The Double A Lounge

I recently ordered a package of 100 DE blades from this vendor. As a bonus, they also had free shipping which is always nice. I paid $17.99 for those 100 blades. I challenge anyone to do that with cartridge razors. Haven’t priced out disposables but considering the quality of shaves I’ve been getting with DE blades there’s no need to bother.

Still refining the technique a bit. Starting to conquer the below jaw line area without hacking myself to pieces. Slowly but surely I’m casting away my natural inclination to use too much pressure. In fact, sometimes it feels like I need no pressure at all.

I currently have two kinds of aftershave:

Jovan BodyTonic Soothing
Old Spice Classic
Pinaud Clubman original

Have this one on the way:

Thayers Witch Hazel Aftershave with Aloe

Both the Jovan and the Old Spice work well for me. The Old Spice burns when first put on but soothes very quickly. The Jovan has a very subtle but tasteful lime scent to it. I’ve had a few people compliment the Jovan scent. The Thayers will be nice for something unscented. I’ll use the Thayers the most just so people don’t get overloaded with the same two scents from me. The Clubman is very strong and lasts a very long time. Has an old time barbershop smell to it. Might work in certain situations but not something I will use often.

Slowly but surely I am watching all that irritation fade away from my electric and cartridge days.

Merkur 38C DE Safety Razor

Over the past month or so, I’ve undertaken the task of learning the wetshaving technique using a double edged (DE) safety razor. I got fed up with trying to get great shaves with my electric, so I moved back to a cartridge razor. It was somewhat better but I was getting all sorts of skins irritation and enough nicks and cuts to be the top donor for the Red Cross. Really this whole change started when I realized that my Norelco wet-dry electric shaver had somehow gotten moisture inside the unit and started to smell as if it had formed mildew inside. What a wonderful odor to have while you are shaving!
I did a ton of research online after reading this article on the subject. From there I branched out in to various forums devoted to shaving which I now participate on regularly.

Here is what I have learned so far:

1. The shaving technique with a DE razor is totally different than with a cartridge or electric razor. You are dealing with a very very sharp single blade versus oscillating blades in an electric or multiple pivoting blades in a cartridge. The electric and cartridges let you get away with things you could never do with a DE razor. Well…you could do things like use extra pressure or more passes than needed but your face will pay the price. You almost have to use no pressure at all. The blades for DE are so sharp you don’t need to.

2. The per blade cost of the DE blades is so far below cartridges it’s laughable. A cartridge blade can last anywhere from 3 to 5 shaves on average. Here is a comparison

Cartridge - Gillette Mach 3 - 64 pack - $105.99 = $1.66/per blade
DE - Derby Extra DE blades - 100 pack = $17.99 = $0.18/per blade

That’s a pretty glaring difference. You will pay more up front for a DE system but you could easily recoup your costs in the money you save on blades. With electrics, you do need to replace the blades about once per year so you do save money there. The quality of an electric shave is nowhere near what you get with DE or even a decent cartridge.

3. I can actually shave every day using DE and not tear up my face. With the electric, I could shave every day but would get terrible razor burn. Cartridge was very difficult so I had to settle for every other day. The blades are so sharp for DE that they can slice the hair off regardless of their length.

4. A decent quality DE razor, if treated properly, can last a lifetime. Most of them are very well built precision instruments and they are built to last. Could anyone say the same for cartridge razors? Very rare to find an electric razor that lasts that long.

5. There is a bunch of different DE razor types and blades to pick from. There are some good beginner models but once you get it down, they have all sorts of choices. You can choose mild razors, adjustables, ones that introduce a slicing action to the shave, larger handle, you name it. The blades range from mild to samurai sword sharp. You can get sampler packs of blades where you get multiple brands to try. The razors can be resold to someone else if the one you have has become old news or is not right for you. Just need to boil them for a bit to sanitize them and you are ready to go. With cartridges and electrics, you don’t get many choices and it is much costlier to change.

I don’t think this is for everybody. Some people swear by cartridge razors. For some electric will always be the way to go. If you’ve had challenging shaves, then this would be worth checking out.