Shaving (was Re: Coffee makers)

As a complete tangent:


The razor blades I buy are about 15¢ a piece, which is probably what we would consider "normal" markup on any product.

More "modern" razor blades tend to be about $1 a piece, for the "people still use those?" model, to over $3 a piece, for the "Fuck it. We're going to five blades" model. There's no way that this isn't an enormous markup.

The original razor blade model was "incorporate replaceable wear parts to create a continuous demand". The new model is "try to lock people into buying ridiculously overpriced disposables". I prefer to think of that as the inkjet model, despite the fact that razor manufacturers were doing it earlier.

Bitt -- your second link ("$3.00...") is the same as your first link ("$1.00...").

tanstaafl.

What are you using for a handle ? How many time do you use the blades ? I thought about trying those but could never find anything in a local store and didn't want to order them online.

I have been using the five blade type and they last for about a month shaving just about every day.

This one.

I don't honestly keep track, but I haven't noticed that it seems very different from when I used the overpriced ones.

Heck, you must have a soft beard, mine's only 3 blade and it's getting dull after a fortnight (These days, in retirement, I only shave alternate days).
I don't think that the old type Bitt uses give any worser shave, perhaps more chance of cutting yourself. I always say that if I won the lottery, I'd go to the barbers for a cut throat every day: There's nothing quite like it, but H & S seem to have got to that, although I've been told one in London keeps a separate razor for each regular customer.

These days, it's uncommon to find a barber that will do shaves with a straight razor. See this thread

I used to get the three blade kind and those would only be good for a few times. For some reason the five blade type go much longer.

Isn't Sweeney Todd still in business? I only shave a maximum of once per week, so blades on a Mach 3 aren't a huge problem or expense - they last a long time.

Good advice, I'll try one when my blades run out.

There was an article on LifeHacker a few weeks ago about stropping disposable razors with your forearm.
Hmm... Well, it seems they've had several articles about making razors last longer, so have your own look-
http://lifehacker.com/search/razor/

I would guess that the reason is that Gillette (or whoever) puts worse blades in their previous-generation cartridges in order to convince you to upgrade. A single blade works just fine. There's really no reason for these ridiculous things.

And there's no reason for the goo strip, either, if you'd shave with real shaving cream instead of whipped alcohol.

The swiveling head is the only reasonable innovation that cartridge razors have ever had, ignoring the cartridge itself. And that (the ease of blade changing) was predated by the Schick injector system.

Just, again, to point out the incredible overcharging for these things, the "Gillette Fusion" cartridges have 6 blades on them. Six cutting edges on the blades I get cost 45¢ (three double-edged blades). That leaves at least $1.50 for the cartridge, and probably more. In fact, UK investigators believe that it costs Gillette about 5p to make a cartridge, and they sell at a 4750% markup.

Meh. I prefer the multi-blade versions. I only tried the 5-blade version when they sent out free samples (hey! free sample!), and I already had a fairly large supply of the single-blade types. It just... felt better, even after being used for 4 weeks.


I'm with you on that. All the goo strip seems to do is rub off, and then get sticky, which makes the experience worse.


Does Proraso count?


Which is a darn good reason to have them in your stock portfolio.

You mean between cartridge-type razors? Yeah, not surprising.


It's got some SLS in it, which can be drying, but it's fairly far down the list of ingredients, unlike most shaving creams, and especially gels, that contain a lot of triethanolamine.

I shave myself with a straight razor. It was difficult to learn, but I found an old copy (1938) of the American Standard Textbook of Barbering and that helped a lot. What was actually the most difficult was figuring out how to hone and strop and what "sharp" really means. It means something way sharper than I thought it did. Now that I know what I'm doing I only hone every 12-18 months or so, but strop with each use.

The results are fantastic. No more ingrown hairs along my neck, which were a huge problem for me (especially when I had to wear a tie every day). No more razor burn. The closest shave you can imagine. It's sort of a morning meditation.

Using a badger-hair shaving brush with a high-glycerin shaving cream or soap puck (I like Geo. Trumper) will make a big difference, too, even if you use a modern razor.

I also recommend the Trumper after shave lotion (not alcohol based), or Kiehl's.

I just use witch hazel as aftershave.

Also excellent. I have a scented kiehl's that's mostly witch hazel.