Razor Blades/Electric Razors

Go with a Braun. They're well made and will deliver a pretty close shave. I owned a series 3 for years until my wife discovered it shaved her legs better than any of her disposable razors. I let her keep that one and upgraded to a series 5.

Owned a few Norelco's in the past. They make good shavers too but ever since I switch to Braun I haven't had the desire to go back.

I won't touch anything made by Gillette due to their "toxic masculinity" ads.
 
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Thanks for all the replies, looks like I need to find my old safety razor and try it.

Have a blessed day,

Leon
 
I am a little surprised at how many people are going old school on the soap and brush use but I think it is a less abrasive shave on my skin which is much more sensitive than when I was younger.
 
I have 2 old gold plated safety razor's hanging around somewhere, I cant remember the last time I used them.

Sent from my LGL52VL using Tapatalk
 
I don't know much about shaving. I've only been doing it about seventy
years. I guess I have tried everything in that time. I always seem to go
back to "the only way to get a decent shave."
 

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Guess I've tried and used just about every method of shaving that's available, including electrics, mostly Norelco. Have worn a beard quite a few years, on and off. Shaving is a pain! The electrics gave me razor burn and never worked out for me, in spite of lots of trying. About four years ago, I decided to try a Braun. Took a bit of time to get the drill down correctly and figure out how to use and hold the razor best. At the time, I was motivated to try it because most of the hair on my head had left the scene so I was using my hair clippers to keep my head burred off as closely as I could. I wasn't brave enough to use a blade on my head but wanted to see if I could use the electric safely on my head.

To say that the Braun has worked out for me is an understatement! No, it does not shave quite as closely as a blade, but it is close enough. I experimented with using canned air to clean the Braun after each shaving and that has also worked out very well. Have not had razor burn at all. I bought a Series 5 model along with a replacement shaving head. Have not yet used the replacement to this point, which surprises me. I usually make two passes on my head and face and am very satisfied with the results. I figure what I paid for the Braun has long since been satisfied over the cost of blades for the same period of time compared to what blades, etc would have cost and the electric is still doing it's job well. To say I have been pleasantly surprised and pleased is an understatement. I've still had a beard periodically during that time, but it's been a while. I do retain chin whiskers and a mustache all the time.

Electrics are not for every one, but if you haven't tried a Braun, I recommend you try one. You might be pleasantly surprised as I have been. Shaving is still one of those chores that won't go away, but using the Braun takes less time and over time has been less expensive for me.
 
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CAJUNLAWYER said:
I use my wife's razor in the shower-its' got that slippery **** on the blade head that lubricates the old face and makes it slide real smooooooooth. After years of complaining when she used my razor, it's nice to hear HER bitching for a change.
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Yep, that's exactly what I do.

I have a short beard & I only need to shave my neck, so when I shower I grab my wife's razor for a few quick swipes on my neck....she's caught me a couple of times. I just tell her it's pay back for her using mine on her legs. :D

Don
 
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I’ve been using Mach III blades by Gillette( I think). They last a good long time ( couple of weeks) and don’t tear my face up unless I do something like get sloppy or too fast.
I’ve tried a couple of electrics but they have not lasted very long before batteries wouldn’t take a charge or just quit working altogether.
 
Use the plastic BICs.
Tried going back to the old steel double cutter,
They shave me too close and I get ingrown whisker bumps.
If it ain’t broke,
Don’t fix it!
 
Okay, I've been using the Norelco triple header for 12 years, but now you guys have got me looking at the Braun shavers.
 
when I got my Remington shaver over to West Germany there was a problem. most if not all of Europe 220 volt 50 cycle so in order to use it I had to go to the BX and get a converter. it was a pita so I switched to a blade but it didn't take long to throw it away once I got back stateside
 
DWalt said:
My father always used a mug and brush, while I always used a pressurized can of shaving cream back when I was using a razor. I didn't know anyone still used the mug and brush, as I don't remember seeing those round bars of shaving soap for many years. I think my father's shaving mug soap was "Williams" brand. He also used after-shave lotion, whereas I never did. Good thing, as my wife has never used perfume and has always hated anything having a perfumed smell - perfume, cologne, after-shave lotion, even clothes dryer sheets. I have seen her leave events where there were too many other women wearing perfume.... I also remember my grandpa shaving with his straight razor. He was good at it.
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I still see Williams shaving bars in some stores. I remember trying it years ago but I don't recall being too impressed, although, like a lot of things, the prep makes a lot of difference. I sometimes shave in the shower, which usually works well as the stubble gets well soaked and soft.

Your dad was good at using a straight razor because if you didn't pay attention there could be dire quincequonces :eek: Remember styptic pencils? Those were for minor lapses of attention. "Modern" guys wouldn't survive using a straight razor because you can't stare at your phone and shave at the same time... and live to tell about it.

Agreed on the after-shave. Yuk! Old Spice, which I think my dad used and I think I did for a while, and Mennen Skin Bracer (?) seem to ring a bell. My gf has the same reaction to perfume as your wife. Makes her want to leave the room, too. Some stores absolutely reek of perfumey stuff. It's enough to gag a camel at 30 paces.

Leon, if you can't find your old safety razor, try secondhand/antique stores. They seem to be pretty common around here, usually around $12-15. If all else fails, there's always Amazon, where you can pick up a Merkur or Feather as well as blades. And they don't wear out - unlike those that use them. That was King Gillette's ploy back in the '20s. Sell the razor at minimal profit but make money on the blades.
 
CAJUNLAWYER said:
I use my wife's razor in the shower-its' got that slippery **** on the blade head that lubricates the old face and makes it slide real smooooooooth. After years of complaining when she used my razor, it's nice to hear HER bitching for a change.
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I think someone mentioned this before...

gregintenn said:
I once tried to shave with my wife's razor, and I'd have gotten better results with an angle grinder.:eek: Leg hairs must be rough on a razor blade.
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A little better than sixty-five years ago as I was watching my great uncle shave, I asked, "Uncle Tony, why do you use that barber kind of razor instead of one like Dad uses?

He responded, "Shaving with a straight razor is a useful skill for a man to have. When you are old enough, I'll teach you. Besides, someday, when you are married you will understand."

About 10 years later, Uncle Tony was good to his word and he set me up with a razor and taught me to use it. It was cool and awed my friends. But after a couple of years, I wound up in the Army and life in the barracks meant a return to safety razors.

Not many years after, I got married and was living off-post. One morning, running late, I picked up the dull, soggy, matted, leg hair clogged mess that was my razor, and my great uncle's words came back to me. "Yes, I was married and finally understood."

That evening the 4/8 Henckels he gave me when I turned 16 came out of the closet, the strop went into the bathroom. So except for hanging onto a good DE Gillette for those times I had to live in the billets, and these days for traveling on the airlines. I have been gratefully using my meager collection of razors for over half a century now and have passed on Uncle Tony's wisdom to my sons and nephews.
 
I remember my father's Gillette safety razor, I only remember him having one of them, the handle screwed off, and it was brass,no nickel plating. I am reasonably certain that if anyone wants an old Gillette safety razor, eBay is probably full of them.

I once had (but never used) a "Rolls Razor," sort of a form of hybrid safety razor/straight razor but you sharpened the blade on a built-in sharpening stone. An interesting design. I believe they were somewhat popular with soldiers during WWI.
 
Most of my life I used a Gillette double-bladed razor, I think the Mach 3 was the final kind.

But since I dislike the mess of a mug and don’t care for the synthetic feel of canned stuff, I used a brush and European-style shaving cream from a tube, which you squeeze on the brush like toothpaste and which then lathers nicely on the face.

No idea why that never seems to have caught on here, it’s sold in Europe by American-owned corporations. But I couldn’t find it here anywhere, nobody even knew what I was asking for, and I had to get resupplied by my folks in the old country.

Several years ago health issues involving the arms and shoulders made lengthy precision work at face altitude difficult for some time, so I switched to a Philips-Norelco electric shaver and then just got lazy and never went back. I guess “adequate” became my new standard ;)
 

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Absalom said:
...I used a brush and European-style shaving cream from a tube, which you squeeze on the brush like toothpaste and which then lathers nicely on the face.

No idea why that never seems to have caught on here, it’s sold in Europe by American-owned corporations. But I couldn’t find it here anywhere, nobody even knew what I was asking for, and I had to get resupplied by my folks in the old country....
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I wondered how Palmolive shaving cream (which I'd never heard of) had a German label. It's similar to the Proraso Italian cream that I use, which you can get on Amazon.

Your German relatives could also probably send you the "medical" version of Ballistöl, which would likely be good for razor burn :)
 
Lots of several types of Palmolive shaving creams in tubes to be found on eBay. But it seems sort of pricey. I remember when it was available in the USA. Wasn't that what Burma-Shave was?

Way back when, I have used just plain old bar hand soap as a shaving cream when nothing else was available. Just lather up and spread on your face.
 
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I have a Wahl that works okay and if it survived last year's fire (I don't remember) I recollect my Panasonic Norelco (could be a different brand but I don't think so) worked great. My personal preference is to blade shave close once a week - I dislike shaving so I don't bother when I don't have to - and if it's cool to have a three day growth then color me cool.

The old Atra is my personal preference. I have two that survived the fire but are presently in storage and I have a supply of blades that might last at least ten years, especially since I don't shave every day. I can't wait for them to show up again!!!
 
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