Old School Shaving
The item above is a Merkur 1904 classic double edge safety razor. Egged on by Tony's post looking into safety razors then his following two posts on wet shaving, my old interest in the art was once again piqued. I watched a bunch of mantic59's YouTube videos and read up a little bit on the gear involved and voila. I hate buying the crazy expensive packs of disposable cartridges. I figured that this initial investment would pay for itself in a year or so.
The final straw was seeing the Burt's Bees (now owned by Clorox) kit above (which did not come with the Merkur razor or the styptic pen, but also came with aftershave and lip balm [given to Lady]) for sale at Whole Foods. I figured that the whole package was a bargain over what I'd pay for things separately, especially starting out. The shave brush is boar's hair (as opposed to synthetic or badger hair) and the soap is glycerin based – which is what I've read is recommended. So I took the plunge and got the kit. The next day, I got the razor at top along with 5 Wilkinson blades, but the razor came with a Merkur brand blade so I stuck that one in there first so I'll have something to compare the Wilkinson blades to when the time comes. The styptic pen is for the nicks you get while shaving. You just dab the end of it over the cut and presto, the bleeding stops.
Now anyone that knows me or knows my ethnic background would probably know that I don't have much facial hair. Yeah yeah. That doesn't mean I shouldn't have fun while shaving though. The feel of the razor is nice and hefty. The process of lathering up is fun. The sound of hairs being sliced away with a platinum coated blade is incredibly gratifying – much better than the scratchy noise from a Mach3.
But now for a little product review. The Burt's Bees stuff doesn't cut it. The soap doesn't lather up too well. From what I've seen on various YouTube videos, I should be getting a much thicker lather from the soap. I've tried different amounts of water to soap ratio, but it just doesn't work out. I can get what looks like the right kind of lather, but it just fades away quickly. Who knows – it may be my technique, the brush, the soap, the hardness or softness of the water in the house… But all the while, I'll be getting the technique down with the blade which is the most important (and dangerous!) part. It's quite a different experience from the pivoting plastic heads I've been using for the last 7 or so years (used even less gratifying electric shavers prior). You have to lock the wrist and use shorter strokes on flat parts of the face. Lucky for me, I have gigantic and flat cheekbones which are, apparently, safety razor friendly. I've nicked myself a couple of times so far, but not as bad as I've done with a Mach3 when I'm hurrying along a little too much which left me with 3 parallel lines on my chin.
I bought my non kit stuff at a store on 13th St just north of Walnut St. It's a store full of knives and shaving/clipping instruments. The razor was $24.99 (better than any price I saw online), the single cartridge of 5 blades was $4.99 (can get blades for much cheaper in bulk, but this is a first try), the Colonel Conk styptic pen was $2. An 8-pack of Mach3 Turbo blades at CVS is around $20. The process of making what was once a mere grooming chore is now a more fun. I don't expect it to continue to be a joyous occasion each time I shave, but it'll be more fun than before for sure. Now I'll be on the lookout for shave cream/soap/brush reviews – a whole new set of blogs for me to read!
Explore posts in the same categories: Gadgets, Me
May 23rd, 2008 @ 8:05 am
Alright, I'm interested, but I want to hear a little more about that styptic pen. There's some cost (in PAIN) to using that thing I understand. I don't think I've ever knicked myself with my Sensor, so how often and how severely are you drawing blood!
May 23rd, 2008 @ 10:09 am
Man, where are the pictures of you shaving!? Here, I was hoping we'd see some foamy Albert face photos!
Those shavers have always interested me. Obviously, I don't grow too much facial hair either, but dabbing the foam soap on with that brush is so awesome! Just like in the movies! :P
May 23rd, 2008 @ 10:24 am
@ Andrew- It's a slight sting that I wasn't prepared for I must say. I remembered watching a video of a guy suggesting people going from plastic cartridges to traditional razors to get this as a must have for accidents. I didn't remember him saying anything about the sting. It stings no more than aftershave. Knowing that helps though. I thought it was going to be a cooling sensation and cut closing, but it's a little sting.
As for how much blood, just a little drop of it. But I guess the skin on the face is pretty thin so the blood slowly flows if you don't do something.
@ andipantz- foam face photos may be a project down the line, we'll see
May 23rd, 2008 @ 6:42 pm
I learned to shave with one of these setups, styptic pencil and all.
The razor was a relic from my grandfather that my father learned to shave with. It was a thing of beauty, but my father, upon the advent of the modern electric razor, was pretty much done with it; me, with my excessively sensitive skin, I was born for old-fashioned shaving. I still have the old shaving rig, though I went to the vibrating Gillette model a year or so ago – it cuts me a little less.
But I still use the old stainless steel one once in a while (sometimes just because I run out of cartridges for the newer one).
May 23rd, 2008 @ 7:42 pm
Maybe it's just the beer I just drank, but I think there's something very funny about learning to shave with such retro equpiment from videos found on YouTube!
I have used a styptic pencil before. They sting like a b!+ch!
May 23rd, 2008 @ 8:57 pm
That's a sweet razor; sounds like you're having fun. I tried some shaving soap as well. It was a little puck of something I bought at Whole Foods, although not Burt's Bees. It worked, but not very well. I think it is easier to cut yourself with a "safety" razor than a cartridge, but I cut myself less than once a week with the blades I am using now. I can live with that. I'll give you a pack to try.
May 24th, 2008 @ 12:05 am
I forgot to mention that the most precarious shaving equipment I've ever encountered has been the straight blade my 75yo barber pulls out at the end of a haircut. Ironically, I've never gotten the slightest nick from that.
August 31st, 2010 @ 1:29 am
Hey admiral! I stole your photo of the nice old safety razor for use in a post on my site about shaving. The photo links back to your site…I dunno, if that's OK? That old razor is a stylish thing, isn't it? I never thought to look for antique razors, I just bought mine new.