Sly Bald Guys Forum

Head Shaving, Grooming & Care => Safety Razor Head Shaving => Topic started by: PET on April 10, 2012, 03:47:52 AM

Title: Shaving with a Safety Razor
Post by: PET on April 10, 2012, 03:47:52 AM
Hello guys,

Long time no see. I just wanted to give an update with my recent experiments. My last post was in 2010 when I finally got a Headblade. I can honestly say... I used that for 2 months and that's it.

For years I shaved with a Gillette. M2, M3, ... 5 blades. I got tired. I saw the Headblade and I liked the idea, however. On my second shave I managed to cut a big big spot of my scalp. Around 1cm. You needed to be very careful. The price for the blades was the same with Gillette, around 13$ or 10 euros. Last year I asked myself, what other choices do I have?

I bought a Wilkinson pack:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wilkinson-Sword-Blades-Classic-Double-Edged/dp/B0012Y1FCK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1333490236&sr=8-2

Very cheap, it comes with a pack of 5 razors. For us it was around 5$.
I bought a cheap Shaving Brush, around 3$.
Shaving Cream 2.5$
some Aloevera After shave cream around 5$.

This was the beginning of something beautiful.

The Wilkinson blades were a pain in the ass. I felt how the blade was "cutting" my face in the bad way. Maybe I wasn't preparing my face as it should, but I will not use them again.

Then I tested some Derby blades. Something like this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Derby-Stainless-Available-different-quantities/dp/B0031BDGKQ/ref=pd_ybh_10

I found them much much better.

In the meantime I bought a new Safety Razor:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Edwin-Jagger-De89bl-Chrome-Plated/dp/B003LW4L2W/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1333490032&sr=8-3-spell

And because I ran out of Derby blades (I can't purchase them in Romania) I went to the non-stop store and got something like this:
http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/5516/p1060602z.jpg

Basically a pack of 5 blades costs around 0.85$. Surprisingly they were pretty nice.

Now, the reason why I decided to post this is because I just got my order from Amazon of 30 Feather Blades:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Feather-Hi-Stainless-Double-Safety-Blades/dp/B002YTRJ4K/ref=pd_ybh_18

More expansive than normal blades but damn, I just got one of my best shaves.

And I still can't believe how cheap it is. I plan to buy a pack of different blades because I still want to test some more. Any suggestions on what blades to try out?

Before I started wet shaving I always had the impression you can CUT yourself and it's not safe because I was shaving my head. Man I was wrong.

I plan to also test some Soaps & other creams. Any suggestions?

Is there anyone else who is shaving on the head with a classic razor?


Thanks
Title: Re: Shaving with a Safety Razor
Post by: warhawk on April 10, 2012, 11:27:21 AM
welcome back 2 the sly fraternity.  glad that ya found another way 2 keep the dome smoooooth.   i usually shave with a fusion, M5, or schick hydro5 but last week i had my 1st face and head shave with a 1974 vintage gillette super speed safety razor. 

  i am still in the "testing" stages with this beautiful razor.  i will post up my review of this razor in 3 months.  reason being.... there R sooooo many double edge blades out there that i wanna try out.  so far.... i am have a lot of fun with this razor. O0 8)

WARHAWK O0
Title: Re: Shaving with a Safety Razor
Post by: Baldstu on April 10, 2012, 11:41:52 AM
Welcome back ,
Title: Re: Shaving with a Safety Razor
Post by: JBjunior on April 10, 2012, 03:46:35 PM
First post here.  I am not sly, but I am contemplating it for some upcoming military training I have (swimming, exercise, short time to do things in) but I am a traditional wet shaver.  I have been doing it for a couple of years and I have been so busy lately that it isn't as much fun as it used to be.  I just purchased the Panasonic 8243A with some shave oil to see how I like that for my face and to use it for my head if the time comes.

Anyway, the purpose of my post was that there are tons of blades out there with the feather coming in as being the sharpest, but not everyone's favorites.  They are my blade of choice and I have tried a few including the derby brand.  They are pretty cheap and there is a guy on ebay that lives in Singapore (I think) that has amazing deals on blades.  I will also say that because I have been rushing and tend to either not get as good a shave as I would like or cut myself.  Even when I am not rushing, the contours of the face are tricky and I can only imagine about the issues that people might have with their head.
Title: Re: Shaving with a Safety Razor
Post by: warhawk on April 10, 2012, 04:04:44 PM
hey jb:  1st of all welcome 2 the sly fraternity.  post up  your introduction in the "introduction section" of the forum so we can give ya a proper welcome.

as i stated earlier... i'm new when it comes 2 face/head shaving with safety razors.  all i gotta say is that i have been very slow at it but it has been fun.  just B very slow and cautious when u decide 2 headshave with a double edge safety razor.  with u having experience with the safety razor on face.... that should give u a better advantage than me.
good luck and keep us posted. O0

WARHAWK O0
Title: Re: Shaving with a Safety Razor
Post by: PET on April 10, 2012, 04:13:47 PM
When I started to shave with a Safety Razor ... I went to shave each day for a couple of days just because I liked the ritual. Now I'm back on being lazy :)
Title: Re: Shaving with a Safety Razor
Post by: Sir Harry on April 11, 2012, 07:19:06 AM
Interesting....think I will stick with my traditional straight edge when I go back to razor shaving later this month....
Title: Re: Shaving with a Safety Razor
Post by: Mikekoz13 on April 11, 2012, 10:21:40 AM
I keep telling myself that I'm going to get a DE safety razor but I just haven't pulled the trigger yet.
My research tells me that those feather blades are some of the best.
Title: Re: Shaving with a Safety Razor
Post by: warhawk on April 11, 2012, 02:11:21 PM
I keep telling myself that I'm going to get a DE safety razor but I just haven't pulled the trigger yet.
My research tells me that those feather blades are some of the best.

hey mike:  as a very fresh newbie... 2 the DE world (started last week)...u gotta try it.  face shaving with a DE is not too bad but head shaving has been difficult but i'm not giving up.  PM me if i can be of any help.

WARHAWK O0
Title: Re: Shaving with a Safety Razor
Post by: PET on June 27, 2012, 05:16:03 AM
For me the head shaving is the most easy part. Mainly because the skin is not that sensitive and it does not hurt.
Title: Re: Shaving with a Safety Razor
Post by: waine on June 27, 2012, 07:08:28 AM
Hi there PET.  Thanks for the post and the links.

Guys, I was terrified of using a DE on my head.  But after you take the first leap, and you go SLOWLY you may just discover that this is for you.  I got the knack quickly.  Time is a factor, yes I will admit.  So having experimented, my deal is, "The amazing HeadBlade for my dome and the DE for the face."
Title: Re: Shaving with a Safety Razor
Post by: PET on June 27, 2012, 07:17:47 AM
Actually that headblade is much more unsafe than the classic DE. I threw my headblade out. Full DE use on my face & head.

The headblade was the only device EVER that I used that actually managed to take a big portion of my skin. A 1cm circle. 1cm = 0.39 inches. A pretty big portion.

I could actually SEE the skin in the blades. I can tell you that was not pretty.

Also from the razor costs, headblade was the same with Gillette. And that means very VERY expensive. 10 euro ... or ~13$ for a pack of 3? 1 blade lasts me around 4 shaves. So you do the math.

I did the math on classic razors. I use around 35 razors per year.

You can buy a pack of 100 for around 13$.



So....
Title: Re: Shaving with a Safety Razor
Post by: DaveM61 on June 27, 2012, 07:53:39 AM
I'm with Waine ... I use HB on my dome and DE on my face.  I've never had a problem with the HB.  I'd be nervous to us the DE on my head.  But, I guess I'm contemplating trying it at some point in the future.
Title: Re: Shaving with a Safety Razor
Post by: Sir Harry on June 27, 2012, 07:57:13 AM
Ah, another anti-Headblader.....That's part of the fun of this forum, finding your yea's and your nay's on any given subject!
Title: Re: Shaving with a Safety Razor
Post by: PET on June 27, 2012, 08:43:15 AM
Well. I tested it. First I tought "WoW this is soooo coool. A device build especially for my head. Now everything will be ok".

But it was just another marketing sh*t :)

Totally happy now.

Title: Re: Shaving with a Safety Razor
Post by: waine on June 27, 2012, 12:06:10 PM
LOL, Pet, perhaps in your eagerness you drove the car too roughly and caused a wreck without getting your driver’s licence first.  Like anything it takes practice, but I won’t try to convince you. Although I think it is actually a great little idea, certainly not a gimmick, in the true sense of the word. And it works brilliantly!  - Once you know how! !

I am all for shaving the head with a DE.  I was on leave last week and I did my dome with a DE for five days in a row.  I enjoyed it thoroughly, getting the most fantastic shave! But here’s the thing, “It takes a bit longer!”
Title: Re: Shaving with a Safety Razor
Post by: PET on June 27, 2012, 03:38:48 PM
I was also a newbie with the DE razor, yet now cuts.

Truth is that Headblade is something you don't need. Price point is the same. You can't use the headblade to shave your face or your balls. It limits you to the head only. Price for the blades is pretty expensive and you need to order/buy them in special places. For example my non-stop shop near my corner does not have headblades but it does have classic razors. Pretty good razors for less that 1$... 5 blades.

For me Headblade like Gillette is nothing more than a marketing thing. It seems cool but it's unessential and expensive. nano-technology™


Now back on topic.

Things I want to get:

- New better Shaving Brush. I have a 3$ brush now that works ok. But I'm curious a better brush what it can do
- Shaving Soap. I'm using a 2.5$ cream now that it's ok. But I'm curious what a soap can do. The cream lasts me 1.5 months.
- Salt Block. Not sure how to call this but I have been hearing this from some friends. They told me "their grandfather had a block of slat in ther pack". I found something like this on amazon. Basically if you get a cut or something, you apply this block of salt for magic!!
- A mix pack of razor blades. Right now I use Feather but I want to try more.
Title: Re: Shaving with a Safety Razor
Post by: Bluebriz on June 27, 2012, 08:56:33 PM
Pet,
the salt block you're thinking of is probably an alum block.  Very popular with a lot of wet shavers.

I don't get a lot of cuts so don't use mine much.  Also, I find it a little harsh on my skin.

After my shave I rinse with warm water, then cold water, then pat dry.   Then I apply a good splash of witch hazel.  After that dries then maybe some moisturiser if I feel the need, or just aftershave.  Because the aftershaves contain alcohol, some people find them drying, but I just add a couple of drops of glycerine and have no problems.