Ridiculously expensive disposable razors are a betrayal of Gillette's original socialist principles

That is disturbing…but they’re probably just powder now, given the amount of moisture emanating from a full bathroom.

1 Like

Electric shavers are much larger, so they fill up the wall much faster than safety blades.

29 Likes

I also have tough facial hair, but I shave int he shower and don’t mind a little pull on my skin.
The hot water softens the hairs, you see. Or perhaps you might try a straight razor? They’re not nearly as dangerous as people think; it’s just a question of technique.
You sharpen it whenever you feel the need, and given how much you’re spending on blades, perhaps a few lessons would be a worthy investment.

1 Like

It’s interesting that you would prefer that one, since I’ve heard more than one woman say that they prefer men’s razors (or at least that the extra cost of women’s razors isn’t worth it).

1 Like

Can you believe Gillette is selling out its socialist principles from 100 years ago? Those monsters!

If you’re as outraged as I am by this sleazy abdication of the company’s glorious founding principles, you can take action by clicking on this Amazon affiliate link to a company that also sells razors but was never socialist in the first place! (If you click it, I’ll get a percentage of any unrelated commerce you engage in there for the next 24 hours, just like Fourier and Bakunin would have wanted.)

Curse you, Gillette, and curse your evil capitalist ways!

12 Likes

If I had to worry about cutting some expenses to save money, razor blades would not even make the top 50 on my list. The supposedly expensive cartridges I use are averaging me about $18 a year.

2 Likes

True…but I’ve seen photos of hundreds or thousands of razor blades pouring out of walls during renovation. (Granted the blades were from the days because stainless)
It’s kind of gross truth be told.
Better to recycle them and not leave the mess for future generations :grin:

2 Likes

Hey…
That’s a good idea for a Kickstarter…
Although I have to wonder if stainless will strop like high carbon steel.
As far as needing styptic if it was that bad for you you had terrible technique and likely still do but that chemical goop hides many sins.

1 Like

I cut myself more with safety razors than I do with straights.

Like most people, the silly price of disposables is what drove me to them, but I discovered a latent collector gene and accidentally amassed hundreds of antique razors. Learning to hone (sharpen) a wide, wide variety of blade types and also to shave with them has been a real boon.

Plus it gives me the opportunity to shave with things like this:

26 Likes

Oh, that’s pretty! I love the flourish details on the blade. Nice!

7 Likes

Straight razors do encourage mindfulness!

7 Likes

Yup, I either shave right after the shower, or at least soften the hairs with a hot towel, etc, then use a good shaving soap. Both help. The pulling doesn’t bother me so much as the after-effects (irritation, ingrown hairs… bleh).

I very nearly went with a straight razor, but was put off by the up-front cost of a good blade, plus the fact that I’m fairly terrible at sharpening things. I went with the double-edged blades as a halfway compromise, and now prefer it over anything else I have tried (fancy multi-blade disposables included). Chances are a decent part of the performance boost that I’ve seen is from the better shaving cream/procedure (ditching the useless foam that sprays out of a can).

At pennies a shave, the costs are negligible and I find the waste (tossing out just the blades) pretty minimal. One day I might get myself a decent straight razor, but for now I’m finally happy shaving.

2 Likes

Spirits of Salt?

2 Likes

That blade is gorgeous, though it does deserve a more detailed handle, I think.

4 Likes

Time to find a scrap dealer!

1 Like

I buy cheap disposables.

Then I leave them in a plexi-glass pyramid after use - they stay sharp almost forever!

12 Likes

The Lady Gillette was a razor made for a couple decades around the 60s I think. Aside from coloration (and the longer-than-average handle), it is pretty much just a razor. It uses the exact same DE safety blades that my razor uses, so I am not sure where this “extra cost” comes from (except maybe from having to buy something vintage on eBay?). We buy a box of 100 blades every couple years and do just fine.

1 Like

That one is from about 1860 or so, came from the family that owned the factory that produced it. The scales (handle) are ivory, as was very common at the time.

Fancier scales are often not that desirable to use. They’re harder to clean.

Like this:

9 Likes

When I remodeled my bathroom, there were thousands of them in there. A nasty rusty stack maybe eight inches high. Along with about $10 in coins, including several silver quarters. The original owners of the house had children who would have been small in the 50’s and 60’s, which matched the dates on the coins.

12 Likes

Vintage straight razor (a good quality brand) FTW: much cheaper than modern options for the quality. That along with a 4000 and 8000 grit whetstone will set you for life. Sharper, nicer shave than disposable, as well as the totally accurate feeling that you can now kill a bear with your bare hands.

2 Likes