Sensible Shaving

[swee'pea99]

I got one of these after researching along similar lines:

Amazon product ASIN B0048FREHAView: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Merkur-33C-Classic-Safety-Razor/dp/B0048FREHA


Very good it is too, tho' I went bearded shortly afterwards and have barely (see what I did there?) used it since.

For blades, go to eBay and get 100 made in India - considerably cheaper than chips, and they're exactly the same as the ones you'd get in the high street.

 

[swee'pea99]

FWIW I don't know why there's that massive gap in my last post. I've tried editing it out, but it seems to like it there.

 

[KneesUp]

I've done some research online, thinking that my Gillette Sensor was, in hindsight, as good a razor as I ever needed, and surely the cartridges must now be cheap. They are not - probably because Gillette don't seem to make them anymore.

However, via the power of the internet I've discovered that Boots do a three blade razor that looks like it might be from the same factory as my Aldi handle - a 10 pack is £3, and the handle is only £2.80 if I need one (and comes with 4 blades). I think that will do for my once a week (tops) blade shave.

I do use a brush and soap for foam, just because it's a nice ritual and because it produces less waste - I'm not sure it's better than a can of foam really though - although it has the advantage that if you wet the head of the electric shaver and then rub it in the soap dish it makes it's own foam and is much more comfortable than using 'dry' - not sure it's a recommended technique, but it does work. (The razor is waterproof, which helps cleaning it up)

 

[KneesUp]

For blades, go to eBay and get 100 made in India - considerably cheaper than chips, and they're exactly the same as the ones you'd get in the high street.

I got some Indian blades when I bought my 'shavette' I can confirm that they are as sharp as I would expect!

 

[Smudge]

I binned mine because of the amount of blood I was losing. Horrible things.

Yes, its bit me pretty bad on occasions i haven't been careful and it isn't even that aggressive a razor. Modern razors are a lot more forgiving and the reason the world moved on with them. But then there's the rip off price of many of them.

 

[swee'pea99]

Yes, its bit me pretty bad on occasions i haven't been careful and it isn't even that aggressive a razor. Modern razors are a lot more forgiving and the reason the world moved on with them. But then there's the rip off price of many of them.

Razors are one of those products like inkjet printers - it's all about loss-leaders to tie you into buying vastly overpriced consumables. I'm old enough to remember when the first twin-bladed razors came out ('The first blade shaves you close, the second closer still') and even then the old fellers were muttering about how "there's nothing new about that - when we were in the trenches and wanted to smarten up special for the mademoiselles, we'd put two blades in our razor".

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I'm not old enough to shave, I'll come back into this thread in 30 years time & see if I've started by then

 

[Venod]

I shave every day with double blade disposables, no particular ones it depends what's on offer, I think I am on Wickinsons at the moment. I find all the hype surrounding shaving strange.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Gillette Mach 3 for me. The blades stay sharp for ages and keeping an eye out for 3for2 offers means I'll get 24 blades for around £28 (an 8 pack is around £14) ...which lasts me well over 2 years. I tend to shave every two or three days.

Same here, i shave every day or i look uncouth.
Good razor, bic cut me to hell

 

[Smokin Joe]

Yes, its bit me pretty bad on occasions i haven't been careful and it isn't even that aggressive a razor. Modern razors are a lot more forgiving and the reason the world moved on with them. But then there's the rip off price of many of them.

I found it to be unbalanced with too much of the weight at the head. It was easy to let it slip from flat against the face to running the edge along the skin.

 

[Slioch]

I've had a short beard for over 30 years now. I once took it off and the future Mrs S told me I looked like Russ Abbott on a bad day, so I immediately grew it back and it's never come off since.

I use a beard trimmer once a week on a number one setting, and every couple of weeks use a cheap double-blade razor to tidy up the edges and my neck. Also use the beard trimmer to do what's left of my hair, so everything's the same length.

As a cyclist, I will also use the razor to do....um.....more southerly parts of my anatomy - a little secret that I share only with the fragrant Mrs S and the bathroom mirror, so don't go telling anyone .

 

[Paulus]

Another vote for the Gillette Mach3. If you look around you can get the cartridges cheaper. I find I get a very good shave from them.
A friend of mine has just changed to a wooden handled safety razor and blades to cut down on the plastic waste from disposable ones.

 

[Rusty Nails]

I have an electric shaver for daily use and always shave last thing at night...a habit I got into when I was working and haven't kicked now I've retired.

I also have a dual edge safety razor, which my grandfather used in the 1930s, and that gets regular use for neckshaves, especially the scrawny bits at the front of the neck the shaver always misses.

I also have three cut-throat razors from my uncle, who was a barber, but am too cowardly to ever use them.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Another vote for the safety razor: a good one lasts for a long time and the blades, as mentioned elsewhere are inexpensive and less wasteful than a modern razor.

I changed from a regular multi blade type having heard a story that shaving companies knew the best shave possible was from a safety razor but introduced disposables and multiblade razors because they knew they could sell them/the blades for a higher markup, even though the quality of the shave wasn't as high. This appealed to my inner tree hugging hippy.

 

[Smudge]

I hate to think how much money i've wasted on electric shavers over the decades. I've constantly deluded myself that the latest new one will work for me, only to have the usual disappointment with it. Its like searching for the holy grail.
The rotary ones always give me bad razor burn on the neck and the foil ones just wont lift & cut the stubble on my neck because it lays flat to the skin. Probably the best of the worst has been the higher range Panasonic foil with the ultra fast linear motors. But still nowhere near as good as a wet shave.
I've totally given up on electric shavers now.