Too Expensive to Shave!

wintermute

wintermute

Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Messages
3,018
In high school, my parents made me shave with my dad's battered Gilette safety razor and some barbasol. When done, I looked like something out of Sweeney Todd.

I went through a bunch of years of somewhat blissful shaving using Gilette Mach 3s, with a nice straight edge shave at the barbershop every once in a while.

Maybe two years ago, I found my dad's old battered razor, his (likely cheap) shaving brush, and an unopened pack of stainless blades. I bought some mug soap and gave it a shot. I wouldn't say the results were Sweeney Todd-esque, but definitely in the low-speed motorcycle accident category.

Disposable razors are way too expensive. What's your thoughts on if I were to do the safety razor thing right and get an entirely new, good kit. Should I expect much less painful results?
 
Yes, much less painful.

Buy a merkur HD for 35-50 dollars and then buy derby blades for 20 cents a pop.

It's great. Look up "how" to shave with a double-edge safety razor before using it. Less pressure, short strokes, etc.
 
I agree. And pop for the Merkur "heavy duty" razor, it's heavier, and the balance is much better than the lighter ones. I actually like the Merkur blades that come with it also.
 
Spend one on YouTube with the Mantic videos and you'll be fine.
 
wintermute said:
In high school, my parents made me shave with my dad's battered Gilette safety razor and some barbasol. When done, I looked like something out of Sweeney Todd.

I went through a bunch of years of somewhat blissful shaving using Gilette Mach 3s, with a nice straight edge shave at the barbershop every once in a while.

Maybe two years ago, I found my dad's old battered razor, his (likely cheap) shaving brush, and an unopened pack of stainless blades. I bought some mug soap and gave it a shot. I wouldn't say the results were Sweeney Todd-esque, but definitely in the low-speed motorcycle accident category.

Disposable razors are way too expensive. What's your thoughts on if I were to do the safety razor thing right and get an entirely new, good kit. Should I expect much less painful results?
Click to expand...

PM inbound.
 
watch the Mantic vids, grab whatever handle you think suits and a few types of blades. I like Iridiums, Bic yellow box, and feathers (but the feathers are for once you get used to it, a whole new world of sharp) it does get much better!
 
wintermute said:
In high school, my parents made me shave with my dad's battered Gilette safety razor and some barbasol. When done, I looked like something out of Sweeney Todd.

I went through a bunch of years of somewhat blissful shaving using Gilette Mach 3s, with a nice straight edge shave at the barbershop every once in a while.

Maybe two years ago, I found my dad's old battered razor, his (likely cheap) shaving brush, and an unopened pack of stainless blades. I bought some mug soap and gave it a shot. I wouldn't say the results were Sweeney Todd-esque, but definitely in the low-speed motorcycle accident category.

Disposable razors are way too expensive. What's your thoughts on if I were to do the safety razor thing right and get an entirely new, good kit. Should I expect much less painful results?
Click to expand...

I bought a Edwin Jagar 89l and love it as long as I use the right blade for me. I sent you a PM with a free blade sample offer
 
It isn't the tool so much as the technique. Unless the old Gillette was battered completely out of whack, it should be perfectly capable of providing a decent shave. A modern disposable or cartridge razor won't behave the same way as an old fashioned DE safety razor. Treating the safety razor like a Mach 3 will likely result in no joy.

And disposable need not cost all that much. Bic single edge disposables can cost less than $.20 each. I used some pretty good Indian made Laser branded twin blade disposables for a couple years that were sold in a fifteen pack for one dollar!

Before plunking down some coin on a new razor, make sure you actually know how to use the one you've got, because a new Merkur won't magically teach you how to use it properly.
 
I'm a relative beginner and can mostly shave pain-free and fairly cleanly. I started with a lightweight safety razor due to habit but am now using a classic heavier model. The three hardest parts:

1) You can't use a lot of pressure--let the weight of the razor do most of the work.

2) You've got to learn the angle since the head won't pivot for you (I came from an Atra). Hardest was learning the angle for shaving up the neck.

3) Most important--without a lubricating strip, you'll have to have enough lather/oil/whatever available for the number of passes you hope to make. My current oil does fine for two passes, which is all I have time for. After that my skin is bone dry--if I want to go over it again I need to reapply.

FWIW my current favorite blades are Bic yellow box. Dorco blues are gentle but with a coarse beard they don't really cut it, pun intended. I also recommend you buy a blade sampler (just one site's examples) so you can see what works for you.
 
Been having great results with the Merkur Futur for many years. After a week and a few cuts I screwed it wide open to the most aggressive setting and left it there. I can't remember the last time I cut myself or got the slightest razor burn. I use good blades and shaving oil or whatever soap is in the dish. Nothing fancy. Flipping it between strokes and letting it dry properly, I can get a blade to last almost 20 shaves.

I absolutely love this razor. Any criticism it gets is due to operator error. It happily shaves all the hard to get places with ease and it is so heavy that you only hold it with your finger and thumb letting the weight do the work

Of course any well made DE will work if you do, I have just found the Futur to be my favorite.
 
Thanks for the advice on the Mantic videos. I've read about how to properly shave and tried to implement it but missed a couple of things: Don't go over previously shaved areas, and the angle. I think my equipment was also part of the problem. I noticed that when closed, the gap between the "lid" and "base" of the razon was thinned on one side of each end than the other - indicative of damage from a drop? Also, I could never get a decent lather from my brush. What's the cheapest brush you would recommend? Another culprit might be that I have a number of cowlicks in my beard - I wonder how I should adapt the technique?
 
A good Badger or synthetic brush- I don't favour Boar- will not be that cheap BUT it will work well and last.

It also helps in the lather process, but avoid too much water. Buy some cream or soap (read around the forum a bit you'll find a lot of ideas) Proraso, Taylor e.g.

No more massacre shaves I guarantee and no more needless expense and waste as with cartridge blades. If your razor has uneven gaps due to being dinged or dropped, then it certainly won't be working well.Time for a new one, but it can last a lifetime.
 
willgoy said:
A good Badger or synthetic brush- I don't favour Boar- will not be that cheap BUT it will work well and last.
Click to expand...
Why go boar when you can get a good starter badger brush for $11? The Shea Moisture Badger Brush It is getting good reviews over at B&B. I have one, and it works better than the vintage boar brushes I have. I put a couple 7/8" O-rings around the base and it works even better with less flop. I'm having to re-learn my water-to-cream ratio, however.
 
There are good brushes available around the $10 mark. Shoeboxshaveshop has a few in that range. The Shea was available at Target for a while, but I think they were phased out. The Body Shop has a nice inexpensive synthetic brush. I even have a really cheap (like $3 or $4) horse hair brush from Turkey that works great. However, I've pretty much moved away from the brush these days.

Your razor sounds tweaked. The blade edges should be parallel to the guards, and both edges should have equal exposure and blade gap. If this isn't the case, you may have a damaged razor.
 
shecky said:
a few in that range. The Shea was available at Target for a while, but I think they were phased out.
Click to expand...
You can still buy them straight from Shea Moisture, which is what I linked to. With shipping it cost me $11.49.
 
Just checked USPS tracking - my new Merkur HD being delivered today. :thumbup: I hope this works. If it does, that frees up alot of money for knives, and, um, bills and mortgage. :D
 
It's gonna work just fine. It takes a few weeks to figure it out, but it's not hard. Shortly, you will be getting significantly better shaves and saving about $350 per year (about a dollar a day) in actual, real savings.
 
I went whole hog a couple months ago and spent maybe $200 on multiple razors--blades--soaps etc----everyday is a new adventure still and I have enough supplies to last YEARS without spending another cent.

The VDH boar brush works just fine when broken in--cheap at Walgreens.

The Walmart Wilkenson blades are "ok" but the Merkur and Derby blades seem to work better for me in my Merkur shaver.

Good luck with your new hobby.

Gollnick is a good resource here--that pretty much got me started.
 
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Ive been shaving with a brush and saftey razor for about 3 years now and I love it I don't think Ill ever go back to disposable/cartridge razors and canned shave goo! Its definitely cheaper then paying $2 per cartridge, but trust me once you get hooked you'll end up spending much more then you ever did on Mach3s and shave gel!
 
BTW the Shea Moisture brush isn't bad as a starter brush but whatever you do stay away from their shave cream that stuff is horrible. My gf bought it for me to try so I gave it a shot, it says on the box you can lather with a brush which is bs, it didnt lather at all so i figured it must be a brushless so I tried just massaging it into my beard with my fingers and proceeded to get one of the worst shaves ever, to top it off it has a sickly sweet smell that is not manly at all. The only use I found for it was as a preshave, Ill massage some into my beard while in the shower and then rinse it off it does seem to help soften the beard a bit when use like this.
 
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