Yeah I share with people at work...the majority of them are older guys, hard to say what kind of goodies they might have laying around in a drawer or something taking up space. One guy joked around about knowing where a barber chair was for free.
Do people think your nuts for using a DE Razor?
- Thread starter Aseries
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Yes, that's what they seem to think of when you mention vintage razors.
Actually, in Finnish there is no direct translation for 'safety razor'. 'Shaving machine' (literal translation) is generally understood to mean an electic shaver while 'shaving plane' (!) tells you it's the manual one you scrape your face with. Not surprisingly, I detest that word.
Straight razor on the other hand is 'shaving knife' so that leaves little room for misunderstanding.
you mean finns aren't shaving with old bayonets and there is some other explanation for why they are so hard to find?
When I started, I got carried off with my newbie enthusiasm and boasted to one of my friends how safety razors are safer than cartridges and that it's harder to get nicks or irritation from them. That was only after my first shave which went surprisingly well.
OK, come the second shave: visible irritation and reddening on the neck and nicks that the styptic barely could handle. And of course I had arranged a lunch meeting for the same day with the very same friend. I tried wearing a high-collared shirt but he noticed. Oops!
OK, come the second shave: visible irritation and reddening on the neck and nicks that the styptic barely could handle. And of course I had arranged a lunch meeting for the same day with the very same friend. I tried wearing a high-collared shirt but he noticed. Oops!
Most shave with Braun/Philips electrics or Fusions/Mach3's. There are some cheaper disposables too. Don't know why the old "weapons" are so hard to find. Maybe I've been searching in the wrong places. Maybe some of them have been thrown in the trash and no doubt some are still lurking in the attics waiting to be discovered...
Old German safety razors (perhaps owing to the fact that we welcomed 250000 German troops here during WWII) and plastic handled DE Gillettes are easiest to find.
I do sometimes get strange looks from friends, family and co-workers when I've told them what I shave with. But the best response came from my wife's 90 year old grand mother. She was visiting from Minnesota and my wife was showing her our house. When they got to our bathroom, she noticed the DE razors and brushes on the shelf and asked my wife who they belonged to. My wife told her grandma that they were mine. Grandma turned to her and asked if I actually used them. My wife said yes. Then grandma said, "Why would he use those? They're old." My wife just smiled and told her that it's because I enjoy them.
I had thought, out of everyone, she would have had the most appreciation for my razors and brushes.
I had thought, out of everyone, she would have had the most appreciation for my razors and brushes.
Pride goeth before the fall!
I don't really talk about it. My friends know I'm weird, they just go with the flow. SWMBO thinks it's weird, but loves that I like to shave now (used to only shave once a week). It makes me happy, who cares what anyone else thinks!
Isn't it 'nuts' to pay £10 a shot for 3 blades for Gillette's latest five-blade piece of plastic?
They (Gillette) must be feeling the down-turn in the economy - on a recent trip to Asda (Walmart to you guys over the pond) I heard an announcement that Gillette Fusion razors were on offer for £2 in store.
They (Gillette) must be feeling the down-turn in the economy - on a recent trip to Asda (Walmart to you guys over the pond) I heard an announcement that Gillette Fusion razors were on offer for £2 in store.
+1. To the letter!
I tell people, especially since I ask the FI how his shave was. We're Chinese and a lot of our other guy friends just don't have problems shaving. One friend even said he shaves with a disposable for two years. All power to him. They're used to our non conventional hobbies and think it's funny but we're a gang of misfits so they don't judge.
I don't tell that many people but most think it is a little strange yes. They also fear it a little and I do get some (strange) kind of respect for using one.
Point is though that there are a couple of things I don't do mainstream so people are not really surprised; maybe when I told them I shaved with a lighter or a machete it would be another thing...
Point is though that there are a couple of things I don't do mainstream so people are not really surprised; maybe when I told them I shaved with a lighter or a machete it would be another thing...
Oddly, I've never gotten that one (except with straights, of course). Then again, I tend to call them "old-fashioned safety razors", so people know I'm not talking about a straight. My great-uncle was a barber (sadly, I never knew him nor had access to his straights), so I think my family is kind of used to old-school razors.
I had a brush delivered to work and when I opened the box, I had to explain to curious co-workers what it was for.
The general reaction:
Men - Seems to take too much time, I use whatever is on sale at the grocery.
Women - I bet it makes your face much smoother, and I really like the way your Speick after shave smells.
Guess which opinion made more of an impression?
The general reaction:
Men - Seems to take too much time, I use whatever is on sale at the grocery.
Women - I bet it makes your face much smoother, and I really like the way your Speick after shave smells.
Guess which opinion made more of an impression?
I guess I just used to get shrugs about the DE razors. Most of the people who know me know I like retro things. When I started shaving with straights, that's when I got the comments about being nuts.
She might only remember her dad and/or husband who many not have known how to lather / shave properly (back before the internet if your dad couldn't shave well likely you couldn't either I'd think?). Or they didn't have access to a good soap, brush, blade, etc .
I haven't really told anyone very much. And most don't really care that much. I live with my brother and he asked if he could try my DE and soaps. About a week later I'm ordering another brush and DE. When my mum was over she was saying how nice she thought the badger brushes looked.
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"Do people think your nuts for using a DE Razor? "
I sure hope people don't think of my nuts. Except for the ladies, of course.
A lot of people know I like refined things, and I have a pretty youthful presence and don't get riled by what people think anyway, so when they find out I shave with a DE and brush, they generally think it's really cool. Doubly so when they find out I also use a straight.
I guess when people don't see you as old-fashioned, using old-fashioned things like DE's and straights, fountain pens, and wind-up watches gives you a kinda cool cachet. Like it's a conscious choice you've made - a statement of sorts. The people around me respect that.
So, no, people don't think I'm nuts. But they do think I'm somewhat interesting and sophisticated in that way.
I sure hope people don't think of my nuts. Except for the ladies, of course.
A lot of people know I like refined things, and I have a pretty youthful presence and don't get riled by what people think anyway, so when they find out I shave with a DE and brush, they generally think it's really cool. Doubly so when they find out I also use a straight.
I guess when people don't see you as old-fashioned, using old-fashioned things like DE's and straights, fountain pens, and wind-up watches gives you a kinda cool cachet. Like it's a conscious choice you've made - a statement of sorts. The people around me respect that.
So, no, people don't think I'm nuts. But they do think I'm somewhat interesting and sophisticated in that way.
I don't discuss it much, but I know there's at least one other person in my department who uses a DE. The only reason it came up in conversation at all is that he noticed my cut the morning I sliced my faced rather dramatically and was wondering if I'd switched to a straight razor. He then mentioned his normal routine (Merkur Futur or Vision and Col. Conk soap if I remember correctly).
I don't initiate my DE or SE hobby. However, I get the strangest looks when I am shaving at the local gym. I just shrug it off and continue on my business.
New story! I went to a new barbershop the other day (it's a new one in town, pretty fancy, offers straight shaves) where a bunch of B&B'ers are getting together next week. Just getting a haircut, but I mentioned B&B when the barber asked how I'd heard of them...in particular, I'd mentioned that we're a bunch of guys who're into old-fashioned double-edge and straight shaving. (Mind you, this is a really young barber.) The barber looks at me strangely and asks "like, with a license?" I laugh and comment you don't need a license to cut up your own face.
I'm 41, smoke a pipe, wear a patchwork Donegal hat, and listen to Dean Martin. If people didn't think I was nuts before, finding out that I DE wetshave certainly isn't going to tip the scale.
I'm in graduate school currently and share a house with four other guys. One other is a pipe smoker and two others think we're both a little weird for that, but none of the three have said anything about my ever-expanding den in the loo. The fourth, however, is a bit intrigued by my habits. Just wait til I get my hands on a 48/49 Super Speed!
Cheers!
-Greg
I'm in graduate school currently and share a house with four other guys. One other is a pipe smoker and two others think we're both a little weird for that, but none of the three have said anything about my ever-expanding den in the loo. The fourth, however, is a bit intrigued by my habits. Just wait til I get my hands on a 48/49 Super Speed!
Cheers!
-Greg
