Details for those of us not in the know? Thanks!Originally Posted by Erik
If you're gonna do it, you might as well go all the way:
Old school, made in the USA and if you geek out a little (and you're old enough), you can track down one from your birth year.
No problem. That's the link, etc. in post #15, a little way up.
ETA: Just because I happen to have gone this route doesn't mean it's for everyone. It just means it works for me. And sorry blues! I didn't intend to start a big thread drift. Those look like great blades at a great price and if I was still using that kind of razor you'd have done me a big favor posting that!
Last edited by Erik; 10-26-2021 at 06:16 PM.
How many remember the 60's when Gillette dominated the safety razor market? Those blades were maybe good for two days even when being challenged by adolescent beards. Along came Wilkinson from the UK with blades that lasted 10 days or more. Seems like a month later Gillette had somehow matched Wilkinson. Isn't competition a wonderful thing.
No worries, brother. This is P-F after all.
There's nothing civil about this war.
Thanks Blues. Great price and I picked up to try. Appreciate the tip.
I have been using a gloss chrome Merkur Futur for the past fifteen years or so with great success. Last time I bought blades (Israeli Personnas and Crystals) I bought 400 at a cost of $0.0825 each. At one a week, I have only bought blades twice. Great shave at very little cost.
I used to shave with a straight razor but the double-edge blade is just too easy. No need to strop the blade and a lot less concern about slicing myself to ribbons.
I suspect that the 5 Bladed Razors in question exceed the intersection of quality/performance/value/ease of use.
Another Rabbit Hole. Rant Follows:
12+ years ago, I stumbled across a couple of Schick Injector Razors at my mom's house. Bought some blades 7 blades for 7.00 ish made them far cheaper than the cartridge system I was using. 5 shaves per blade and I moved on.
Those injector razor experiences begat discovering the Badger and Blade Forum and buying a birth year Gillette razor and a package of double edged razors in a sample pack off of Amazon. (Sharpest=Feather, Most forgiving and still wicked sharp-Astra SPs.) Feather gets down to .40 a blade buying them in a 200 pack. AstrasSP are around .10 a blade.
I tend to use a those blade for 3-5 shaves.
Where the rabbit hole gets deep is all the soaps/shave creams, pre shave oils, after-shaves balms etc that are out there in the "wet" shaving community.
Fast forward to 2021. 90% of my shaves are with Harry's at 2.00 each per cartridge which I use 5x. While Harry's are a lot more than double edge razor blades, they are about 1/2 what a ProGlide Shield Gillette top of the line cartridge runs. I started shaving with Harry's about 3 years ago.
If I wash my face and:
1. Apply shave oil and let it set for 60+seconds
2. Apply plenty of shave cream
3. Shave 3 ways (Down/Up/Across Ear to Chin) with an injector or double edge razor, I get a DFS (Damn Fine Shave) and my cheeks are BBS (Baby Butt Smooth)
No matter how careful I prep and how steady I go, because the injector/double edged blades are so sharp, I can still get a weeper (minor cut) that can stain a white collared dress shirt.
Presuming the same prep and 3 way shave, Harry's gives me 90 % of the shave as the injector/double edge with commensurate reduction in weepers/cuts outcomes.
My son actually bought me a Dollar Shave Club Gift Card for Father's Day and I have had a similar experience with those as with Harry's.
I have tried a straight razor 1x and simply lack the intestinal fortitude. Risk/Reward. Odds/Stakes. Juice/Squeeze etc.
If you are going down the double edged razor route-buy quality on the razor. The go to brands for a first timer are Merkur (40-45ish German) and Edwin Jagger (30-35ish English). At those price points, they tend to be non adjustable.
Having said that, there is no school like the old school and you can get great vintage stuff for less than half. Gillette in particular has a coding system that makes it easy for you to get a razor in the year of your birth if you are of a certain age- born from 1951 to 2001. I.E. K1=1965, 1st quarter.
NOTE: The retro shave craze has Gillette selling a "King C. Gillette" branded razor. Made in China. Their "Heritage" model is worthy of consideration as the handle was turned in the USA and Cap/Guard are made in Germany.
EDITED TO ADD- Guns/knives/flashlights/watches/pens/fountain pens/razors--I suspect the Venn Diagram of folks interested in these things has a significant overlap.
Last edited by vcdgrips; 10-26-2021 at 10:04 PM.
I am not your attorney. I am not giving legal advice. Any and all opinions expressed are personal and my own and are not those of any employer-past, present or future.
Pretty funny. If you dry the blades after cleaning when done, I have got a year out of a feather blade, in my grandfathers old safety razors. Heck even the newer ones are not bad. I ordered a new one for my boss/friend, after he spent around seven months down, from leg (artery/vein) surgery. I chose one that came with both combs, as the smooth comb is better IMHE, for often shaven, and the toothed comb, is designed to take the beard off, not all at once, but a bit at a time. (what he needed after 7 months down)
When he passed and I was asked to move in (pet and estate duties), I put it to work and am still on the first blade. I do use an electric on occasion (work alarm goes off and I need to go there), but it is no where as good.
I recently decided to switch to his old Bic's he used to have me pick up from Sam's, when I was getting stuff for work. I figure there is stuff I need to clean out of the medicine closet, so it can be a closet again. (longest I ever got out of one was 30 days and that was pushing it)
That's the same razor I use. No more razor burn or ingrown hairs and blades cost next to nothing. A hell of a lot faster than a straight razor too. Lots of upside, very little downside.
I started using Gilette Sensor/Sensor Excel in high school. Went to Mach 3 when the Sensor was discontinued. Then around 2005-2007 or so, I bought a new pack of blades, and they had the same bad effects on my skin as the old blade I was replacing. Tried a couple from that pack, all the same. Brand new blades working like old, dull ones. Bought another new pack, thinking that must just be a bad batch. Same thing.
So I went to the store and started looking at labels. Gillette and almost everything else was made in China.
Schick Quattro blades were and are made in Germany. I bought a Quattro and have been shaving with German steel ever since.
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Not another dime.
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