Life on a Razor Edge...Shaving the retro way

Sheel · 30th July 2022, 09:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by torquecurve

Original Smith Chu or Jaguar scissors aren’t so easily available. They are excellent scissors for long hair cuts as they don’t ‘split’ the end. Also they have to be maintained (kept in fridge when not in use, oiled regularly etc. ) one drop or bang and they are junk.

Found 'em on Amazon, don't know if counterfeit so ordered from Ikonic itself. Good one, kept in fridge since received, used yesterday, turns to be good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by torquecurve

We generally get the Jaguar as a gift for our best hairdressers. For regular hair cuts the ikonic would work well. You may also keep it in the refrigerator and it stays sharp and true for long.
The straight razor you bought and brush are good. You could also buy some disposable neck strips (helps to keep the hair out of your neck and back).

If I was operating 'em, or would be having long flowy hair might have given Jaguar a thought, but since someone else is & I keep it short & cropped, not sure (have never dropped my phone / lost my key etc ever, am a careful guy), hence a repeat purchase won't hurt.

Got the disposable ones, but they let in lot of hair, so my barber got 2 of the ones he uses (new ones, will keep with me).

Quote:

Originally Posted by motorpsycho

If price is not an issue, Jaguar Solingen is the way to go. My Hair Dresser, had this, and it just felt amazing when used on my hair, he used it only on his regulars only due to price of the scissors.

alphamike_1612 · 15th October 2022, 09:44

Team BHP has a thread for everything.
Was up all night trying to find answers on reddit. Searched here on the offhand and voila, we have our own group of wetshavers.

Started using Double Edge razors in the wee end of 2019 with a plastic Gillette that had the black 7'o' clock blades and the synthetic Gillette brush with the Godrej round. (I still use the same round)

I was never a regular shaver and shaving was just a chore.
Before getting into wet shaving, I used to use a disposable razor with mostly just water and soap and rarely shaving foam.

I was looking into buying my first proper Gillette cartridge razor that would last me for many years to come just like my father's Mach 3 and thats when I stumbled upon the razor and cartridge model of business and how double edge razors worked out to be cheap.

Mind you, before this introduction to double edge razors, I thought the only type of razor that ever existed for home use was the multiple blades. And the double edged blades available at the tuck shop ("potti kadai" in Tamil) were meant to cut thread for when you're tying flowers together or as a cheap alternative to the thermocol blade cutters we had.

After this wild internet chase, I asked the next trusted person I could about double edge razors, my father. And to my surprise his answer was that he had never used them and it had always been the cartridge for him ever since he started shaving and the only thing he knew about the DE razor was that it cut you easily.

An old tuck of the UK Wilkinson Sword and a Gillette butterfly razor used to be at my home. I have faint memories of playing with the adjustment when I was a kid just for the sound, but could never find it when i started wet shaving(both my mother and father couldn't find it or even remember about it which probably means it's lost for good or they must have given it away because I was being a nuisance with it). The Wilkinson sword tuck is still there and I don't plan on using them. They are memorabilia and will always be in their original tuck.
I guess they must have been given to my father as presents during his wedding. It's the only logical explanation I can think of.

I would later ask my grandfather and he would tell me that those razors were deadly sharp and shaving was best left to a professional barber or the cartridge razor.

With nothing other than the internet as a guide now, I searched for the cheapest available razor in India and was pleasantly surprised to know that a majority of Low socio economic status India still uses the DE for it's cheapness and these products are never advertised but are transferred word of mouth unlike the other Gillette ads we see. (And this I learnt from an international wet shaving reddit page that had hardly any Indian patronage but many admirers of Indian wet shaving goods)

And then I stumbled upon r/wetshavers_India where I got a fairly good idea on how I could assemble a wet shaving kit for under ₹500.

I decided to test the waters with this cheap kit before I went any further down this rabbit hole and went out and bought my first razor, a plastic Gillette 7'o' clock black with the blades included, a synthetic bristles Gillette shaving brush and a Godrej shaving round. (I still have the round) and an Old Spice aftershave. All in all it costed me under ₹250.

To be honest, (If it isn't already apparent by now), I started using DE razors only for the cost factor.
Stayed for the experience and the sense of satisfaction I get when I use one.

I do my first shave and end up getting nicked in so many different places and a worser shave than with my disposable.

My father advised me to drop this idea and be like the rest of them mere mortals, but he has also taught me to persevere and I chose the latter.

My second shave, I have far fewer cuts and it's comparable to my disposable razor.
By the end of my 3rd shave, I have 1 or 2 cuts and my face actually feels BBS. (Baby Bottom Smooth) and from there on there's been no turning back.

Used the plastic Gillette with several blades for a year and then my nerves start tingling to get another one and there enters the Pearl L55 (open and closed comb combo)
As a student, this was a significant purchase for me at ₹600, but I tell you, it is worth the price and it's been nearly 2 years but I still don't see the need to get a new one. The old plastic Gillette still is in my room but is never used.

I use the open comb thinking I've mastered the art of wet shaving and voila, a cut and a deep one at that.

Wet shaving like life teaches you that there's always so much you don't know and it's best to always be humble.

The sharp learning curve does exist and I still learn something new everyday.

But today I can confidently shave my face and my head with as little as 1 or 2 cuts in around an hour or so.

I have not experimented with blades, brushes etc. Just get the blade available at the nearest shop, use one for each shave and dispose of it. (I know they can be used multiple times, but I'm yet to find a way to store them without any corrosion occurring on the blades)

The Godrej shaving round is still going strong for me. But I also have a few tubes of Old Spice shaving cream. I hardly ever use them but got them just because of the fact that P&G decided they will stop manufacturing Old Spice shaving creams and I wanted to experience them, so got the last few available at my local grocery store.

I don't generally shave my entire beard off and keep a goatee and only shave once in 2 weeks. But the times I shave, it's always a pleasant experience rather than the chore it was before.

My shaving routine doesn't have any pre shave routine and I've found out that my face works the same to both regular tap water and hot water, so I just get some water, whip the minimal lather that you get from the round and apply it on my face and go about shaving. Post shaving I dispose the blade into a plastic box, clean the razor and brush and let them air dry before I store it. Haven't had a single rust spot to date on the razor.

As more and more of India transfers to cartridge based razors, I hope we don't lose out on these wonderful brands.

archat68 · 15th October 2022, 13:26

^^try a Bombay shaving company razor. Don't try a open comb initially as they are more harsh. The Bombay shaving company razor although a bit pricey is a perfect stater razor if don't have very coarse beard. Also try Indian Gillette geen blades. Very good blades.

supermax · 15th October 2023, 00:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by nowwhat?

Actually I hadn't heard the term "Shavette" until yesterday, but when I looked at some pictures on Google Images, I saw both.

I think the term is gaining popularity gradually. It's the easier to manage version of the holy grail of shaving, the straight razor. I've never been interested in anything just for the sake of being a purist, so a shavette fits my requirements to a T.

Quote:

Originally Posted by download2live

Double Edge safety razors are a victim of advertising. The Gillette 2,3,4 or 5 blade ready shavers don't stand in front of a DE safety razor as far as comfort and being gentle on skin is considered.

Mind you that start might be a bit of a learning curve but the end result is worth it.

Infact for better brands like Muhle the expectation is that one pass of razor and done. User is not expected to press the razor and pull down the cheek. Just glide and razor does it.

I myself have gone the whole route. My first ever razor was a Gillette Sensor Excel twin blade. I used a Dorco for a while before going to the Mach 3, and then the Fusion 5. I liked all of the Gillette offerings, but unless I changed the blades after every four or five shaves, my skin would get super irritated. I started hating shaving just due to the irritated skin and it was too expensive to replace those fancy five blade monstrosities every fifth shave! I tried to see if going electric with a Philips wet and dry electric razor was better, but it wasn't.

I then went to a DE razor, starting with a simple and inexpensive Gillette DE razor, which was a revelation. The shave quality wasn't as good as it was with the Fusion 5, but the irritation was gone!
I experimented a bit, and bought a QShave adjustable razor (a Chinese knockoff of a famous Merkur razor at a third or less of the price!)
Loading a blade is tricky and can be dangerous if you do it with wet hands, but once loaded and adjusted, it's delightful to use. When I set it to levels greater than 3, I got irritated skin while 3 was just short of what I wanted, and the quality of the shave didn't really seem to change whether I used the supersharp Feather, or a Vidyut Supermax. At this point, I ordered a shavette, and man, was it a revelation!

The shave quality with a shavette, particularly with better blades was exceptionally good, and there was no irritation whatsoever, if I didn't nick myself that is! Took me a while and lots of cursing till I got reasonable good with it, but now love the quality I get. The Feather blade is superb but drops off very quickly and is very easy to nick oneself with. Supermax is an excellent blade but does not give as close a shave as the Feather. The QShave blades which claim to be US made are pretty good too. I hate Wilkinson Sword in the shavette, as the shave quality feels crap. I just bought a 100 pack of Derby Professional single edge blades, and loved my first shave with it today. The Derby is very cheap too, compared to the Feather. It might just be the blade I've been looking for, for a while now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alphamike_1612

Team BHP has a thread for everything.

As more and more of India transfers to cartridge based razors, I hope we don't lose out on these wonderful brands.

Isn't that the truth? Yes, the cartridge razors are no doubt convenient, but are really bad from an eco-friendliness perspective, cost a bomb, and often leave the skin irritated despite their fancy gimmicks.

sagarpadaki · 18th March 2024, 17:33

I wanted to share my terrible experience with letsshave. I had placed an order for blades and razor 4 weeks ago. A few days after placing the order I get a email from them saying that the order is delayed and will be dispatched in a weeks time. A week passed and my order was still not delivered. They extended the timeline again. I contacted them over WhatsApp regarding the delay and they gave a canned response that it will be dispatched by March 15. Today is 18th March and the order is still not dispatched. They stopped responding to my WhatsApp complaints as well. Today I asked them to cancel the order and refund. Funny thing is I cannot cancel my order from my order page. 4 weeks and counting to deliver a razor and blade is silly and top it with pathetic customer service.

One word AVOID!

bobbyblr · 18th March 2024, 17:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

I wanted to share my terrible experience with letsshave. I had placed an order for blades and razor 4 weeks ago. A few days after placing the order I get a email from them saying that the order is delayed and will be dispatched in a weeks time. A week passed and my order was still not delivered. They extended the timeline again. I contacted them over WhatsApp regarding the delay and they gave a canned response that it will be dispatched by March 15. Today is 18th March and the order is still not dispatched. They stopped responding to my WhatsApp complaints as well. Today I asked them to cancel the order and refund. Funny thing is I cannot cancel my order from my order page. 4 weeks and counting to deliver a razor and blade is silly and top it with pathetic customer service.

One word AVOID!

LetsShave have become more expensive nowadays. So I recently ordered Dorco PACE 4 PRO 1 Handle With (5 Cartridge) from Dorco India website which is Rs.510 where as LetsShave Pro 4 Value Set costs Rs.649 (with discount). Also LetsShave Pro 4 Blades (Pack of 4) costs Rs.479 (with discount).

sagarpadaki · 19th March 2024, 10:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbyblr

LetsShave have become more expensive nowadays. So I recently ordered Dorco PACE 4 PRO 1 Handle With (5 Cartridge) from Dorco India website which is Rs.510 where as LetsShave Pro 4 Value Set costs Rs.649 (with discount). Also LetsShave Pro 4 Blades (Pack of 4) costs Rs.479 (with discount).

Yes, they have become very expensive over the years.

Thanks for the Dorco India suggestion. I just placed an order with them. Goodbye to Letsshave

15th October 2022, 09:44	#152
alphamike_1612 BHPian Join Date: Dec 2020 Location: Chennai Posts: 52 Thanked: 344 Times	Re: Life on a Razor Edge...Shaving the retro way Team BHP has a thread for everything. Was up all night trying to find answers on reddit. Searched here on the offhand and voila, we have our own group of wetshavers. Started using Double Edge razors in the wee end of 2019 with a plastic Gillette that had the black 7'o' clock blades and the synthetic Gillette brush with the Godrej round. (I still use the same round) I was never a regular shaver and shaving was just a chore. Before getting into wet shaving, I used to use a disposable razor with mostly just water and soap and rarely shaving foam. I was looking into buying my first proper Gillette cartridge razor that would last me for many years to come just like my father's Mach 3 and thats when I stumbled upon the razor and cartridge model of business and how double edge razors worked out to be cheap. Mind you, before this introduction to double edge razors, I thought the only type of razor that ever existed for home use was the multiple blades. And the double edged blades available at the tuck shop ("potti kadai" in Tamil) were meant to cut thread for when you're tying flowers together or as a cheap alternative to the thermocol blade cutters we had. After this wild internet chase, I asked the next trusted person I could about double edge razors, my father. And to my surprise his answer was that he had never used them and it had always been the cartridge for him ever since he started shaving and the only thing he knew about the DE razor was that it cut you easily. An old tuck of the UK Wilkinson Sword and a Gillette butterfly razor used to be at my home. I have faint memories of playing with the adjustment when I was a kid just for the sound, but could never find it when i started wet shaving(both my mother and father couldn't find it or even remember about it which probably means it's lost for good or they must have given it away because I was being a nuisance with it). The Wilkinson sword tuck is still there and I don't plan on using them. They are memorabilia and will always be in their original tuck. I guess they must have been given to my father as presents during his wedding. It's the only logical explanation I can think of. I would later ask my grandfather and he would tell me that those razors were deadly sharp and shaving was best left to a professional barber or the cartridge razor. With nothing other than the internet as a guide now, I searched for the cheapest available razor in India and was pleasantly surprised to know that a majority of Low socio economic status India still uses the DE for it's cheapness and these products are never advertised but are transferred word of mouth unlike the other Gillette ads we see. (And this I learnt from an international wet shaving reddit page that had hardly any Indian patronage but many admirers of Indian wet shaving goods) And then I stumbled upon r/wetshavers_India where I got a fairly good idea on how I could assemble a wet shaving kit for under ₹500. I decided to test the waters with this cheap kit before I went any further down this rabbit hole and went out and bought my first razor, a plastic Gillette 7'o' clock black with the blades included, a synthetic bristles Gillette shaving brush and a Godrej shaving round. (I still have the round) and an Old Spice aftershave. All in all it costed me under ₹250. To be honest, (If it isn't already apparent by now), I started using DE razors only for the cost factor. Stayed for the experience and the sense of satisfaction I get when I use one. I do my first shave and end up getting nicked in so many different places and a worser shave than with my disposable. My father advised me to drop this idea and be like the rest of them mere mortals, but he has also taught me to persevere and I chose the latter. My second shave, I have far fewer cuts and it's comparable to my disposable razor. By the end of my 3rd shave, I have 1 or 2 cuts and my face actually feels BBS. (Baby Bottom Smooth) and from there on there's been no turning back. Used the plastic Gillette with several blades for a year and then my nerves start tingling to get another one and there enters the Pearl L55 (open and closed comb combo) As a student, this was a significant purchase for me at ₹600, but I tell you, it is worth the price and it's been nearly 2 years but I still don't see the need to get a new one. The old plastic Gillette still is in my room but is never used. I use the open comb thinking I've mastered the art of wet shaving and voila, a cut and a deep one at that. Wet shaving like life teaches you that there's always so much you don't know and it's best to always be humble. The sharp learning curve does exist and I still learn something new everyday. But today I can confidently shave my face and my head with as little as 1 or 2 cuts in around an hour or so. I have not experimented with blades, brushes etc. Just get the blade available at the nearest shop, use one for each shave and dispose of it. (I know they can be used multiple times, but I'm yet to find a way to store them without any corrosion occurring on the blades) The Godrej shaving round is still going strong for me. But I also have a few tubes of Old Spice shaving cream. I hardly ever use them but got them just because of the fact that P&G decided they will stop manufacturing Old Spice shaving creams and I wanted to experience them, so got the last few available at my local grocery store. I don't generally shave my entire beard off and keep a goatee and only shave once in 2 weeks. But the times I shave, it's always a pleasant experience rather than the chore it was before. My shaving routine doesn't have any pre shave routine and I've found out that my face works the same to both regular tap water and hot water, so I just get some water, whip the minimal lather that you get from the round and apply it on my face and go about shaving. Post shaving I dispose the blade into a plastic box, clean the razor and brush and let them air dry before I store it. Haven't had a single rust spot to date on the razor. As more and more of India transfers to cartridge based razors, I hope we don't lose out on these wonderful brands.
	(3) Thanks

15th October 2022, 13:26	#153
archat68 BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Kolkata Posts: 897 Thanked: 619 Times	Re: Life on a Razor Edge...Shaving the retro way ^^try a Bombay shaving company razor. Don't try a open comb initially as they are more harsh. The Bombay shaving company razor although a bit pricey is a perfect stater razor if don't have very coarse beard. Also try Indian Gillette geen blades. Very good blades.
	() Thanks

18th March 2024, 17:33	#155
sagarpadaki Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 4,213 Thanked: 5,882 Times	Pathetic service from Letsshave I wanted to share my terrible experience with letsshave. I had placed an order for blades and razor 4 weeks ago. A few days after placing the order I get a email from them saying that the order is delayed and will be dispatched in a weeks time. A week passed and my order was still not delivered. They extended the timeline again. I contacted them over WhatsApp regarding the delay and they gave a canned response that it will be dispatched by March 15. Today is 18th March and the order is still not dispatched. They stopped responding to my WhatsApp complaints as well. Today I asked them to cancel the order and refund. Funny thing is I cannot cancel my order from my order page. 4 weeks and counting to deliver a razor and blade is silly and top it with pathetic customer service. One word AVOID!
	(1) Thanks