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-   -   Life on a Razor Edge...Shaving the retro way (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/152507-life-razor-edge-shaving-retro-way-3.html)

Wow, what an awesome thread. I work for Procter & Gamble and both Gillette and Old Spice are our brands. I feel proud to know that the work i do helps the company make products that helps keep us folks look good and feel good :-)

My dad used one of these until recently, he then shifted to the plastic ones. Ohh.. how nostlgic. I remember, once, it was sometime during 92, we were at Jhansi, U.P. then. The barber came to our house to offer his services, my father, after getting his haircut done, asked us kids to get his razor, for which, all 3 including me ran like the world was ending or something, I was the first to reach to my father's shaving-bag. As in desperation of getting it done first, I opened this bag and searched for the razor and damn it, all I remember is blood all over my right hand. I landed my fingers of that side of the razor, and the sharp Gillete blade cut them (the wound was not any deep and I was OK the next day :)

I switched over to the safety razor some 5 years back. It started because of my laziness. I don't shave on weekends or when I am on vacation and I found it difficult to shave with the sandwiched blades when the stubbles were longer and decided to try the good old safety razor. I realised that I got as good a shave as with the modern blades and as most others have said I found it to be sort of meditative. And I was hooked

I use the Gillette three piece razor and use 7 O clock platinum plus.

A few months back I was late for the office and decided to shave without lathering my face... Yes, I should have been crazy. But surprised me was that the shave was as close with lathering. Then I realised my skin should be softened during my morning walks because I sweat a lot and also I shave after I bathe. stupid:
Now I have stopped using any cream or gel.

Added environmental benefits: No plastic; minimal chemicals..

Interesting Arul. But do be careful and in due course of time the skin could protest by breaking into a rash or something worse.


Ashish, Haven't we all had bloody fingers by mishandling those blades and gripping the wrong side of the wrong end of the razor in childhood.
Remember being wounded in action by blades quite often - especially when sharpening a pencil with a blade in those glory days. I always thought blades were manufactured to sharpen pencils.

Thank you Dieselritzer.
And it's funny that my company helps P&G set up their plants all across the globe.
But hey...before anyone raises it...no commerical interests here and I have nothing to do with sales or commercial functions of the company !

1. That was a blunder Gansan. Getting one now with the same quality as one from the days of yore is quite an impossibility unless you go in for a high end brand and pay big bucks for it.
2. Sorry about that - but now that you are a TBHP member those should come easy and fast !
3. No not really. I think next big thing would be Laser cutters. But then instead of nicks and cuts you'll have 3rd degree burns.

That is truly impressive.
And thank you for the tip on the Biotique cream. Will try it.

1. Thank you Desmosedici.

2. That's a unique process for a shave. Utilising the best properties/features of the two technologies. I had tried it once but had to abandon it due to the sheer time it took. But it truly a heavenly feeling I must add.

Thank you for the tips Archat.
I'm shaving these for a rainy day !

Amit,
Barber/s (of Seville and elsewhere !) use blades in what I call a fake cut throat or straight razors as they clip it on to the stem - but the original CT or Straight razors have the full thick steel blades.
But if you were to ever observe the blades being used by them - the brands are all non descript and their quality terrible. Single use and chuck away. It's only the barber's scraping skills that keeps you in one piece.
Topaz is the one known brand I've seen - rest are all unheard of pehelwan brands.

The cut throat or straight razors and the strops were already spoken about here with snaps. But then why stop at that - one could go further back in time and look at stone flints, clam shells and shark teeth - all shaving equipment of yore.

And I am off - to find a willing shark !

The trick is to put couple of drops of olive oil on the steel. Even coconut will do. Even the single blade 7rs a disposable cartridge shaver starts to feel like the "sell your house and take another loan cost" 20 bladed monstrosity.

That said, I have stuck to the triple bladed vector now. Works for about 20 shaves, which I think is good enough.
All you need to do is make sure to wipe it dry after every shape. If it does not rust, it will never blunt.

Another titbit.
I learnt that many experimented with ceramic blades in the lab as they would never go bad, however, the ceramic edge is so few atoms thick that it would always result in nasty cuts. A slight chip could make it even sharper so that if you are careless, you would cut your neck wide open, so that research is kinda abandoned for now

Well I have never experienced any extra "softening of hair" with any shaving cream or foam than provided by wetting in warm water. So the only practical purpose of a shaving cream is lubrication. The blade runs over the skin orthogonally to the blade line. This causes scrubbing action. All you need is ways to minimize this scrubbing.

I have used soaps/shampoos/conditioners/oil to the same effect - with no difference in the shaving experience. (I shave with pseudo "cut throat" - the one with disposable naked blades). At times this has been because of experimentation streak, at time it has been because of traveling (and hotels usually provide soap/shampoo/conditioners but not the shaving creams).

In fact I use shaving cream without any lather - just spread it over face using hands/fingers. I prefer shaving cream because of the way it handles the shaved bits of hair. (Oil is sticky, soap and others run down the neck fast)

Quite true, but straight razors (especially the pseudo ones with disposable blades) provide a comparable cutting edge to the Gillete mach3 etc kinds.

Flints and clams - I am sure they won't be as sharp, unless machined properly - but then if you can find one, count me in.
:D

They're known as Shavettes. The one where you clip on a regular blade (or a long blade, depending on the razor) onto a holder.

Even well known suppliers like Dovo make shavettes - they're often considered to be the 'travel' version of the original cut-throat/straight razor, so that you don't have to carry around the shaving strop and waterstone when you travel.

Straight razors can be full steel (not so popular but much more expensive) or carbon-steel. The latter is softer and more amenable to sharpening.

I learnt a bit of this stuff when I went on a rather suicidal straight razor experiment some years back, thanks to memories of my grandfather who used them - nearly killed myself in the process. Still have the razor, but not the time to perfect the process - so I carry it to my barber once in a while for a good straight shave by a person who knows how to use it.

Hi Guderian, Thanks for the caution. I forgot to add that I do use an after shave, Vicco cream. I like the very mild sandal fragrance of it.

I use an Indian made shavette everyday, there are distinct advantages on having a Shavette WRT to a Straight Razor. The SR needs to be honed every once in a while and this is a job best left to experts , trail and error is expensive with new SR's costing close to 200$ each.

But I would love to own an SR, though the technique in using an SR and Shavette differ it is not an very difficult.

Since you already have one, May I suggest couple of Videos on how to start.Youtube has plenty of tutorials, take it slow and give it time you will pick it up.

Been there, done that. I'm one of those people who only learn from experience, not from books or tutorials.

Still, will get to use it by myself sometime - when I have the time to spare.

Would the DOVO (and other international ones) accept the Indian blades snapped into two? (The modus operandi used by barbers).

I have a Taiwanese/Chinese one which has a sliding sleeve. The sleeve accepts the Indian blades with a perfect seat.

Are the disposable blades made with a global dimensions standard?

Yes, if they are short-blade shavettes. They use the same 'blade' that we used for sharpening pencils in our younger days.

http://int.classicshaving.com/dovo-s...l#.U7ZTuiTrWIw

Long blade shavettes will require specific blades which you will most probably have to import. Expect a cost of $1 per blade for the top blades, and availability is a bit of an issue.

But if you're planning to use a local blade, why waste $30 or more on a Dovo shavette? Just buy a local one, if you're not sure where to pick it up from ask your barber - in a shavette the 'razor' is just the handle, the blade is what matters. Don't waste money on a Dovo shavette.

A very relevant thread indeed. I grew up using the traditional single blade razor and its been almost a decade that I moved to the twin blade ones and currently using the Mach3. Given that my beard is very coarse and thick, one Mach3 cartridge hardly serves 3-4 shaves at the best and then I have a tough time using it. I was wondering if I should switch back to the traditional ones and stumble upon this thread. Also, those would be more economical than a Mach3 for which is pricey.

You should be able to get a pack of Feather on ebay easily with international shipping.

Wah, Guderian sahib ! I have an Indian-made replica of your Gilette 'one piece' "safety razor" (minus the adjustment ring) that I bought from a CSD canteen in 1971 for THREE RUPEES & TWENTYFIVE PAISE only, after having had disastrous results experimenting with father's discarded cut-throat. The brand is an unknown SUNBEAM ! And I still use that razor every day, with the GODREJ shaving round displayed by 'theexperthand'. That makes the fellow some forty-three years old. Wish I had a bill or some sort of documentation. The electroplating has worn out at the edges, displaying brass.

Double edged safety-razor blades are no problem in Calcutta, which is approximately a century behind places like Pune or Bengaluru !

I have a plastic disposable type in my travel kit, as that is safer to use in variable light conditions, with or without a proper mirror, even on a moving train !

A Philips Aqua Touch electric shaver, the costliest and most useless in my arsenal, is hardly ever used, except in the evening for a repeat shave before some social engagement.

A double surface shaving mirror is one I have often thought of getting, but never found it easily.

Great topic, for a change of taste.