Mantic59 is having a contest!

Mantic59, aka The Shave Tutor, has reached 5000 subscribers to his YouTube channel, and in celebration is running a contest.

And here was my written entry for his blog…

Classic wetshaving... I started using a brush and soap just after I was married 12 years ago. At that time, I was using a multi-bladed cartridge razor, and my new wife bought me a Shavemac 19mm silvertip travel brush and nice soap bowl. I later switched to electric, then back to cartridge several years ago when Schick sent me a free Quattro. Also at that time I found a really nice shaving cream when I visited a new barbershop in town.

Then, last year, I went to GreenFest Seattle with Wendy (the wife) and met RetroRazor, who sold me a starter kit with a Weishi DE razor and a few blades. After a little trial, and finding Mantic59's Shave Tutor videos, I was off and running. My face was never smoother, and my skin never softer, than after I started shaving the old fashioned way. This  led to finding the earlier version of the twist-to-open DE razor, a 1948-50 Super Speed from Gillette. And that led to the Badger and Blade forum, which led to starting a collection of classic razors...

Since then I have begun shaving with straight razors, and now have 8-10 straight blades, some of which date back at least before 1880, if not older. I've learned to restore blades that have a little rust on them, and to hone them to shaving sharp. I've also replaced the bristles of a few old shaving brushes with new, high quality brush tips.

I have found a few new friends along the way, and also introduced a few old friends to a better, more comfortable way of shaving. I hope to continue to learn how to keep some of these classic implements of grooming in circulation, as it's a fun hobby. And finally, I want to thank Mantic59 for providing such a great resource for people to learn the basics of how to go about getting a clean, comfortable shave.