take a while to learn and may or may not offer a better shave. That's not to say double edge or straight razors don't have their charm, but it's not something I personally use every day (particularly with a rushed morning).

 

[Young Scrappy]

Originally Posted by Gradstudent78

The Mach 3 is fine, it's easy to use with little to no learning curve involved. Other methods, including double edge razors and straight razors take a while to learn and may or may not offer a better shave. That's not to say double edge or straight razors don't have their charm, but it's not something I personally use every day (particularly with a rushed morning).

Cool, thats what I was thinking. If he really takes to it, I'll invest in a better razor.

 

[eidolon]

Originally Posted by Gradstudent78

The Mach 3 is fine, it's easy to use with little to no learning curve involved. Other methods, including double edge razors and straight razors take a while to learn and may or may not offer a better shave. That's not to say double edge or straight razors don't have their charm, but it's not something I personally use every day (particularly with a rushed morning).
AFAIK double edge and straight razors (basically anything single bladed) have a reduced risk of ingrown hairs and irritation compared to multi-bladed razors.

 

[Thomas]

Originally Posted by eidolon

AFAIK double edge and straight razors (basically anything single bladed) have a reduced risk of ingrown hairs and irritation compared to multi-bladed razors.

Heh, I still recall my first shave with a Gilette tech - after years of a Mach three, the tech (well, my technique) scraped my face something fierce. Applying aftershave hurt like hell.

I switched to a Merkur HD and things went much much better.

Then I switched to a straight and never looked back.

As for ingrowns - it depends. If you're prone to ingrowns, anything that cuts too close will give you ingrowns, the reason a single-edge is preferable is that you have more control over the cutting, and there's nothing tugging at the hair.

Honestly, the mach 3 gave me good shaves - my big peeve was spending $3 per cartridge every few days or so. With a straight there is nothing else to buy.

 

[eidolon]

Originally Posted by Thomas

Heh, I still recall my first shave with a Gilette tech - after years of a Mach three, the tech (well, my technique) scraped my face something fierce. Applying aftershave hurt like hell. I switched to a Merkur HD and things went much much better. Then I switched to a straight and never looked back. As for ingrowns - it depends. If you're prone to ingrowns, anything that cuts too close will give you ingrowns, the reason a single-edge is preferable is that you have more control over the cutting, and there's nothing tugging at the hair. Honestly, the mach 3 gave me good shaves - my big peeve was spending $3 per cartridge every few days or so. With a straight there is nothing else to buy.
I still have a Merkur Progress. I need to get a Futur, probably. Honestly I have always had really big issues (ingrown hairs, sensitivity, torn up skin, always a couple pimples) right under the jawline on the right side of my face, and shaving with a single-blade is the only thing that ever stopped that. Maybe my understanding of ingrown hairs isn't accurate, but the switch to something with a single blade and to using a brush to apply cream made a pretty big difference for me. I had an older Norelco that I thought was a *************. If someone recommended a good electric maybe I'd try it, but the Norelco had those three little heads and always tore up my neck. I honestly don't see the point of going back to the Mach 3 after the issues I had.

 

[Gradstudent78]

Originally Posted by eidolon

AFAIK double edge and straight razors (basically anything single bladed) have a reduced risk of ingrown hairs and irritation compared to multi-bladed razors.

As Thomas said, it depends. If your prone to such irritation and ingrown hairs it's a factor, I've never had a problem with it.