But, am I the only guy here that uses Ye Olde Safety Razor and it’s 10 blades-for-$3.50-a-pack bargain?
I mean, yeah, it takes a lot of water & the lathering up w/the brush is kinda labor intensive, but I shave in the shower with a wall mounted mirror and it works just fine! I tried the Harry’s and the Dollar Shave Club, but I just didn’t need the gimmicks or fancy handles with proprietary attachments. I keep it simple at home.
On business travel? Same in-shower procedure, just with a $2-for-10 pack Bic razors. TSA gives me enough of a hard time (despite my rugged good looks), so I leave my safety blades at home & pack a pair ‘o’ Bics along with my travel brush.
On fun travel? Same travel kit, but I use last night’s washed-out can of beans to heat some water on the campfire and a field mirror to carve back the mountain-man look prior to rejoining civilization.
As someone who cannot grow anything but a mustache to save my life, I’m stuck with what sticks out there. I can go 3 days between shaving and no-one notices unless they are standing very close. What does grow is very patchy, and that’s after shaving for more than 50 years.
Having said that, I also use Gillette Fusion 5 blades, but I have a different Gillette holder with a AA battery that vibrates the whole thing a little, and that seems to make for a closer shave. Or I’m imagining it. It also has attachments for eyebrows, and I use it to trim my mustache as well. It’s called a Fusion ProGlide Styler.
I use a Gillette Fusion razor myself and I think the “lotion strip” is designed to have a shorter life than the blades themselves, so that you’re prompted to replace the cartridge prematurely, though they suggest the cartridges are good for a month of shaves.
BTW, Gillette runs an internet commercial for their “Gillette Labs” razors in which the spokesman reads some internet review complaining that the “Gillette Labs” razor is just a fancy Fusion5 razor. The thing is, that’s exactly what it is. When Gillette went to three-blade cartridges and then five-blade cartridges, people joked about how this was going to end with something ridiculous like a twenty-blade cartridge. But instead Gillette seems to have settled on the five-blade (plus a sixth separate blade on the back) design of the Fusion cartridge and everything since then has been tweaks on that.
If the handle’s been really the same all those years, hold on to it. Later editions feel flimsier.
But yeah, Mach 3 user here for 21 years, very satisfied with the results, never felt any interest in upping the count — though a couple years back I got curious about the safety razor and now as in the case of @ZonexandScout am alternating depending if I’m rushed or can take my time or am traveling light or whatever. (As indicated when you fly you may take the safety razor and blades in checked luggage, but not in carry on).
In general my experience with razor cartridges (before the Mach3 used Astra and Trac II) is that it is one of those areas where the OEM brand-name item is usually worth it above off-brand “compatibles”.
(Oh and yeah, the lubri-strip does seem to always start coming undone before the blades themselves need replacing.)
I’m using mine till I die or can’t get cartridges.
Also agree. Each blade lasts me around a month’ish, and when I get low on my last bulk purchase, I check out the prices at Costco, Amazon, etc. Well worth it when I only have to do this every 2 years or so. I tried knock-offs once and don’t need that again. For my Sonicare toothbrush, the knock-off heads work great and last a long time.
My can of Gillette shaving cream (tired Barbasal and didn’t like it) lasts about 4 years so beyond that original handle I purchased being a great deal, the shaving cream is basically free.
Nope. An open comb razor, that cost me like $30 once, and 8¢ blades. AIUI, the minimum ‘up’ is switching to a safety razor (or, if your really confident, a straight razor) then a shaving brush and shaving soap.
You’re overpaying for blades. 100 blade packs of Derby or Astra are less than $10 on Amazon. Feather is a more but may be more blade than most are comfortable with anyway.
I use a vibrating razor as well. Having gotten used to it, I no longer like a regular razor.
My other suggestion for a good shave is to do it in the shower. You’ll need a fogless shower mirror, but I find I get my best shave (and with a minimum of accidental cuts) at the end of a nice hot shower.
I’ve had a goatee for 25+ years so I don’t do a full face shave. But in those 25 years of using the Gillette Mach 3 for the rest of my face, I’ve never had an accidental cut. Are others having this issue with razors like the Gillette 3 and 5 blade models? It seems almost impossible to draw blood using these devices. Also, during those 25 years I have had to do a full beard shave (typically for travel), and it sucked but no blood.
A good shave is a matter of beard preparation. Heating the foam in hot water, leaving it in place for some time before shaving, shaving the same area in two or three different directions to get very close.
I liked the result of expensive multiple blade razor heads, but not the high cost (eg $60 at Costco for a dozen or two razor heads).
But now I don’t worry about the cost. Why? Because good blades are very easy to resharpen, good as new. Just slide them along a flat piece of glass before and after every shave. One razor head can easily last three to five months, even when used daily on a thick beard like mine. The LubriStrip usually fails before the blade.
I had much worse luck with electric razors and Ye Olde Cheape Scalpel Cutters.
I have a full, even overly full beard, but when I did shave my face I used Phillips.
I do have a Braun trimmer though… it was a bit cheaper on sale. I don’t use it too often, but it does the occasional job well enough. I use it on my head more than my beard.