On a razor's edge
One of the things I've been doing lately, and meaning to write about, is delving into the world of classic wet shaving: shaving with a T-shaped safety razor, and lather made from shaving soap, water, and a shaving brush.
It all started when I got sick of paying $3 a blade for Gilette's latest masterpiece. Well, I'd been sick of that for a while, and considering options, when I managed to get a bad batch of Mach III blades. The whole set just *hurt* to use. Yes, I could have returned them, but in a way I just didn't trust 'em anymore. So I found my old Sensor handle and switched to that until I could assemble the appropriate parts to try it the "old-fashioned" way. (Not so old-fashioned as to go with a straight razor, though.)
I ended up locating an old Gillette adjustable safety razor, and ordered up some good quality blades online, along with a decent brush and some decent shaving soap. I read some of the on-line guides, and got started.
Initially, I was definitely not getting as good a shave as I did with a modern cartridge razor, and definitely ended up with more nicks and more razor burn. Shaving with a safety razor takes more skill, practice, and care than a Mach 3 or its equivalent.
However, after a few months of doing it this way, I'm at a point now where I'm getting consistently good shaves. It takes me a little longer, and I have to pay attention to what I'm doing, but I'm enjoying the morning ritual of it.
Since it's difficult or impossible to find good quality double-edged razor blades in retail outlets anymore, I've been ordering them online. I just switched from Feather blades to Merkur, and thought I was in trouble until I found that the Merkurs just need a different tension setting on the razor (there is a knob on the handle that goes from 1 to 9. I was running the Feathers at 3, the Merkurs need 2 for the same effect). The adjustment minutely changes the angle of the blade, which makes a difference.
Oh, and I'm paying about $0.75 per blade, and they last at least as long as the cartriges. (Some folks claim to get up to twice as many shaves per blade compared to cartriges. Probably depends on the blade and cartrige in question.)
Of course, next week I'm flying to Arizona for a conference. I should probably bring a cartridge razor with me. I'm not sure how the TSA would handle me packing double-edge razor blades. (Yeah, I prefer to carryon if I can, and not just to avoid the checked baggage fees.)
It all started when I got sick of paying $3 a blade for Gilette's latest masterpiece. Well, I'd been sick of that for a while, and considering options, when I managed to get a bad batch of Mach III blades. The whole set just *hurt* to use. Yes, I could have returned them, but in a way I just didn't trust 'em anymore. So I found my old Sensor handle and switched to that until I could assemble the appropriate parts to try it the "old-fashioned" way. (Not so old-fashioned as to go with a straight razor, though.)
I ended up locating an old Gillette adjustable safety razor, and ordered up some good quality blades online, along with a decent brush and some decent shaving soap. I read some of the on-line guides, and got started.
Initially, I was definitely not getting as good a shave as I did with a modern cartridge razor, and definitely ended up with more nicks and more razor burn. Shaving with a safety razor takes more skill, practice, and care than a Mach 3 or its equivalent.
However, after a few months of doing it this way, I'm at a point now where I'm getting consistently good shaves. It takes me a little longer, and I have to pay attention to what I'm doing, but I'm enjoying the morning ritual of it.
Since it's difficult or impossible to find good quality double-edged razor blades in retail outlets anymore, I've been ordering them online. I just switched from Feather blades to Merkur, and thought I was in trouble until I found that the Merkurs just need a different tension setting on the razor (there is a knob on the handle that goes from 1 to 9. I was running the Feathers at 3, the Merkurs need 2 for the same effect). The adjustment minutely changes the angle of the blade, which makes a difference.
Oh, and I'm paying about $0.75 per blade, and they last at least as long as the cartriges. (Some folks claim to get up to twice as many shaves per blade compared to cartriges. Probably depends on the blade and cartrige in question.)
Of course, next week I'm flying to Arizona for a conference. I should probably bring a cartridge razor with me. I'm not sure how the TSA would handle me packing double-edge razor blades. (Yeah, I prefer to carryon if I can, and not just to avoid the checked baggage fees.)