Razor is a tool, right?

JML755

Well-known Member
I use a Trac2 razor and my wife always keeps me stocked with spare blades. (She's the kind of person that has enough spare toiletries to last us through a nuclear holocaust.) This week I ran out and looked for a spare package. Couldn't find any and she admitted she hadn't bought any in a while. No big deal. I just went out during lunch at work to a grocery store and found that a pack of 10 was over $ 16! I skipped the buy and asked her about it that nite. Yup, she said, they're expensive. I normally shave every day, even on weekends. Twice a day if we're going out at night. I can't stand the stubble if I miss a day because I'm sick or something. So, I got to thinking: I've got my grandfather's old straight razor somewhere and thought that maybe I'll try to use it. The idea is kind of scary but I was wondering if any of you guys shave with a straight razor? I know there will be lots of posts from guys with beards on why it's best to skip the daily chore, but I don't see that as an option for me. Especially like to hear from anyone that started it late in life (I'm 64) and how long it took to get good at it (to the point you weren't nicking yourself on a daily basis).
 
Just make sure that your life insurance is in force before you try to use that straight razor.

At your age, maybe it would be better to move up to an electric shaver?
 
check dollarshaveclub.com My son buys me the Humble Twin - building up a hoard of blades since longevity is good for me
 
I use the Bic disposables for Sensitive Skin. Have for years. Something less than 50¢ each and even when I was shaving my entire face every day they'd last a week.
 
Used to use a straight razor, still have it in the travelers toilet bag and used it maybe 2 years back. Now I just use a Bic during shower for cheeks - the chin whiskers and cookie duster don't get trimmed but once a month with a scissors. Straight razor needs a light touch, shallow angle and a sliding/slicing motion at diagonal instead of scrape. Shampoo works as a shaving cream- shower, shampoo around face and then shave while hairs are wet, then do the shampoo second pass and rinse. for camping use- wash face, leave soap on and then splash a bit more water, wet blade and do the slice/slide around cheeks and be careful on chin, lip area if you want a bare look. Careful around neck- and plain veterinarian grade 10% iodine is good for nicks, splinters and shave OOPS! Could practice on arm hairs first. Consider growing beard for Christmas, tell people you've been selected to play Santa-- and then just keep it all year. The Robertson/Duck Commander look is acceptable among retired folk- not that much time left to waste it on shaving whole face every day. RN
 
just make sure it's sharp - you'll cut yourself
less.

I've got too many lumps bumps and scars on my face
to use one without bleeding - just takes too long
to carefully go around everything. Newer "safety"
razors are much better for me.
 
I used a straight razor between the ages of twenty and almost forty , yes they work well and are nowhere near as scary or difficult to use as you would think . Blow up a balloon , cover it with shaving cream and have a try ,lol . First time you pop it you will have foam all over your face .
The trouble you will have is keeping it sharp , I gave up trying to find a replacement strop when mine wore out . Had to use disposables after that and frankly I don't miss the old cut throat at all .
 
In his book Living Large in Lean Times, the consumer advocate Clark Howard says that a metallurgist contacted him to tell him that razors don't get dull from shaving whiskers but from the chemical reaction of water on the metal from being put away wet. He was informed that if he would dry the razor blade with a hair dryer after use, it would last almost indefinitely. He tried it, but rather than go to the trouble of using a hair dryer, he simply patted the blade dry with a towel. He claimed that he was able to use a throwaway Bic razor for a year without noticeable deterioration of shaving quality. He said that his standard for a razor is that when it cuts him it's gone.

I've been using a throwaway Bic razor for two or three weeks now, sometimes drying it with my wife's hair dryer, and sometimes patting it dry with a towel. So far, so good. To me the biggest benefit is that it shaves like a razor which has a few shaves on it. I don't like the first shave or two that I get with one of these razors. Previously, I liked the way they shaved from about the third shave to whenever I'd had enough. For what it's worth, I'm a rough and ready kind of shaving person. I put a few handfuls of hot water on my face from the tap, and then just shave. Sometimes I draw a little blood, generally from a sort of scrape rather than from a cut---but it always stops in a minute or so, and I can rinse and dry my face without getting blood on the towel.

Stan
 
The best price I have found for a good razor is the generic brand of Rite Aid in place of the Gillette sensor brand. $8 for a pack of 8. These last the longest and are the best shave I have ever had, I have been using them for over 20 yrs. I too shave almost everyday. I switched to the Rite Aid generic after the Gillette brand raised the price to $ 15 per pack of 10.
 
Thanks guys for the replies. I'm going to try that dollar club. And also Stan's tip on drying the blade. Probably just keep Grandpa's straight razor in the box as an heirloom.
 
Since we are farmers or at least have done some dusty tillage work, did you ever notice after tilling dusty soil your razor will wear out on the first shave? Dust becomes imbedded in your skin
 
I have been using disposables for years, the blade I am using now is close to a year old. I just make sure it is clean and lay it on the shelf till the next day.
 
I've always wondered if that dollar shave club was some sort
of scam or something. Maybe I will have to try that.

I always shave in the shower. I have one of those suction
mirrors and do that after I have cleaned everything else. You
shave so much better when your face has been in hot water
for a while. It wastes a little more water but I could spent all
day in a hot shower. It makes my arthritis feel so much better.
 
You dont need to use a straight blade to save money on a shave, good old safety razors with replacable blades are very cheap. Used but nice razors are all over Ebay, starting to $5 or $10 and going up from there for collector pieces. If you dont want a used razor, new ones start at about $30. A box of 100 replacment blades is $10 up to $20. Some people use a new blade every few shaves but I dont feel that need, I get several weeks to months out of them.

Drying a razor seems to help, I was told that though stainless, the blade will corrode/rust on the fine edge if its left wet. With my Gillette adjustable, I open the top to let it dry out. With my Gillette open comb (my Monday morning razor as I dont shave weekends) I dont do anything to, air gets to it fine.

I used to use a MachIII but the high price of blades and clogging up even with only skipping one day made me give them up. Dads adjustable Gillette was a nice change, just playing with the dial till my face was happy was so much easier than trying to shave just perfect so I dont bleed like a stuck pig.

If you want a cheap and simple shave, try a safety razor.
 
My wife bought me a safety razor with the old style double edge blades at Walmart for $20. I have been using it 3 months and still have some double edge blades.
It is the same one that Rick from the tv show pawn stars advertizes.
 
I'm your age and have used one for years, when I shave. If you're not awake it would be best to pass on it. I always had more problems from the stubble that got stuck in the multi-blade stuff they try to sell you.
 
(quoted from post at 23:52:47 10/24/14) You dont need to use a straight blade to save money on a shave, good old safety razors with replacable blades are very cheap. Used but nice razors are all over Ebay, starting to $5 or $10 and going up from there for collector pieces. If you dont want a used razor, new ones start at about $30. A box of 100 replacment blades is $10 up to $20. Some people use a new blade every few shaves but I dont feel that need, I get several weeks to months out of them.

Drying a razor seems to help, I was told that though stainless, the blade will corrode/rust on the fine edge if its left wet. With my Gillette adjustable, I open the top to let it dry out. With my Gillette open comb (my Monday morning razor as I dont shave weekends) I dont do anything to, air gets to it fine.

I used to use a MachIII but the high price of blades and clogging up even with only skipping one day made me give them up. Dads adjustable Gillette was a nice change, just playing with the dial till my face was happy was so much easier than trying to shave just perfect so I dont bleed like a stuck pig.

If you want a cheap and simple shave, try a safety razor.

Bingo. I got sick of paying for 2, 3 and 4 blade super razors that were only good for 3 shaves and bought a Parker safety razor. I've experimented with blades and found the "Feather" brand from Japan the best. 100 blades cast about $17.00 with free shipping off Ebay. What's nice with them is you're getting 2 blades in one, you can turn it upside down after you've used it a bit and it cuts better again and you can take it out of the handle and clean the skin and hair/soap out of the opening.

I hate shaving and avoid it if I can, but the safety razor is better than the super expensive super razors if I have to do it.
 
I use Norelco electric most of time and if I want a real close shave I use Bic Sensitive through aways, Don't like multi blade razors they pull like hell even useing the gel they recomend.
 
OK, JML, here's yer reply from the "lazy" non-shavers!! I shave from about mid-April to mid-October and then let it grow!! Keeps my ugly mug warm when I'm outside working in the fall/winter!! I've used Trac-2, Sensors, disposables, etc and like one of the the guys said-in the hot shower works the best. Today makes two weeks since my last full shave for the year, I'll trim up as needed. On another angle about the straight razors, Mama and daddy went to see "The Color Purple" when it came out and were one of the few white couples/folks in the theater! When the scene of the girl shaving Danny Glover came up, much to Mama and Daddy's horror, a lot of the blacks in the crowd shouted "cut him"!! That just amused them to no end!! How's the weather out in YT world? Here in south eastern VA, it was 40 this morning, but supposed to hit 70. Beautiful day, gotta get out and get something done now!!
 
Wife got two of the new 4 or 5 blade models. I
inherited one. Shaves great. Doesn't trim too
close. I keep the old 2 blade with the silicone
strip for the detail work. And while we're on the
subject, Edge gel, spot the size of a nickel works
and the can lasts for months. Good buy.
 
I've never used a straight razor,always a safety razor. Those bags of twelve disposable razors for $3 to $4 seem to be the least cost/best value for my everyday use. I've tried generic disposable blades from Target, but they were not very sharp.

When the weather turns below zero F, I use an electric razor. My face doesn't seem to wind-burn as badly then.

Do barbers still use straight razors? Someday I should try a barber shave with a straight razor.
 
Somehow I ended up with a package of the Mach III blades but didn't have a
razor for them. I was using a Sensor or Trac II razor (can't remember which)
and needed blades. When I saw the price of the blades I bought Mach III razor
with 2 refills a year ago because it was about $3.00 cheaper than the other
refills, the thought being I'd use up the odd blades I had. I still haven't
opened the package of blades and usually shave 5 or 6 times a week. I heard
about the guy who wiped his razor down and when I switched to the Mach III I
took great pains to insure I cleaned the blade after every shave. The first
blade died when I was traveling and didn't get it clean or leave it out in
the holder to dry. The second blade is going strong after 7 months.
 
Gillette Safety with Wilkinson blades you get from ebay.Or the old Schick "Stick Shift" single razor, also strictly ebay. I love the "Push Pull Click Click".
 


I feel like an odd guy here. I use a Fusion with five blades, and gel. My Brother got me started on the gel. I step out of the shower and dry everywhere but my face, then slop some hot water on it , gel then shave. I just blow the razors out and park it in the holder until the next day. Think a blade will last me about four months.
 
You've got about 18 years on me, and I never used a straight razor, but like many on here I learned to shave with a safety razor. As things progressed, I moved on up to the latest and greatest over the years, until about a year ago, when I backed up.

I'm one of those that doesn't like a beard, but every time I shave my chin area is in misery for a week or so afterwards from the hairs trying to grow back out. As a result I tend to let mine grow for a month or so between shaves to save myself the agony. The result of that is the mutiblade razors really don't like all that stubble, and shaving is a royal PITA just trying to keep the blades clean enough to use. So, when I saw an add for the newest round of safety razors I decided to back up and try one I had acquired and had plenty of blades for.

As it stands I love the old razor and wouldn't replace it with one of the newer ones if you paid me. It shaves just as good as any of the others, it also cleans out easy when I let my self get a bit too much growth. Best of all it doesn't cut the hairs off below the surface like the newer blades do, and my chin is thankful for that fact every time I shave.
 
I've tried the creams and the gels. None of them work as good as a decent shaving brush and soap. Real hot water, work up a good lather and apply as much as you want. Best soap I ever used was some goat milk soap SWMBO had on hand. You can still get real shaving soap and smell like your grandfather too.
 
I dropped $33 on a set of Wahl clippers that came with a small battery powered trimmer. Between the 2, they take my stubble down enough to make me happy. And I can cut my own hair in the summer, too. I've never used a razor that didn't cause irritation by the next morning.
 
LOts of designer shaving soaps online for your mug. I use my ggf mug, cracked down one side. and a new boar bristle brush. Old Gillete 3 piece gold plated razor and Wilkinson blades..
 
Now that I'm retired, life isn't slower, I just
have a bit more control over the clock. I've
used a Norelco electric all those working years
because it's quick and gives a pretty good
shave. I went and ordered Harry's razor/
blades/ foaming gel for $15.00. and an 8 pack
of blades for another $15.00. Free shipping,
good balance in my hand, and a great close
shave! Cheaper than anything comparable in the
stores. Absolutely 1st rate quality. Might want
to check it online.
Dave "Smooth as a Baby's Butt" I Love My H
 

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