Definitely Feather blades. They're wicked sharp and last a long time.
Double Edged Razor Blades
- Thread starter Briar Lee
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I got these off of Amazon. Not recommended, I do good to get three shaves per edge. Some of them are junk/dull right out of the package. Others are marginal or just good for one shave per edge. Maybe I'm expecting too much.
![IMG_4520[1].JPG](https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/data/attachments/288/288849-b7ce376049778a6c34b887a3341e923a.jpg "IMG_4520[1].JPG")
I use a Merkur Progress adjustable for daily. A Parker travel safety razor for on the go shaves. I swap between Derby and Wilkinson Sword blades as the mood takes me. As for soaps, I like the D.R. Harris brand.
While honing a permanent straight-edge razor in 1895, Gillette had the idea of substituting a thin double-edged steel blade placed between two plates and held in place by a Τ handle. Instead of being sharpened, the removable blade would simply be thrown away once it became dull. Gillette had no background in metallurgy, and manufacturing such a blade proved a challenge. It was some six years before William Nickerson developed a way to mass-produce the blades from sheet metal. The Gillette Safety Razor Company’s first sale, in 1903, consisted of a lot of 51 razors and 168 blades; by the end of 1904, it had produced 90,000 razors and 12,400,000 blades. Gillette’s innovative sales strategy—he sold the razors for a loss and made his profits on the blades—helped make the product a success.
www.britannica.com
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Nickerson’s biography is fascinating
en.m.wikipedia.org
Let’s say Gillette didn’t have the idea. Nickerson would not have perfected the process of making the disposalable blades,,,,then.
Later on somebody else, maybe at a razor company, likely would have come up with the idea.
But how long afterwards?
King Camp Gillette | Biography & Facts
King Camp Gillette, American inventor and first manufacturer of a razor with disposable blades.
www.britannica.com
——
Nickerson’s biography is fascinating
William Emery Nickerson - Wikipedia
Let’s say Gillette didn’t have the idea. Nickerson would not have perfected the process of making the disposalable blades,,,,then.
Later on somebody else, maybe at a razor company, likely would have come up with the idea.
But how long afterwards?
I bought a synthetic brush a few years ago. It has taken a while to get used to. Water running down my arm as I lather up is not pleasant. So I have learned to use far less water on the brush. I'm getting there.
But if I bought a brush tomorrow I would go back to a badger hair brush.
But if I bought a brush tomorrow I would go back to a badger hair brush.
Had a shave these last few weeks because I was getting beard dry skin, I found it happens after being without a shave for 6+ months.
Still using Feather blades and a cheap-ish Parker shavette which gives a phenomenal shave. I took 2 days' growth with the Muhle r41 - supposedly the most aggressive DE razor - and today I have visible patches of poorly shaved growth and quite a bit of irritation. I just never get irritation with the shavette. A good careful shave with the shavette lasts at least 2 days before any growth is visible.
Still using Feather blades and a cheap-ish Parker shavette which gives a phenomenal shave. I took 2 days' growth with the Muhle r41 - supposedly the most aggressive DE razor - and today I have visible patches of poorly shaved growth and quite a bit of irritation. I just never get irritation with the shavette. A good careful shave with the shavette lasts at least 2 days before any growth is visible.
Interestingly I find BIC Platinum Chrome Blades (Which are made in Greece) at least as good (If not better)
I'll look them up! I find that Feather are almost only good for one shave, they are definitely no good for more than three shaves. I bought 100 a couple of years ago and think I have more than 50 left so they will last a while.Interestingly I find BIC Platinum Chrome Blades (Which are made in Greece) at least as good (If not better)
With regard to how to properly shave with a straight-razor, that's simply more than I can recount here. Accordingly, allow me to recommend The Art and Science of Barbering by L. Sherman Trusty, M.A. This is a standard text on barbering (including shaving) used (or at least it was) in barber schools nationwide. My copy is an Eighth Edition that was published in 1969. It has detailed instructions (including diagrams and photographs) on preparation of the face, lathering, shaving strokes, and finishing. Chances are good you can find a hard copy in your local used bookstore, on Alibris, or eBay. It is also available to view on-line here.
I hope that this helps!
I hope that this helps!
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Yes depending on the grind you can feel a straight razor cut. Hollow ground and extra hollow definitely. Once you get up to a 1/4 ground not really, unless you've got a few days worth of growthI shaved this morning for the first time with my 1912 Gem razor.
This time I got up a good lather from the Arko. Soaked the brush in hot water a few minutes, only put a few drops of water on the puck inside a mug, then used the bowl to work up a lather. I had plenty of foamy lather—not Barbasol foamy—-but I looked like a gray haired version of the man on the Arko package, finally.
A 1912 Gem razor is an intimidating, cool, wonderful antique relic to shave with. It’s heavy. There’s a wicked looking blade exposed, at a sharp angle.
But I went slow and easy, let the razor glide, and I was surprised to hear the sound of my wispy whiskers only a day old being cut. I couldn’t really feel it cut but the sound was audible.
With the Gem I really needed to make a lot of strokes with and against the grain, but when I was through there were no facial cuts and I had a really close, long shave.
Can you hear a straight razor cut, I wonder?
I know now why the double edge safety razor nearly killed off the Gem type single blade. The double edge is faster and easier.
Man is a slave to quicker and easier.
I’m not sure if any of you guys have any knowledge of this but apparently if you keep a razor stored under a pyramid shaped cover it actually stays sharper.
I know it sounds like a load of bollocks but it’s actually true and scientifically proven and you used to be able to buy tin pyramids to store your razors in. I’m sure you could still find one on eBay somewhere perhaps and I believe they were popular in the 50’s but I’d be interested to know what others think about this or if anyone has heard this before.
I know it sounds like a load of bollocks but it’s actually true and scientifically proven and you used to be able to buy tin pyramids to store your razors in. I’m sure you could still find one on eBay somewhere perhaps and I believe they were popular in the 50’s but I’d be interested to know what others think about this or if anyone has heard this before.
I've heard all kinds of nonsense about pyramid shapes and magic powers. It might even keep a piece of bread from going moldy.
I use all kinds of razors, but when using double edge blades I prefer the Personna blue box and the Kai. The Astra in the background are also good, but I don't use them anymore. Hated the Voskhods. Threw these two away immediately after taking this pic for the forums.
I’ve been using the Personna blue boxes for the last month or so. I bought them over 5 years ago and didn’t care for them in my Gillette razors and lost them in a drawer. I rediscovered them and now in my Merkur 38C Barber Pole they've been doing great.
Over the months I’ve tried out all the double and single edged razors, I’ve returned to Edge shave gel and Harry’s razor blades. Here’s why.
If I didn’t shave daily I’d look like a bum under a bridge until (and if) I could grow a real beard and mustache. I’ve shaved daily for fifty years now. It’s a morning ritual.
For the last dozen or more years my whiskers and face have grown used to Edge Gel and Harry’s.
I change out a Harry’s blade every week, but I don’t really need to. They still shave.
Two dollars a week won’t break many people. From Harry’s direct they cost $30 for 24, or six months worth.
I have no idea how much Edge shave gel I use. Two cans are less than ten bucks and when I get down to one can I buy two more. They last for months.
There’s no way I spend enough on shaving to matter to me.
There’s a good reason a Harry’s razor is almost free, and it’s because once you buy one you addict yourself to the blades.
As for Edge Gel, a tiny dab of gel is all it takes to lather up.
Once you get in a routine, you stay with the best way you’ve found for your face.
If I didn’t shave daily I’d look like a bum under a bridge until (and if) I could grow a real beard and mustache. I’ve shaved daily for fifty years now. It’s a morning ritual.
For the last dozen or more years my whiskers and face have grown used to Edge Gel and Harry’s.
I change out a Harry’s blade every week, but I don’t really need to. They still shave.
Two dollars a week won’t break many people. From Harry’s direct they cost $30 for 24, or six months worth.
I have no idea how much Edge shave gel I use. Two cans are less than ten bucks and when I get down to one can I buy two more. They last for months.
There’s no way I spend enough on shaving to matter to me.
There’s a good reason a Harry’s razor is almost free, and it’s because once you buy one you addict yourself to the blades.
As for Edge Gel, a tiny dab of gel is all it takes to lather up.
Once you get in a routine, you stay with the best way you’ve found for your face.
As always, sir, partaking of your wit 'n' wisdom is enjoyable...and often there's something to be learned too!
I myself mix up my shaving methods according to desire and necessity; I have no axe to grind...or blade to strop. A question that's ever-present when I encounter claims of the obvious superiority of the double-edged safety razor, or, heaven protect us, the throat-slasher, is: why then did men, everywhere and at once, drop the old in favour of the new?
Because it works better and is easier, simple as that.
Edge, and other shaving gels, are great, and cheap. But if you ever encounter "Creemo" in your travels, give it a whirl: it's as superior to gels as gels are superior to the old foam in a can.
I forget the model of Merkur I have. It has a long and narrow handle. I began with Astras about ten years ago and then moved up to Feather blades after a few months on the recommendation of my old barber. He has a shop in downtown Vancouver. It's totally by coincidence I had to purchase a new shaving cream yesterday, so I stopped in at a barber shop in the North Okanagan only to find out he had a tobacco scented shaving cream made in his honour by his original barber shop in Toronto! So cool! Needless to say, I bought it immediately.
It must be over 5 years ago that I bought a 200 pack of Feather blades and I still have a few packs left. A container of shaving whip lasts me a couple years since I don't need to shave every day.
The quality of shave is the best I ever had and the cost of blades and shaving cream is so low. I will never go back. However, I have not been brave enough to try a straight razor.
It must be over 5 years ago that I bought a 200 pack of Feather blades and I still have a few packs left. A container of shaving whip lasts me a couple years since I don't need to shave every day.
The quality of shave is the best I ever had and the cost of blades and shaving cream is so low. I will never go back. However, I have not been brave enough to try a straight razor.