Oster small animal trimmer: $100 or so initial investment; no ongoing costs. Electricity to run it is trivial compared to the light to see yourself shaving.
Might need a new set of blades after a couple decades.
The Wahl Peanut costs half that. It may not last as long, but I know someone who's used the same one for about 10 years. Zero ongoing costs as you say. Also saves time over anything involving shaving cream.
I bought a Hero some fifteen years ago. You can lap the blades if you like, or buy very good replacements for like $15 or less. You should be able to make this run for decades.
The cord annoys me though, but cordless will definitely not last as long.
I use an Oster as well. You can sharpen the blades with a sharpening stone (definitely recommend doing so once a year - especially if you keep forgetting to oil them like I do), in which case the blades will outlast you.
There is maybe another reason why cartridge razors are standard now, apart from the lower upfront cost: They are foolproof. It's more or less impossible to hurt yourself with it. On the other hand, it's absolutly possible to cut yourself with a double edge / safety razor, as you have to handle a razor blade and you can scratch yourself quite badly if you don't hold it at the right angle.
But IMO, as with many of the other things mentioned in the blog post, the "additional hassle" to stay out of such closed ecosystems is often worth it. It's a nice experience and I can absolutely recommend the DE / safety razor. Also try different blades from different manufacturers, there are real differences between them :D
I bought a double edged saftey razor in my local Muller store (similar to cvs), it's a cheap King C. Gillette razor, I think DM also has them. Maybe a sign of a comeback, although certainly niche. I nick my self all the time, but I don't mind. Ordered a variety pack of blades on amazon as well, it will last for a while.
Huge fan of safety razors. At least for me, razors with multiple blades would tug on my hair too much and cause ingrown hairs often (I think those two are casual)
Plus, nothing wakes you up in morning like potentially cutting yourself
Safety razors are a much more reliable shaving experience for me then multi-blade razors too, but the big win was once I learned about them suddenly I also learned about a whole bunch of other stuff which made shaving so much easier.
The big win was using an alum block - disinfects and seals nicks quickly, and styptic pencils (same thing but stronger).
Safety razors are so sharp it’s hard to feel when you’re cutting yourself - I get little spots sometimes and see them more than feel them. Weirdly the biggest factor between getting cut shaving and not for me is how foggy the mirror is. I never get cut when the mirror is clear.
Meanwhile it's perfectly possible to cut yourself with cartridge razors too. As that saying goes, "down, not across." Move the cartridge sideways against the skin... ouch.
If you don't want to give up the convenience of cartridge razors, you can still avoid paying the price for name brand Gillette razors. The manufacturer originally used by Dollar Shave Club, Dorco, sells their handles and refills directly on Amazon for 50% less than you'd pay for a comparable Gillette pack.
The Gillette cartrdiges last quite a while and, for me, 15 shaves would be a conservative guess. I don't recall ever cutting myself either, unlike with old style razors and cheap disposables where it was pretty much a daily hazard.
Nonetheless, I often go a week between shaves nowadays and this seems to be much more socially acceptable than used to be the case.
As I recall from a long ago experiment in school, a lot of the "wear" on a razor blade is actually corrosion. So it may actually be possible to extend the life in various ways.
depends on your beard hair, mine can blunt a razor after 1/2 of my face... I stopped using razors about 10 years ago, not just trim to stubble... shaving sucks
You can keep a razor sharp longer by submerging the blade in a little dish/shot glass of mineral oil after shaving. It slows the microscopic pitting and corrosion from air/moisture.
As a bonus, mineral oil is a decent shave gel on its own, though it can be difficult to wash out the whiskers and gunk from multi blade razors.
Shaved head for 20+ years here. I use Gillette and get at least 8 weeks shaving daily without issue (ie. 8x7 = 56 shaves or 350% of your reported longevity). The trick is wet shaving (in the shower) with good lather (I use soap). Dry shaving is an anachronism in this day and age, save for water-scarce or highly unsanitary environments, where I prefer to just not bother.
As an aside, I'm pretty sure they are incrementally tweaking the chemistry of the blade-front indicator to break down more rapidly, which destroys the uniformity of the leading edge. IMHO older cartridges actually last longer. If you find a stash in the developing world or some other slow-moving place, buy them.
I had commented above about how long Mach III blades last me, and I do wet shave.
However, reading your comment, I wonder if my Mach III blades (purchased in India) are different in the metal composition from what I would purchase now in the USA.
Gillette is ceramic coated and should last you about a month. Other razors are Teflon(PTFE) coated and last a couple weeks. I used to work in the shaving industry.
If you really start obsessing over money you're going look like something between Richard Stallman and the Unabomber, and not just in your facial hair.
What's funny about Stallman is that he looks exceedingly well-maintained, even indulgent, compared to the average Unix hacker. Razors are really a Roman military thing, aren't they? When you look at the Parthians, the Macedonians, the Cappadocians, the Phoenicians, the Gauls, the Germans--all bearded. All basically Unix hackers, of a sort. But we imitate the Roman legions for some reasons.
I switched to double-edged wet shaving years ago. Not mentioned is that they also are a better shave, and less prone to causing ingrown hairs / bumps. A 100-pack of Astra platinum blades costs me 10 bucks, and lasts 3 years.
Same for me, switched to a safety razor, a shaving brush and shaving soap few years ago and never looked back. Disposable razors and disposable shaving cream are real waste of resources and money.
It is, however, hard to find these sorts of razors. If you go into a shop to buy a razor, you will almost certainly not be able to buy one - but you will be faced with a wide range of very similar cartridge razors. The double edged razor has become a product that you can only buy on the internet, and which you will only buy if you know that it exists.
This was true -- in about 2010. My local CVS has three or four DE razor models available plus packs of blades, and has for several years now; it's been interesting to watch the market switch.
I stopped razor-shaving a while ago, and just use a corded trimmer without a guard to set neck and cheeklines when i trim the rest of my beard.
edit:
In fact, a lot of examples listed in this piece have a similar pushback story. This is encouraging!
- cast iron pans are ridiculously available, cheap, and heavily marketed.
- shaving soap pucks (and bar shampoo, upscale bar soap, etc.) over body wash are pretty hyped at the moment.
- 2.5 kilo bags of loose-leaf brand teas are available widely (taylor's of harrowgate, etc) as well as from more specialty shops.
- everyone i know shits on pod coffee machines (though they are widely used, alas; some shifts towards compostable pods have been made)
- retrogrouch cycling, which never left, has been boosted with "party pace" cycling advocates. eTAP is certainly here to stay, but quality mechanical components are and will remain widely available.
smart TVs, food deserts, and bullshit food subscription services are harder to rebut :/
In the UK, the bigger Boots used to have cheap safety handles and blades (at least ~5 years ago when I was using them.) I'd guess they're probably in the bigger Superdrugs as well. There's also a bunch of smaller brands like Truefitt & Hill, Mühle, etc., that have physical shops in London which sell them.
Definitely not "you can only buy on the internet".
In the US, these days even Walmart has them[1] in stores I've been to. This particular product isn't necessarily a great deal, but just by virtue of being on the shelves, people are exposed to the idea of using a safety razor.
I've used a straight razor for almost 20 years. Vindicating to read that the price of a Dovo pays for itself. I think my bar of shaving soap is probably the better part of decade old as well. In the interim, a whole peculiar subculture around shaving has developed, but you don't have to be a part of it to just use a razor. Makes you unreachable by corporate marketing as well, which is itself its own reward.
Aside from differences in cost, do you find anything about a straight razor compellingly better than e.g. a Gillette Mach 3?
I go through Mach 3 cartridges pretty slowly, so price isn't a big concern. And I don't notice anything deficient about the quality of my shaves. But one thing I really like about safety razors is that there's zero risk of serious injury.
Safety razors are much better at making a neckline, if you only shave clean partially and trim the remaining beard. Personally I also get less skin irritation from the safety razor compared to the Mach3 I used before. Given I use it correctly. If you move "against" the hair instead of "with" the hair it caused a lot of irritation for me. But that was essentially user error.
In total I would never go back to a Mach3. The safety razor is just the all around superior product at a fraction of the price once you use it correctly.
To help differential the styles, (double-edge) safety razors and cartridge (safety) razors are named slightly differently to help reduce confusion in general conversation:
The “once you use it correctly” is worth highlighting though.
I tried the double edge safety razor. Got the brush, shaving cream, big pack of Astra blades. Watched a bunch of YouTube videos on technique.
Spent way more time shaving. Nicked myself an ungodly number of times. Somehow got a worse shave out of it. Ended up going back to the cartridge razor.
I really want to be a double edge razor guy, but I was not able to make it up the learning curve.
That's my experience as well. And if I don't go against the grain, I may not nick myself, but it doesn't result in a close shave at all. It feels like one day after I shave with a Mach3 which I can use against the grain.
I really want it to work, but it's literally a blood bath.
It took mea little while too, but I've been using safety razors for almost ten years. Yeah, it took just doing all the right things by intuition. Dialing in the angle of the razor as i held it, getting good blades, getting the face clean and hot. Also, don't shave every day. I get a much better and more comfortable shave if i have two or three days of stubble.
"I tried the double edge safety razor. Got the brush, shaving cream, big pack of Astra blades. Watched a bunch of YouTube videos on technique. Spent way more time shaving. Nicked myself an ungodly number of times."
Maybe it's the blades?
I started with Derby Extra blades[1], and without using any special technique I've nicked myself only maybe once a year with them.
The weight of the razor might also figure in to it -- I got a Parker 66R razor[2], which has a nice heft to it, which means I don't have to press in to my face with the razor -- the weight of the razor itself is enough.
If you had a plastic and/or light-weight razor maybe you had to press in to your face, which could account for the nicks.
I got a vintage Gillette handle off eBay - it definitely has heft.
Could be worth trying a different set of blades. The Astra Platinum were the Reddit hive mind recommend at the time, but this was ~8 years ago.
I’m also wondering if it might be a hair thing. My facial hair is thick/coarse, particularly on the upper lip, which is where I consistently nicked myself.
Short of a several pound handle I can’t imagine cutting it with the weight of the razor alone.
You probably don't need to be told this, as it's pretty obvious, but just in case: you should curl your upper lip in to your mouth when you shave to make the skin taught and decrease the odds of nicks.
Also, before starting to shave you should wet your facial hair with hot/warm water for a few minutes to soften it up. I usually wet my face as soon as I get in to my shower and shave inside the shower a few minutes later.
the skinguard they have is great now. its basically a modernized mach3. super smooth and you can get away using it when its old and dull without being cut as much as the old mach3s, and it has a single blade on the back for edging.
Aha you can totally cut yourself with a safety razor (unless you mean the Mach 3 and not what this article is calling a double edged razor which has historically been called a "Safety razor" )
You can cut yourself with a multi-blade razor too. The point is, little of the blade is actually exposed, so it won't be a serious injury.
A straight edged razor, by contrast, is just a knife, that you actually can kill yourself with by slicing deep enough into your neck to take out a major artery. You can't do that with a safety/multi-edge razor.
With a "safety razor" you can really cut yourself. Surely it's my fault, but I don't want another visit to the E.R. I went back to Mach3, $30 per year is worth it to me compared to risking expensive emergency room visits.
I think you're confusing terms. A safety razor exposed no more of the blade than a cartridge razor. I think you're probably referring to a straight razor.
The straight razor incidents were pretty traumatizing, so much blood..
Stay safe <3
Edit: I double checked, it actually was with a safety razor. They don't have any buffer to avoid slicing you up compared to a mach3 or modern disposable razor. Please do be careful folks, they are super sharp and a single swipe can cut you up real good.
If you're using carbon steel (not stainless), they will turn back into dirt within a couple years/decades of weathering (aka turning into a heap of rust).
If feasible, re-smelting them would be superior, as it'd skip the ore-to-iron high temperature chemistry process.
For me I found that I get much less razor burn with a safety razor. Whenever I shaved with a Mach 3 or another 3 blade cartridge razor, I would always get razor burn on my neck from the two additional blades. Never had that issue with a safety razor.
There's a ritual to straight razor and traditional single-blade safety razor (what I use now) that is compelling in modern times when everything tells you to shave off minutes from every single thing in your life so you can free up your time. Seemingly this means just more time for internet browsing and things that have no impact on your life but I digress. The daily or semi-weekly ritual that takes time, attention and care is relaxing. I stopped using a straight razor since I couldn't get the edge as sharp as I'd like to but I may pick it up again once kids are older. I moved onto purchasing a $20 classic single-blade safety razor about 4 years back and now buy the razors in bulk. Can be very cheap depending on where you buy them. For the ones I buy it's probably $10 a year if that since I only shave every 3 days or so and a carton of 100 blades lasts a year. Does require 2 passes though but doing it right with shaving cream and brush is something I've come to enjoy.
> I stopped using a straight razor since I couldn't get the edge as sharp as I'd like to
Don’t get mad at me, but what you need is a 5000, 8000 and maybe 12000 grit Naniwa (or comparable) superstone. Also, a good strop. Leather would be sufficient.
Send your razor off for establishing a good edge to Portland Razor Co. Once you get it back, you should be able to maintain that edge with minimal fuss.
Carbon steels can get sharper but you need to be really on top of it on maintenance. Stainless steel is more durable and tolerates some abuse but does not retain edge as well.
Lastly, don’t hurry while shaving, and don’t drop the damn razor please.
I couldn't manage it. I'd send mine off to get that edge, it would come back, I'd put it on the Nanis, ruin it, boom one shave. And those Naniwas were expensive. Went back to the safeties. I might try out shavettes one day.
For honing I swear by the Coticule stone[1], you only need the one stone as you can vary the grit. Tip: the non-rectangular stones are just as good and a fraction of the price.
Also guilty: I did start growing a beard after dropping my favorite razor :/
For a daily use straight razor, about once a season or twice a year.
Remember that you keep a razor sharp by using the pasted strop and having a good maintenance routine. After a while the cutting edge becomes more convex, which is where the stone is needed to straighten out.
A coticule is flattened on every use, because you rub a smaller stone on it to create the milky suspension that will do the actual abrading. I've had the same stone for 20 years.
That has not been my experience with stripes. Things got way better once I did a quick pass On an "Arkansas" stone before each use, but I still need to use something coarser once a month or so.
Nailed it. Almost as if I wrote this. One difference in application, though, is it seems you change your blades every time. I’ve not found a good / meaningful cadence.
> Aside from differences in cost, do you find anything about a straight razor compellingly better than e.g. a Gillette Mach 3?
Quality of shave. If you maintain your straight razor, and mind it, it does require some maintenance, the quality of shave is of no comparison. My wife can instantly make out the difference when I shave in a hurry with Mach 3.
More between DE and cut throat, leaning very heavily towards CT. Experimenting with one now: not a lot of margin of error with regards to technique as there is with DE.
If you clean shave your face, then a safety razor is probably better as it's easier to glide along a large distance across your face. For me, a straight edge razor allows me to shape my beard better. I do cut myself pretty much every time (since the hairs on my neck go in a million different directions), but that's easily addressed by showering right after a shave + after shave cream. The cost benefits over a safety can't be overstated: the razor is a cheap one-time cost ($13 off Amazon at the time, you don't really need a "high quality" razor IMO), blades are single use but super cheap ($15 ish for 100 blades), and since I shave at most weekly I only have to buy blades once every few _years_. As always YMMV depending on your facial hair style.
I have a straight razor it's almost a lost art using one. I tried one but I figured I'd end up killing myself by accident. Plus I don't have to patience to sharpen and strop the blade.
A safety razor is also a great investment and cheap. I bought a Wilkinson Sword handle $20 and a pack of five blades $5. It's an old name-brand sold practically everywhere. I can get more than a month out of one double-sided blade. Plus it shaves very close much better than multi-blade razors.
It's better than the two, three, four, five blade monstrosities that always get clogged in days. They also cost far too much literally 5x more than safety razor blades.
+1 on the safety razor. I bought an Edwin Jagger model, a box of 100 Astra superior platinum blades, a nice brush and a tub of Arko soap. That was honestly over 5 years ago and I haven't spent a cent of shaving since then. I think I have 35 blades left. It's amazing how long they last. I'm really close to the end of the soap.
I've got an Edin Jagger model as well, used for many years now. Double-edged safety razor. I also use it to shave my head. Knifes I can generally use a couple of weeks before replacing and it's cheap to buy a box of like 100 knifes. That will probably last me multiple decades.
I use a safety razor, too. I shave really infrequently, as I’m now bearded, but I do use it regularly to keep the edges trim. I think I’m still on my original pack of razor blades which I bought for a few bucks 5 years ago. Really old bar soap, too. It’s inexpensive, simple, and not really any less convenient than the expensive new razors.
I'm also shaving with a safety razor for 6+ years straight. The only problem is that you can't take the blades to the plane (when you're not checking the baggage in), so I have to use my old, unused cartridges on short trips, and use them until they dull when I return. This is good for using the old stock, too!
I've invested to a couple of stainless steel safety razors. An Edwin Jagger 3one6, and a Mühle R94. They're easy to maintain, have infinite life, and shave much better than top of the line cartridge razors from any manufacturer.
I also use a good but not expensive boar brush and shaving soap.
As a result, I either buy a new stick of shaving soap every six months, or a can of foam every year (for emergency morning shaves), and buying 100 blades every 2 years or so, for a much cleaner, comfortable and enjoyable shave for negligible money. Both razors have paid themselves as savings too.
Just want to warn that both razors are in the "efficient" category, which means they need some experience to use without any nicks, but they're not as wild as the open-combed, aggressive razors. If you want a milder, but equally long-living razor, go Mühle R89, Edwin Jagger EJ89, Merkur 34HD or Timor Gentle Butterfly.
I use a safety razor as well but only because it's easier than getting mad at roommates for destroying my straight razor blades because they're too lazy to find a real knife. Straight razors are waaay quicker and easier to shave with, and I cut and scrape myself way less when using one.
I have a straight razor that uses replaceable blades (they're half-blades, not the double-sided mentioned in the article). I've been using it exclusively for the last 10 years. I'm only just now getting to the bottom of my original box of 100 blades.
I tried straight razor but it was just too much maintenance. Parker safety razor and plain old dove beauty bar have been the sweet spot for me. I like the idea of a straight razor but the maintenance just wasn't worth it. If my safety razor blade gets dull I just toss it and know that it's just iron and carbon and will degrade and not pollute the earth.
Straight razor here too. Primarily because I wanted to get off the cost and waste wheel. It’s great.
I sharpen my own knife and woodworking tools. So learning to sharpen my razor is no big deal.
Now my only expense is occasionally buying some soap or aftershave once a year or so. And my time I suppose maintaining the razor which isn’t much at all.
>And my time I suppose maintaining the razor which isn’t much at all.
Definitely not the case for me. As someone whose been recently exploring properly sharpening some high quality kitchen knives at home, there's a cost in time for sure to do things correclty both learning and executing. Once you learn, it's not too bad but there's a learning curve and time factor that's difficult to ignore. I need to set aside a good hour or 1.5 hours on a given weekend to sharpen my knives (find and soak my soap stone, gather my knives, get back my angles and motions down pat).
I'm still a novice for sure and an expert may be able to sharpen quickly but that's a big difference from just grabbing a new disposable product ready to use. With a straight razor a certain amount of care also needs to be taken when shaving to reduce cuts -- safety razors aren't a bad invention overall. I suspect if you do a lot of regular shaving (e.g. body hair that's not just your face), it might become time consuming.
I'm not saying reuse and repair are bad investments, I'm a huge fan of these ideals, but the time involved can't be entirely ignored for some consumer products. In many (perhaps most) cases, I agree with the thesis of the article that modern business practices are becoming increasingly misaligned from consumers and societies interests and becoming nothing but wealth extraction optimization factories in various forms. But, I think not all products are so clear cut and some legitimate progresses are not reasonable tradeoffs for everyone, like a safety razor (maybe not cartridge based but similar to the one described in this article). Now a safety razor for a cartridge is a pretty close set of advantages/disadvantages with clear cost savings.
Sure, learning how to sharpen is non-negligible. Like most skills it takes time to gain proficiency at first and pays off later.
I only have to sharpen my straight razor maybe twice a year at most.
Kitchen knives depends on use but a typical sharpening is 15 minutes maybe? I might do this 3 - 4 times a year.
I do woodworking with hand tools which need to be sharpened far more often and that is fairly time consuming... but so is making wood projects from hand tools. I consider it part of the process.
If we get to fully economic decision making the case can be made to prefer convenience over all else because of paperclip maximization. Instead of buying organic clothes made by hand and spending the time to maintain and repair them we prefer fast-fashion. It's cheaper in time and money to simply buy a brand new shirt. Along with the many other benefits it entails.
But that has a cost too, doesn't it? Landfills chock full of disposed-of clothes, beaches covered in cables of clothes that have washed up on shore, and they're mostly made of oil-based products and will take centuries to degrade. People with families and children literally starving and wrecking their bodies in sweat shops to produce these throw-away, convenient, cheap clothes.
Some times taking time to do things the slow, inconvenient way has a lot of benefits too that are not immediately obvious until we take a step back and stop trying to be in such a rush.
I use safety razors because it is must sharper than a regular disposable razor. As a result, you don't need to do multiple passes over the same area which leads to less razor burn and skin irritation. I buy a couple hundred new blades every few years for $25-$30 and never have to throw money away on a $10 Mach XXX or whatever... I am actually surprised more dermatologists and skin experts haven't recommended safety/straight razors.
ymmv. its interesting reading everyones different techniques and experiences here. I've never felt I had to do two passes with a 3 blade. I let them get dull too before they are swapped out, although these 3 blades are for sensitive skin so they are nicer than your standard mach3. I'm probably paying less than you for blades a year though. I can't remember when I bought the huge $35 pack I have.
That number seems incredibly high to me. The most I've seen blades go for in any kind of volume is around $0.20/blade. Even if you were discarding them every day, that would only account for $70/year. You can admittedly buy some rather nice shave soap, but $180/year still seems aggressive.
I admittedly don't shave every day, but I've been using a safety razor since 2013. I went back and tallied up all of the purchases for materials, including my razor, and I believe I've spent a little over $200 for that entire period, so maybe $25/year.
I buy Feather blades at around 44 cents a blade, and I use a new blade every day.
I have coarse hair, so that dulls the blade faster. And shaving a whole head probably counts as like three face shaves (in terms of both blades and shaving soap.)
For soap I use Proraso (which is cheap) or Taylor of Old Bond Street (unscented - they call it "organic" - which is not cheap.)
In the past I stretched blades and spent far less, but the experience was not as enjoyable.
My facial hair is very thick and realistically I can use any type of blade at most once. I used to use Gillette blades, but at the advice of the Internet I switched to double edge razors.
The Internet claims this type of shaving is best, not just in terms of cost and enviromental impact, but that it reduces irritation and produces a closer shave.
After using a double edge razor for over five tears now, let me dubunk these claims. They are 100% grade bullshit. They don't produce a closer shave, not even close, and they are way, way, harsher on my skin than Gillette disposables. Maybe my skill in using them just sucks, and for other people these claims are true, but here's the thing, the Gillette cartridges are foolproof. They are more convenient in every way, you can actually fly with them, and you can use cheap shaving foams instead of hard to get shaving soap. And of course, they are much, much quicker to use. I can shave with disposables in less than five minutes, but using my double edge razor takes me around 20 minutes.
I still use my double edge razor because I like the feeling of accomplishement I get after I manage to get a decent shave with such a primitive technology, but anyone who claims double edge razors are "better" is simply insane.
Have you experimented with blades? This was my takeaway after using Merkur blades and I abandoned safety razors for a while. I tried again using Feather blades and the experience was much better: far superior to cartridge shaving. With more practice I also improved my technique which undoubtedly helps.
Yes, I experimented with blades, I didn't think it would make any difference, but to my surprise it makes a huge difference. I still don't understand how there can be such a huge variance in the experience you get with different blades, it's not about the sharpness, they are all sharp.
To be honest, this is a negative point, because it takes time to experiment with blades, and it's extremely unlikely you will be able to find your favorite blades when you travel somewhere.
Practice undoubtedly helps, how much more more can I practice. I shave every other day. In fact, when I used disposables I shaved every day, and I wish I could still do that, but double edge blades are too harsh on my skin to be able to do that. After I shave, I need a day to heal. And this is with special creams and balms and alum blocks. With disposables I didn't even need to use any kind of after shave treatment at all.
You've probably tried everything but if not try soap with lanolin that helps a lot and try cream instead of soap. Also some people don't get so irritated skin if they use duller blades. But you might just be out of luck.
I have bought and tried pretty much any brand of blades i could find online. Surprisingly enough when talking with owners of shaving specialist shop the owner said many people prefer duller blades. Its supposed to not irritate the skin so much and take all the moisture out.
I also prefer Feather blades the most but they are expensive compared to rest. When i was looking for alternative funnily enough the next sharpest (and a lot cheaper) was... Gillette blades. They have few different lines and some of them come close to Feather. Now i am torn when buying blades if i cheap out and buy Gillette or go for Feather... (95% of time i support the Japanese :))
I personally used to get really bad irritation on my neck, ingrown hairs, etc, that completely went away after I switched to a double edge safety razor. I can't stand the cartridges anymore and it's been a long time since I have cut myself.
These shavers are why I now grow a goatee. Even a goatee will cut your shaving costs in half, beards much more.
Obligatory Onion satire on the subject:
Disposable Gillettes have lasted me the longest with the least headache. more than 3 blades is insanity. I bet I get 25 shaves on a razor. not eco friendly but the plastic handle waste is minimal for 12 a year.
I'm in your club. I tried a few other ways to shave, always came back to the good ol' 3 blades (that seems to be more and more difficult to find in shops around my home)
I bought a traditional "safety razor" 15 years ago, and haven't looked back since. No more razor burn. I shave regularly and got somewhat dense and coarse beard, yet I spend less than $10 a year on blades now, down from about $100 when I used disposable Gillette cartridges.
I'm not sure if I see what you mean. My go-to sneakers have a white trim along the bottom edge and it's just... there? Yes, over time it gets dirty, but then again, so do all shoes in general. Perhaps I simply don't understand what problem you're trying to highlight?
It's white, optimized for showing dirt. It's closest to the ground, optimized for getting dirty. And (In the case of your typical sneaker) It's a special weird porous rubber that is difficult to get clean, optimized for quickly looking like crap.
And when your shoes look like crap it's time to buy new shoes.
From anecdotal evidence, I've got the same pair of sneakers for... 4 years now I think? I'm using them daily and yeah, they've got dirty on the bottom, but I wouldn't consider throwing them out just due to that. I'll replace them once the sole is damaged to the point the shoes stop performing their function.
At that point, it doesn't make a difference whether it's white or black for the sole.
You could have made your point two replies earlier and it would be more clear what you consider the issue with white rubber to be.
Have you considered that you don't have to throw out your shoes just because they're dirty? You don't throw away your clothes when they're dirty, do you? What about dishes? I buy new shoes when my old shoes are broken and they can't be fixed anymore. If you like to throw away your shoes when they get dirty, you do you, but in that case you'll be throwing money at the very same industry you seem to strongly dislike. As a saner alternative, I recommend not caring so much about what your shoes look like, they're just shoes.
The key thing to recognize with modern Gillette cartridges is that the blades last a lot longer than the lubricating strips. For me, those lubricating strips last a couple of shaves at most but I get 15-20 shaves out of the blades.
When the strip wears off the shaves get a bit uncomfortable while that stuff peels off but then they start to feel better again after that. A friend of mine actually hates the strip so much that she scrapes it off brand new razor cartridges before using them for the first time! I think the discomfort caused by the worn out lubricating strip is a subtle push by Gillette to get people to toss the cartridge and start a new one before the blades have even begun to dull.
I don’t want to risk sounding disgusting, I use a Mach III to shave my face…daily. Now I have a beard, so I don’t shave my whole face. Neck, cheeks … but I get 6 months to a year out of one cartridge on these. Having just replaced, I agree 100% about the lubrication strip.
You can get the cartridges to last quite a while if you strop them (as best you can) and keep them away from moisture when not in use. I have heard of some people just putting them in a tiny glass of mineral oil.
That said for as often as I shave, a couple times a week, I switched to a safety razor and got a sampler of double sided blades years ago. I am just about out of blades now and you can get 100 for like 10$.
I have no idea as I don't use the cartridges myself but I think the point is to keep them away from moisture so a closed container with ethanol or food grade oil or whatever would probably work as well.
> When highly refined, mineral oils do not cause any adverse effects. However, if the petroleum is not highly refined, it may include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are carcinogenic. This means it may increase the risk of cancer.
> A 2019 article notes that in Europe, companies are only allowed to use mineral oils in cosmetics if they comply with specific purity regulations regarding PAHs. These regulations and safety requirements ensure that the mineral oils go through the refining process to remove any substances that may cause cancer and reduce the presence of PAHs.
> However, according to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, the mineral oils used in the United States are not as refined as they are in Europe.
> As a result, people should avoid buying products that contain mineral oil unless the label states that it is fully refined as white petrolatum or white mineral oil. White mineral oil is highly purified and meets specifications to ensure that it is safe to use in over-the-counter products.
I usually shave with a DE but do use cartridges sometimes.
I really wish you could purchase them without the lubricating strip. I have no proof but strongly suspect they encourage microbial growth and contribute to skin irritation.
Biggest issue with an injector razor blades (single edge/straight razor) is carry-on traveling through TSA. Apparently they want to keep a monopoly on barber studios at 30,000 MSL
Switched several years ago from cartridges to an injector blade system, and have never considered switching back.
I've also switched from cartridge to double edged a couple of years back. Not for financial or even environmental reasons, I just find it more comfortable than the cartridge ones.
Just one small disagreement…electronic shifting on bicycles. I have had my hands cramp up on longer rides in humid/hot conditions changing gears manually. Electronic shifting makes a difference, especially when shifting a lot and you are out there for a while. Triathlon bikes are using them now as well, they allow for more aerodynamic designs because they don’t have to deal with mechanical cables anymore.
I switched to a safety razor years ago. I use about $10 worth of blades a year and just use bar soap for lather.
I’ve never understood shaving. Why not just buy a trimmer and trim it down to 1mm? Much more convenient, faster and cheaper. Also there’s very little visual difference - especially now that everything is remote.
Hair density and growth rate and skin sensitivity is going to matter a lot. I use an electric razor because I don't have much facial hair and it doesn't grow very fast. But I'll relatively often get irritated skin from it and have to be careful about how I use it in advance of eg a wedding. Getting a close shave still requires maintenance of the electric razor, cleaning it and occasionally replacing the foils.
> Why not just buy a trimmer and trim it down to 1mm
That works for the most part. The razor is for all the spots where you want no hair at all. I've got a beard and I can shave my neck down with a trimmer and get it really close, but if I want to actually have clean neck I've gotta reach for the razor.
Depends on your beard. I have coarse black hair that grows fast. People with fine blonde hair can get away with a trim. For me, it has to be a choice between a beard and a wet-shave.
It’s not a conspiracy, it’s just convenience. Shaving with a Mach3 is a hell of a lot easier than a DE. Cooking with a Teflon pan is a hell of a lot easier than looking after a carbon steel skillet. The vast majority of people have busy lives, and don’t want to deal with that hassle. For those of us who do, great.
For you perhaps. I cannot handle the weight as easily, and there are a lot of extra steps to keep it clean which need handling (especially over a sink). Extrapolate to the whole population and you can see why there is a market for them.
I use a cast iron comal. I wash it in soapy water (no scourer!), same as any other pan. The only added hassle is drying it before putting it away. It's as goodnas a Teflon pan for non-stickness, but I don't have to eat Teflon or replace the pan. And it spreads the heat better.
981 comments
[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 347 ms ] threadMight need a new set of blades after a couple decades.
The cord annoys me though, but cordless will definitely not last as long.
But IMO, as with many of the other things mentioned in the blog post, the "additional hassle" to stay out of such closed ecosystems is often worth it. It's a nice experience and I can absolutely recommend the DE / safety razor. Also try different blades from different manufacturers, there are real differences between them :D
(In German it's called "Sicherheitsrasierer", literally security razor, mixed that up)
Plus, nothing wakes you up in morning like potentially cutting yourself
The big win was using an alum block - disinfects and seals nicks quickly, and styptic pencils (same thing but stronger).
It is maybe a little less foolproof than a Mach 3, but it's pretty close. Looks shiny too.
Nonetheless, I often go a week between shaves nowadays and this seems to be much more socially acceptable than used to be the case.
As a bonus, mineral oil is a decent shave gel on its own, though it can be difficult to wash out the whiskers and gunk from multi blade razors.
As an aside, I'm pretty sure they are incrementally tweaking the chemistry of the blade-front indicator to break down more rapidly, which destroys the uniformity of the leading edge. IMHO older cartridges actually last longer. If you find a stash in the developing world or some other slow-moving place, buy them.
However, reading your comment, I wonder if my Mach III blades (purchased in India) are different in the metal composition from what I would purchase now in the USA.
What's funny about Stallman is that he looks exceedingly well-maintained, even indulgent, compared to the average Unix hacker. Razors are really a Roman military thing, aren't they? When you look at the Parthians, the Macedonians, the Cappadocians, the Phoenicians, the Gauls, the Germans--all bearded. All basically Unix hackers, of a sort. But we imitate the Roman legions for some reasons.
This was true -- in about 2010. My local CVS has three or four DE razor models available plus packs of blades, and has for several years now; it's been interesting to watch the market switch.
I stopped razor-shaving a while ago, and just use a corded trimmer without a guard to set neck and cheeklines when i trim the rest of my beard.
edit:
In fact, a lot of examples listed in this piece have a similar pushback story. This is encouraging!
- cast iron pans are ridiculously available, cheap, and heavily marketed.
- shaving soap pucks (and bar shampoo, upscale bar soap, etc.) over body wash are pretty hyped at the moment.
- 2.5 kilo bags of loose-leaf brand teas are available widely (taylor's of harrowgate, etc) as well as from more specialty shops.
- everyone i know shits on pod coffee machines (though they are widely used, alas; some shifts towards compostable pods have been made)
- retrogrouch cycling, which never left, has been boosted with "party pace" cycling advocates. eTAP is certainly here to stay, but quality mechanical components are and will remain widely available.
smart TVs, food deserts, and bullshit food subscription services are harder to rebut :/
Definitely not "you can only buy on the internet".
[1] https://www.walmart.com/ip/van-der-Hagen-Stainless-Steel-Dou...
I go through Mach 3 cartridges pretty slowly, so price isn't a big concern. And I don't notice anything deficient about the quality of my shaves. But one thing I really like about safety razors is that there's zero risk of serious injury.
In total I would never go back to a Mach3. The safety razor is just the all around superior product at a fraction of the price once you use it correctly.
Isnt't Mach3 a safety razor?
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_razor
Of course if you want to go old school:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_razor
Slightly more convenient, but uses a similar technique:
* https://bespokeunit.com/shaving/shavette-vs-straight-razor/
Safety razors (single/double edge) are safe by comparison to 'cut throat' straight edges, not to cartridge razors.
(Because they came first. It's like 'New' College Oxford being something like the second oldest one.)
I tried the double edge safety razor. Got the brush, shaving cream, big pack of Astra blades. Watched a bunch of YouTube videos on technique.
Spent way more time shaving. Nicked myself an ungodly number of times. Somehow got a worse shave out of it. Ended up going back to the cartridge razor.
I really want to be a double edge razor guy, but I was not able to make it up the learning curve.
I really want it to work, but it's literally a blood bath.
Maybe it's the blades?
I started with Derby Extra blades[1], and without using any special technique I've nicked myself only maybe once a year with them.
The weight of the razor might also figure in to it -- I got a Parker 66R razor[2], which has a nice heft to it, which means I don't have to press in to my face with the razor -- the weight of the razor itself is enough.
If you had a plastic and/or light-weight razor maybe you had to press in to your face, which could account for the nicks.
[1] - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0032Q41LS/
[2] - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0141BGDLI/
Could be worth trying a different set of blades. The Astra Platinum were the Reddit hive mind recommend at the time, but this was ~8 years ago.
I’m also wondering if it might be a hair thing. My facial hair is thick/coarse, particularly on the upper lip, which is where I consistently nicked myself.
Short of a several pound handle I can’t imagine cutting it with the weight of the razor alone.
Also, before starting to shave you should wet your facial hair with hot/warm water for a few minutes to soften it up. I usually wet my face as soon as I get in to my shower and shave inside the shower a few minutes later.
A straight edged razor, by contrast, is just a knife, that you actually can kill yourself with by slicing deep enough into your neck to take out a major artery. You can't do that with a safety/multi-edge razor.
The straight razor incidents were pretty traumatizing, so much blood..
Stay safe <3
Edit: I double checked, it actually was with a safety razor. They don't have any buffer to avoid slicing you up compared to a mach3 or modern disposable razor. Please do be careful folks, they are super sharp and a single swipe can cut you up real good.
(Edit: to be clear I mean the spent metal blades? Not the plastic ones...)
If feasible, re-smelting them would be superior, as it'd skip the ore-to-iron high temperature chemistry process.
Don’t get mad at me, but what you need is a 5000, 8000 and maybe 12000 grit Naniwa (or comparable) superstone. Also, a good strop. Leather would be sufficient.
Send your razor off for establishing a good edge to Portland Razor Co. Once you get it back, you should be able to maintain that edge with minimal fuss.
Carbon steels can get sharper but you need to be really on top of it on maintenance. Stainless steel is more durable and tolerates some abuse but does not retain edge as well.
Lastly, don’t hurry while shaving, and don’t drop the damn razor please.
Source: Guilty as charged.
Also guilty: I did start growing a beard after dropping my favorite razor :/
[1] https://www.ardennes-coticule.be
Like 1200 before every shave? 800 once a week? Etc...? Do you ever need to go back to a coarser one?
Do you ever re-flatten your stones, or buy new ones? How often?
Remember that you keep a razor sharp by using the pasted strop and having a good maintenance routine. After a while the cutting edge becomes more convex, which is where the stone is needed to straighten out.
A coticule is flattened on every use, because you rub a smaller stone on it to create the milky suspension that will do the actual abrading. I've had the same stone for 20 years.
Quality of shave. If you maintain your straight razor, and mind it, it does require some maintenance, the quality of shave is of no comparison. My wife can instantly make out the difference when I shave in a hurry with Mach 3.
Shavettes have lower maintenance and are very similar to straights:
* https://bespokeunit.com/shaving/shavette-vs-straight-razor/
A safety razor is also a great investment and cheap. I bought a Wilkinson Sword handle $20 and a pack of five blades $5. It's an old name-brand sold practically everywhere. I can get more than a month out of one double-sided blade. Plus it shaves very close much better than multi-blade razors.
It's better than the two, three, four, five blade monstrosities that always get clogged in days. They also cost far too much literally 5x more than safety razor blades.
I've invested to a couple of stainless steel safety razors. An Edwin Jagger 3one6, and a Mühle R94. They're easy to maintain, have infinite life, and shave much better than top of the line cartridge razors from any manufacturer.
I also use a good but not expensive boar brush and shaving soap.
As a result, I either buy a new stick of shaving soap every six months, or a can of foam every year (for emergency morning shaves), and buying 100 blades every 2 years or so, for a much cleaner, comfortable and enjoyable shave for negligible money. Both razors have paid themselves as savings too.
Just want to warn that both razors are in the "efficient" category, which means they need some experience to use without any nicks, but they're not as wild as the open-combed, aggressive razors. If you want a milder, but equally long-living razor, go Mühle R89, Edwin Jagger EJ89, Merkur 34HD or Timor Gentle Butterfly.
I sharpen my own knife and woodworking tools. So learning to sharpen my razor is no big deal.
Now my only expense is occasionally buying some soap or aftershave once a year or so. And my time I suppose maintaining the razor which isn’t much at all.
Definitely not the case for me. As someone whose been recently exploring properly sharpening some high quality kitchen knives at home, there's a cost in time for sure to do things correclty both learning and executing. Once you learn, it's not too bad but there's a learning curve and time factor that's difficult to ignore. I need to set aside a good hour or 1.5 hours on a given weekend to sharpen my knives (find and soak my soap stone, gather my knives, get back my angles and motions down pat).
I'm still a novice for sure and an expert may be able to sharpen quickly but that's a big difference from just grabbing a new disposable product ready to use. With a straight razor a certain amount of care also needs to be taken when shaving to reduce cuts -- safety razors aren't a bad invention overall. I suspect if you do a lot of regular shaving (e.g. body hair that's not just your face), it might become time consuming.
I'm not saying reuse and repair are bad investments, I'm a huge fan of these ideals, but the time involved can't be entirely ignored for some consumer products. In many (perhaps most) cases, I agree with the thesis of the article that modern business practices are becoming increasingly misaligned from consumers and societies interests and becoming nothing but wealth extraction optimization factories in various forms. But, I think not all products are so clear cut and some legitimate progresses are not reasonable tradeoffs for everyone, like a safety razor (maybe not cartridge based but similar to the one described in this article). Now a safety razor for a cartridge is a pretty close set of advantages/disadvantages with clear cost savings.
I only have to sharpen my straight razor maybe twice a year at most.
Kitchen knives depends on use but a typical sharpening is 15 minutes maybe? I might do this 3 - 4 times a year.
I do woodworking with hand tools which need to be sharpened far more often and that is fairly time consuming... but so is making wood projects from hand tools. I consider it part of the process.
If we get to fully economic decision making the case can be made to prefer convenience over all else because of paperclip maximization. Instead of buying organic clothes made by hand and spending the time to maintain and repair them we prefer fast-fashion. It's cheaper in time and money to simply buy a brand new shirt. Along with the many other benefits it entails.
But that has a cost too, doesn't it? Landfills chock full of disposed-of clothes, beaches covered in cables of clothes that have washed up on shore, and they're mostly made of oil-based products and will take centuries to degrade. People with families and children literally starving and wrecking their bodies in sweat shops to produce these throw-away, convenient, cheap clothes.
Some times taking time to do things the slow, inconvenient way has a lot of benefits too that are not immediately obvious until we take a step back and stop trying to be in such a rush.
The only bad thing about it is that it makes flying with just a carry-on impossible.
I still spend a not insignificant ~$250/yr on blades and shaving cream to shave face and head daily.
I admittedly don't shave every day, but I've been using a safety razor since 2013. I went back and tallied up all of the purchases for materials, including my razor, and I believe I've spent a little over $200 for that entire period, so maybe $25/year.
I have coarse hair, so that dulls the blade faster. And shaving a whole head probably counts as like three face shaves (in terms of both blades and shaving soap.)
For soap I use Proraso (which is cheap) or Taylor of Old Bond Street (unscented - they call it "organic" - which is not cheap.)
In the past I stretched blades and spent far less, but the experience was not as enjoyable.
I spent $15 on 200 double-edged safety razor blades a couple of years ago, and have used maybe 50 of them from shaving every-other-day.
At this rate that $15 in blades should last me 4 years.
Anyhow, as a bearded man, only trimming/shaving the edges with a razor, a pack of razor blades lasts me probably 3 months.
Also on the double edge vs cartridge, as another poster mentioned, cartridges are foolproof and give a good shave.
The Internet claims this type of shaving is best, not just in terms of cost and enviromental impact, but that it reduces irritation and produces a closer shave.
After using a double edge razor for over five tears now, let me dubunk these claims. They are 100% grade bullshit. They don't produce a closer shave, not even close, and they are way, way, harsher on my skin than Gillette disposables. Maybe my skill in using them just sucks, and for other people these claims are true, but here's the thing, the Gillette cartridges are foolproof. They are more convenient in every way, you can actually fly with them, and you can use cheap shaving foams instead of hard to get shaving soap. And of course, they are much, much quicker to use. I can shave with disposables in less than five minutes, but using my double edge razor takes me around 20 minutes.
I still use my double edge razor because I like the feeling of accomplishement I get after I manage to get a decent shave with such a primitive technology, but anyone who claims double edge razors are "better" is simply insane.
To be honest, this is a negative point, because it takes time to experiment with blades, and it's extremely unlikely you will be able to find your favorite blades when you travel somewhere.
Practice undoubtedly helps, how much more more can I practice. I shave every other day. In fact, when I used disposables I shaved every day, and I wish I could still do that, but double edge blades are too harsh on my skin to be able to do that. After I shave, I need a day to heal. And this is with special creams and balms and alum blocks. With disposables I didn't even need to use any kind of after shave treatment at all.
I also prefer Feather blades the most but they are expensive compared to rest. When i was looking for alternative funnily enough the next sharpest (and a lot cheaper) was... Gillette blades. They have few different lines and some of them come close to Feather. Now i am torn when buying blades if i cheap out and buy Gillette or go for Feather... (95% of time i support the Japanese :))
https://www.theonion.com/fuck-everything-were-doing-five-bla...
It's white, optimized for showing dirt. It's closest to the ground, optimized for getting dirty. And (In the case of your typical sneaker) It's a special weird porous rubber that is difficult to get clean, optimized for quickly looking like crap.
And when your shoes look like crap it's time to buy new shoes.
Thus we have shoes optimized for short lifespan.
But this is dead obvious.
At that point, it doesn't make a difference whether it's white or black for the sole.
You could have made your point two replies earlier and it would be more clear what you consider the issue with white rubber to be.
When the strip wears off the shaves get a bit uncomfortable while that stuff peels off but then they start to feel better again after that. A friend of mine actually hates the strip so much that she scrapes it off brand new razor cartridges before using them for the first time! I think the discomfort caused by the worn out lubricating strip is a subtle push by Gillette to get people to toss the cartridge and start a new one before the blades have even begun to dull.
On the other hand I experienced blades that were unusable or even oxidized after 2-3 uses.
That said for as often as I shave, a couple times a week, I switched to a safety razor and got a sampler of double sided blades years ago. I am just about out of blades now and you can get 100 for like 10$.
More info here: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/is-mineral-oil-bad...
Relevant excerpt:
> When highly refined, mineral oils do not cause any adverse effects. However, if the petroleum is not highly refined, it may include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are carcinogenic. This means it may increase the risk of cancer.
> A 2019 article notes that in Europe, companies are only allowed to use mineral oils in cosmetics if they comply with specific purity regulations regarding PAHs. These regulations and safety requirements ensure that the mineral oils go through the refining process to remove any substances that may cause cancer and reduce the presence of PAHs.
> However, according to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, the mineral oils used in the United States are not as refined as they are in Europe.
> As a result, people should avoid buying products that contain mineral oil unless the label states that it is fully refined as white petrolatum or white mineral oil. White mineral oil is highly purified and meets specifications to ensure that it is safe to use in over-the-counter products.
I really wish you could purchase them without the lubricating strip. I have no proof but strongly suspect they encourage microbial growth and contribute to skin irritation.
So water hardness can make a big difference in how long they last.
I expect it would be difficult to consistently replicate the factory edge.
Switched several years ago from cartridges to an injector blade system, and have never considered switching back.
I never get irritation from a Braun S3 shaver, but if I use my Skull Shaver on my neck it can leave it slightly red and irritated unless I'm careful.
That works for the most part. The razor is for all the spots where you want no hair at all. I've got a beard and I can shave my neck down with a trimmer and get it really close, but if I want to actually have clean neck I've gotta reach for the razor.
Depends on your beard. I have coarse black hair that grows fast. People with fine blonde hair can get away with a trim. For me, it has to be a choice between a beard and a wet-shave.
The wet razor is much more convenient than the plastic waste. No to mention the enormous environmental cost of slight inconvenience
For you perhaps. I cannot handle the weight as easily, and there are a lot of extra steps to keep it clean which need handling (especially over a sink). Extrapolate to the whole population and you can see why there is a market for them.
They're light weight, inexpensive, very easy to maintain, and last forever. You do have to dry them before putting them away.