I've been shaving for about 58 years. Most of that has been wet shaving, although I did try an electric razor 15 years ago.
As a teenager, I started shaving with a safety razor. I remember looking at adjustable razors, but my father showed me that you can adjust the razor aggressiveness and blade exposure on a regular butterfly razor by tightening or loosening the razor’s only knob. You don't need a separate adjustable dial!
Over the years, I’ve tried all kinds of razors -- Gillette and Schick kept coming out with new models. Atra? Afta?, single blade injector, one where the blade itself was a ribbon that you advance, and various cartridges. I pretty much settled on a Gillette Sensor and found that I like the original Sensor double blades, not the ones with multiple cutting surfaces. I think contemporary cartridges have up to 5 cutting edges!
I consistently cut myself while using a safety razor. I’ve had two safety razors for a while. One is unidentified but long and light; the other is a MicroTouch One razor, short. It, too is light. I’ve had the former for 10 or 20 years and the latter for a few years.
A month or two ago, I decided to try again with safety razors. I studied videos on how-to-shave. I thought I might avoid cuts by using an adjustable razor of better quality and by being more careful. I bought a Parker Variant and have been successful with it. I use it on the mildest aggression setting. A Merkur 38C and a Rockwell 2C are on order.
Starting around 45 years ago, I used shaving soap in an antique soap holder and applied it with a brush. The soap holder broke and I got rid of it along with the brush. I’ve been using shaving cream lately. That is satisfactory as long as I first moisturize my face with soap and hot water and then rub the shaving cream onto my skin. Shaving soap and brush will have to wait. I’m not yet ready to spend another $20 or $40 on more shaving supplies!
As a teenager, I started shaving with a safety razor. I remember looking at adjustable razors, but my father showed me that you can adjust the razor aggressiveness and blade exposure on a regular butterfly razor by tightening or loosening the razor’s only knob. You don't need a separate adjustable dial!
Over the years, I’ve tried all kinds of razors -- Gillette and Schick kept coming out with new models. Atra? Afta?, single blade injector, one where the blade itself was a ribbon that you advance, and various cartridges. I pretty much settled on a Gillette Sensor and found that I like the original Sensor double blades, not the ones with multiple cutting surfaces. I think contemporary cartridges have up to 5 cutting edges!
I consistently cut myself while using a safety razor. I’ve had two safety razors for a while. One is unidentified but long and light; the other is a MicroTouch One razor, short. It, too is light. I’ve had the former for 10 or 20 years and the latter for a few years.
A month or two ago, I decided to try again with safety razors. I studied videos on how-to-shave. I thought I might avoid cuts by using an adjustable razor of better quality and by being more careful. I bought a Parker Variant and have been successful with it. I use it on the mildest aggression setting. A Merkur 38C and a Rockwell 2C are on order.
Starting around 45 years ago, I used shaving soap in an antique soap holder and applied it with a brush. The soap holder broke and I got rid of it along with the brush. I’ve been using shaving cream lately. That is satisfactory as long as I first moisturize my face with soap and hot water and then rub the shaving cream onto my skin. Shaving soap and brush will have to wait. I’m not yet ready to spend another $20 or $40 on more shaving supplies!