Wet shaving costs

lawrie28

tesco had some wilkinson sword disposable razors at 1.50 for three a few weeks ago, they where Quattro disposables and the blades clip off and fit a standard quattro handle. 50p for a blade like that is a bargain, so got more than a few packs.

tstodart

I tried a double-edge about a year ago and haven't bought a Fusion since. For me they are a great shave and don't block like the Fusion if you have a few days stubble. I have found the boot's one perfectly good:
http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Razor-Double-Edge-Razor-with-5-Blades_12442/

However, there is a really good forum for those keener to find more information on what is available.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/

But...don't pack these in your travel bag when flying!

eneville

bribrian wrote: »

Yes i know what these are, my grandfather used them but like everything, times & technology change & leave things behind. These do tend to tear your face off, i have tried them & have ended up with about 3 squares of tissue stuck to my face to stem the blood flow. :eek::eek: And at £4.95 for 200 blades on ebay i'd say that they were cheap blades.
I think i'll stick to my Gillette Fusion blades which usually last me well over a month (and i shave more than my face!) & at £2 each are well worth it.....

Methinks you gave up too easily. I've had a day when I had a few bits of tissue on my face, but it's been a while and I know what I'm doing now and I'd never go back to any cartridge razor.

I have used leading brand cartridge razors, but back in the day when Mach3 was brought out I swear Excel blades suddenly became less sharp. I dunno if they're all blunt these days but I'd never been able to get a really close shave with Mach3 for some years.

Spending a little time and effort to take care of your face with a double edge razor I think works wonders. I can at least shave without considering the costs now.

eneville

Storck wrote: »

I can not actually remember the last time I bought a new pack of Gillette blades cos they seem to last so long. I shave twice a day normally and my blades last over a week each.

Just buy the packs when they are offer. this week I got one of the new Gillette things as my handle is getting a bit grotty otherwise I wouldn't have bothered.

I've never managed to make a Gillette cartridge blade last that long without giving myself razor burn in the process, just seems like a tugging effort all the time. It's good advice though stock pile in bulk when it's cheap.

eneville

Toastrack wrote: »

To make expensive blades last longer, between shaves keep your razor in a beaker with the blades immersed in olive oil. Blades last 2 or 3 times longer.

This stops the very gradual rusting process that sets in once a blade is wetted, left even slightly damp and exposed to the air.

They all "claim" to be stainless, which shouldn't rust when wet. I could be wrong, would distilled water do the same job? There's every possibility that any blade could be made to last a good while longer.

This might just be a sign of the manufacturers not holding up their advertised specs, but I'm almost 100% certain that a stainless blade wouldn't corrode in water, unless there's some iron on the exposed cutting edge (although the chrome alloy should prevent the rust).

cgk1

bribrian wrote: »

Yes i know what these are, my grandfather used them but like everything, times & technology change & leave things behind. These do tend to tear your face off, i have tried them & have ended up with about 3 squares of tissue stuck to my face to stem the blood flow. :eek::eek: And at £4.95 for 200 blades on ebay i'd say that they were cheap blades.
I think i'll stick to my Gillette Fusion blades which usually last me well over a month (and i shave more than my face!) & at £2 each are well worth it.....

Absolute rubbish, the reason that it tears your face off is that you are trying to use it in the same way as a cartridge razor. I use a merkur 38c coupled with Derby Extra Razors and never cut or nick myself. It works out that shaving costs me about 10p a week in razors and soap (I use a Turkish soap called Arko, used by Turkish barbers and very cheap to buy).

As for "well they are cheap so they must be badly made", you are confusing direct cost of product with selling price. It is simply that the cost of production of DE razors is so low because the process is well established and understood, so with economics of scale, the manufacturer can still make a decent profit margin off selling razors at about 5p each. With a cartridge razor, they have massive mark-up to both off-set marketing and R&D costs and because they want to sell them as a premium brand. The mark-up on Gillette cartridge razors is about 5000% and they still cost little more than 5-10p to make. A pack of four Fusion Power cartridges costs around 20p to manufacture.

You aren't buying more for quality, you are simply paying more because of the profit margin these companies want.

cgk1

tstodart wrote: »

I tried a double-edge about a year ago and haven't bought a Fusion since. For me they are a great shave and don't block like the Fusion if you have a few days stubble. I have found the boot's one perfectly good:
http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Razor-Double-Edge-Razor-with-5-Blades_12442/

However, there is a really good forum for those keener to find more information on what is available.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/

But...don't pack these in your travel bag when flying!

If I remember correctly the Boot's own razors are a repacked Israeli Personna red which is considered a good razor by many. The only thing I'd say is if you are going down the DE shaving route it's worth buying a decent handle - it will cost you £20 or so but will last you for life and it's a bit hard to explain but they have a better weight making shaving easier.

eneville

tstodart wrote: »

I tried a double-edge about a year ago and haven't bought a Fusion since. For me they are a great shave and don't block like the Fusion if you have a few days stubble. I have found the boot's one perfectly good:
http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Razor-Double-Edge-Razor-with-5-Blades_12442/

However, there is a really good forum for those keener to find more information on what is available.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/

But...don't pack these in your travel bag when flying!

I've only been using it about a month or so now, but I wish I'd started with a DE razor from the off.

When there's more than a couple of days stubble I've found cartridge razors to just jam up and tug at the skin too, almost as if shaving totally dry, I've found this to get progressively worse as the number of blades increases.

eneville

cgk1 wrote: »

If I remember correctly the Boot's own razors are a repacked Israeli Personna red which is considered a good razor by many. The only thing I'd say is if you are going down the DE shaving route it's worth buying a decent handle - it will cost you £20 or so but will last you for life and it's a bit hard to explain but they have a better weight making shaving easier.

I totally agree with that, the Wilkinson off the shelf handle is a bit peculiar in that the head just feels massive but the handle is very light. Once I got a better metal razor controlling it was a lot easier. Anyway, there's some good razor handles on Amazon, I bought my second on there with 100 blades and a good brush, which is another thing worth investing in as it seemed to hold a lot more soap (might just have been because my last one was a year old).

Toastrack

eneville wrote: »

They all "claim" to be stainless, which shouldn't rust when wet. I could be wrong, would distilled water do the same job? There's every possibility that any blade could be made to last a good while longer.

This might just be a sign of the manufacturers not holding up their advertised specs, but I'm almost 100% certain that a stainless blade wouldn't corrode in water, unless there's some iron on the exposed cutting edge (although the chrome alloy should prevent the rust).

I can't be certain about the science bit, that's what I was told.
What I do know is that it works - been doing it for over a year now, I change blades MUCH less frequently and still get an excellent shave.