I, like many men have to shave on a daily basis in order to keep my face from appearing like a specimen from Animal Planet. That being said, there's no better razor on the market than the Gillette Fusion. In an effort to find the closest shave, I have tried every mainstream razor on the market. I even used to drive to the US to buy Old Spice Razors until they were discontinued. My passion for a clean shave was hampered by the expensive cost of replacement blade cartridges. This was until I revived a retro shaving system.
Since I have thick beard hair (aka the Maltese Specialty), I rip through a new cartridge once every two weeks. If I were to try a razor for any longer than two weeks, I find that the razor begins to irritate my skin, and the closeness of the shave deteriorates rapidly. Fusion blades cost ~$5 each replacement. In an effort to conserve some dough, I decided I'd try the "5", a generic 5-blade system sold in all pharmacies under different names. Although the "5" provides a decent shave for the money at ~$3 per blade, I still felt pretty ripped off for the kind of money I'm spending for a half-assed shave. This lead to my recent discovery.
As I was searching eBay for the latest deals on electronics and fishing supplied. I thought I'd buy some direct-from-china Gillette Fusion blades. It comes out to ~$3 per cartridge. At that price, I'd give up my "5" and go back to the better shaving system. In my search for the cheapest Fusion price on eBay, I came across a vintage wet Shave razor listing. Finding the vintage wet-shave razor lead me to do a bit of research on the topic of "Wet Shaving", and "Safety Razors". Safety razors were the main form of shaving until the early 70's. I did a bit more digging, and found that a lot of people are switching back to the safety razor system. The Safety razor system allows the user to alter the angle and exposure of the blade, to match the face on which the blade is being used.
I did my research, and found a 1972 Gillette "Black Beauty" razor in excellent condition for $12 (That's one heck of a deal). Once I got the razor, I sterilized it, cleaned it and prepared it for shaving. Yesterday was my first Safety Razor shaving experience, and I can't be happier. The shave was close and comfortable; equal or greater to any shave I've ever gotten from the Gillette Fusion. The replacement blades cost ~$1 each at the pharmacy, but go for under $0.20 each if bought online. Since the blades are double-sided, theoretically, I could switch blades every other day, and my shaving experience would still be cheaper and better than anything I could get from the Fusion.
From this point forward, the only way I'll be using a cartridge shaving system, is if I'm traveling.
If you want a bit more information on Safety Razors and Wet Shaving, click the links below.
Safety Razor tips
Safety Razor guide on eBay
Boring Guy with Great Safety Razor tips
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