wet shaving

so, I read this article, that I found here.

the idea of joining the (imaginary, perhaps) ranks of wet shavers intrigued me, for several reasons:

- it appeals to the DIY in me, a part of me that's increasingly making itself shown
- it appeals to the pseudo-rugged me, another part of me that's expressing itself lately
- i'm sorta running out of mach3 cartridges
- i like learning new skills. wet shaving is definitely a skill.

so i found myself here, confronted with a sales pitch straight out of Mediated. No matter - the pitch amused me and I was entertained by its earnestness and the attempted elitism of the sellers -- an elitism that I aimed to soon share.

i wasn't ready to slice my arteries with a straight razor so I picked up the bottom-of-the-line safety razor plus some supporting gear. it arrived today. so i hopped in the shower and set to work.

impressions :
- i didn't cut myself, to my great surprise. nose and adam's apple are still attached. i did find myself pushing on the razor a bit, which is a definite no-no with this gear.
- the badger brush is not as soft as I expected, but then, I did get the cheapest one.
- the shave was uneven and very-not-close. this is not surprising for my first time out.
- the shaving soap smells really really nice.
- the post-shave stuff burns like a mofo.
- afterwards, i looked like richard nixon, or perhaps my grandfather on my dad's side. well, not like them, but as if they'd taught me to shave.
- it didn't take nearly as long as I expected.
- i didn't feel very elite afterwards. i didn't even feel british. but i smelled like an italian, that's for sure.
- iritation upon my neck seems milder than with the mach3

as i mentioned, it's a skill (just like shaving with a mach3), and as a beginner, i aim to improve. unfortunately, i seem to keep picking hobbies that can only be practiced several times a week rather than for hours on end. the suspense is killing me.