Hacker News Reader

Comment by shpx | Hacker News Reader

Old fashioned safety razors are still very much a thing [0], 30$ for a handle and another 30$ for 100 blades, I switch blades every 2 weeks.

View on HN

I bought an even-older-fashioned straight razor for $75 very nearly fifteen years ago, and it's still working just fine. I've spent more on strops since then.

2 weeks! I switch every 2 days. Love the sharp blade feel.

I've heard that the dullness is caused by corrosion more so than cutting anything... the recommendation was to store the blade in alcohol to prevent corrosion and keep it sharp.

Does anyone know if there is any truth to this?

I would say it's use, and in my experience it depends on the blade.

Most recently I bought a 100 pack of each of Feather and Derby blades (the latter were so cheap, it was hard to resist...). The Derby literally blunted during the shave, whilst a Feather remains acceptably sharp for (i.e. starts tugging after) about a week of daily shaves.

You can tell the difference when you change the blade and there is slightly less tug.

Feather blades <3

Feathers are okay, but I somehow have way better results with Gillete 7'O Clock's (the sort in the yellow boxes). Cleaner shaves and more comfortable during use.

Anyone reading this comment thread curious about trying shouldn't just go with feather because crdb likes them or gillete 7 o clocks because sithadmin likes them. Different blades can make a huge difference and different people have different results. Pick up a blade sampler pack and try a bunch, pretty much every shaving store/amazon has them.

This is because people have different types of skins, and even for the same skin - depending upon time of day it could be soft or rough. Also the shaving cream/oil matters for the shave. Thats the reason why Trundle advises to try different blades. Whats good for one, might be bad for another person. IMHO most important factor which most people overlook is actually the angle of the shave. They blame it on the blade, instead of correcting their technique.

I've always wondered why there might be a difference for blades.

Creams and brushes, sure. If you have very soft, sensitive skin and soft straight sparse hair, you won't enjoy a hard brush and you won't need as thick a lather as someone with thick curly hair, so you might prefer a softer brush (less "backbone"). And some people might have adverse reactions to lanolin or find menthol irritating rather than refreshing.

But a blade's sole job is to cut hair, for which, presumably, the only quality required is sharpness, preferably retained for as long as possible. Aside from a less sharp blade being less of a pain on someone with softer and sparser hair, I can't see how blade experience would vary from person to person. What's your (or grandparent's) view?

Feather blades changed my life.

I've used Gillete II disposables all my life, other brands don't shave me and more blades don't improve and are more expensive. I switched to safety blades a few weeks ago, I still don't get it right, got a sampler collection of blades, none of them can shave my 2-3 days old beard except for Feather (they barely cut my hair), which from time to time cuts me a lot. Are you supposed to loose the handle a bit so the blade has some wiggle room and therefore cuts more?

Problems are usually technique, razor, brush and cream. DE shaving needs a bit more effort.

Technique - are you using the right angle (experiment) and pressure (none - the mere weight of the thing should be enough)? Check videos if necessary. Are you making enough lather? Leaving it on long enough? Good technique sort of happens with experience.

Razor - is it a good one? I've owned a few cheap razors and never managed to make them work, something to do with the proportions. The blade has to stick out just so and the safety bar (or comb) be of just the right size. My two current ones are Merkur 12C and 42C, the former for when I'm paying attention, the latter for speed. I'm getting a Muhle R41 for fun.

Brush - do you own a good one? If on a budget, the other poster's Reddit wiki has a lot of good suggestions for boar and synthetic options ("budget" badger is not a good idea). This is important to get a good lather.

Many "starter packs" include a low quality brush and razor leading to bad first experiences.

Cream/soap - it's amazing how many are on the market and simply do not do their job. You have to keep trying until you find one that works with the water in your area to produce a slick, lasting lather. For me personally dealing with Singapore water the best are Godrej blue tube (menthol), Arko and Proraso.

On wiggle room: I tried it with the 12C after reading somewhere about how the "old guys used to do it" and guess what, not only does it not work but you will get nicked. The less wiggle room the better.

I haven't done any testing on this but the corrosion hypothesis seems plausible. I wouldn't store it under alcohol because there's generally some dissolved water/oxygen/salt in there which would cause corrosion. Oil immersion or even a light coat after use would probably work better and alcohol at preventing corrosion.

Store it in mineral oil.

Sort of true, but at the price taking the blade out of the handle and storing it isn't really worth it.

Every shave for me or I bleed like a pig

I'm interested in getting this type of razor. Is there a standard? Interchangeable blades?

Yep, you want "double-edged razor blades."

I have this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011L8WJIA/

I'm very satisfied. Not coming apart is a significant feature. The case is nice too; I've used it several times to look at the back of my head.

I haven't found any blades that don't work. As far as I know they're all the same.

I love my butterfly too! It's a different brand with a similar mechanism.

That's the great thing about double-edged razors: you can recognize the correct blade on sight. The box is distinctive as well. Meaning you'd have to try really hard to buy the wrong blade. I mean really hard, given that a blind person could buy the right blades by feel.

Yea, nothing could go wrong in that scenario....

Most razors are for double edged blades. All double edge blades are interchangeable.

My understanding is that there are also single edged razors that don't work with double edged blades, but they are way less popular. /r/wicked_edge has a guide here [0] basically, buy a Vintage Gillette Super Speed Razor on ebay (or really anything you want, handles can't be that different, they're just 3 pieces of metal) and a pack of sample blades on tryablade.com

[0] https://www.reddit.com/r/wicked_edge/wiki/de_kit

https://www.reddit.com/r/wicked_edge/comments/4exeep/beginne...

Excellent first link, which led me to their "to avoid" list. It mentions that "Soapworks Ltd" is now making shaving soap for various companies, including Trumper, and that this soap does not lather.

I've always found the reviews for Trumper soap incomprehensible as it never lathered and if by miracle some lather was produced, it would not stay longer than half a minute...

The only single edge razors I know of are the old straight edge razors (think the old west razors, http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Straight-Razors_c_9.html) and the newer shavette (https://www.amazon.com/Dovo-Shavette-Straight-Razor-Handle/d...) which is basically the straight edge razor but with a removable blade. I haven't heard either being refered to as a single-blade razor, though.

You can buy single edge razors for craft.

Here's some for window scraping: https://www.amazon.co.uk/BOHLE-Spare-Blades-Laminated-Scrape...

Here's some that claim to be single edge and for shaving: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gem-Personna-single-stainless-blade...

I bought a handle from eBay for $1.50 shipped from China. The most expensive thing was the brush, which is (or, at least claims to be) badger hair. That was $12 shipped.

My understanding is that different blades suit different complexions. For example, the platinum blades I've tried are too sharp and irritated.

Get a sampler with a few dozen blades for $10-$15. Then get the blade you like for $20 for 100 blades.

I would have to caution against a cheap safety razor handle. The gap between razor and the guards around it are very key. Once I switched from a cheap handle to a [$30 Merkur](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NL0T1G/ref=oh_aui_sear...) the experience was much improved. I still use the cheapest blades I can find at [$8/100 blades](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NL0T1G/ref=oh_aui_sear...)

I have one that I purchased some years ago. Basically they all use the exact same type of blade, which looks like this: http://www.techsnippets.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/best-...

Basically the old razor blades that appear in movies when people have to cut themselves :)

The biggest difference from modern razor blades, other than taking up much less space, is that they are manufactured by different companies and so there is real competition, which makes them massively cheaper.

That said I still haven't been able to get near as good a shave with them as I do with the Gillette power thing that I have, which annoys me.

Strange that no one has mentioned Rockwell [1]. I use the original model in the shower without soap. I use Shark blades and they have been better than the Astra I had. [1]: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/rockwell-model-t-razor-bl...

Interesting! I have an old Gillette which has the exact same design. I picked it up for $5 at some thrift store. Cleaned it, sterilized it and it's been great for years.

My current razor (seldomly used as I'm bearded now) is a Weber DLC coated DE razor. It works nicely and doesn't get gummed up with cut hair.

$30 for a handle? they are 2-5 on aliexpress

Are those ones as nice? Serious question, it seems silly to compromise on something that you're going to use daily (or close thereto) just to save $10-$20 (once you factor in shipping). Then again if you can't tell the difference, might as well get the cheaper one.

2.27 shipped http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Safety-Razor-Complete-Men-Sha...

vs 32 shipped https://www.amazon.com/VIKINGS-Double-Swedish-Platinum-Manli...

they look like roughly the same thing to me.

the other style, for under 3 shipped. http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Vintage-Retro-Useful-Durable-...

They sure look the same to me... I suspect that a lot of the 'niceness' will come from the feel of it in your hand, high-chrome stainless feels really solid whereas cheaper alloys can feel kind of tinny.

...oh wow, that price includes shipping outside the U.S.? I'm gonna buy one of the cheap ones, will report back how nice it is.

Edit: "This product can't be shipped to the selected region." After explicitly saying "Free shipping to $country" on the product page. Impression of AliExpress reduced somewhat.

search around, there are plenty in the 3-5 range. it's like ebay, different factories and wholesalers have their own listings.

I've shaved with those sub-$10 razors and a $30 Merkur razor - the difference is not negligible. The Merkur's body is more solid, heavier, and generally feels better in my hand. I can get a decent shave with either, but I stick the the more expensive one at home and take the other when I travel.

A handle lasts a lifetime. No reason to skimp on it. Or shop on Aliexpress.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com