Adventures in Shaving: The Safety Razor
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?
Published 2024 Jan 9
