Iām confusedābased on that photo Iām guessing that āblade buddyā is some kind of smartphone app, but I canāt find it anywhere in the Google Play store.
ā¦ or you can just use your forearm
21st century, meet the razor strop
At least you canāt beat your kids with the Blade Buddy.
ā¦or you can just us the back of your silicone smartphone case.
Anybody else used one of these? I switched from cartridges to disposables a few years back, and get a lot of use out of themā¦ but extending their life two or three times seems worth $20.
Sadly, I donāt have a straight-razor. An elderly relative in Iowa had an auction for a bunch of family stuff, and my uncle bid on my great-grandfatherās straight-razor for me, but dropped out at $35. It sold for $55. I probably would have paid twice that. :::sigh:::
On a related note, for my birthday I treated myself to the fog-free mirror that Cool Tools covered in 2013 (was it reposted on Teh Boing?), and itās worked great. (As I get older, my treats get smaller and more practical.)
Just buy a safety razor and then get a 100 blades for less than two packs of the cartridges new-fangled razors use. Youāll save money and your face in the long-run.
Totally agree, safety DE razors are a great balance between cost and ease of use, and you can replace the blades often enough that allows for a perfect shave every time. But I def havenāt saved much money, what with the fancy brushes and shaving creams Iāve enjoyed. Well worth it though to actually enjoy shaving again.
That was my reaction! I use an old-fashioned safety razor, and yes I have a razor strop. If the blade starts to feel dull, you can take out the blade, strop it a few times on each side, and itās a miracle. Iāve never had a problem shaving. This is a cheesy solution that, if the user is very precise, will take off half the curl.
Actually, I have two razor strops; the second one is an old-school Russian model of very heavy leather backed by canvas, which I keep for recreational purposes.
I love my DE safety razor, but never felt the need to buy into all those soaps and brushes and pots and stuff. They seem far too fetishy ā my razor is simply a tool to shave my face.
The cost is great, though. Each blade costs about 10Ā¢, I use them 5-6 times, and they are much sharper than cartridges or disposables.
Yup. Itās not often that 1904 technology is cheaper and better than the latest and greatest, but hereās a nice exception.
TMI 
Meh - I got a brush - a bowl to put the soap in - and a chunk of soap for 10 bucks - the brush is a plastic handle and is boars hair (gasp) - itās worked for 3 years now and a replacement costsā¦ about 10 bucks. Soap refills are about 5 bucks - itās not really expensive or fetishy (unless you want it to be) - I find shaving soap cleans off and doesnāt gunk up like that gel crap that comes in a can does. I also find that applying with a brush not only feels good on your face - but it keeps your fingers from being slippery when you go to shave - win win.
As an added bonus the DE blades are sharper to begin with. Given that honing a cartridge seems doubly pointless. And given the blades arenāt mounted/contacting the face at the angle theyāre sharpened I doubt any honing or sharpening gadget is going to have the desired effect. If you absolutely must have cartridges and want to save dollar shave club is a better idea.
But then I stopped shaving almost entirely due the pernicious effects of the cartridge razor.
I agree on the brush and soap. Certain brands of normal bar soap work almost as well as the āshaving specificā types, and are cheaper. Iāve never used a strop, as safety razor blades are plenty cheap.
You can also achieve this same result with used strip of denim cut out of some old jeans. However, once I switched to using either a straight razor (home) or a safety razor (travel) I will never go back to cartridge or disposables again.
Rapiras. Russian, cheap as you like, and sharp, so very sharp. A pack of 100 is a tenner or so on Ebay. I use 'em snapped in half in a cheap shavette-style straight razor. A pack has lasted me over a year so far, and thereās still more than half of them left.
Iām enjoying the comparison of finding the best brush and soap as a fetish. When I first started wet shaving a year or so ago, the first site I found was Badger and Blade. That site is the shaving equivalent of a leather mask and ball gag. After finding some favorites, Iāve slowed down a bit, but I still do enjoy a good shave.
I hate shaving, so naturally I use a safety razor, shaving soap, and a brush. I spent like maybe 35 bucks on everything, and since making the switch a few years back, I have spent a whopping 14 dollars for a pack of 100 razors which easily translates into around 400 shaves, give or take.
When you buy expensive razor carts, you are support (economic) terrorism.
SEXY recreational purposes? >: )
