Why the latest greatest multi-blade-wiz-bang-razor is the worst thing you could possibly shave with.
Maybe like many you’ve never experienced a comfortable shave, let alone had a decent result... and here's why:
You’ve been lied to.
Yes, gentlemen you’ve been lied to. You see the advertising industry would have you believe that the latest greatest multi blade wonder razor is science’s answer to man’s penultimate challenge - the dreaded five o’clock shadow!
But no, the advertising industry’s job is to persuade you to fork over your hard earned for overpriced ineffective cartridge razors that just line the pockets of Big Razor and fill the hollows of our Earth with wasteful landfill.
You see, a long long time ago, in a board room not so far away, some cleaver bastard explained to his colleagues that if they could con every man on the globe into believing that he needed a product that would need to be replaced every month he’d make a fortune.
And with constant unnecessary innovation (and we’re talking innovation for the sake of innovation) and clever marketing, they could convince the greater male population of the globe that they need to upgrade to the latest iteration of yet another ineffective razor. Proved by science! Clinically proven!
And the thing’s plastic, so who cares about throwing it away? Let the sea creature choke on it’s remnants. Plus the large cartridges in their ever larger packaging look so grand on shop shelves next to the tiny double edge blades (also known as safety razors).
So where did we loose our way?
A brief history of razors
Bronze-age man shaved his whiskers with razors made of bronze (duh) or obsidian. These blades were usually oval shaped. We know this thanks to a bunch of ancient razors that have been unearthed by archaeologists over the years.
Folding straight razors, as we know them today, were first manufactured in Sheffield, England way back in 1680.
Straight razors come in different sizes, different handle (scales) material & varying quality.
top to bottom: Gold dollar (made in China, avoid at all costs), Bengal (made in Sheffield, England), Dubl Duck (made in Sollingen, Germany - a fine razor)
Back in the day this was the only way to shave.
Then in the late 1700s a Frenchman by the name of Jean-Jacques Perret saw a woodworking plane and thought, “Ooh la la, look at this tool. Look how it shaves thin slices from a block of wood. Sach-lay-blur, I wonder what would happen if I ran it over my face? Hu hu!”
And before you knew it, he said ”Voila, my greatest gift to mankind!”
Well, not exactly, however he was inspired by the design & functionality of the plane, and he patented his new invention in 1762. It only took nearly 100 years for someone to decide the straight razor wasn’t ok as it was. Almost 100 years for the first major modification to the straight razor’s design.
His new gizmo was basically a cage you wrapped around your old straight razor, so it only exposed the slightest amount of the razor's sharp edge, so if you did slip & cut yourself while shaving, it would no longer be a potential death sentence.
You see, before then, you either grew a beard (hipsters rejoice), or shaved with a cut throat razor (also known as a straight razor, but lets be honest, cut throat razor sounds bad ass).
It wasn’t until 1901 that an American by the name of King Camp Gillette, together with his friend William Nickerson, patented a modified version of Perret’s razor.
Yes, ladies & gentlemen, it only took 221 years for someone to really improve on, and innovate away from the straight razor.
Sure, Jean-Jacques Perret’s invention came close, but you still had to use a straight razor with it.
Let’s put that into perspective: for 10 generations or so, men either shaved with a straight razor, or a straight razor wrapped in Jean-Jacques Perret’s contraption. So for all of those 221 years, razors were passed on from father to son over generations, so many men would only have ever purchased one single razor, while many more would have inherited their razor, not spending one brass razoo on one.
As an aside, people still buy and trade old straight razors, not only as collector pieces, but as everyday shaving tools too. And some fathers still pass their razors on to their sons & grandsons, although, as the tradition has been lost, many old razor are tossed, and end up in landfill after their owner passes.
Dubl Duck Straight vs Merkur 1904 Double Edge razor
Now, Gillette’s version of the safety razor was a true breakthrough. You no longer had to slave away sharpening your razor’s edge, stropping it daily, and honing it on stones every month or so. No, now you could purchase small, cheap, sharp blades ready to use. And when the blade became blunt, you just unscrew the razor holder, and replace the blade with a new one.
So what went wrong with Gillette’s safety razor? (Also know as a Double Edge Razor)
Nothing! Nothing is wrong with this design. The double edge razor is still used and enjoyed by millions of men worldwide everyday.
Gillette's new fangled replaceable safety razor blades are very different to the throwaway plastic cartilage razors we know today. For starters the double edged safety razor is a single blade, no plastic housing, no gimmicky gel strip… just a single blade with a sharp edge on either side.
Double Edge razor with an assortment of blades
In my opinion the double edge razor is and always will be superior to the new bread of multi-blade plastic-fantastic razors. Lets take a look at a few of the reason why the double edge razor is better:
A double edge razor gives a better shave
Once you learn the proper technique, and most importantly use a light touch, you can get that baby-butt-smooth result you see in every razor commercial. Without the irritation, ingrown hairs and razor rash.
The modern multi blade razor tries to do everything in one pass. The first blade digs in and tugs the hair, lifting it a little out of the hair folical, the next blade comes along and attempts to cut it below the surface of the skin. The next blades repeat the process, often, because of the tugging of whiskers, slicing a layer to two of skin off in the process.
This leads to “razor rash”, ingrown hairs, and an uncomfortable shave. Plus those multi bladed razors get pretty gross, clogging with soap scum, dead skin cells, hair, rust and mould, so when you cut or graze yourself with a razor like that, you can be sure of infection, which will leave you with tiny puss filled bumps all over your most sensitive skin, usually the neck area.
Whereas if you use a double edge razor (or a straight razor for that matter), your blade is always clean, plus there’s no tugging, so you don’t get that irritation & infection like you do with a modern multi bladed razor.
Perhaps like I once did, you shave your whiskers with whatever multi-blade disposable wonder-razor is on sale at the supermarket. It’s all you ever see in advertising: science’s latest breakthrough; a moisturising gel strip; a pivoting head; contoured space grade non slip handle made of elephant foreskin.… it’s a never-ending list of unnecessary innovations, engineered to fleece you of your hard earned dollars…
If you add to the mix some crappy “goo-in-a-can” shaving goop (marketed as “shaving gel” or “shaving cream”, and usually purchased at the pharmacy or supermarket), you’re doomed to fail. We’ll explore the features & benefits of real shaving soaps & creams in another post, coming soon.
A double edge razor will save you hundreds of dollars every year
Your biggest cost is the razor/handle. They’re usually chrome plated so once you have one, it should last you the rest of your life. These go for upwards of $40.
The only ongoing cost is the replaceable blades. Once you’ve found the right blade for your skin you can buy them in bulk100 packs. Each blade is individually wrapped in wax paper, and packed in little boxes of 5 blades per box.
Your 100 pack of blades will cost you about $10, more or less. And that $10 box of blades should last you a year or more, depending on how many shaves you get out of each blade.
How many shaves you get out of each blade varies from person to person. Some people like a fresh blade for every shave. Some have very thick course whiskers which quickly dull the blades edge.
Myself, I have thick course whiskers, and I get 4 to 7 shaves per blade.
When I started with my double edge I was only getting 2 shaves per razor, maybe 3 at a stretch, but as my technique has improved, I’m easily getting more shaves out of every blade.
Of course there’s other things you should own. A decent badger hair brush for starters, plus some good quality shaving soap or cream.
So should you switch to a Double Edge Razor?
Now I’m no shill. I’m not here trying to sell you anything. And no, I’m not affiliated in any way with any razor company.
I guess to really answer that question you have to ask yourself if you’re truely satisfied with the razor you’re currently using. If you are, then no problem, continue on your merry way. However if you’re not getting a satisfactory shave, and the mere thought of shaving makes your face & neck sting, perhaps...
But be warned
Once you use a quality shaving brush, razor or soap, you'll begin to wonder "what else is out there...?"
This is the stuff that your dad didn’t teach you.
It’s not his fault, his dad didn’t teach him, they were both most likely taken in by the gillette marketing era.
Join me as we rekindle the lost art of wetshaving
In my next few posts we’ll take a closer look at some more gear, including brushes, blades, soaps, strops & scuttles (and more), plus explore some of the techniques of wet shaving, so you too can win friends & influence captains of industry.
