Survey: Razors

[MTGuru]

I see that the guy who chose sword/machete/axe hasn't posted a comment. I expect he will when he returns from the ER.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fiz9E9Iu3ak

[ytliek]

That thing isn't even broken in yet... needs a killfactor authenification and there was only two tiny drops of blood, geez.

What kind of shaving cream was that, maybe that's the secret?

[brewerpaul]

I've been doing the double edge thing for about a year and a half now and love it. Once in a great while I'll do a quickie shave with my electric but that's rare.
Check out yard sales for these razors. Last year I scored a coveted vintage Gillette "Fatboy" plus another less desirable razor for $2.
I've found that I can get a shave that's near perfect using ordinary bar soap-- as good as any of the expensive shaving soaps/creams/gels/oils that I've tried.

[Innocent Bystander]

I'm 59 and I shaved once since I was eighteen. I cleared my face when I was 40, because my wife was curious to see what was underneath. When that wee moon-faced leprechaun looked back at me from the mirror, I grew my beard back double-quick.
Now it's Bible-patriarch length, and has been for years. It's very soothing to stroke it. My partner (not my wife) sometimes plaits it, when she's in the mood. She also plaits the "thin grey ponytail" which is halfway down my back. Thanks, MTGuru. She says it's like having your own live "My Little Pony".

I have been asked "What are you trying to hide?"

My response is "What are you trying to prove?"

Daily the modern man endures this civilised abuse,
To place a blade against his throat and his head inside a noose.

[Nanohedron]

She also plaits the "thin grey ponytail" which is halfway down my back. Thanks, MTGuru.

Um...do you mean s1m0n? He's the one who made free with the snide pronouncement about ponytails on men of a certain age.

I stopped wearing mine not because of any such socially misguided ageist nonsense, but because of my bald spot at the crown which would make the hair divide into two planks on either side of my head, and that was decidedly not a good look. Rogaine had no effect, so I embraced my bald spot, cut my hair short, and now I get taken for a cop. Very ironic, that.

[MTGuru]

She also plaits the "thin grey ponytail" which is halfway down my back. Thanks, MTGuru.

Um...do you mean s1m0n? He's the one who made free with the snide pronouncement about ponytails on men of a certain age.

But I guess I'm the one with the ponytail (and now ytliek and IB).

Simon can think what he wants in his endless quest to make sense of Boomers. After I left the corporate world, at some point spending hundreds of $$$ a year on haircuts so I could look corporately groomed in my pajamas no longer made sense.

I'm not grey, though my beard has gotten pretty light. My hair is thinner than 40 years ago, but not too thin, and there are volumizing tricks. My hairline is traveling north, but very slowly. My bald spot is pretty small. So a pony works for me. And the hardware is fun. I wear scrunchies or barrettes, and to hell with what anyone thinks of that.

[Nanohedron]

While I sometimes miss the ponytail, I will say I do appreciate the minimal upkeep of short hair. And I cut my own, and quite well, thank you. Got tired of spending money to have other people do a job that I'd have to correct anyway every time I got home afterward. If you want something done right...

[I.D.10-t]

Now working in a machine shop, I went for the buzz cut. Combing metal chips from my hair was not something I was going to deal with. Once a week I just take the clippers to my head.

And just to back up a bit.

But of course there are differences, and where those lie will be mostly in quality: machining tolerances, balance, grip, secure head, materials, finishing, all that. The higher the price, there also sometimes seems to be more attention paid to the finer points of the business end. I've seen various profiles that are supposed to be special improvements in the blade-to-skin equation. After a point it gets a bit arcane for my blood.

The one thing that is not a preference (balance, grip, etc.) is how the blade is held. My military surplus DE needed to have the blade centered by hand, otherwise it would bee 1mm longer on one side than the other.

I don't like chrome as it seems to stick more to my skin, but it is harder and should last longer so I can see the use. The old Gillette used (I think) had a nickle silver plating. Arcane? Perhaps, but I Am going to use my razor nearly daily for the rest of my life and I really like the way the Feather both in hand and on the face.

[Innocent Bystander]

Careful. A single, greyish thin ponytail is self-humiliating. It's your generation's version of the combover. The only hip solution is to cut it all short and punk.

Yea, it was S1m0n. Apologies to MTGuru. Hey, I'm not hip, and I'm proud!

[MTGuru]

So, DE shavers: Where do you buy your blades?

A visit yesterday to my local Wally World revealed that they carry ... nothing. Tons of cartridges and disposables, of course, and many nearly sold out.

My CVS carries own-branded blades, which are really rebranded Israeli-made Personnas and expensive for what they are. But supposed to be pretty decent.

I'm going to end up ordering a sampler pack and/or blades from West Coast Shaving. But are there any suggestions for other brick-and-mortar sources?

[Flexismart]

For quality, close shave, great price, blades shipped to your door, I don't think you'll find a better shave (4 blade) than http://www.Harrys.com

I was amazed, and have turned anyone with hair, who's non-electric onto them, and, frankly, I couldn't care if folks shave or not, but it's such a great deal/service. They also do coupon codes if you're interested in trying it and spending $10 with free freight for a nice shaving handle, 3 blades, a holder, and their gel.

I'm not affiliated, and their product is just what I needed.

[brewerpaul]

Locally, brick and moarter I can't find squat. When I started with DE blades I settled on these:

http://www.amazon.com/Astra-Platinum-Do ... zor+blades

They give a very close shave and I get about 5 shaves per blade. Year and a half later I'm still on that first box with quite a few left

[I.D.10-t]

But are there any suggestions for other brick-and-mortar sources?

Nope.
If you are picky then on-line is the only option. If you are cheap on-line is the only option. If you want "quality" on-line is the only option.

[Chuck_Clark]

Makes you wonder about the first guy who got a crazy idea about dragging a sharp stone or metal edge across his face. Just think, a beardless face may at its ultimate beginning represent nothing more than an inept caveman's blundered suicide attempt.

[I.D.10-t]

Back in the day, when life expectancy was 30, the mid life crises came earlier. Shaving was the comb-over of the period.