Safety Razor PSA

[LaneP]

Apparently a long time, if I read into your avatar correctly.

Those are one step in the shaving evolution I skipped. I've shaved with an axe, (partial Viking ancestry is to blame) straight razors, very carefully, and went straight to the mounted Trac-II types. I have a beard, use a Gillette Fusion 5 blade setup for edging it, I try not to be a neckbeard.

Excellent I have a few straights including a vintage Ever-Ready, a modern Dovo and a Feather's artist club. A whole boat load of vintage DE, SE and the spectrum of designs including one, two and three piece. The Rocket is good, maybe a touch on the mild side. I tend to prefer razors slightly right of the middle of aggression/efficiency.

My go-to's over the past year or so include the Rockwell 6S/4 and Merkur Progress, both of which are excellent for workday morning shaves.

 

[JShirley]

Guys, it's actually quite simple to not get nicked by a safety razor:
- Lathering - learn how to use a brush with soap/cream to make a good lather.
- Use a quality razor - Merkur, Muhle, Edwin Jagger (rebranded Muhle), Gillette... Don't start with the most aggressive one from the model offering, take your time to learn.
- Use quality blades - Russian made ones in St. Petersburg plant are quite good (Polsilver, most of Gillette, Astra), Feather are excellent.
-

I got some Gillette recently. My Derby blades shave much more cleanly.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I have used a safety razor for quite a while. I have several, but nearly always use a Gillette Fatboy. I get great shaves from a safety razor. 100 blades for 12 to 15 bucks is hard to beat.

 

[kBob]

Had a girl friend once that had her grandpa’s dedicated double edge sharpener

You clipped the blade in a holder and ran the handle back and forth and the machine kept the angle right and shoved the blade over a done Arkansas stone and water.

It seemed to work.

Once was salvaging an old house with my PaPa and pulled out a mirror fronted bathroom medicine cabinet only to have a be-gillian rusty double edge fall in my lap.

-kBob

 

[Mizar]

I got some Gillette recently. My Derby blades shave much more cleanly.

Every razor and beard has it's own blade preference - for example, for me the green Derbys don't work very well. I find them to be dull and give me a harsh shave with a closed comb three piece Merkur, which is a mildly aggressive razor. Gave them a try with an old Gillette TTO razor, rather mild - also not impressed. But in this razor, the blue Gillette Platinum blades are a perfect match (again, for me that is).

 

[JShirley]

Every razor and beard has it's own blade preference - for example, for me the green Derbys don't work very well. I find them to be dull and give me a harsh shave with a closed comb three piece Merkur, which is a mildly aggressive razor. Gave them a try with an old Gillette TTO razor, rather mild - also not impressed. But in this razor, the blue Gillette Platinum blades are a perfect match (again, for me that is).

I'm using the Derby Blacks.

 

[Boattale]

I've never been able to use a "safety razor" without doing a nick here or there (and my beard is so sparse that shaving for me is an occasional adventure only..) but I do use lots of double bladed razors for other purposes... Nothing cuts finer than a brand new double bladed razor if you're a fly tyer working with spun and clipped deerhair and other similar materials - but still that double edge, hand held, is problematic when you find yourself bleeding on your work.... So... I learned long ago to break each blade in half lengthwise by holding the narrow end in a pair of nippers while flexing it back and forth until it cracks in two at each end -providing two blades that can be held safely, mostly...

There is this thing they call tape....

And there is no way on God's green earth that I will voluntarily start shaving again with a safety razor. Did it in boot camp because it was the only option but as soon as any other option became available I took it. Small torture devices is all they are in my mind.

 

[jmr40]

My dad used one of those when I was a kid. But he started using disposable blades years ago. I have no idea what happened to his old razor. I do have a couple of straight razors around here that have family history but I'm not brave enough to try one of those.

I did run across a safety razor a few years ago at a yard sale for next to nothing and bought it on a whim. It came with a few blades and I tried it for a while. Once I got it adjusted right I managed to give myself a good shave without cutting myself. But it did take a couple of times to get it right.

I have a moustache and goatee with longish sideburns so I don't have a lot of face to shave. And they are the easy parts. Since I'm now retired I may only shave every 2-3 days so a blade lasts a while for me. I've been happy with the Harry's blades that I pick up at Walmart. Blades work out to about $2 each and will last a couple of weeks.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

I have a moustache and goatee with longish sideburns so I don't have a lot of face to shave. And they are the easy parts.

Yep, same here. perfect for a safety razor. Even shaving every day I'm getting nearly a month of shaves from one blade.

Next time I buy on Amazon I'm going to get another 100 Feathers. I will likely have my shaving needs covered for years.

Funny thing is being forced to lather up and slow down has turned it from a chore for me to a ritual. I actually enjoy shaving now as it forces me to slow down for a minute.

 

[Whiterook808]

If you like Feather blades you might want to try Personna Lab Blue blades. They are made in the US and also very sharp.

 

[daniel craig]

I've been shaving with a safety razor since I got out of basic training in 2011. I use a Merkur razor handle it's more of the umbrella style instead of the butterfly style and I either use Japanese or German blades with a preference for German. So much cheaper and such a better shave.

Someone told me once that Kershaw made blades for safety razors but I've never seen any.

 

[Danaidh]

I have been using safety razors for about 20 years now. I am a cheap-scape so I migrated to the old safety razors and blades to save money. Turned out that I liked the shave and was able to use my dad's old razor. I now have several different safety razors and blade that I use in rotation. I prefer a good shave soap and brush for shave prep.

I have some MARLIN manufactured blades in my meager collection. Of course they are blued steel.

My go to razor is a 1955 red tip Gillette which gives a great shave most every time.

 

[theotherwaldo]

Thank you all for reminding me that I haven't had a good shave in a LONG time.
I got on EBay and picked up a couple of Gillette safety razors - a 3-piece from the '30's and a butterfly from the '50's - for fifteen bucks.
Also got a 100-pack of Feather blades.
Just tried out the butterfly safety.
Wonderful... .

 

[JohnKSa]

All safety razors are definitely not the same. I had one for years that would eat me alive, even on the least aggressive setting. I just figured I was doing something wrong. I found an old one at a flea market that was in really nice good condition and bought it on a whim. It was worlds different. Even at the most aggressive setting, I could be much less careful and still cut myself much less.

Some years later, I started having trouble finding the "platinum chrome" blades I had been using and couldn't find anything else that worked as well. Simple solution. I have a full beard now and only use a razor occasionally to tidy up around my upper cheeks where my natural beard "border" is sort of ragged. I use a disposable for that and between the small area that needs to be shaved and the occasional use, one of them lasts me a very long time.

 

[Sistema1927]

I am still using a Gillette Super-Speed that is as old as I am, date coded to 2nd qtr 1956. I load it up with Israeli Personna blades that I buy 100 at a time on the bay. A badger hair brush, and a mug with Col Conk Bay Rum soap, and I shave for pennies a week.

One thing that I notice these days is that everyone today wants to shave super close with multi-blade razors. I always shave with the grain, and don't want to get too close since I want to avoid ingrown hairs.

 

[Resist Evil]

I started with a Gillette safety razor with Blue blades in the late '60s. I then went to an Injector and a double blade cartridge after that. Once the Mach 3 came out, I've used it ever since. Somewhere in the middle of all that, I went back to the old Gillette razor and Wilkinson blades with a soap mug and brush on a lark, but I just couldn't see any reason to leave whatever my current razor was and Edge gel. Working in construction, I ran a Norelco on my sleepy face and saved blade shaving for evenings out.

I get a five o'clock shadow about a day after I shave , so it's not a heavy beard at all. Retired, I shave every two to three days, whether I need it or not.

 

[LaneP]

All good stuff posted above. This past week it's been the Gamechanger .84OC. I've had it for a while but neglected it in pursuit of other numbers like the Merkur Progress, Rockwell 6S and various vintage. Riding the cap makes this a smooth (and efficient) operator.