Gollnick
Musical Director
- Joined
- Mar 22, 1999
- Messages
- 28,912
`In mathematics, an "inflection point" is where a function changes its slope. It's when there's an important change.
Twenty-some-odd years ago, I went to San Jose for a week-long professional conference with some friends. I was careful to fully-charge my Norelco Electric Razor the night before so that I wouldn't have to shlep the charger, a device roughly the size of a grapefruit, along. We arrived at the hotel about 3:00PM and agreed to meet back in the lobby in a half-hour to go shopping at Fry's and then to dinner. As I unpacked, I discovered to my horror that the Norelco had somehow gotten switched on by handling and vibrations in-transit and was completely dead. This is a professional conference; I couldn't go for a week without shaving. At Fry's, I looked in hope that they might have replacement Norelco adapters, but it was a misguided hope. What they did have and what I convinced myself to buy was a Gillette Sensor razor and a can of foam. The next morning, I who had never used anything except a Norelco electric razor approached my new kit with fear. And I discovered two things: first, why they call it a safety razor; no cuts, no knicks, no errors. And, second, I learned just how badly those Norelco electrics had been shaving me. This was an inflection point. I don't think I ever charged that Norelco again and can't honestly remember what even became of it.
As I recall, the Sensor was five bucks and change. Sensor blade cartridges were six for about five bucks and I easily got seven shaves from each changing the blade on Sunday morning whether it needed it or not. And once a year, maybe, you'd stumble into a bad cartridge that had to be replaced prematurely.
Over the years, the price of a package of sensor blades slowly crept up, six dollars, then seven, then eight. At some point, they dropped from six to five blades per package, but the price just kept going up. And, then, Sensor blades started disappearing from the stores. I tried Sensor Excell, but it was terrible. I tried a store brand, but was even worse. Lately, I've been mail-ordering Sensor blades for upwards of twenty dollars for a package of five, four dollars each. And the quality of the blades has gone downward too. It seems I only get about five shaves per on average and about one-in-ten is defective.
By the way, I am using the same Sensor razor I bought in San Jose over twenty years ago and it's just fine.
Finally, I decided I was sick and tired of paying Gillette one dollar per day for shaving. So, I bought a Merkur Futur, matching brush, and a neat stand for them (I'm told that a stand is good for the brush helping it to dry correctly which seems reasonable to me). I also got a cake of Classic Shaving Soap (lime), and a blade sample pack.
Monday was my first DE shave. I read a bunch of stuff on the Internet, watched videos, etc., and I was scarred. I started with a Dorco blade following West Coast Shaving's FAQ. I set the razor on two since a lot of the internet posts I had read seemed to settle on two. And, with great fear, I tried. I learned two things: first, why they call it a safety razor; no cuts, no knicks, no errors... just a very acceptable shave, on a par with what I had been accustomed to with the Sensor. And, second, that all of these internet resources may way too much of a big deal out of this whole process. It's not rocket science, folks. Monday's shave wasn't perfect by any measure, but my goal isn't the ultimate shave anyway (that you have to pay for at Ye Old Tonsoral Parlor in Portland). But, Monday's shave, my first DE shave, was entirely acceptable. The lather was poor because of too much water. I went against-the-grain as you have to to get the hair under my nose and on my neck with no problem at all.
On Tuesday, I changed the razor to three and used less water and had an even better shave.
On Wednesday, I used even less water and the lather was even better.
This morning, I switched to the other side of the Dorco blade and I got another very acceptable shave. I'm learning more how to handle some of the tricky parts. And, thus far, no cuts or nicks at all.
I'd say this is another inflection point.
The razor and brush are expensive up-front, but the Razor will last a lifetime and the brush or a decade or two. Blades on the old Sensor were costing me over a dollar a shave. DE blades will cost pennies per shave. And the saving soap is cheaper per blade than canned foam and you don't end up throwing the can away. So, this will be a long-term cost saver.
My advice to any man is to ignore all the internet buzz that makes DE shaving seem so complicated and so mysterious and just grab a razor, a blade pack, a brush, and some soap and dive in... the water is great.
Twenty-some-odd years ago, I went to San Jose for a week-long professional conference with some friends. I was careful to fully-charge my Norelco Electric Razor the night before so that I wouldn't have to shlep the charger, a device roughly the size of a grapefruit, along. We arrived at the hotel about 3:00PM and agreed to meet back in the lobby in a half-hour to go shopping at Fry's and then to dinner. As I unpacked, I discovered to my horror that the Norelco had somehow gotten switched on by handling and vibrations in-transit and was completely dead. This is a professional conference; I couldn't go for a week without shaving. At Fry's, I looked in hope that they might have replacement Norelco adapters, but it was a misguided hope. What they did have and what I convinced myself to buy was a Gillette Sensor razor and a can of foam. The next morning, I who had never used anything except a Norelco electric razor approached my new kit with fear. And I discovered two things: first, why they call it a safety razor; no cuts, no knicks, no errors. And, second, I learned just how badly those Norelco electrics had been shaving me. This was an inflection point. I don't think I ever charged that Norelco again and can't honestly remember what even became of it.
As I recall, the Sensor was five bucks and change. Sensor blade cartridges were six for about five bucks and I easily got seven shaves from each changing the blade on Sunday morning whether it needed it or not. And once a year, maybe, you'd stumble into a bad cartridge that had to be replaced prematurely.
Over the years, the price of a package of sensor blades slowly crept up, six dollars, then seven, then eight. At some point, they dropped from six to five blades per package, but the price just kept going up. And, then, Sensor blades started disappearing from the stores. I tried Sensor Excell, but it was terrible. I tried a store brand, but was even worse. Lately, I've been mail-ordering Sensor blades for upwards of twenty dollars for a package of five, four dollars each. And the quality of the blades has gone downward too. It seems I only get about five shaves per on average and about one-in-ten is defective.
By the way, I am using the same Sensor razor I bought in San Jose over twenty years ago and it's just fine.
Finally, I decided I was sick and tired of paying Gillette one dollar per day for shaving. So, I bought a Merkur Futur, matching brush, and a neat stand for them (I'm told that a stand is good for the brush helping it to dry correctly which seems reasonable to me). I also got a cake of Classic Shaving Soap (lime), and a blade sample pack.
Monday was my first DE shave. I read a bunch of stuff on the Internet, watched videos, etc., and I was scarred. I started with a Dorco blade following West Coast Shaving's FAQ. I set the razor on two since a lot of the internet posts I had read seemed to settle on two. And, with great fear, I tried. I learned two things: first, why they call it a safety razor; no cuts, no knicks, no errors... just a very acceptable shave, on a par with what I had been accustomed to with the Sensor. And, second, that all of these internet resources may way too much of a big deal out of this whole process. It's not rocket science, folks. Monday's shave wasn't perfect by any measure, but my goal isn't the ultimate shave anyway (that you have to pay for at Ye Old Tonsoral Parlor in Portland). But, Monday's shave, my first DE shave, was entirely acceptable. The lather was poor because of too much water. I went against-the-grain as you have to to get the hair under my nose and on my neck with no problem at all.
On Tuesday, I changed the razor to three and used less water and had an even better shave.
On Wednesday, I used even less water and the lather was even better.
This morning, I switched to the other side of the Dorco blade and I got another very acceptable shave. I'm learning more how to handle some of the tricky parts. And, thus far, no cuts or nicks at all.
I'd say this is another inflection point.
The razor and brush are expensive up-front, but the Razor will last a lifetime and the brush or a decade or two. Blades on the old Sensor were costing me over a dollar a shave. DE blades will cost pennies per shave. And the saving soap is cheaper per blade than canned foam and you don't end up throwing the can away. So, this will be a long-term cost saver.
My advice to any man is to ignore all the internet buzz that makes DE shaving seem so complicated and so mysterious and just grab a razor, a blade pack, a brush, and some soap and dive in... the water is great.
As for all that mysterious wet shaving stuff I totally agree. I can remember my dad using his double edge razor and whatever shave cream non-can type that my mom would buy and no fancy prep stuff, and getting his shave done with plenty of pressure and in a rush every morning, I don't think the terms pre-shave and no-pressure ever entered into his shaving lexicon. I myself like the fun of searching out the perfect shave, just tried Taylors of Old Bond St. and feather razor blades yesterday and that combo is pretty much so far the best I've found. But I will continue to seek because I find the search itself enjoyable.