I'm assuming that nobody here uses an old school straight razor - but I may be wrong...
From what I have read online is that these produce by far the closest shave possible (and my guess would be the greatest odds of self injury...)
The same websites that bragged up straight razors said the next best shave would be from a safety razor...
Does anyone on this site have experience with a safety razor???
Also - do you just use a normal razorblade - like you would buy at a hardware store?
If so - I would think that this would be a big money saver in the long run compared to the high price of mach III replacement blades!
I would say that the vast majority of people use a safety razor of one kind or another.
I would strongly recommend that you NOT use blades from the hardware store. The blade is really where the rubber meets the road, as it were, and once you master prep and technique, the blade will determine how good your shave is. Unfortunately, different guys respond very differently to the same brand of blade: some will think it's great, others think it's terrible. So you pretty much have to experiment to find which brand(s) will work best for you. Luckily, there are <a href="
http://leisureguy.wordpress.com/2007/08/07/a-disquisition-on-blade-sampler-packs/" target="_blank">
sampler packs[/url]---a small collection of different brands so you can try a variety of brands easily. At the link is a list of all the sampler packs currently available and some suggestions on how to work through them.
I use a vintage safety razor on my face, but not my head. Just too difficult to use by touch and the Headblade just gets it done well and fast.
I love the vintage safety razor for my face, check the links that Ian put up
I love the Vintage Gillette DE on the face. Applied with a nice brush and hot fragrent british lather. It starts my day out right brother! I am becoming very metro when it comes to face care. I only have one!
I still use a brush and shaving soap. I tried a safety razor on my head. I did find that it gave me the closest shave & the lightest shadow. However, it also took 3 times as long.
Basically i'll use the safety razor if I need to get dressed up, otherwise I stick with the headblade
The broadest selection of blades at the best price is found at
Razor and Brush. Just FYI.