Any traditional shavers here?

[M3019C LPS20]

I'm merely curious if there are individuals here that shave the old-fashioned way. This original way involves the use of either a safety or straight razor, shaving brush (to create lather on the face), and soap.

For slightly over a year, I have been shaving this way, and I do not look back at cartridge razors. I use a safety razor, and it provides me with a smooth and close shave. Additionally, the experience is overall more enjoyable than before I made the transition.

I own four vintage safety razors, which were manufactured by Gillette. They were manufactured to last a lifetime, which is why I appreciate them.

Late 1930s Gillette "ARISTOCRAT." Manufactured in England. The handle is plated in rhodium, and the design of it is unique in its own way.



1920s Gillette "BOSTONIAN." A gold-plated safety razor.



Early 1930s Gillette "BOSTONIAN." Second generation of the model. Also plated in gold.



Last, but not least, the Gillette "PRESIDENT." From the early 1950s. This safety razor's handle is plated in rhodium.

[NE2]

Not shaving is older than shaving.

[hbelkins]

I grew a beard mainly so i wouldn't have to shave. It's a PITA and adds time to the morning grooming ritual; time I usually don't have. And I can't shave at night because I'd have a 5 o'clock shadow the next morning. I guess I could actually go a day or two without shaving and get by with it, but I prefer just not shaving. I don't miss all the nicks and cuts on my face, for sure.

[cjk374]

I don't think I could shave the traditional way.  I shave my face & head, twice a week, & I gotta have the shaving cartridges.  Those safety razors look as though they would scalp me...but that's being said while not looking at a safety razor in my hand.

[TheKnightoftheInterstate]

Does traditional include the cutting of the chin? 

[M3019C LPS20]

I do not shave my head, but, to those that do, then it is possible to use a safety razor. A cartridge and safety razor are two different animals.

With that said, you'd apply little or no pressure when you shave with a safety razor to get a close and comfortable shave. Personally, it is better for my face than that of a cartridge razor, since I used to suffer from frequent skin irritation (a.k.a. razor burn).

A safety razor may look intimidating at first, but, with proper technique and practice, a safety razor could give you a fantastic shave.

[bandit957]

This is 2014. I thought everyone now just used electric razors.

[PHLBOS]

This is 2014. I thought everyone now just used electric razors.

Just walk by either the Health & Beauty section of a super market or a Shaving section of any drug store and count the different types of shaving cream canisters, razor cartridges & disposables on the shelves and you'll clearly see that such isn't the case.

If such were true, Gillette would've been out of business years ago.

[M3019C LPS20]

This is 2014. I thought everyone now just used electric razors.

That is not necessarily the case. Safety razors are still in production (though not by Gillette), and a lot of men shave with them.

[Pete from Boston]

This is 2014. I thought everyone now just used electric razors.

That is not necessarily the case. Safety razors are still in production (though not by Gillette), and a lot of men shave with them.

Electrics win on speed (sometimes), never on closeness.  "Close as a blade or your money back" should have put Norelco out of business the first day it aired, because pretty much nobody would ever believe such a thing.  But close is not the goal of electrics or their owners–convenience is. 

[empirestate]

I have found electric shavers to be neither closer nor faster than disposable. It takes one stroke with your basic disposable to remove what takes many passes with an electric, so the only reason I use electric these days is when I can't or don't feel like breaking out the whole foam and water deal. More often, though, I'll just opt to shave in the shower, when the hot water and soap are already flowing regardless. If only I could get my fog-free mirror to stop fogging up...

I've not ventured into safety razors, but I have had the occasional professional barber shave. In my case, I haven't noticed those are appreciably better than what I can do with a disposable, but for some guys with much denser or darker whiskers I can see how it might be.

But if we're talking "traditional", I read somewhere that the real historic way to shave was to rub that shit off with a pumice stone. Anything else has gotta be for sissies!

[hbelkins]

This is 2014. I thought everyone now just used electric razors.

I was given an electric razor as a gift some 30 years ago. I hated it. I had to use copious amounts of Lectric Shave, lest my face be irritated to a great degree. That stuff was so slimy and greasy that I couldn't stand it.

[roadman65]

To me electric shavers do not work!  I have tried the Remington, who guarantees that his shaver works as good as a blade or your money back, did not do anything.   

To me its the hand held, however I am discerning that maybe I should buy from the Dollar Shave Club as blades have gotten to expensive over the past twenty years.

[Zeffy]

I'm pretty goddamn terrible with anything but an electric, so I just use that and get as much as I can. I don't really care as long as it's short. I still manage to cut myself periodically with electric razors too...

[tchafe1978]

I use cartridges and shaving cream and they work just fine for me. I only need to shave every 2 or 3 days as my beard doesn't grow all that fast. I use an off-brand cartridge from Walmart that works just as well as the Gillete cartridges but at about half the price. I do have a goatee, however, that grew mainly out of getting tired of nicking up my chin every time due to a scar from an old childhood injury. Now if I were to shave my goatee off (which I've done twice in 20 years), my wife would yell at me to grow it back because I look too young.

[bandit957]

To me electric shavers do not work!  I have tried the Remington, who guarantees that his shaver works as good as a blade or your money back, did not do anything.

I had a Remington that was worthless. But other brands worked, at least for a while.

[1995hoo]

No blade has ever touched my face. I've used various electrics since I was 13 years old.

[Pete from Boston]

No blade has ever touched my face. I've used various electrics since I was 13 years old.

It would probably scare the crap out of you to shave with a decent blade, then, because your face would feel to the touch like you were 13 again.  Electrics trim the hair to level 1, so to speak, while blades go to 0. 

[empirestate]

No blade has ever touched my face. I've used various electrics since I was 13 years old.

Wait...you use electric shavers without blades??

[signalman]

I beg to differ on electrics not giving one a close shave.  I've been shaving since I was 12, and always with electric.  If I go against the grain, I can get a very close and smooth shave.  I can run my hand back and forth across my face and both directions are smooth when I'm finished shaving.  Granted, every 2 or 3 shaves the blades need to be cleaned in order to keep them free of cut whiskers and hair (I shave my face and head in one fell swoop).  Also, the blades need replacing every so often, as they dull over time.  I admit that it's not easy to get my head completely smooth, but that's from the curvatue of my head, not the razor that I use.

[M3019C LPS20]

I was once given an electric razor for Christmas, and I used it as an alternative to the cartridge razor for a while. It did not do justice for me, since I still felt unwanted stubble after each shave.

[Zeffy]

Speaking of electrics, anyone know a good one that will give a close shave? The one I generally use is getting extremely old now, so the blades are dull and the thing itself is loud as hell.

I was once given an electric razor for Christmas, and I used it as an alternative to the cartridge razor for a while. It did not do justice for me, since I still felt unwanted stubble after each shave.

I'm reverse - I got a non-electric one once and tried using it (with shaving cream) - either I just fail or the blade sucked because no matter how hard I pressed I got very little hair off. Plus it felt so much more rough than electrics, feeling like sandpaper was being scraped across my face.

[1995hoo]

I am extremely happy with the Panasonic electric I have now. I'd have to go find the model number, but it's one of the ones with the "Vortex" cleaning base that was sometimes sold under the "Arc IV" name. My wife got it for me at Brookstone. It's been outstanding. I'm sure the model I have is no longer sold, but no doubt the newer one is probably improved. The electric razors on the market now are light-years better than the first ones I used in the mid-1980s.



Regarding "using an electric without blades," the part in question isn't called a "blade," probably to distinguish it from the other kind of razor. Either way, though, the cutter/blade doesn't touch your face directly. There is a thin metal screen (design varies depending on whether its a "foil" design or a "rotary" design) that separates it from your face. If you try to use it without the screen, you will slash up your face. That happened to me once when I failed to notice a small hole in the screen. Ouch. Plus I was in St. Paul on business....wound up going down the street to a drugstore and buying a cheap rotary electric to get me through the trip.

[bandit957]

I use electric razors, but the problem I have is that they don't last very long before breaking. Usually they stop working entirely. I had one that started smoking while I was using it.

When this happens, I have a backup electric razor that I think I got back in 1994, but it's so old that it doesn't shave very well.

[Roadrunner75]

I used regular razors in the very beginning and then shortly thereafter made a beeline for electrics, using only disposable razors as emergency backup if the electric fails.  My current electric is a Braun Series 7 which works really well.  It has a base with replaceable cleaning fluid cartridges, which I am often too lazy to replace or even hit the cleaning button.