Some time ago a friend of mine started encouraging me to start wet shaving and using a DE razor instead of the canned goo and multi-blade disposables that I had always used since my teenage years. At first I told him he was crazy and it was the silliest thing I had ever heard. He however didn't relent from his gospel of the double edge shave and started a long tirade into how men have been tricked for years by slick marketing gimmicks and razor quackery just so the razor companies could make a buck. He said the double edge razors would actually shave you better than the new fangled multi-blade monstrosities.
Thoughts of me cutting my neck open with one of these antique torture devices immediately ensued. Surely new razors had to be better in every way than their geriatric counterparts. Dont decades of competition and continuous improvements in technology make new products better than the old ones? I decided to secretly investigate this mystery on my own: relishing the idea of proving him wrong and tossing this nonsense idea out like yesterdays coffee grounds.
He had purchased shaving equipment (merkur razor & blades, AOS shaving cream, and a pure badger brush) new from Amazon. I didn't want to drop very much money into this venture; after all, my main goal was not to get a good shave. I just wanted to prove my friend wrong and call him a retard. So I started looking for an old flea market/antique store razor.
My wife and I were on a weekend trip and we decided to hit a few antique stores while we were there. While milling around in one shop I happened across an old DE razor that I later learned was a Shick Krona.
I had vague memories as a child of my grandfathers bathroom and his razors. He had some straight razors, assorted strops, brushes, and some kind of razor that when you turned the bottom of the handle the head would open up with this strange but amazing clockwork mechanism. I was mesmerized by it as a child and every time I was in the bathroom without supervision I would play with it. But now as an adult I just could not fathom the thought of that ancient chrome plated face whacker actually doing a good job of beard slicing.
We picked up some Wilkinson Sword blades from Wally Mart (we were both shocked that they actually had some DE blades and how cheap they were!). The twist to open mechanism of the old razor worked perfectly as I turned the knob at the bottom of the handle. And with just a bit of trepidation, I dropped a blade into its tiny maw certain that soon, wounded and disfigured I would be wiping up blood from the attack.
So with a total investment of under $15.00 my initiation into the cult of the double edge started. I nervously placed a 40 year old razor to my face and with hesitation started shaving.
What happened next?
I shaved, plain and simple.
No blood. No pulling, tugging, or hacking.
I was shocked It shaved! It shaved smoothly! The little old razor instantly felt at home and comfortable against my face. After a few passes I felt confident and assured using the flea market orphan and declared that it had a new home with me! The next day I used it and again it performed flawlessly!
Staring at myself in the mirror I realized the old razor has put me in a very uncomfortable position. I was going to have to tell my friend he was right
After a few weeks passed I finally called my friend, sheepishly I told him that I had joined his odd antique beard cutting religion.
Now lets skip to the present. I have an entirely new problem now. I think its called Razor Acquisition Disorder RAD. And it seems to be leaning towards the single edge razors now!
My current collection:
Shick Krona
1966 Gillette slim adjustable
Ever Ready shovel head
Ever Ready 1914
Ever Ready 1908? Lather catcher
Gem Bullet tip Micromatic
Ever Ready shaving brush with a TGN knot
And I am looking at getting more! When will it stop!
Thoughts of me cutting my neck open with one of these antique torture devices immediately ensued. Surely new razors had to be better in every way than their geriatric counterparts. Dont decades of competition and continuous improvements in technology make new products better than the old ones? I decided to secretly investigate this mystery on my own: relishing the idea of proving him wrong and tossing this nonsense idea out like yesterdays coffee grounds.
He had purchased shaving equipment (merkur razor & blades, AOS shaving cream, and a pure badger brush) new from Amazon. I didn't want to drop very much money into this venture; after all, my main goal was not to get a good shave. I just wanted to prove my friend wrong and call him a retard. So I started looking for an old flea market/antique store razor.
My wife and I were on a weekend trip and we decided to hit a few antique stores while we were there. While milling around in one shop I happened across an old DE razor that I later learned was a Shick Krona.
I had vague memories as a child of my grandfathers bathroom and his razors. He had some straight razors, assorted strops, brushes, and some kind of razor that when you turned the bottom of the handle the head would open up with this strange but amazing clockwork mechanism. I was mesmerized by it as a child and every time I was in the bathroom without supervision I would play with it. But now as an adult I just could not fathom the thought of that ancient chrome plated face whacker actually doing a good job of beard slicing.
We picked up some Wilkinson Sword blades from Wally Mart (we were both shocked that they actually had some DE blades and how cheap they were!). The twist to open mechanism of the old razor worked perfectly as I turned the knob at the bottom of the handle. And with just a bit of trepidation, I dropped a blade into its tiny maw certain that soon, wounded and disfigured I would be wiping up blood from the attack.
So with a total investment of under $15.00 my initiation into the cult of the double edge started. I nervously placed a 40 year old razor to my face and with hesitation started shaving.
What happened next?
I shaved, plain and simple.
No blood. No pulling, tugging, or hacking.
I was shocked It shaved! It shaved smoothly! The little old razor instantly felt at home and comfortable against my face. After a few passes I felt confident and assured using the flea market orphan and declared that it had a new home with me! The next day I used it and again it performed flawlessly!
Staring at myself in the mirror I realized the old razor has put me in a very uncomfortable position. I was going to have to tell my friend he was right
After a few weeks passed I finally called my friend, sheepishly I told him that I had joined his odd antique beard cutting religion.
Now lets skip to the present. I have an entirely new problem now. I think its called Razor Acquisition Disorder RAD. And it seems to be leaning towards the single edge razors now!
My current collection:
Shick Krona
1966 Gillette slim adjustable
Ever Ready shovel head
Ever Ready 1914
Ever Ready 1908? Lather catcher
Gem Bullet tip Micromatic
Ever Ready shaving brush with a TGN knot
And I am looking at getting more! When will it stop!
