Recently I came across a discussion about shaving on a woodworking forum that I check out sometimes. Something that caught my interest was that some people were using old fashioned double edge razors, the kind with just a single blade and that use actual razor blades, rather than the modern cartridge type razor and these people swore by them. The things about this that got my attention are:
- The blades are apparently about 30¢ each. Compared to the $3-4/each for a modern cartridge style it seems like quite a bargain.
- The philosophy these days seems be that: more blades=better shave. I’m not convinced. In my experience the more blades they put in the closer they get packed together and the more they get clogged up while shaving. The idea of reverting back to a single blade razor with a good edge seems like a pretty good solution. After all most of my woodworking tools have only one blade so if it’s good a enough for woodworking should it not work for shaving as well?
- I have never liked shaving. I don’t like the time it takes, I don’t like the freshly scraped feeling of my face after I’m done and I don’t like the inevitable nicks that occur. Oh yeah and the cost of buying new razors always pisses me off when I go to buy them. So the idea of trying something different was appealing.
With these things in mind I decided to give it a try. Being a woodworker of course I had to customize things a bit. I found places where I could order just the razor head and a knot for the shaving brush. When these arrived I used some arbutus wood that I had lying around the shop to make some custom handles and then made a stand using some walnut and holly wood.
Now one of the other things I also found out while researching this is that shaving with one of these things takes a bit more technique than with the cartridge razors that I am used to. So far I can’t say that my shaving is any better, that it’s any more comfortable or that I’m bleeding any less at the end of the process. What I can say though is that I am getting a great deal of satisfaction out having customized my own shaving kit, that the expense of buying new razor blades is not nearly as irritating and I can already feel the difference that practice is making to my technique so I expect that the shaving itself will come around with a bit time.