Western Razor is far too expensive. The razor is a three piece not a butterfly. There are fine butterfly razors available online that are made in Japan, Germany and Sweden for far less money. My preference is made in America, therefore, I go to Razor Emporium to find fine American made razors from the 60s that have been totally rebuilt. My shaving soap is Proraso from Italy. It costs ten dollars for a tube or a cup of the product. I purchase the cup. My brush is also Proraso while the blades are Feather blades made in Japan. I believe I last purchased 100 of them for thirty dollars. My favorite razors are a Schick Adjustable Injector and a Gillette Adjustable butterfly, each of which is going to Razor Emporium for a once over. Hydrogen Peroxide does wonder for treating nicks. It is far better than alum and it works instantly.
Merkur Progress razor and Gillette Nacet blades with Barbasol. Buy the blades on Amazon in bulk and the cost is negligible. Patience and practice and experimentation make a perfect shave.
I use a single edge injector. I jumped off the multi-blade systems at 3 blades and returned to single edge. I set it aggressive and get a nick now and then, but no clogging, ingrown hairs and bumps. Just a bit of gel on each side to get things slick.
Oh, yeah- I tried the shaving soap and brush but went back to canned b/c it was messier and once I got the angle of attack right I didn’t need the extra protection. For travelling I use disposables so I don’t need to check my travel kit.
I use safety razor with mug and brush.
Razor; Merkur adjustable
https://www.fendrihan.com/products/merkur-progress-adjustable-safety-razor
Blades; Merkur
Brush; boar’s hair bristle (not stiff and not too soft)
Soap; Williams (I buy it at the grocery store)
Brush/razor stand; don’t get chrome.
The first three are the critical components.
The razor I use is the short handle model
The blades used to be made in Germany and I still have a good stock of them, which I purchased 100 for $10 at the time. The Asian blades did not hold a sharp edge as long as the German/European blades and you should expect to pay about .60 cents each. A blade can last up to 21 shaves for me, but I do not have a coarse beard.
The brush should be boar’s hair because it holds more water and leathers best.
The soap, for me is fine and cheap. It lasts months. Many months.
I recommend an adjustable safety razor, because the blade angle of attack can be adjusted as the blade wears. With the Merkur, the top and bottom piece have alignment marks. Insert the blade in the top cover and place them together with the bottom, ensuring the marks align on the same end. Tighten all the way down, then loosen to the desired setting, 1-5, with five being one full turn off the white adjustment knob at the base. If you continue to loosen, it’s 1-5 again. My ideal setting on a new deadly sharp German blade is five and after the blade wears, I’ll go past five to one. I am able to precisely shape my moustache with this razor.
Technique...a warm beard is required to soften the whiskers. Ideally RIGHT after a hot shower. Washcloth with hot water to wet your face again and get the brush under hot water. The lather should be thick. You’ll know it’s right when the brush wants to stick to your face because of a sort of vacuum created by the lather between your skin and the brush.
Wet the razor in hot water.
Here, I suggest that you turn the water off so you can hear the cutting sound to figure out the right angle to hold the razor. This requires very little pressure. While the angle of attack is adjustable on the razor settings, it is also adjustable by how you hold the razor against your skin and this last part is a critical difference for a consistent close shave. The same hold angle must be maintained as you shave the curves such as chin, neck and jaw. By doing this in a quiet setting, you can hear the difference in cut. Of course of the angle was wrong in any of the curve areas you’ll feel the stubble that was missed.
The best technique is to shave in 1-1.5 inch strokes at a time, rinsing the soap of the razor in hot water periodically. Do NOT side slip the razor, because they bleed and bleed and bleed and...you’ll be late for work.
After this first shave, it is advised to repeat the process for an extremely close shave.
If you have a pimple, mosquito bite, skin tag, or mole on your cheek, be careful, because this razor will cut it down (..ask me how I know).
Rinse your face with cool water, pat dry. I sometimes apply an aftershave as an antiseptic. I like Pinaud Clubman...a few drops goes a long way, smells clean, reminds me of my dad and ladies my age (60) like the scent, one even commenting that it reminds her of her dad.
When done, remove the blade, rinse and dry it and rinse and dry the razor top and base. Your blade will last much longer when you rinse and dry it and the razor after each use. Reassemble loosely so it thoroughly dries and hang it on the stand. Also rinse the brush, shake out the excess water and hang it also. The boar’s hair brush MUST hang, bristles pointing down, because water which remains near the point where the bristles attach to the handle will deteriorate the brush. Loss of some bristles is normal over time, but excessive loss is indicative of a poor quality brush, or one which should be replaced. I hang my brush over the mug to catch any drops which may fall.
Yes, the process is a bit longer, however, the cost is incredibly low after the initial investment.
Cost;
Merkur razor $75 (mine is now 17 years old, looks and works like new)
100 European blades $60 (enough for four years of shaves)
Brush $45 I prefer a shorter bush (mine usually last 4-5 years)
Soap $5 (lasts about 18 months) ...yes, really
Mug...this is your signature statement. It doesn’t have to be fancy at all! Find a low, wide coffee mug. I use a Sambos coffee mug I found at a garage sale. The only thing is the mug should be wide enough to plop the soap into the bottom and low enough that you can easily swirl the brush around.
Long term; the razor I mentioned has a spring inside and after a few years, the action can begin to stick due to soap reside inside. When I feel this happen, simply slide the adjustment handle out of the base, clean the tube, spray wd40, rinse and resemble by compressing the snap ring with your fingers as you reassemble.
You WILL get comments and questions about your razor, stand, mug and brush. “Do you actually USE that razor?” It’s the most common remark, which I’m delighted to engage.
Do NOT attempt to use this razor on...ummm...sensitive areas of your body, if you know what I mean. After the first time you accidentally side slip the razor and slice your face you’ll quickly realize that this should be nowhere near any “nether” regions!
Final note. You will never have an ingrown whisker using a safe razor and I haven’t since I began using one. Remember the ads for the double edge disposables? It went something like “the first blade pulls the whisker and the second one cuts it”. Well, pulling the whisker before cutting it does cut it below the skin and AND cuts it on an angle, which leaves a pointy whisker under the skin and that point is subject to curling...curling back into the skin. This never happens with a single blade shave.
I hope this helps your decision process.
I bought my first safety razor at a garage sale. It was a used Gillette with the original box. It was not adjustable and the shave wasn’t too great. It could be that I was simply new to the process...who knows. But the adjustable is a thing of beauty. I’ve since given this razor, brush, stand, soap combination to five buddies as gifts and every one of them love them...except one guy who prefers his electric razor, but complains about replacing his blades when they dull and the cost of them...then uses the safety razor.
I hope this is helpful to your decision process.
A good old fashioned barber shop, one where they actually offer you a shave as a service should sell quality European blades and quality boar’s hair brushes.
CORRECTION....badger brush...not boars hair...my bad.
...blaming delayed coffee effect
TRAVEL NOTE...from my last flight...TSA (take stuff away) will confiscate your double edge blades from your carry on luggage. They may not see the blades in the x-ray machine, but they WILL see the razor and know to look for the blades. Pack a disposable with you just in case.
Merkur + Feather = shaving happiness
I use both safety and disposables, as my shaving habits vary from day to day.
I have been using a safety razor for years. I pressed some Arko into a bowl and that’s what I use for soap. I occasionally add some shaving cream to it. Blades are whatever is cheap on Amazon.
Braun electric. Buy the latest model from Costco, try it for 3 months, and return it if you don’t like it.
I switched to high-quality electric shavers about 15 years ago and have never looked back. (I emphasize the phrase “high quality”.) I replaced the first shaver after seven years because it did not hold the charge as long and I had difficulty finding replacement parts. My second shaver still works great, but I upgraded last year just because I could and for no other reason. I now keep the second shaver in my truck in case I need a clean shave in the evening, and use the shaver that I purchased last year in the morning.
In total, I have spent about $500 on the three shavers over 15 years, plus another $500 in replacement heads for a total cost of $1,000. After deducting the cost of shaving cream and dry-cleaning blood stained dress shirts, the real cost if a lot less.
I just use a Norelco electric that I got about 20+ years ago. Still going strong. The charging cord is rotting and falling apart! lol But it is low voltage and only have to recharge it about once a month.
Good luck on your choice. There looks to be a lot of them.
I use Personna safety razor blades. They are cheep if you buy 100 at a time (17 cents a blade). I get about 5-7 shaves per blade. They are made in the US and have been making safety razor blades for over 130 years.
I usually use a Barbasol Electric Shaver and Williams Lectric Shave. Being in construction, unless I’m meeting with a client, it it fine. When meeting a client, Dollar Shave Club razor after my electric razor.
I pay between 5 to 10 bucks a year shaving. I shave every day, the first thing after a shower. The last time I bought blades was more than 10 years ago, and I bought a very high-count package of double edge stainless steel blades. It cost less than a dime a blade. I’m nearly through them and will soon have to buy a new package. I use about two cans of Barbasol a year for about 4 bucks. I bought a new blade holder when I bought the blades. It cost about $25 because it was solid chrome plated brass.
I switched to mug and brush and safety razor some years back with good results. I found a small selection of old safety razors at an estate sale, cleaned and sanitized them and began experimenting. What I ended up with was an ancient brass gillete with an open comb, and bic platinum blades 10.00 for 50 on Amazon or a Russian made slicone coated blade for about the same price. the Bic blades give me about 5 shaves each the Russian 3 or 4. later I bought an open comb razor from a shaving boutique store (Phoenix or Arizona something) that I love.
I also found that for my face, prep is the key to not getting adverse effects. Shower and wash my face with hot water, soften the beard as much as possible, warm water and work the shave soap and brush in circles to get the hair standing up, shave, rinse warm, repeat if neccesary. usually its all good bit i will use nivea shave balm after if I get a bit of “burn”
YMMV. cheers!
I order Personna double edge blades.
You can get 100 blades for about $20.
I long ago refused to buy the ChiCom crap most stores sell and remembered American Safety Razor.
While I was in the hardware distribution business, they were excellent source of single edge razor blades for scrapers and other products.
The are the sharpest and longest lasting double edge blades that I have ever used.
I bought them under the Personna label until the stores started to sell ChiCom knock offs with same appearance of package.
There is no reason for stuff like razor blades to cost what most do today.