Survey: Razors

[ytliek]

I've used them all at one time or another. Well, not the sword/machete/axe. I did use a knife before. I prefer the double-edge safety razor in the end. I tried the electric for quite some time to let face and hair growth adjust, but, there was always stubble so I went back to the double-edge razor. I like using a new double-edge razor blade often to get that really close/clean shave. I don't mind a little blood letting either when its close. And that's when my mood allows it.

Currently, as my mood swings, I want to look really cool like Irish Trad players do and have opted to let the facial hair go beyond close/clean shaven but not to full beard. No stubble ever. I do have a goatee. Maybe I'm lazy... or cheap, perhaps both. And my head hair is the longest that it has ever been, ever. That's cool, except its not grey. Thin yes but not grey dang it! Ponytail underway. I must be late to the hippie party.

[s1m0n]

Careful. A single, greyish thin ponytail is self-humiliating. It's your generation's version of the combover. The only hip solution is to cut it all short and punk.

[Nanohedron]

And I remember those manual trimmers. Used one on someone's head, once. I thought it was a dandy little contrivance.

And what did he think when he woke up from his drunken stupor to find "NANO" carved in his scalp?

Objection: calls for speculation. I could just as well argue that the splendor of broadcasting my name was too much to bear. Y'know, like winning the lottery. I totally wouldn't bring it up.

[I.D.10-t]

I used a straight razor for years. I enjoyed the ritual and sang "Molly Malone" to time how long to strop my blade. For travel I had my Gillette, and brass (Swedish?) army surplus DE that I picked up for 75 ¢. Once I had a significant other, bathroom time was truncated, the cut throat was replaced for a full time DE. After about 5 years of hinting I got a Feather for a B-day gift. I have a Parker travel razor for travel and those are what I use now. I buy DE blades when I see them a a decent price and often they are off brand Wilkinson Sword Blades. In the future I see myself buying a DE sampler pack or just going with Feather blades.

Yes, my razor seems like conspicuous consumption, but in the long run will cost less than a Mach 5, or whatever is the current standard.

Retro was never a part of it for me. I had an electric as my first razor and when the foil got nicked, it chewed up my face badly. So I found a drugstore plastic handled DE and used it. Having just read "Cards as Weapons" (NSFW) I had fun with the used blades sticking them into my dart board.

Over the past five years there have been many new makers of DE safety razors. One of the "modern" styles is the Bevel trying to convince people to get into a subscription model of shaving products. Granted, the Gillette model of business was all about selling at cost or a loss DE safety razors and making a profit off of the blades, so a subscription model just seems like an extension, but I will not buy into it.

[ ID, you should add your vote to the survey! - Mod ]

??? I see an "X" next to my vote.

[mutepointe]

I've had facial hair since college. I shaved for my wedding day and started over a few times because of trimming mishaps. I use a trimmer. I used to use scissors. Every other day or so, I use a cartridge to shave my cheeks, neck, and around my lips.

In my 30s, I got a job where dress code permitted long hair and I went for it, much to the annoyance of my parents. They were getting old and I wanted to upset them one more time. It worked. I trimmed my own hair with an annual trip to a stylist to put things in order. After about 15 years, I had a hair trimming mishap and ended up donating 15 inches to Locks of Love. My Mom was so pleased she sent me a Thank You note. Then she asked if I was going to grow it long again. I said that after she and Dad died, I would grow my hair long in grief. She said OK.

After I cut my hair, I noticed old people didn't avoid me anymore. I never realized that I was that scary looking.

[chas]

Have safety razors changed in the last 30 years or something? I remember never being able to get a good shave and winding up with more blood than skin on my face when I was young. I was so thankful when the Trac II came along.

Yes, the cartridges are expensive, but the multi-blade (I think mine has four now) cartridges last so long, it's not expensive at all. I think I might go through two a year.

[I.D.10-t]

Have safety razors changed in the last 30 years or something?

Nope, Same blades for over 100 years I believe. What makes a difference is the way the blade is held and the guard spacing. My feather is a very mild shave. Small clearance, loads up quickly, but a gentle shave. My Parker on the other hand takes a very soft touch or you go back to the time that barbers and bloodletting commonly went together. The razor and blade combination makes a difference. To get (re) introduced to DE shaving, get a sampler pack, and a $15-40 DE and find out what works.

[MTGuru]

Have safety razors changed in the last 30 years or something?

Don't think so, Charlie, not much. My Gillette is 40 years old, and it hasn't morphed since it was new.

I remember never being able to get a good shave and winding up with more blood than skin on my face when I was young. I was so thankful when the Trac II came along.

Thing is, DE shaving requires practice and technique to control the angle and pressure of the blade, because it's basically a small straight razor in a holder; the "safety" part is only relative. As ID said, you need to be aware of the characteristics of your blade and your razor's setup. It also needs more attention to your shaving prep - hot towel, oil, good soap or cream, etc. And you get best results with two or more passes in different directions, which takes time.

With a multi/cartridge the angle and pressure are mostly fixed and pre-set, so little technique is needed. The swivel can compensate for poor technique, and lube strips can compensate for poor prep. So if all you want is a quick OK shave without thinking about it, the cartridges are great.

[maki]

MTGuru talking about using razors - that's about as rare as hen's teeth.

I'm not a real [hairy] guru, you know.

DOPPELGANGER!!

[benhall.1]

I use a Wilkinson Sword, three-bladed effort. It's quite difficult here in the UK to get razors with less than 5 blades these days. we had to look for a fair while before we could find one with only three. The old-fashioned, two-bladed safety razors seem to be pretty much a thing of the past. I remember having a really nice one that used standard, single razors blades. Except that it had two of them. It was actually quite dangerous putting that second blade in. So-called "safety" razor? Pah!

[I.D.10-t]

Except that it had two of them. It was actually quite dangerous putting that second blade in. So-called "safety" razor? Pah!

Like this?

Maybe where you are DEs are hard to find, but the internet has opened the field for DE razors. There have been new companies recently making double edge safety razors. As I mentioned Procter and Gamble introduced a "modern " DE and are marketing it to people that get razor burn. Weber, Tradere, Ikon, Lee's, Pils, Standard, Edwin Jagger, Parker Razors, Merkur, and Feather all make decent DEs, but I doubt that the supermarket wants to sell something with blades that are off patent and have a small mark up. While from what I saw in Thailand, DE blades were fairly common compared to the MACH and other Gillette standards. A little looking at Amazon and one can easily find blades for less than 20¢ from many venders. About half of the Local grocers will have off brand Sword razors for about the same cost per blade.

I think people have gotten sick of paying $20 for five blades locked in a cabinet and are going for DE razors for various reasons.

[Nanohedron]

...the "safety" part is only relative. As ID said, you need to be aware of the characteristics of your blade and your razor's setup.

Right. I can't remember the last time I got nicked, now, and it didn't take all that long to get to nick-free shaving. But for that, you do have to get a sense of how your DE works for or against you; you can't be mindless about it and expect everything to just be tickety-boo. The good news is that it's not really that huge a deal; just pay a wee bit of attention.

It also needs more attention to your shaving prep - hot towel, oil, good soap or cream, etc.

I wonder if I should admit this: my facial skin isn't sensitive to razor burn, so my only prep is water. Seriously, that's it. Preferably after a shower when the stubble is already nice and moistened, otherwise I'll just wet my dry face and wait a bit for the stubble to soften up some for an easier shave. Nice and fundamental, the way I like it. Soon after getting the DE I bought some Witch Hazel solution for aftershave on the assumption I'd need it, and now - just as when I was using disposables - I don't even use that. Wham-bam-thankyou-ma'am.

And you get best results with two or more passes in different directions, which takes time.

Absolutely. When I do what I call the "complete shave", I cover 4 overall stroke directions: first downwards, then rightwards, then leftwards, and then upwards. Done right, the complete shave will leave the face baby-smooth with nary a feel of stubble to betray you ever had a beard to shave. But it does take more time, so appearances being equal, it's not my usual practice. I also call it the "Turkish shave" because I first encountered the concept of intentionally shaving and re-shaving the face in four directions (more could be done, but four seems to be enough) from the customary practise of Turkish street barbers I saw during a TV travelogue.

[benhall.1]

Except that it had two of them. It was actually quite dangerous putting that second blade in. So-called "safety" razor? Pah!

Like this?

Yes, it was quite like that. I think it was more retro - kind of like those old single-bladed "safety" razors, which was what I first used. That, a badger hair brush and soap.

[chas]

So if all you want is a quick OK shave without thinking about it, the cartridges are great.

Guilty as charged. I wear a beard in the winter (still shave the edges). Thing is, I can't stand having a beard (especially in the hot humid mid-Atlantic summer), but can't stand shaving either, so it's six months of each. Yeah, I just want to get it over with, and only shave twice a week when I don't have a beard.

[mutepointe]

When I was in college, a Marketing professor told our class that a new razor of some sort would come out ever year. That was back in the day when disposable two-blade razors came out.