The Big, Merged, Master Shaving Thread

[Bandito]

Ach, ja! Die Merz Apotheke. And I believe there may still be one or two German deli's nearby where I could pick up some goodies at the same time. (Not to mention trying a Dunkles vom Fass at a nearby restaurant.)

As for "Macy's," that will someday pass. We will rid Chicago of Daley (tar and feather, and ride him out of town on a rail with a cattle prod up his...), rip down the UFO that landed on top of Soldiers' Field, restore Meigs Field, kick those carpet-bagger Macy scum out and restore Marshall Field's to all its former glory (including ESPECIALLY the gunsmith department), and resurrect Berghof's.

But I digress.

[Bob K]

Digress!! Digress!!

[First Shirt]

Maybe I can find an old Gilette adjustable at an "antique" store--one of the type that have booths set up where people sell collectibles.

When I was born, my grandfather, in his haste to get ready to head to the hospital, dropped his Gillette DE razor, and warped the head, so before he and Grandma went to the hospital, he stopped at the drug store, and bought a new razor, then headed over to his brother's house to shave.

After he passed, Grandma gave me the razor, after telling me the story behind it. So my razor is as old as I am, and it's probably in better shape!

[Bandito]

Ok, I checked out some Merkur's at the Merz Apothecary in Chicago. The adjustable models just didn't grab me, and are pretty pricey.

Meanwhile, there seem to be a lot of old vintage Gillettes available on Ebay, and I'd have a razor just like Dad's.

For those of you who have tried both, is the modern Merkur functionally superior to a Gillette Fat Boy, and enough to justify the higher cost? (From the standpoint of style, the Gillette wins hands down.)

Oh, and the Merz Apothecary was a great place to visit with a fine history--can't believe I hadn't walked in before when I used to live in Chicago. They also carry a good assortment of shaving brushes, etc. Around the neighborhood, the old German deli's that used to be nearby are gone, but there are still a couple of restaurants. And for architecture fans, down the street is the building of the Krause Music Store, designed by Louis Sullivan.

EDIT:

PS: Heilige Scheisse! The Merz Apotheke has been owned by a Pakistani family since the early 70's. And it's a great "only in America" story about immigrants living their dreams and making good. Part of me (the traditional side) wishes that this establishment was still being run by the Merz family, but Abdul Qaiyum and his family seem to have kept the Merz tradition alive and built on it.

[Weetabix]

Arctictom suggested a shaving thread in this thread. So here it is.

Here's my story:

In college, one of my roommates shaved in the shower. I started that then because I cut myself less that way. Must be the additional lubrication of very moist skin or something.

At some point, I read some story that had Albert Einstein as a character. The character scoffed at someone's needing different kinds of soap for shaving vs. washing. I tried shaving with bar soap, and it worked just fine. Not being inclined to multiply complexity, I gave up shaving cream.

About a year ago, my Gillette Sensor (twin blade) handle broke up at the part that holds the cartridge. I went shopping, and the fewest blades I could find was a Mach 3. The proliferation of blades in cartridges has annoyed me for years. It strikes me as a marketing ploy to get us to buy more crap.

23 blades for a closer shave! Just walk by it once, and your face will be smooth as a baby's butt!
(Warning: People whose names start with "Y" should not expose their junk to this razor.)

I used the Mac 3 for about a month and got tired of it. So, I went looking for information on safety razors. Straight razors didn't interest me because I don't want to risk bleeding out before anyone else in the house gets up. Also, the additional maintenance with a straight razor didn't seem like something I'd do well with early in the morning.

I found an article on how to shave like your grandpa on the Art of Manliness. I looked at the various links to razors in the article as well as the Badger and Blade forum linked in the article. Safety razor shaving began to look like a gear lover's dream: lots of expensive razors, a wide variety of blades with many different assets, brushes, cups, soaps, oh my!

Then, consulting my native parsimony, I began to speculate on where one might find a good deal on a razor. "Hmm... I need something for personal hygiene that might cut me... flea markets!" Over the course of several weeks, I found about 7 or 8, with the most expensive being $6. They needed (in my view at least) extensive cleaning and disinfecting, but that wasn't really all that hard. I have guns that are harder to clean.

I wanted to try several because I knew that they'd be a bit less comfortable on the skin than cartridge shavers. The fora I visited had mentioned that as well. But I knew I wasn't going to buy four different razors at $40 a pop to find the best one for me.

I have mostly (maybe only) Gillette safety razors: Red tip, green tip, brass (?) comb, stainless plain, and others. This one is my daily shaver. It works best for me when set on 7. One of the cheaper looking ones has a plastic handle that screws off to let you take the two top pieces apart to put the blade in. It's the next most comfortable, but I couldn't find a picture of it.

Side benefit is that shaving used to cost me about $5/month in cartridges and now costs about 80 cents in blades. I just use the Wilkinson blades from Wally World.

I got a brush, cup, and shaving soap from Wally World as well. It actually does work a bit better than the bar soap. Depending on how big a hurry I'm in, I'll still frequently go back to the bar soap.

What do you guys use?

[rightisright]

I also shave my head...well, the half that grows hair. Gillette Fusion 5 blade in the shower w. a fog-free mirror. I usually shave every other day unless I have a date/meeting w. client.

Woot recently had a special on these: http://www.shave.com/azor/ Stay away. They aren't much better than a 1 blade Bic disposable.

[Lokidude]

As I mentioned in the other thread, I roll a vintage Gillette that looks remarkably like your silver plain. It belonged to my grandfather, which makes it extra special to me.

I started out shaving with electrics. It's the way Dad shaves. Supposedly it's faster. I dunno, I don't like it, didn't then, but I didn't know any better. One day, I found myself 250 miles from my razor and needing a shave. Picked up a Mach 3 and a can of Barbasol and never looked back. Gave up the Mach 3 when I inherited the old safety razor, which gives a far superior shave. My cup came from a secondhand store, my soap is the green box Van Der Hagen from Wally World or Walgreens (fresh box in the medicine chest, only way I knew). I upgraded from a crappy cheap Walgreens brush to a midgrade one on the recommendation of an aesthetician friend, and it was a huge improvement. And shaving is now a joy, instead of a chore.

[DavidB]

+many on the price of multi-blades and switching (back) to a safety razor
I, too, have shaved in the shower about since I started shaving.
A few months back, I went to a local barber shop supplier and handled a
few different razors. The Merkel was the one that worked for me. Tried a
bunch of different blades, they even threw some in, and am sticking with
Wilkinson Sword (from Amazon).
A few weeks ago, I got a brush and soap from Amazon, and it's great.
Very affordable and does make a difference.
Now I'm longer annoyed with the reeedickulus prices of cartridge blades,
and I only got as high as two.

[Greg]

Er, shaving threads have become the new bear threads. Please just say no.

[Darrell]

I wear a beard, which I have cut off twice in my adult life, and grew right back each time. I do get the beard trimmed when I get a haircut (I think I've written about the older Korean lady who's cut my hair for many years). I do shave my neck, of course, and here's what I've found over the years:

Bic disposable shavers suck.

Gillette sends me a free razor and some blades every few years. The trick, of course, is to get me to buy their expensive refills. I used their Mach 3 three blade razor for a long time, then tried their five blade whatchamacallit. I found that the five blade razor did indeed give a better neck shave than the three blade, which gave a better shave than the Bic disposable. I tend to get a lot of shaves from a razor, doing only my neck... When I did go to buy a pack of the five blade refills, Holy Crap, expensive! Also, I was taken aback by the amount of security at Wally World used to prevent razor refill theft! I think I bought one refill of the fives, then I reverted to the threes. I tried the Bics again a while back, and immediately went back to the Gillette Mach 3 refills.

I did try wearing a Van Dyke type beard for a while some years ago, but decided it just wasn't for me. While wearing the Van Dyke, I shaved with a Norelco electric, which was a new experience for me. It worked, but meh... it did toughen up my facial and neck skin some, though.