Adventures in Shaving: The Safety Razor

Am I the last guy in the world to find out about this?

No, because most people are barely aware these things even exist.

First there was the open blade, as in the straight edge razor. Yes, you can still buy one new. Many are listed as a barber razor, because professional barbers are the people who use them most.

After that came the safety razor. It's called as such because it has a guard on it. This is a shaving technology that is literally centuries old. The first safety razors required the blade to be stropped (you cleaned and sharpened the blade yourself).

It's the second incarnation of the safety razor popularized in the early 1900s that most are familiar with.

When you search for a safety razor, what you're going to find is the type that uses disposable double-edged blades...

...and that's the one I'll be talking about. But before I do that, I have to talk about the dominant razor people use now, the cartridge razor.

Several attempts were made at making a cartridge razor that people would actually like, and the one that worked was the Gillette Trac II, introduced 1971. There was never a Trac I. The whole point of Trac II was to promote the fact it had twin blades.

Things got even better later in the '70s with the Gillette Atra introduced in 1977, the first to feature a pivoting head. The Atra also had a lubrication strip. You can still get replacement cartridges to this day for the Atra.

Obviously, the cartridge razor was wildly successful and still is.

Schick has the flexible blades.

Gillette has the Fusion ProGlide with the "Flexball" technology (the ball is on the handle and not the blades themselves, you'll see it in plain sight).

Gillette also has a very thoughtful product, the Gillette Treo that's specifically made for caregivers that shave other people.

But then there's the old school safety razor, so let's get into that.

Why did I get a safety razor?

At this stage of my life (middle age) I wanted to "class up" my shaving experience.

All the Gillette Fusion stuff looks modern and futuristic as you'd expect. The handle is dark and menacing with curves and swooping lines, and the head has shiny blades flanked by the bright colors of the lubrication strip and microfins...

...which kind of looks video game-ish.

This is totally my age talking here, but seeing that when I go to shave makes me think yeah, that's a razor for a younger guy.

Gillette isn't the only one doing this. BiC Flex 5 more or less has the same appearance.

There are other cartridge razors out there, including the ridiculous 7 blade, but nah, I needed something different.

What about the electric shaver?

I know some are going to ask about this, so here are a few notes on the electric options just to get it out of the way.

There are many electric shavers available, but the two main types are rotating head (Norelco is the go-to brand for that) and foil. Some are dry shave only, some are wet-or-dry.

In the past I have tried both the rotating head and foil electric shavers and even owned a Panasonic cordless wet-or-dry one once (which they still make)...

...and nope, my face does not like the electric. Even with a light touch, my skin burns after using an electric shaver regardless of what type it is. Wet or dry, doesn't matter, I still get the burn.

And yeah, I know, some guys swear by the electric. Heck, my dad used a 3-head Norelco forever. But my face just doesn't agree with that kind of shaver.

Okay, not true. There is one exception that would work. Norelco OneBlade. However, that shaver is specifically designed not to shave as close as a razor and says so in its instruction booklet. For guys with sensitive faces that prefer electric, that's as good as it gets because it's very highly unlikely any skin irritation would happen from using it.

Why don't I use it? I like a shave that gets my face totally smooth, and OneBlade by its own admission doesn't do that. Yes, it absolutely works and you will look properly shaven (which is the whole point), but I know if I used it I'd always feel that I didn't finish the shave properly. That would drive me nuts.

Enter the safety razor - how does it even work?

Generally speaking, you're either going to have a safety razor handle that has a screw top or a butterfly top.

The screw top requires holding the shaving head at either side and then unscrewing the handle from it to get to the blade.

The butterfly top has its turning mechanism at the bottom of the handle. Turn that, and the head opens up in a way that looks like wings ("butterfly"-like), and you get to the blade from there.

Some safety razors are adjustable. The adjustment is just below the head where you can turn the top of the handle to set the blade exposure level.

What I have is just a plain, non-adjustable screw top safety razor. Very old school.

Blades, blades, blades

The great thing about the safety razor is the many blades to choose from. Some are sharper, some smoother, some made in Japan, some made in Germany, some are coated, some have platinum, and so on.

What's even better is that sampler packs of blades are available. If you don't know which blade you like best, no problem. Buy a sampler pack of blades for cheap and find out. Most sampler packs have sixteen different types to choose from. Not bad, eh?

Did I have to relearn how to shave when I switched to a safety razor?

Yes, I did have to relearn shaving with the safety razor. And I know I'm far from the only man who has had to admit that.

I was absolutely and totally used to lightweight multi-blade cartridge razors with lubrication strip and pivoting head.

A safety razor is heavy, has one blade, no strip and the head doesn't move. No pivoting, no side-to-side motion, none of that.

The first thing I had to learn: Angling the blade.

Cartridge razor blades are already angled within the cartridge while a safety razor blade isn't. I had to learn both the proper angle to hold the blade and accommodate for the angles of my face just to get the razor to work. It did take a few tries before I got the hang of it.

The second thing I had to learn: "Let the blade do the work".

A safety razor has real weight to it, meaning only minimal pressure needs to be applied for the blade to do its job. This is the polar opposite of the cartridge razor where some decent pressure needs to be applied since the handle has almost no weight to it.

What I really had to get used to is feeling less razor pressure and trusting the blade. I was completely used to pressing a cartridge razor to my face. You don't do that with a safety razor. Use minimal pressure, get the correct angle and the blade will glide across the face and work like it's supposed to.

The third thing I had to learn: Shave slower.

The single biggest advantage of the cartridge razor is that you can get your face shaven clean fast.

Not so with the safety razor.

The best way I can describe a safety razor shave is that it has to be done much more deliberately. Short strokes, minimal pressure, don't rush.

This doesn't mean I shave at crawl speed. But it does mean I spend more time with the whole process.

It is possible to shave the face quick with a safety razor if not going for closeness. You can one-pass it and that's good enough for most situations. But when going for the super smooth feel, yes that will take time.

So will I stick with the safety razor?

This may be the way I shave for the rest of my life

I'm not a master at using the safety razor yet. Far from it. But I'm liking the experience. It's new to me, interesting, I like the old world appearance of it, so yeah, I'm sticking with it.

This does mean I will most likely be buying more safety razors, with the next being an adjustable type with a butterfly head.

Believe me, you can go totally nuts with safety razor stuff. There are many handles, many blades, and you can even go all-vintage if you want. One such example is the Gillette "Executive" gold safety razor from the late 1950s and early '60s. It's a safety razor like any other, so yeah, you can still use it today with a fresh blade if it's in good working order.

I have to admit it's cool you can buy something made over 60 years ago that still works now.

(Note to Gillette: Bring back the gold "Executive", even if just as a limited edition special run. Definitely one of the swankiest things you ever made.)

Lastly, I'll say it feels much more correct to shave with a heavy steel handle when compared to plastic. Remember the Gillette Atra I mentioned a moment ago? A heavyweight solid steel handle version of that exists. It's not made by Gillette, but is compatible with Atra replacement heads that are made new now. People care enough about the heavy steel handles to where there is a legitimate market for it.

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Published 2024 Jan 9