131–140 of 982 posts
Shaving is like an Inception-level hierarchy of waste and affectation. It's easy to feel superior because you ditched the biggest brands, and still be wasting your money on unnecessary and crappy products because you were tricked by marketing. Those hipster shave-by-mail clubs are not really better than Gillette. And the safety razor market-disguised-as-a-community is also full of waste disguised by hipster affectati…
I've used a straight razor for almost 20 years. Vindicating to read that the price of a Dovo pays for itself. I think my bar of shaving soap is probably the better part of decade old as well. In the interim, a whole peculiar subculture around shaving has developed, but you don't have to be a part of it to just use a razor. Makes you unreachable by corporate marketing as well, which is itself its own reward.
A safety razor is also a great investment and cheap. I bought a Wilkinson Sword handle $20 and a pack of five blades $5. It's an old name-brand sold practically everywhere. I can get more than a month out of one double-sided blade. Plus it shaves very close much better than multi-blade razors.
It's better than the two, three, four, five blade monstrosities that always get clogged in days. They also cost far too much literally 5x more than safety razor blades.
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Aside from differences in cost, do you find anything about a straight razor compellingly better than e.g. a Gillette Mach 3? I go through Mach 3 cartridges pretty slowly, so price isn't a big concern. And I don't notice anything deficient about the quality of my shaves. But one thing I really like about safety razors is that there's zero risk of serious injury.
There's a ritual to straight razor and traditional single-blade safety razor (what I use now) that is compelling in modern times when everything tells you to shave off minutes from every single thing in your life so you can free up your time. Seemingly this means just more time for internet browsing and things that have no impact on your life but I digress. The daily or semi-weekly ritual that takes time, attention a…
Don’t get mad at me, but what you need is a 5000, 8000 and maybe 12000 grit Naniwa (or comparable) superstone. Also, a good strop. Leather would be sufficient.
Send your razor off for establishing a good edge to Portland Razor Co. Once you get it back, you should be able to maintain that edge with minimal fuss.
Carbon steels can get sharper but you need to be really on top of it on maintenance. Stainless steel is more durable and tolerates some abuse but does not retain edge as well.
Lastly, don’t hurry while shaving, and don’t drop the damn razor please.
Source: Guilty as charged.
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> Aside from differences in cost, do you find anything about a straight razor compellingly better than e.g. a Gillette Mach 3? Quality of shave. If you maintain your straight razor, and mind it, it does require some maintenance, the quality of shave is of no comparison. My wife can instantly make out the difference when I shave in a hurry with Mach 3.
> If you maintain your straight razor, and mindit it does require some maintenance […] Shavettes have lower maintenance and are very similar to straights: * https://bespokeunit.com/shaving/shavette-vs-straight-razor/
Gillette M3 selling point for me is you can’t cut yourself. It’s really effortless shaving. I can basically shave and finish under a minute, no cuts no hassles, no special movements with my hand etc.
As in cooking, it's the blunt edge that cuts you: you slip or (have to) attack harder.
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I don’t want to risk sounding disgusting, I use a Mach III to shave my face…daily. Now I have a beard, so I don’t shave my whole face. Neck, cheeks … but I get 6 months to a year out of one cartridge on these. Having just replaced, I agree 100% about the lubrication strip.
You can get the cartridges to last quite a while if you strop them (as best you can) and keep them away from moisture when not in use. I have heard of some people just putting them in a tiny glass of mineral oil. That said for as often as I shave, a couple times a week, I switched to a safety razor and got a sampler of double sided blades years ago. I am just about out of blades now and you can get 100 for like 10$.
Iron Skillet vs Teflon Pans -- Skillets weigh a lot more, meaning they take longer to heat up. Teflon also is way more hydrophobic. Honestly, they're two different tools for two different jobs. Skillets should be used for longer periods when temperature is key. Teflon Pans should be used for shorter, faster cooking stuff (really, morning eggs / omelets are best on a Teflon pan).
Tea -- Loose Tea saves on packaging and is far higher quality. You'll have to wash a Tea Infuser regularly (I like things like this: https://www.webstaurantstore.com/1-3-4-stainless-steel-sprin... . Available at almost any tea-store, but I guess you can also shop online).
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I guess I only agree on the tea-point and the safety razor / double-edged razor points. The other complaints seem to miss the point. Yes, Teflon pans only have a short lifespan and need constant replacement, but they also do cooking duties that are inconvenient on a cast-iron skillet pan. (It takes longer to heat up my cast-iron than to cook an egg on a Teflon pan).
A few of my friends are experimenting with steel-pans, which are lighter (heat up faster), but very similar characteristics to cast-iron... just heating up (and cooling down) faster.
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> Shaving foam: soap pucks transition to self foaming aerosol canisters
Self foaming aerosol canisters are only a couple of bucks? While razor costs are pretty high, I'm not seeing much price difference between soap-puck vs aerosol. I'm thinking this is more of a personal preference issue than cost-efficiency.
> Nespresso machines, and other coffee pod brands, replace many styles of coffee brewing. Provide much worse coffee, at a higher price but are superficially convenient.
If people want a more convenient coffee, I suggest brewing coffee ahead of time (possibly cold brew, but hot-brew works just fine) and storing it in the refrigerator. Microwave the coffee to heat it back up and you're good.
Noting beats the convenience of just taking coffee out of the fridge and drinking it (if you're fine with cold). I've found that cold-brew concentrate is very inconvenient to make, at least without special tools. I've stopped doing it because it just takes too long to filter out the grinds.
Hot-brew (and then refrigerate later) is perfectly fine / fast to filter even with crap blade-grinders and whatnot.
> In many inner city shops it is now hard to buy an individual piece of fruit.
So buy fruit at a grocery store? I guess I'm not seeing the issue...
My dad never taught me how to shave, and for the longest time I just used these disposable Gillette style blades, and got terrible results. Missed spots, cuts and skin infections. At some point I decided to do some research and settled on double edge disposable blades. I've never been happier, and feel much better about my skin too. These are the products I use: * A wooden synthetic shaving brush (I felt bad about th…
Was also never taught to shave and have similar setup. I really wish I would have discovered styptic pencils sooner - would have saved me the embarrassment of going to work with pieces of tissue paper all over my face lol.
The brush my father gave me aged 16 had an alum block built into the handle. I don't see brushes like that any more. I bought an alum block 2" x 1" from a barbershop for about £10; it never seems to get any smaller. In the east you can buy lumps of alum in souks and bazaars for almost nothing.
As well as being a styptic, alum doubles as an antiperspirant.
Hair trimmer set to shortest length will make your face like shaven 2 days ago. Costs nothing. Needs no foam, no aftershave gel, creates no irritation or red skin, just splash of water and optional facial creme. My condolences to those who must have a clean shave every day of their life.
My beard hair is light colored, so I also do this. But my buddy has jet black hair, and his 5 o’clock shadow is appropriately named.
There is maybe another reason why cartridge razors are standard now, apart from the lower upfront cost: They are foolproof. It's more or less impossible to hurt yourself with it. On the other hand, it's absolutly possible to cut yourself with a double edge / safety razor, as you have to handle a razor blade and you can scratch yourself quite badly if you don't hold it at the right angle. But IMO, as with many of the…
Huge fan of safety razors. At least for me, razors with multiple blades would tug on my hair too much and cause ingrown hairs often (I think those two are casual) Plus, nothing wakes you up in morning like potentially cutting yourself