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Grown up shaving

Aug 26th, 2008 by Phil Dawes

I shave every day and recently I’ve gotten tired of pissing money away on expensive mach3 blades. After dabbling a bit with cheap disposables without much joy I hit the internet for some shaving advice. A bit of research threw up the ‘double edge’ safety razor option and I decided to give it a go, buying a Merkur Hefty Classic (HD) which I understand is a good DE razor for beginners. (voted best safety razor for beginners in some shaving forum or other).

I shave in the shower without a mirror (comfort is more important to me than shave quality) and so was a little tentative after reading about nicks and cuts associated with DE razor shaving. Also my posh shave cream and brush hadn’t arrived yet so I was using baby oil and el-crappo gel-in-a-can.

As it turned out the shave was easy and comfortable which was a bit of a surprise. The heavy razor head and sharp blade means you don’t need to apply pressure, and the top of the razor is rounded so you can vary the cutting angle starting off with it barely touching your stubble and then varying as you get more confident.

So even after one shave I think I can recommend this to other people looking for a decent but much cheaper shave than Mach3. I’m not sure how long the blades last yet but you do get two edges per blade and they can work out really cheap even high-end ones. Maybe I’ll post an update in a few days once I’ve got my cream and brush.

Posted in workfriendly, shaving | Comments

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    Absolutely agreed. I switched to using a DE razor a while ago, and find it so much better than cartridge razors it's difficult to even draw a comparison. I usually change blades once a week (I shave every other day), but of course that varies with personal preference. And as you point out, the blades are really cheap compared to 'modern' razors.

    If you haven't tried it already, I'd also recommend getting a badger-hair brush and some proper shaving cream in a tub, for the complete 'old fashioned' shaving experience. It's much better than foam from a can. :)
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    Glad it's working well for you. I was shaving only 3 times a week (MWF) until I discovered traditional shaving with a safety razor using a double-edged blade. Now I shave daily (but take Sunday off so I can have the pleasure of shaving a two-day stubble on Monday morning).

    I keep thinking that the secret is going to get out and most men will start shaving this way, but the power of advertising and marketing will probably keep most chained to the expensive disposable cartridge and the chemical canned stuff.

    But at least *we* know, eh? :)
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