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Best way to play ‘catch up’ when I don’t shave for a while

If I haven't shaved in more than 3-4 days I'll often use my Hoffritz slant razor. It usually takes care of it...though I do rinse the razor after every stroke to prevent clogging.

The German 37 is basically the same razor and is relatively cheap.

If it's been more than a couple of weeks I do have to use my electric trimmers first.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
Closest razor to a straight razor is the Gem Micromatic Clog Pruf SE, the safety razor is based off a straight razor design at the turn of the Century in the 1900's. They are well built and there is a short learning curve and can be bought at antique stores or on the big online Auction house. They can still clog up if trying to shave a beard of 1inches or > I suppose. Blades can still be bought from Connaught shaving UK the cheapest and takes about 2-3 weeks to arrive and they are good folks to deal with IMO(do not use hardware store blades). Always use the Gem Personna SS PTFE made in the USA if possible and I do not recommend old stock blades, they almost turned me off SE shaving. Gem blades are the best SE blade cost per shave & longevity.
GEM Clog Pruf 1945 Peerless (2)17 tooth.jpg
clog pruf 1941 to 1946 3.jpg

Built to last, Gem made these in 2 variants a 17nib and a 11 nibs safety bar. A 11 nib was more common and that might be a good one to try. Make sure the 2 blade stops are good shape and with a little clean up you have a excellent razor for many years.
 
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If I’m unable to shave with de for approximately 3-4 days, my beard is just too thick to chop through. Right now, what ends up happening is that I end up skipping shaving for weeks or months until my wife gets out the clippers when I can’t stand the long beard anymore.
Use clippers if it is longer than 3mm which would be about 8 days growth but really beyond 5 days growth better to get it down with the clippers. For 3- 5 days growth use an open comb razor like the Fatip. In fact the Fatip is fine for daily shaving too; I like the Piccolo.
 
I almost bought a Philips One Blade once for trimming side burns and back of neck. But the blades are expensive to replace and I didn't know how long they last. Looks like a good tool though.
 
I shave face and head, and sometimes don't do it for the same lapse as you mentioned. I always use an open comb razor with a good sharp blade and it works great.
Karve OC "c", Fatip or even better: Schone open comb, any Gillette vintage with an open comb, ItalianBarber 0.84 OC; and the most aggressive: Muhle R41, ItalianBarber Jaws and Yaqi slant open comb.
 

ERS4

My exploding razor knows secrets
For multi-day growth, my vote is also for open comb de.

As a rule of thumb, electric shavers cannot handle multi-day beards, only electric hair clippers for haircuts are suitable for multi-day growth.
You can choose some electric hair clippers with adjustable or replaceable sleeves, and try to choose a plug-in style that is more powerful than rechargeable. The recommended brands are WAHL and ANDIS.

Of course electric hair clippers are not as close as electric razors.
There are some compound models on the market, which have the functions of electric hair clippers + electric shavers at the same time, which can handle a lot of growth + BBS.
 
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