I'm trying something new here, so bear with me. Setting up a poll where you can vote for either Cold Water or Warm Water Shaving. After voting, if you would please leave a comment below to explain why you prefer one over the other. Thank you!

Edit: Note that I left it a public poll so we could see each others vote.

Since purchasing my first razors online from the bay and seeing that I've thus far escaped the wrath of the Finance Committee Chairwoman despite her knowing their is a package inbound, I've of course spent time scouring both "E" sites for future additions to the family. This is the correct behaviour, right? (Note spelling use for our UK brethren)

When y'all search online for a razor, how much do you consider finding a candidate with a case or without and why? What are some reasons that you would choose one over the other if both razors are generally in the same condition? 

Just asking for a friend! 

Greetings, All!

Below pictures from the Ebay listing of two vintage SE razors that I purchased today. Barring mechanical issues, I'm optimistic that the Gem Damaskeene will clean up nicely while the Ever Ready 1914 will be more of a challenge. I hope to get the 1914 to an acceptable user grade condition. Both were at the top of my Wanna Get list.

I plan to use the tried and true method of soaking the heads in hot/warm water with Dawn dish soap for 30 minutes, followed by scrubbing with a old soft toothbrush and a more firm firearms cleaning style bristle brush. Then spray with non-bleach Scrubbing Bubbles type bathroom cleaner for a 10 minutes soak followed by scrubbing with the brushes. I don't have any acceptable polishing product, but in the near future will order a tube of Flitz.

Do both handles look to be nickel plated steel? And if so, should these be cleaned differently than the heads. What about gently using a firearms cleaning style brass brush on the knurling?

Any advice, particularly with the 1914, will be much appreciated.

Thanks to Dave in KY for giving his opinion on the listing prior to making the buy as this was my first Ebay razor purchase.

PS...Hey Tony'schin, your postimage tip worked perfectly for these images. So much easier than what I was previously doing. Thank you!

John Varvatos Dark Rebel
   

Having no experience using online forums, I struggled a bit today trying to insert photos to a post. I had taken some photos of a razor and had them saved to my computer. Using the "Preview Post" button, I could see that my initial upload effort only displayed about the 25% of the left side. I fiddled with it for a while and below is a list of what I've learned.

- If you have to resize pics to fit, it appears that resizing to a width of 1000 pixels allows for an edge to edge pic to post. At least this is what worked for me using the not so high quality pics from a 1st Gen iPhone SE. It may or may not be the same for you, but could be a good starting point.

- To insert pics, click on the big box at the bottom of the post "Click or drop some files here to upload...", a box opens where you can select a file from your computer to upload. Once uploaded, the file(s) is/are listed below the box where you are give the option to either "Remove" or "Insert Into Post".

- If you have a pic listed as an attachment and "Post Thread" without clicking the "Insert Into Post" button, the pic will show up at the bottom of your post as "Attached Files"/"Images".

- However, if prior to posting your thread you click on "Insert Into Post", your photo will be inserted using a tag (example "[attachment=####]"). If you insert multiple pics, you will have multiple tags that are sequentially numbered. You can cut and paste these tags if you want to move the pic within the post to allow for text in-between.

- While the edit button is available to adjust a post, the "Preview Post" button is your friend to review your post before it goes live.

Please let me know if I've been less than clear or incorrect in the above. Also, please add your own lesson learned on what works for you when posting pics. I'm not sure if it will be the same for those working on a phone vs. a computer.

The @ sign is used before the name with no spacing. @ tobyc with no space between the @ sign and the name and it will show up as this TobyC

If the name has spaces in it, it's just a little trickier. You'll need to use the " before and after the name as it appears online. So Old Sarge looks like @ "old sarge" with no space between the @ sign or the name in quotes.

Bunch of stuff recently I've been sorting thru slowly. Bought an Ever Ready Case with Mirror that had a Damaskeene Gem and what I really saw and WANTED........Travel size Bone Handle Star Little Brudder for my Bone handle Star Brush and also a Canister for it. Glad I spotted this all for $25 Brush next to it's only 22mm Big brother which gives and idea to how small it is. A test lather with it after soaking the boar yielded great results with minimal shedding that I hope disappears as I think it will as used. 
   
   
   

Thank you for allowing me into your group, thanks to Dave in KY for inviting me to join after our discussions in the comments on his YouTube videos and thanks to Fuzzy for his videos!

I started DE shaving about 5 months ago and got the bug for vintage Gillette razors that lead to antique store expeditions. I knew nothing about vintage SE razors and initially overlooked them. About three weeks ago, I ran into a stunning old razor that I knew nothing about. After spending a couple of days researching, I went back and picked up a Stoll Chrome Steel lather catcher in the box. 

This led to more research into vintage SE razors/shaving and watching Dave's and Fuzzy's YouTube videos. I was particularly keen on the baton handled razor that Fuzzy was shaving with on one. I stumbled, thanks to the grace of the Google gods, across a nickel Gem Junior w/ baton handle in The Parade box for sale online at a Mormon used book store of all places; just got that in the mail.

I've yet to shave with either of these razors, but have them cleaned/sanitized and ready to go. I feel very fortunate to have found these two wonderful razors to start my SE shaving with, they are beautiful to look at! I was able to find Treet carbon blades for sale at a local supermarket and picked up a pack of 10 blades. I'll soon take the dive, likely starting with the easy parts first and use an unmentionable on my goatee area as I'm still working on my technique there and struggle to get it right.

Thanks again and please forgive me in advance for my ignorance on SE shaving. I'm looking forward to learning from each of you!

There is a passaround going on across the street for the TARMAX Injector. I got in on it, and Tom made a SE version and started a passaround starting at the bottom of the list and was one of the first to use the new TARMAX SE.
I shaved with the razor this morning. Here is the video and also the reveal video. It's a nice shaver. I will be shaving with it for the rest of the week before sending it on to the next victim, uh tester.

Good job twhite , it is always a pleasure to test your creations.