This is a community of enthusiasts, hobbyists and artisans who enjoy a traditional wet shave: brush, soap, and safety or straight razor. We are a part of the WetShaving community found on Reddit, Discord, and IRC.
New subscribers welcome!
Please visit our wiki, which is always and forever a work in progress.
https://gem.wetshaving.social - a nice modern interface
https://old.wetshaving.social - designed to look like old.reddit.com
Our sister Mastodon instance is https://wetshaving.social.
Be Respectful. Do not bully, flame, or harass others.
Malicious comments are not allowed but heated discussion and salty banter is okay.
Low effort replies and complaints about content will be removed.
Mail Calls, Simple Questions, and SOTD posts belong in the recurring weekly threads.
Posts must have sufficient content to generate a meaningful discussion.
Images, links, or videos must include additional text that summarizes the topic.
Use [First Impressions] in the title if your experience with the product is limited.
Use the [Review] in the title if you can provide comprehensive details with enough familiarity to answer follow-up questions.
Disclose how the product being reviewed was acquired (e.g., PIF, loan, or purchase). If the product was provided to you directly by the maker or vendor free of charge or at a discount, you must disclose this fact even if the item will later be returned to the maker or vendor.
Vendors are to keep marketing within the biweekly Deals/New Products threads.
Non-vendors may post topics about products if it will foster a compelling discussion.
Do not solicit donations or share fundraisers without mod approval.
All NSFW/L content must request mod approval and be flaired appropriately.
Non-shaving related NSFW/L content is not allowed.
Just had this 7 day set land today. Very minor rust on the tangs, otherwise in great shape. They all have yet to ever be honed.
KOBAR was a brand belonging to Friedrich Emde (as was the trademark Kiebitz). The company changed name to Gebrüder Emde and later EMDE. They produced razors between 1902 and 1939.
I got one of them straight razors with the disposable blade holders. How do you practice without cutting yourself ? Im okay with double-sided safety razor holders. And I use the Gillete 5-blade razors as well.
The problem is, the Gillete is for certain days when I am in a hurry and I will put up with the micro-cuts that I burn out with alcohol. It burns like hell and numbs for half a day before the itching starts :-(
Safety razor is the best result for me. So what I do is I use my hair-trimmer to get as close to a buzzcut. Then lather shave rinse repeat about 2 or 3 times. Almost never cut myself and rarely happens.
But the straight razor I cut myself the moment I placed the blade on my cheek. I tried different holding angles but it always ends up with several cuts. I dunno I watched a ton of YT videos on this but nothing seems to be working. What do I do for practice to get better ?
Try starting with the razor flat against your skin, then increase the angle (with no pressure!) until the razor starts catching the lather. That's the angle you want to keep. Start on the cheeks - where everything is flat, and only go to more demanding areas once you are comfortable on the cheeks with the grain.
I would recommend starting out just going with the grain on your cheeks. You need only extremely light pressure. Start your downward motion before making contact with your skin, and lift off before stopping. If you're regularly cutting yourself and it's not just the point doing it, you could be coming to a stop on your skin, and even the slightest sideways movement will open you up. Good luck!