Going back to old safety razor with old school shave cream in a tube
I learned to shave with a safety razor, a “butterfly” type where spinning the bottom of the handle opened up the top (like butterfly wings) to allow changing the safety razor blade. When I was attending US Navy Boot Camp, I dropped that razor and knocked it out of alignment. Well, it was boot camp: I was not given the option to not shave until we were allowed to make a trip to the Navy Base Exchange (store for you landlubbers). So, I got to shave for a few days with this, now, not-so-safety-razor — managed to cut my self up a bit. When I did get to the exchange they had some of the “new” (at that time) Trac II Razors (two blades), one of the first multi-blade razors with a disposable cartridge — clearly this design could not suffer from the problem I had with safety razor (no permanent head where the blades could be misaligned from dropping the razor).
Now many years later, I had moved up to a five blade razor with a sixth blade on the back side that worked alone to do beard edge trimming. Clearly, these razors get clogged much easier (spacing between those multiple blades), and by physical design are not as thin (read “not capable of being as sharp” – my opinion) as the old safety razors. Well, covid-confusion in the world gave me much time to research stuff on the internet … and clearly many of the younger folks are going back to not only safety razors, but in some cases even a straight razor, including adopting old school soap and brush (or cream and brush), and trying out old barber shop pre-shave, and after-shave creams.
I think some of the younger generation has taken the fad a bit too far, as in spending a fortune and much time on a simple daily task. So, off I went internet researching razors and such (also spending too much time on the subject) … and like many other times, I found a ready source of such things on Amazon. So, thought I’d share what I ended up trying out … will put the Amazon links in next section. I am NOT an Amazon partner, nor am I anyway affiliated with any of these folks …. I just researched this stuff and bought it. I actually feel kind of queeze about the idea of recommending anything on Amazon, because in many respects they hurt local businesses — but for stuff such as this is really hard to find locally, at least for me.
Black Safety Razor with Bamboo Handle This was just under $20 — and there were reviews complaining about cracked bamboo handle, etc. The one I received was just fine, looks pretty nice and works well. It is not the butterfly type, so it comes apart by unscrewing the handle then the top comes apart and the blade goes between those two top pieces — I think is less prone to alignment problems than the butterfly type.
Double edge sample pack 22 razor blades – 2 each of 11 varieties — There can be a big difference in properties of a given blade design that work differently on your face and beard, so this is a cheap way to test some. It was around $5.22. I can say the blade that came with the razor (above) was too aggressive for me and caused some irritation (not a bad blade, just not for me). So far I have tried a Shark and a Wilkinson blade — the Shark was great for no nicks, the Wilkinson appears to be a little sharper.
Rockwell Blade Bank — For disposal of used blades, well because “why not,” for it will hold probably years of old blades and cost $3.75
Clubman Woltra Nick Relief Styptic Pencil, 0.25 oz (2 Pencils) I have been trying to find a Stypic Pencil for years in the store. If you can find them they are designed where they do not last long. There are two in this pack and it looks like the whole stick is anhydrous aluminum sulfate (that stuff in a stypic pencil that causes little nicks and cuts to almost instantly stop bleeding). These should last me for years unless I start cutting half my face off every morning. Cost = $4.95
Echolly Luxury Shaving Brushes for Men-High end Synthetic Shaving Brush Again, a product some people have had issues with (paint coming off handle or bristle issues), so clearly some quality control issues. However, mine is fine looking and works just fine … and … Yes, I know some insist on a boar or badger hair brush; apparently many of them stink, and much of the natural hair comes from some horribly inhumane operations in China. Cost $7.59
Black Safety Razor Stand – Razor Holder and Shaving Brush Stand OK, I really don’t tend to like stuff with a company logo … but this is a very sturdy (unlike some reviews might indicate) nice looking and quality black chrome looking stand that goes well with the razor and brush. The Viking Revolution logo is prominent, but I kind of like it. It was $13.88.
OK, now this — I really researched the whole “what kind of chemistry” thing and decided I wanted to try out some old school barber stuff from the early 19th century, a brand made in Italy (guess you could say it is fitting, given I have a Moto Guzzi motorcycle). I decided on Proraso’s original eucalyptus and menthol formula and wanted to get the pre-shave, tube shave cream, and after-shave. The most economical way was to buy a gift set of the full size products (you can find some travel kit sizes … but, hey, I am all in for trying this). SO ……
Proraso Vintage Gino Tin Gift Set has all three products in a nice designer gift tin, for $32 (there is currently a coupon for $4.80 off that price). There is a lot of product in this set. I suspect the first thing to be used up might be the actual shave cream tube (it is a 5.2 oz tube that sells individually for $10, but you only use a pea size amount each shave with average use time of about 9 months if you shave every day). The pre-shave is about $13. The after-shave is about $16. Note that all seem to have a discount coupon on Amazon, some for any order, others for doing a subscription.
I am really liking how this set up works. I still need to settle on a blade. The “smell” is pretty subtle. Feels good … cooling, on the skin. You can use the shave cream without a brush, but I think it works better with a brush. I have been using a coffee mug for whipping up lather: It is too narrow and deep to work well, so will probably add one of the shave bowls intended to hold a soap puck instead of the mug.
I had forgotten how satisfying a shave could be … these blades are so thin and sharp you can hear/feel them slicing through the beard hairs.
Your mileage may vary — none of this is a product endorsement, so if you get the same razor and it falls apart, or you manage to slice half your face off, it ain’t on me. This is just my thoughts on my experience …
Oh, and my research indicated many of us have stayed with our multi-blade devices because of outstanding marketing, and market manipulation by major players in this game (I will not mention who, but they were first with a safety razor, and first with a lot of new multi-blade designs, and the first in their “wokeness” to insult most of their customers). I really think the old safety razor is king for home shaving. The “we have more blades than the other guy” is marketing hype to deal with selling a duller blade razor for maximum profit. Once you have an “old school” setup, the blades are cheap: some of the best blades in the world sell on Amazon for $8-$10 per 100 — that is cheap even if you use a blade just once, and most will probably get at least 2-3 shaves from a blade.
I like the Wilkinson blade so far, and I think that is what I used 50 years ago. However, this company is now owned by Gillette, and I do not support social justice warriors, or so called “woke” entities: Gillette lost me as a customer, forever, with their “toxic masculinity” advertising campaign. I also dumped my Harry’s razor subscription because of their so called “woke” political stance. I will not help fund ideologies intent on destruction of our country, nor buy from companies who think catering to such entities is a good marketing practice.
End of random pondering on shaving stuff.