I use a cheap electric razor and never looked back. The shave isn't close but even the closest shave would look like what I get from the electric razor by noontime anyway.

I like the tone of this thread, sometimes we think progress is made with MACH100 and stupid shit they try to get the public to upgrade to, but sometimes our grandfathers have got the problem solved more elegantly, more sensually, and more effectively than any marketing-driven organization like Gillette, or just as bad (with food), Nestle and Kraft. You see this a lot in bespoke tailoring where innovation is actually a regress, not progress.

carbman, what brand of blade do you use in the EJ?

---

Added on February 28, 2011, 10:25 pmI feel a sudden and intense longing for my own EJ after reading online reviews of it. It's sounds like the best razor made in human history.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Feb 28 2011, 10:25 PM

I wonder if the shaving performance suffers because we here in Malaysia typically do not have hot running water in the taps. Do you use warm water from the shower water heater?

some time back tried buying my first shaving set from the english shaving company but it was a lame site that had problems processing my credit card

Just bought the following

Col Conk Watertight Travel Container with Bay Rum Shaving Soap $7.00
DE Blade Sampler Pack, Choice $10.00
Edwin Jagger DE8911 Double Edge Safety Razor, Chrome $34.00

Subtotal: $51.00
Discount(s): $0.00
Taxes: $0.00
Shipping: $12.64
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TOTAL: $63.64

Will buy a silver tip badger brush separately from elsewhere

The razor

Bought this


and this to store the brush while travelling


this to store the razor

Apparently EJ slightly redesigned their razors in 2011 to be more head-heavy. So the DE89 becomes the DE8911. They also introduced more handle variants like barley-grain and octogonal handles.

I still use an electric razor! I just bought the stuff online today and it will take about 2 weeks before they arrive. The silvertip I bought is directly from China -- apparently they make them for several European brands. GBP 17 only!

It occured to me that I need a brush and razor stand, and so they cancelled my initial order so I can create a new one with the stand. In the course of doing so I basically decided I will just use the Feathers instead of a sampler pack.

Omega 27mm Chrome Shaving Brush and Razor Stand $17.00
Edwin Jagger DE8911 Double Edge Safety Razor, Chrome $34.00
Col Conk Watertight Travel Container with Amber Shaving Soap $7.00
Feather Double Edge Razor Blades (50 Blades) $22.50

Subtotal: $80.50
Discount(s): $0.00
Taxes: $0.00
Shipping: $16.14
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TOTAL: $96.64

This is where I bought the brush
http://stores.ebay.com/classicshop2012

That is a particularly lousy question and would make some of my professors throw the duster into your face.

Actually they did, especially in the lecture halls but even in some seminar rooms. When they built a spanking new glass and stainless steel auditorium a few years back they put in blackboards.

---

Added on September 17, 2011, 8:54 pmBTW in this country where I studied they do not wipe the boards like us in Malaysia. The use a wet rag to wipe it so there isn't dust all over the place. There is a sink in the room next to each blackboard.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Sep 17 2011, 08:54 PM

I got them off ebay. I went on b&b forum and people were telling each other to get film canisters and drill holes in them etc. Someone says he uses the tubular toilet roll core to store his silvertip brush while travelling etc. Such inelegant solutions.

http://www.ebay.de/itm/250847191582?ssPage...984.m1439.l2649

http://www.ebay.de/itm/170695903023?ssPage...984.m1439.l2649

---

Added on September 19, 2011, 3:06 pmWah, that soap is so old school.

---

Added on September 19, 2011, 3:12 pmthose mediocrities told you that?

This post has been edited by kotmj: Sep 19 2011, 03:12 PM

That is a great idea. The only reason I bought my Col. Conk was because it comes in a watertight container.

OMG my shaving set arrived, the quality of this EJ is superb! The Omega chrome stand too, is not your normal China bent wire stuff, it is of a very high quality and the EJ fits perfectly into it. The Col. Conk in amber smells delightful I can already see that shaving will be a sensual experience.

---

Added on September 26, 2011, 6:04 pmThis is the sort of stuff father can hand down to son. Solid brass, perfectly chromed. Classic styling.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Sep 26 2011, 06:04 PM

The brush hasn't arrived yet...

---

Added on September 27, 2011, 10:33 pmI can't remember the last time I paid RM150 and got such a tool out of the box...

This post has been edited by kotmj: Sep 27 2011, 10:33 PM

Carbman, is the lined version better?

China silvertip arrived today




I'm using Feathers now, but have just bought Bic from Carrefour. The Bic is made in Greece.

---

Added on September 28, 2011, 8:15 pmJust tried the Bic, nowhere as sharp as the Feather.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Sep 28 2011, 08:15 PM

I thought the silvertips would be more syok on the mouth/chin than a nice tuft of pussihair, but it felt like any other brush. It's my first shaving brush so I have no frame of reference.

I searched on B&B for this brush and the consensus seems to be that they are great value but not on par with the absolute best (Rooneys, TGN, etc). I can live with that!

Well as I've said, I am just not the right person to judge brushes, this is the first I've used except for the one this Armenian barber used on my sideburns and back neck during my student days. I'm pretty sure he used a boar bristle brush.

OK, so I've been wet shaving everyday for a week now.

I nick myself everytime, i.e. I draw blood. Just a tiny pinprick normally, no big deal, but I prefer not to. The past 2 days it wouldn't have happened if I did not do 4 passes repeatedly. Yes, I shave against the grain. Bad idea, I know, but it is the only way to get a truly close shave.

The first 2 days I had major razor burn, but that seem to no longer occur.

Do I enjoy it? Strangely, yes. It's actually fun.

The shave is closer than what I can achieve with the electric razor, but it is not as close as I thought it would be. There is still this greyish shade to my skin around the beard areas.

Wet shaving is best done when you have all the time in the world. Having to hurry subtracts from the satisfaction of the ritual.

Yeah, I went ATG at first pass.

I shaved just now with your technique. 2X WTG then ATG. It works. No nicks. This is for above the chin. Below the chin, it is awkward to hold the razor to do WTG. So just ATG below the chin.

The brush is shedding hair. Like 2 hairs per use.

The BIC is seriously dull, man. I replaced my week-old Feather with a fresh BIC and guess what? The week-old Feather is SHARPER than a fresh BIC.

Dropped by Hanifa on the weekend. No Russian Gilettes there. No DE blades at the counter. But plenty of Chinese and Pakistani and Indian blades of dubious quality.

How do you dispose of your blades? They are still very sharp, and the rubbish collectors like to ruffle through the garbage in search of plastic bottles.