[Capt. Methane]

For Father's Day I got to shave some Toxic Commercialism out of my life.

Too bad for Gillette, this Muhle is really nice though I think a slightly longer handle would be an improvement...

https://www.muehleusa.com/product/muhle-r106-safety-razor/

I really like it!

 

[USMM guy]

Pretty cool!

Can you still get blades for those things?

 

[gordyt]

USMM Guy you sure can! I've used one of those safety razors for years. These are the blades I currently use (that is an Amazon link).

 

[Huevos]

I haven't seen one of those old style (or should I say retro) razors in years. Only one blade? How do you cope... :biglaugh:

 

[apipeguy]

Congrats on getting into real wet shaving. Get yourself some good soap and a brush and you’ll enjoy it even more by making your own lather. Before I retired a couple years ago and started growing my beard, I shaved with straight razors and it is the best shave you’ll ever get. When I was in a real hurry I would use an old safety razor and still get a better shave than with those new multi blade Gillette’s.

Got into straight razors because of the cost of those Gillette blades and ended up spending so much on straight razors, brushes, stones to keep them sharp, etc. that I could have bought a lifetime supply of Gillette multi blades for my grandsons.

But the shaves were worth every penny.

To keep this gun related a straight razor could be a secondary weapon to your carry gun.

 

[US1911]

I really like it!

Nice! One day I’ll get the courage to take the plunge, I just need to accept the fact that I might bleed out before I’ve finished shaving one side of my face.

For now, I’m content and addicted to the smell of burning flesh in the morning.

 

[gordyt]

The Captain's Choice products are excellent. Have used them for years.

 

[USMM guy]

Back in the day when I still lived in the big easy.

I had an old school barber originally from Eastern Europe. He talked me into a shave on the house one day. He shaved me with a straight razor and got hair off of me that I did not know that I had. I was impressed, and sold as well. It was clearly a sales pitch and a successful one as well. After a shave from this guy, I could go three or four days without shaving with no five o'clock shadow. He never drew a drop of blood. Whenever I had a serious social event after that. I always made a point to get a shave from him

I recently had to get a new barber. He appeared to be somewhat old school in that he had a bunch of old strops displayed in his shop. I asked him if he still shaved people. He told me that he did not as HIV and Hepatitis A had pretty much spelled the end of that.

 

[L.E.]

I had a barber years ago that cut my hair with a straight razor. He knew what he was doing.

 

[Capt. Methane]

I've heard good things about shaving with straight razors but haven't worked up the nerve yet-and yeah, a good straight razor is a thing of beauty and pretty darned expensive.

A gal I ran around with a long time ago used straight razors in a barber shop and said in the school they practiced on inflated balloons. I instantly got this mental image of some easy to startle woman sending a lethal weapon boomeranging across the crowded classroom when she popped the balloon!



I've used the soap and brush method for years and got some really nice soap for Christmas from my MIL but still find that a little bit of hand lotion first helps out.

I've only nicked myself once so far-which kind of surprised me but I find that I am far more careful than with one of the more modern offerings and unlike the twin blade the safety razor doesn't get clotted up with stubble!

I'm really liking the safety razor so far and there is an assortment of blades that were ordered with it so I can choose which one I like best.

I'll check out those Captain's Choice products-I clicked on the "Our Cause" link on their site and helping Veterans is something I can approve of as opposed to so many causes that companies support...and don't worry about bleeding out-I'm on an anti-coagulant and on the one nick I got the styptic stick worked really well.

 

[Akbowman]

I just started wet shaving a couple months ago, in an effort to save money on cartridges. Love it! A good shave soap, I personally like tabac, seems to last forever, and there’s just something about old school aftershaves-A favorite is clubman by pineault. Lots of compliments. And while it sounds kinda sick, I do enjoy the burn from using an alum block!

 

[PBag]

I got my grandfather's straight razor when I was about 15, have used it ever since with the exception of 4 years in the military. Alum blocks do work well :biglaugh:

 

[apipeguy]

I personally like tabac

Always had several different pucks of soap but Tabac was also my go to favorite. Great lather.

 

[US1911]

Any of you “livin-on-the-edge razor-burns” know how long one could expect a double sided safety razor blade to last, say if they shave twice per week?

 

[Akbowman]

I’m still experimenting to find my ideal blade, but I have been able to get 4 wtg/acg shaves with astra and feather blades. Probably could have done another, but impatiently trying to find my perfect blade out of a sample pack. Of course, a good lather makes a huge difference

 

[magazineman]

I'm 54 and started on a straight razor when I was a teen. It was already about 100 years old. I dragged out Great Grandad's antique when I had a job interview but no blades, no shaving cream, & no dough to buy any.

Lightly stropped on my belt, I got a passable shave from it & some Palmolive dish soap which I was also using on my hair, my clothes (in the sink) and my few dishes. Heck, if that 1/2 big bottle of stuff hadn't been in my garage apartment when I moved in I would have had no soap at all.

Got the job! A few weeks later a buddy, hearing my tale, stole a brush & a tub of Yardleys English Lavender from his dad's stuff & gave it to me. Said Pop was never going to use it again.

Eventually I quit the straight razor but maybe I should try it again now that I can get a better edge on it.

My barbers use one around the sides & back after a haircut. It's a "Black" barbershop where the crew is black, the patrons are all black & the posters in the shop are all Afros, Fades, Shaved patterns, & whatnot.

I'm the only cracker that goes there as far as I know. It's a fun place.

 

[Capt. Methane]

Any of you “livin-on-the-edge razor-burns” know how long one could expect a double sided safety razor blade to last, say if they shave twice per week?

I got about 24 shaves (not all were two passes) out of the first blade which was a Muhle brand that came with the razor. There was an assortment of blades that came in the same package and I opened the Wilkinson Sword blades next and while I'll admit that my technique is getting better, this blade seems sharper and shaves closer.

Yes, it takes longer to do the full two pass shave but I'm nicking myself less than I did with the Trac II and getting a closer shave.

Yeah, the new razors are convenient but like a great many modern advancements I'm not sure that they are an improvement at all.

 

[Sistema1927]

I have been using a Gillette Super Speed that is as old as I am for many years. I buy my DE blades off Ebay, 100 at a time. The Israeli Personna blades work very well.

Pair that razor up with a Boar hair brush and Col. Conk Bay Rum shaving soap and I am good to go at a fraction of the cost of modern multi blade disposable razors and canned aerosol shave cream. Not only is it cheaper, but I get a better shave.

 

[JMB_fan_#45]

I also dismissed the Gillette company from my service when they doubled down on their insulting cultural commentary on imaginary problems. This is a new paradigm in the history of business and public relations, the attempt to pick the winning side of a social issue, and then insulting your customers who take the opposing view.

However, I was only using their shaving cream. I had already switched to DSC for blades. I ordered some of the DSC lather to try, liked it enough to add it to my delivery service.

I have wanted to try the single blade safety razors or even a straight razor, but more out of curiosity than dissatisfaction with my current setup. But I remember my dad cutting himself quite badly with a single blade safety razor, so I remain nervous about them. It was when I was four, and shortly after I had loosened the screw...

😳🙄

 

[Capt. Methane]

I have only used canned shaving cream a few times and it sucks compared to a boar brush and any kind of soap-including those little bars of soap in a hotel room!

I don't know how gullible folks have to be to get sold by the advertising on an obviously inferior product. A cake of good shaving soap lasts me dang near a year and costs two bucks or less but even CVS carries a brand or two among the myriad of inferior canned products.

Heck, any more the cost of a really good boar brush would be recouped pretty quickly if one put down the can and walked away...

It was when I was four, and shortly after I had loosened the screw...

😳🙄

We learn well when we are young, but we may not learn the right lessons...

you can now rationalize that there are only two even remotely safe edges to handle a double edge safety razor blade by.

Because I am a pilot I cannot take the good razor with me. Still, there are others making the assemblies for a Trac II handle and I use them at a fraction of the cost.

At least no one is afraid of the other boar bristle brush-the one I take on the road with me...except maybe Achmed the Dead Terrorist and some of his buddies which might come in handy!