I’d been shaving with Gillette Fusions and various and sundry predecessor multi-blade razors for time out of mind when I stumbled into DE shaving a few weeks ago (just before Thanksgiving). How that came about was the result of trying to kick an addiction to The Art of Shaving products, the pricing and packaging of which I have some issues with. I picked up a tub of Cella cream/soap in a funky store in Lawrence, KS, this past summer and liked it well enough to go back for another, but the store had discontinued stocking it. So I looked to see if I could find any Cella on amazon.com, which unexpectedly opened up a whole new world. I’m 58 and shaved for the first time in ’67, yet somehow managed never to try a DE razor a single time before November of this year. References to several DE razors in Cella, Omega, and Prorasa product reviews made me curious to learn more about this apparent alternative to multi-blade madness, and after a little research I took the plunge and ordered a Merkur Futur (which connects to a story for another post). I really liked the idea of breaking the $16 per 4-pack habit.
My face looked like a bloody battlefield at the conclusion of the first shave with the Futur loaded with a Derby blade; nevertheless, I emerged from the experience with a sense of triumph. (My wife, on the other hand, was dubious about the DE venture.) The second shave was considerably less gory. After a couple more, I was struck with the inspiration to retrieve a box of my dad’s personal effects from storage and find an old razor I had noticed with some (premonitory?) interest when I came into possession of his things a few years ago. It turned out to be a pre-’49 Tech, which I’m pretty sure was my grandpa’s at some point. I cleaned it up and put it to the test with a Feather blade. (I switched from Derbys to Feathers after about 5 blades.) That was my first bloodless shave and a satisfyingly close one as well. There was no turning back from there. I hit eBay and landed a ’59 Fatboy, which I shaved with last night. This morning a ’53-54 British Rocket arrived in the mail. It delivered my closest -- if not the most relaxed -- shave yet, and at the cost of only two very minor nicks.
What I think I’ve learned so far are 1) the key to a bloodless shave is a light touch and 2) what enables the lightest possible touch is a very sharp blade (I cut myself less with fresh Feathers than Derbys) combined with good prep. I know my razor technique has a great deal of room for improvement, but I suspect gaining better mastery of prep (particularly lather making) is the more important goal for achieving consistent results and progress in the near term.
Shaving used to be drudgery. I can’t believe how much I look forward to it now. It’s amazing.
My face looked like a bloody battlefield at the conclusion of the first shave with the Futur loaded with a Derby blade; nevertheless, I emerged from the experience with a sense of triumph. (My wife, on the other hand, was dubious about the DE venture.) The second shave was considerably less gory. After a couple more, I was struck with the inspiration to retrieve a box of my dad’s personal effects from storage and find an old razor I had noticed with some (premonitory?) interest when I came into possession of his things a few years ago. It turned out to be a pre-’49 Tech, which I’m pretty sure was my grandpa’s at some point. I cleaned it up and put it to the test with a Feather blade. (I switched from Derbys to Feathers after about 5 blades.) That was my first bloodless shave and a satisfyingly close one as well. There was no turning back from there. I hit eBay and landed a ’59 Fatboy, which I shaved with last night. This morning a ’53-54 British Rocket arrived in the mail. It delivered my closest -- if not the most relaxed -- shave yet, and at the cost of only two very minor nicks.
What I think I’ve learned so far are 1) the key to a bloodless shave is a light touch and 2) what enables the lightest possible touch is a very sharp blade (I cut myself less with fresh Feathers than Derbys) combined with good prep. I know my razor technique has a great deal of room for improvement, but I suspect gaining better mastery of prep (particularly lather making) is the more important goal for achieving consistent results and progress in the near term.
Shaving used to be drudgery. I can’t believe how much I look forward to it now. It’s amazing.
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