Double Edged Razor Blades

[huntertrw]

I’ve seen those Gem single blade razors in flea markets all my life, but I’ve never seen or heard of a soul using one to shave.

In my collection I have a Gem Micromatic single-edge razor, and I shaved with it once. After I stopped bleeding I put it away and haven't used it since.



I do have several straight razors, and enjoy shaving with them when I have 30-to-45 minutes to spare. Any faster and the blood-letting will commence, at least for me. The ritual includes a hot towel, shaving soap applied with a badger-brush, witch-hazel, and cologne.

 

[bobomatic]

In my collection I have a Gem Micromatic single-edge razor, and I shaved with it once. After I stopped bleeding I put it away and haven't used it since.

View attachment 257638

I do have several straight razors, and enjoy shaving with them when I have 30-to-45 minutes to spare. Any faster and the blood-letting will commence, at least for me. The ritual includes a hot towel, shaving soap applied with a badger-brush, witch-hazel, and cologne

I can tell just by looking at it, that's a very aggressive razor, meaning the blade gap and the angle are pretty pronounced. Personally, I have a very mild razor I use with feather blades, and I never cut myself. If you're cutting yourself with a double edge, it's usually not the blades fault, it's most likely the razor is too aggressive for your type of face and whiskers. Open combed razors are much more aggressive than closed comb.

 

[tracerbullet]

I like Persona if they are made in Israel. Other than that, Feather.

 

[bobomatic]

Here's the difference. Mine is a closed Muhle R89. I'd rip my face off with an open comb.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Just because it's old, doesn't mean it's worse.

Didn’t say anything of the kind.

 

[Briar Lee]

In my collection I have a Gem Micromatic single-edge razor, and I shaved with it once. After I stopped bleeding I put it away and haven't used it since.

View attachment 257638

I do have several straight razors, and enjoy shaving with them when I have 30-to-45 minutes to spare. Any faster and the blood-letting will commence, at least for me. The ritual includes a hot towel, shaving soap applied with a badger-brush, witch-hazel, and cologne.

School me on a straight razor and on aggressive safety razors, please.

My Gillette Slim is adjustable. Put in blade, adjust 1 through 10, and there are bars that come up to bend the blade more, making it closer to the bottom guard, and a more acute angle. The closer and more acute angle the less or more aggressive?

And what is the approximate angle you must use for a straight razor?

I tried it one, it was bloody.

 

[cshubhra]

aggressive safety razors

It denotes how much of the blade is exposed. More the blade is exposed, the shave will be better, but the probability of accidents will go up higher.

Open Comb designs are often more aggressive than closed combs, but not always.

Adjustable razors are often very aggressive at their highest settings, but not always.

During my college days I once got a very aggressive razor (I forgot from where). I remember that shave because it was so bloody.

In my second innings with safety razors, I chose Mercur 34C. It is one of the best in the market : It is very mild but still manages a very close shave. I used extremely sharp blades and did not get cut, except for Personna where I got a few weepers.

So far a mild razor with aggressive blades is the combo for me.

Feather is rated at 32 for the first shave, but it continues to get blunt. Gillette Perma Sharp starts at 41 but gets down to 30, before starting to get blunt. (Lower number denotes more sharp).

Some of this knowledge is internet research.

 

[tracerbullet]

These babies are the best

Dovo Straight Razors

straight razors

dovousa.com

 

[cshubhra]

Wonderful data on DE blade sharpness

Razor Blade Sharpness Summary with Comparison Chart

This post is to serve as a quick reference as a Razor Blade Sharpness Summary which includes a Razor Blade Sharpness Comparison Chart. To see more in depth how the testing works, check out Razor Bl…

www.refinedshave.com

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Sooooo… this thread isn’t about how to prepare candies for trick or treaters? Damn!

 

[Briar Lee]

Sooooo… this thread isn’t about how to prepare candies for trick or treaters? Damn!

Almost all Halloween candy tampering cases are hoaxes.

https://www.npr.org/2023/10/31/1208459235/why-urban-legend-contaminated-halloween-candy-wont-disappear-razor-blade-poison

A man proud enough to shave isn’t likely to waste a good razor blade that way.

 

[renfield]

Years ago I fell down the razor rabbit hole when I looked at what the Mach III refills cost. A good soap, good blade and good razor is just hard to beat. Doing a 3 pass shave may take longer but I’m worth it.

I’ve got a couple of straight razors that I’ve honed and shave beautifully but I’m still too slow with the straight razor.

By coincidence I just finished off some West Coast Gatsby yesterday and popped open a tub of Arko. Smells like old Ivory soap to me. Not as slick as most but still nice.

 

[cshubhra]

Well, time for some pictures. I got a good shave about 90 minutes back.

Razor: Mercur 34C (Only one I have)
Blade: Gillette Perma Sharp (Fifth shave with this blade)
Brush: Shaveway Pure Badger (POS - Don’t buy)
Cream: Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood (Beautiful cream with a spicy smell. However does not smell like sandalwood)
Shave: Three pass (With the grain, across the grain, against the grain) + makeup at the chin area.
Post shave: Alum Block
Aftershave: Aqua Velva (Not a good aftershave but I use it for fun)

Still some room for improvement, but possibly as close I am going to get with a mild razor

 

[cosmicfolklore]

A man proud enough to shave isn’t likely to waste a good razor blade that way.

You have seen pictures of me, haven't you?
I don't even own a razor.

 

[Briar Lee]

You have seen pictures of me, haven't you?
I don't even own a razor.

Because like most sons of the Ozarks there are beautiful Osage princesses on both sides of my family tree (not a flat footed square headed squaw in the bunch) I don’t have a lot of facial hair, just a stubble on my chin and above my lip. I’d make Yassar Arafat look well groomed if I didn’t slick off the stubble each morning.

Besides if you grew up on Lefty Frizzell you always have his cautionary song in your head about going unshaven:

"I Never Go Around Mirrors"

I can't stand to see
A good man go to waste
One who never combs his hair
Or shaves his face

A man who leans on wine
Over love that's told a lie
Oh, it tears me up to see
A grown man cry

So I never go around mirrors
I can't stand to see me
Without you by my side
No, I never go around mirrors
Because I gotta heartache to hide

Xxxxx

(My family also cautioned me not to drink because of that Osage blood.)

But all that Scotch blood makes me curious as to the best value in everything.

If a man used a bar of shaving soap and a cheap double edged razor blade he could shave for a penny or so a day.

I suppose if he learned the straight razor he’d have to buy a few bars of shaving soap, only.

For the last ten years or so I’ve used Harry’s blades which last me a couple of weeks or more each, at two dollars each, and a can of Edge that lasts a month or two, I don’t keep track.

The value of old time shaving is the morning ritual.

My 94 year old barber remembers old men who’d come in every morning for their shave, who were older than double edged safety razors.

That would be the ultimate morning shaving ritual.

 

[Mr_houston]

This is a deep rabbit hole which I’ve been following 9 years. I’ve pursued vintage double and single edged razors, then modern versions of both. I shaved with straight razors for a year, to learn to do it well. All of it is very interesting.

I agree that the Badger & Blade forum is the place to go for learning all about wet shaving.

Here is my latest shaving purchase - a Joseph Allen razor that had pressed leather scales and a lead wedge. I’ve restored it and made new scales. Shaved with it this morning.

 

[Briar Lee]

This is a deep rabbit hole which I’ve been following 9 years. I’ve pursued vintage double and single edged razors, then modern versions of both. I shaved with straight razors for a year, to learn to do it well. All of it is very interesting.

I agree that the Badger & Blade forum is the place to go for learning all about wet shaving.

Here is my latest shaving purchase - a Joseph Allen razor that had pressed leather scales and a lead wedge. I’ve restored it and made new scales. Shaved with it this morning.

View attachment 257751

View attachment 257752

A lot of shaving rituals are cultural.

I have family photos dating back well before 1900 of my family and also of family friends, until modern times.

By God those men were invariably clean shaven until they shut the lid on their casket.

In 1972 Humansville celebrated their Centennial and all the grown men were supposed to wear a beard or pay a fine and nearly all the men paid the fine.

The mayor started to grow a beard until his wife paid his fine and made him shave that thing off.

There had to be a time before the Industrial Revolution that a straight razor was an individually hand hammered heirloom quality article a man got when he was young and used his entire life.

But in the middle 1700s a Sheffield watch maker developed crucible (cast) steel that made the modern straight razor possible.

The Guide to 18th Century Shaving

The Guide to 18th Century Shaving If you just started traditional wet shaving, chances are the historical aspect of it intrigues you. You may even find yourself searching the internet to find…

shavestraightandsafe.com

 

[Flatfish]

I have tried the various settings on my Gillette Slim. But I find I can get a perfectly good shave on setting one. Plus there is less blood. None at all generally.

Just have a light touch, no pressure. Then lather up and go over it again, maybe from a different direction.

 

[JOHN72]

I use this brand and it works very well for me. Feather. With the Mühle R41 Stainless Steel Open Comb Classic Razor.

 

[RookieGuy80]

School me on a straight razor and on aggressive safety razors, please.

My Gillette Slim is adjustable. Put in blade, adjust 1 through 10, and there are bars that come up to bend the blade more, making it closer to the bottom guard, and a more acute angle. The closer and more acute angle the less or more aggressive?

And what is the approximate angle you must use for a straight razor?

I tried it one, it was bloody.

So you're looking at no less than 3 wormholes in this post. The quick and dirty answers are thus*.

The aggression of a razor is measured in the gap between the razor plates and the blade. The larger the gap, the more aggressive the razor is said to be. With your adjustable, you have the ability to set that aggression.

The other side of that aggressive razor coin is the blade. Without getting too far in the weeds, the blades come in varying sharpness and smoothness. Different blades will react differently to your face in different razors, or different settings in your case. A more mild blade in a more mild razor might take several passes to get the result of a more aggressive blade in a more aggressive razor (all other things being equal).

Straight razors are a much different beast altogether, and not a beast I know much about. I do know they  can provide a closer shave when used properly. And I know there's a bit of necessary maintenance that goes with them.

The good people at Badger and Bade would be more than happy to go as far as you'd want.

*Perhaps even more than pipe smoking, wet shaving is very much a YMMV practice. In fact, I'll go so far as to say your milage can and will vary. And anything anyone says are more guidelines than rules.