From the northern reaches of Mongolia, to the outer edges of Japan to the southern boundaries of Indonesia, there’s literally millions of Asian males walking around who’ve never had to shave a day in their lives.

Now as a shaving manufacturer this presents a legitimate marketing dilemma. Here you have the largest concentrated group of people on the planet yet they seemingly would have no interest or use for your products.

Having experienced what’s available here in Taiwan shaving wise firsthand, I can with confidence say that this has resulted in the deserting of the Asian market by most shaving gear suppliers.

…but not Phillips.

Following public panic and the launch of a city wide search by zoo officials, local police and animal activists armed with tranquiliser guns, Phillips learnt first hand why you don’t try to market the idea of  shaving to Asians.

Rather then just concentrate on their most dominant markets, someone at Phillips decided that a viral advertising campaign was needed to attempt to boost sales in the Asian region, specifically Singapore.

Now I don’t know if you’re familiar with Asians (both men and women) but unless you’re talking about Asian vaginas, 99.9% of the time there’s nary a hair to be found on their bodies.

Thus when a PR company uploaded the following video to Stomp (a Youtube clone), chaos ensued;


I mean really do you blame the Singaporeans? If you’ve never had to shave in your life and don’t even know what a freaking razor is how the hell are you supposed to make the connection between bear and unshaven man?!

All you’re going to see is a big giant freaking bea-OMG QUICK RUN!

In light of the failed marketing attempt (or succesful if you think about it), the Singapore government is now looking at charging Phillips with being a ‘public nuisance‘.

Such a fine attracts a maximum penalty of 1000 Singapore dollars, or roughly $774 AUD.

Lesson learnt Phillips, don’t try to market you’re products to people who clearly don’t need or understand them. Shaving to Asians is about as useful as penis size reduction pills to westerners.

Effectively I was left with about 2kg of carrying capacity for everything else. My clothes, toiletries, books, documentation, shoes… etc. Mind you I wasn’t just going for a week holiday either, I was going for the long term so some serious decisions had to be made about what I could and couldn’t bring with me.

One of the things I had to leave behind was my cherished home-made $20 shaving scuttle. After a few months of shaving in Taiwan I began to sorely miss the luxury of waking up to a warm lather shave. Investigating my options available to me within Taiwan proved fruitless and over the past six months or so I’ve been floundering around about it not really having much luck with overseas suppliers.

That is until out of the blue one day I was contacted by Helena from HG Pottery.

Helena wrote to me asking if I’d be interested in one of her handmade double bowled shaving scuttles. On the verge of just getting my old scuttle sent to me I jumped at the offer of a scuttle being sent my way and eagerly waited for it to arrive in the mail.

Being hand made by HG Pottery, colour availability is up to you and although I was fine with receiving a two tone brown and white sample – Helena especially whipped up a black one for me which was much appreciated.

About a week later the package arrived and the next day I had my first warm lather shave in almost a year.

Just as good as I’d remembered it back home.

The design of the scuttle is slightly different than my basic metal bowl model and you can tell Helena’s put a fair bit of thought into the usability of the scuttle she’s developed.

The HG shaving scuttle feels solidly built and comes in at just under a kg weightwise (well at least according my bathroom scales!). The bowl diameter is roughly 2.5-3 inches.

Inside the scuttle bowl you have these wonderful swirly grooves which add to the effectiveness of the lather production. At first I was a bit concerned they might cause undue wear on my shaving brush but after a few uses stopped worrying. The grooves are shallow enough to make a difference when mixing your lather but not deep enough to cause any noticeable stress when rotating the brush inside.

The spout for filling water inside the inner bowl is generously large and quite easy to top up and empty out. No matter what your pouring your boiling water out of there shouldn't be any hassles with water going anywhere, even if your just filling up with hot water out of the tap.

Finally HG's scuttle has a big chunky handle for you to hold the scuttle with. Using the handle to hold the scuttle feels quite sturdy and solid even when the scuttle is full.

Heat retention is also excellent. On the days I don't have time to boil some water, hot water from the tap does the job and I've got warm lather till the end of my typically 15 minute long shave.

Operating out of Melbourne Australia, HG Pottery has been in business for 9 years now and appear to be the only company producing locally made handcrafted shaving scuttles.

On the verge of paying stupid money and importing one from the US or UK I am quite grateful that Helena contacted me when she did. The HG scuttle is a solid product that I’m quite happy to recommend to other shavers.

The double walled scuttles are very reasonably priced at $45 AUD + postage (to Taiwan, this worked out to be under $20 AUD). Compared to what you pay for handcrafted scuttles overseas, $40 is quite good value for money and an easy choice.

There’s also a HG ‘brush’ scuttle available which is a single bowl scuttle that floats in a sink of hot water. Personally I prefer an out of sink double walled scuttle but for those wanting it, the brush scuttle is about half the weight and price of the double walled scuttle.

The scuttles can be ordered directly via email by contacting Helena at hgpottery@yahoo.com.au or via HG Pottery’s website.

I hope that along with my razor and brush, my new HG shaving scuttle sees me through many years of smooth shaving!

I’d like to thank HG Pottery for providing the Australian and international shaving market with a solid, well priced scuttle and wish them best of luck with their business, cheers guys.


Update June 2011 – Helena from HG Pottery sends word that she’s just finished developing a new scuttle she’s calling the ‘HG Quantum Scuttle’.

It’s inner bowl is not as deep and is wider. Along with it is a small cup that can hold the brush, can have soap inside it and when turned upside down inside the inner bowl, can help keep the soap from drying out…

HG “Quantum” Scuttle $55 plus $13 postage(within Aust.)


I still use my original HG scuttle to shave with three or four times a week since I got it and it suits the job perfectly. I imagine the Quantum will be just as good, if not better!

by scottfieldstein


The purpose of shaving lather is to lubricate between a shaving blade and your skin. What I’ve found is, regardless of whether you’re using a shaving cream or soap, there’s a definite sweet spot you want to hit when mixing up your lather.

This spot obviously varies between soap/cream manufacturer but once you get it right for your particular brand you’ll know because, assuming your blade and razor choice is right, you’ll have the heavenliest shave experience of your life.

Let’s have a look at the factors that make up the ‘ingredients’ in creating a perfect wet shave lather:

How much shaving soap or cream to use

You shaving soap users have it rather lucky in this department as you don’t have to measure out your soap before mixing it with a brush. If you are using shaving soap and you find yourself falling on either side of the perfect lather scale, simply take your brush and swirl it around on the soap for some more lather goodness.

For shaving cream users like myself we need to be a little more precise. One morning a few weeks ago I was on more early morning auto-pilot then usual and came dangerously close to ruining a tub of shaving cream by swirling my wet shaving brush directly into the cream tub itself.

I only stopped myself literally with the brush centimeters away from the tub before I realised what I was doing!

When measuring out shaving cream, the idea is that after experimentation you want to be able to easily re-measure the correct amount without any fuss. For this reason I don’t recommend using the brush itself to ‘scoop’ out some shaving cream into a bowl.

A commonly recommended starting point is an ‘almond’ sized scoop of shaving cream. I found this was slightly too much cream but served well as a reference point. To measure I initially started off by just using one of my kitchen teaspoons but later switched over to a small plastic spoon from a jelly cup.

I’ve found the sweet spot for my current shaving cream, Taylor of Old Bond Street in the Sandalwood, that roughly half a spoonful is perfect for a great lather.

Of course depending on what cream you’re using and the size of the spoon you measure with your own amount to use will vary. What’s important here though is that once found, the right amount is easily reproducible. When I wake up half asleep and head into the bathroom I don’t even need to engage my brain, I know exactly how much cream to use and how to accurately measure it.

That’s basically what you should aim for when you’ve found the ‘right’ amount to use.

How much water to hold in the shaving brush?

The second largest ‘ingredient’ in making up a great shaving lather is the water held in the brush. Again, there’s kabillions of shaving brushes out there which will all hold varying degrees of water so I can’t emphasise enough the need to experiment.

Whilst experimenting with how much water to leave in the brush before mixing it’s a good idea to keep the amount of cream you’re using consistent. This way you’ve only got one variable in the mix.

The amount of water you leave in the brush directly affects your shaving lather in two directions.

Too much water means you’ll wind up with slimy lather that just runs off your face and drips everywhere.

Too little water and you’ll find that after applying the lather to your face, in 20 seconds or so you’ll stare in disbelief as it rapidly breaks down leaving nothing but a thin soapy residue behind.

Unlike measuring out shaving cream, the method for judging water in a brush is far less accurate. Personally I’ve found the best method (and arguably only method) is to ‘flick’ the brush back into the sink after you’ve filled it with water.

When I say flick don’t touch the bristles with your fingers but rather flick the brush whilst holding it by the handle bristles down towards the sink water and then up again. This way excess water freely is discarded.

I’ve found after saturating the bristles with water, two sharp flicks is all I need to leave the brush with the right amount of water to mix with the cream.

Mind you I use the Men-u Premier Synthetic shaving brush which has a reputation for holding a ridiculous amount of water. If you’re brush doesn’t hold lots of water (boar brushes or some of the lower end badgers) you mightn’t need to flick the brush at all, or at the very least only once gently.

How to tell you’ve hit that shaving lather sweet spot?

Apart from having a great shave there are some pre-shave checks you can do to see if your in the ballpark for great shaving lather or if you’re miles off.

Note that no matter how little or much shaving cream/soap you use it is still possible to create great lather. All that changes is the amount of water required. For this reason and I stress again that when experimenting with the brush water it’s important to keep the amount of cream used each time consistent.

If you do find yourself running out of lather before the shave is over, increase the amount of cream used slightly until you don’t run out and then continue with trying different amounts of brush water.


The finger test

One of the easiest things you can do to feel the differences in lather consistency before you shave is to simply pick some up between your forefinger and thumb and rub it gently. When rubbing the lather gently between your fingers,  you should find your fingers easily gliding from side to side.

If your fingers have friction you’re not using enough water in the mix.

If the lather feels too slimy and/or is dripping everywhere creating a mess, you’ve used too much water.

What you want is the smoothness of say a *ahem* personal lubricant but in a much lighter texture. Otherwise we’d all just run around pouring tubes of KY jelly all over our faces before a shave.


Bubbles

A good lather has little to no air bubbles in it and should have a texture leaning towards the thick side.

Even the thickest of lathers is still going to have tiny tiny little air bubbles in it but what you want to avoid are the larger easy to see air bubbles. Air doesn’t lubricate and if your lather is full of air pockets, when the razor glides over your skin these air pockets burst leaving nothing between the blade and your skin.

This then of course leads to irritation and red skin.

Note that when initially mixing your lather it is common to see bubbles and this doesn’t mean you’ve got the mixture wrong just yet. What I find is that these bubbles eventually dissapear after 30 seconds or so of twirling leaving a thick but soft lather.


Lather breaking down

I had this happen to me a few times while I was experimenting and whilst slimy drippy lather is a sign of too much water, a lather that breaks down and disintegrates into nothing is a sign of too little water.

The usual way you realise this is after applying lather to your face with your brush, about halfway through doing a pass on your face you notice the lather has practically disappeared from areas you haven’t shaved yet.

The other way is halfway through a shave you realise the lather in your bowl has mysteriously vanished.

If this happens the lather isn’t really salvageable and you’ll have to start again, or take the risk and finish up with what lather is left if you’re almost done shaving. Adding water to broken down lather doesn’t really do much except create more dilute broken down lather.

Note that another cause of lather breaking down can be the use of water that is too hot in a shaving scuttle. This is easy to diagnose as the lather will be fine on your face but broken down in your scuttle.


It’s a great feeling once you’ve got your lather mixture right and really adds to the wet shaving experience.

Whilst there’s fair bit of information to absorb, what you’ll find is after a few preps where you’re actually paying attention to the consistency of the lather itself you’ll soon learn what it is you’re looking for and what you’re trying to avoid.

Once you’ve hit that sweet spot (you’ll know) of lather mixing with your particular soap/cream it becomes even easier as you then know exactly what it is you’re aiming for.

As always, happy shaving!

I cycle to work and I’m lucky to have shower facilities there so it didn’t make much sense to shower at home and then again at work. Two showers wastes a lot of time and isn’t really practical first thing in the morning.

The other option was to shave at work after a shower but this also wasn’t really practical as it meant storing my wet shaving gear at work – not to mention the weird looks you get from guys who burst in to use the toilet and find you’ve taken over the sink area.

Instead I looked to a showerless prep and tried a few different things. After some trial and error I’ve settled on a damp towel prep which, while not as thorough as a shower prep, is a quick efficient compromise for when it’s just not practical to have a shower before you shave.

Why should I have a pre-shave preparation?

Coming from my Mach 3 cartridge shaving days, my pre-shave preperation was usually pushing down on the foam can, smothering this all over the shaving area and then attacking my face with the blade.

Although blindingly quick, it left me rough and irritated and didn’t really do much to ‘prepare’ my face for a shave.

A proper pre-shave preparation conditions your face for the shave to come and is arguably just as important as what razor and blade you use for the shave itself. A pre-shave preparation isn’t something that takes a lot of time and is key to leaving your face feeling fresh at the end of the shave.

After shave might emulate this freshness briefly, but if your skin isn’t happy it’s going to let you know about it all day.

Rashes, an irritated chin line, ingrown hairs and other common shaving problems are usually a symptom of poor technique, a bad blade/razor combo or an inadequate pre-shave preparation. Out of the contributing factors a pre-shave prep is the easiest to rule out as the cause of your shaving problems and by doing so you can then focus on the other components of your shave.

Here’s what I do every morning before I take the blade to my stubble.

The wet towel

The main purpose of the pre-shave shower is to soften the bristles and open up the skin before you begin shaving. Without a shower you need to be a little more creative and the wet towel technique harks back to the barber shop days.

We’ve all seen the old movies with your typical guy sitting on a reclining barber chair with a wet towel across his face while the barber strops his cutthroat. There’s a reason this image is stereotypical, it works!

The towel I use on my face is just a random hand towel. Make sure the towel you choose is large enough to cover your neck area from ear to ear as well as your cheeks and the bottom of your jaw to the start of your nose in your moustache area.

If the only towels you have are on the large side, you can always fold the towel in half lengthwise. I do this with my hand towel and it still has more then enough surface area to cover the shaving area on my face.

To heat up the towel I simply run it under the tap (hot/warm water) for a few seconds, making sure water gets into the towel all over. Then I wring it gently so that it’s not dripping and place it on a dinner plate before popping it into the microwave.

‘Cooking’ time for the towel is HIGH on 1 minute 30 seconds, during this time I complete the rest of my shaving prep.

Alternative to microwave: If you don’t have a microwave an alternative is to let the towel soak in some boiling (or hot if boiling isn’t available) water and then wring it out. This is what I initially started doing but found the microwave method much faster.

Also the problem of wringing out a boiling hot towel meant I had to put on some dishwashing gloves and this was just extra nuisance.

Preparing your shaving tools

While the towel is in the microwave (or soaking in hot/boiling water) I go back to the bathroom and start to prepare my shaving tools.

First I fill my sink with some hot water and then place my razor and shaving brush in it to soak. Make sure your razor’s head rests sideways in the sink so that the blade won’t get damaged. Also keep the brush and razor somewhat apart as the last thing you want is your brush to get damaged by the razor.

I then fill up my shaving scuttle with hot water, take out the brush and start whipping up shaving cream.

Once this is done I then apply a liberal coat of cream to my face. This initial coat doesn’t have to be thick and you don’t need to stimulate the bristles too much. It shouldn’t take you more then thirty seconds.

Now you’re ready to apply a hot towel to your face.

Applying the hot towel to your face

The microwave usually dings while I’m applying the pre-shave lather to my face. When I’m done lathering I head back to the kitchen and put the microwave on for a further thirty seconds before taking the towel out.

You can reduce the heating time or skip the reheat altogether if you find the towel too hot to go straight onto your face.

When holding the towel on my face I use both hands with my thumbs holding it to my neck and my other fingers around my ears ‘stretching’ the towel over my cheeks. This stretching pushes the towel into the moustache area so there’s no need to press here at all.

If for some reason you’re using a really large towel and have folded it a few times, just be careful as you need to be able to breathe through the towel while you hold it on your face. If the towel you are using is thick and folded it can be uncomfortable to breathe through.

I hold the towel to my face usually until it feels slightly cool. I haven’t timed it but I imagine this is a few minutes, although sometimes it can feel quite short. Still, that’s the point right?

Once the towel has started to cool give your face a gentle wipedown as you remove it. There shouldn’t be any residual lather on your shaving area and your face should feel soft and ready for a shave.

I hang my towel on a peg and it dries by the next morning. If you’re pedantic (or have acne problems) I guess you could use a new towel each day but I’m lazy and just use the one towel throughout the week and put it through the machine on the weekend.


Although it sounds like a lot to do, this entire preparation process shouldn’t take you more then 3-4 minutes. My actual shave takes about 10-12 minutes so all up I spend about 15 minutes every morning on my shave.

A good prep is part of the wet shaving experience and apart from being good for your skin is a nice gentle way to start the day. If you’re already taking the time to shave properly and enjoy it, there’s not much of an excuse to spend those few extra minutes prepping your face for that smooth comfortable shave.

Having used the one that came with my Merkur HD razor months ago for my first double-edged razor shave, I remember overall getting a decent shave but badly cutting up my lower right neck (my trouble area).

Going back to the blades in my sample pack re-affirmed to me why people say it’s important to try a blade again after a few months.

1. Sharpness

I remember when I first used the Merkur blade my HD razor came with it and observing that while the blade cut ok enough it was a very rough cut. At the time I’m going to put that down to me having no technique, let’s face it, it was my first shave with the razor.

A few months later and I found the blade sliced the stubble much more cleanly. It did however tug in a few areas briefly but didn’t cause any irritation or nicks as it eventually went over.

The sharpness is obviously there as I got a decent weeks shave out of the blades but they didn’t feel as smooth as say a Derby or a Personna red. For beginners I think this blade dullness might cause a shaver to press down a bit and that’s probably what cut me up the first time.

2. Durability

Unlike some of the sharper blades the Merkur Super Platinum maintained a consistent shave over the course of six shaves. I did however have to go over some areas one or two times more to get a completely smooth shave by the fifth and sixth shave.

Compared to the drastic drop in blade sharpness I experienced with the Feather and Astra blades after just one shave though it was nothing.

3. Irritation

None to speak of. Even with the increased passes in the fifth and sixth shave (standard 4 became 5 or 6) my skin was left irritation free.

I think this is probably due to the blade consistency over the shave period.


While the Merkur Super Platinum blades deliver a consistent shave, the occasional tugginess place them below the Derby or Personna Red blades for me.

The blades are made in Germany and are platinum coated stainless steel. They come in a sealed package that contains the razor box rather then just a sealed box like all the other razors I’ve tried.

The reason for this is that the plastic box is open to begin with and has two slots, one for disposing blades and one for dispersing. Don’t do what I did and not notice this.

I pried off one of the ends in confusion and now I’m left with a container that leaks blades everywhere at the slightest tilt.

Coming in at around $1 a blade (Derby blades go for under 30c each) they are also ridiculously expensive and I have no idea why.

For that cost alone I’d be expecting big things from the blade but sadly the Merkur Super Platinums just don’t deliver.

After just over two months and the ability to get consistent clean shaves 5 days running with a Derby Extra blade, I figured it was finally time to try out the Feathers.

As a novice double edged shaver, Feather blades’ reputation of being the sharpest automatically meant in my mind that I’d get the cleanest, closest shave yet.

Boy was I wrong.

1. Sharpness

Using the Feather blades made me question my perception of sharpness. I’m not sure if they were just so sharp they dragged across my hair or if they were just simply not suited for the Merkur HD.

My first shave with a Feather (I stomached three shaves in total before giving up), was scratchy and draggy right from the start. There was no slicing through the whiskers or gliding over my skin, there was only irritation and bloodshed.

I got five wonderfully clean shaves from a Derby blade this last week (just to remind myself what a good shave felt like) but couldn’t get one out of a Feather Hi-Stainless. Make of that what you will.

2. Durability

Seeing as I couldn’t get a decent shave out of these blades I have no idea how long they last. The three shaves I managed to force myself through were all consistently terrible but didn’t seem to get any worse, although I don’t think that was possible.

Classic Shaving states that “typically a single blade can deliver 8-12 close, comfortable shaves”.

I know Feather blades work for some people so if they do, a week/week and a half of shaving is probably what you’re looking at durability wise.

3. Irritation

Where do I start?

My tougher areas, the right side neck and upper lip were destroyed by this blade. By the third shave I was so paranoid about my pressure the blade was barely touching my skin but still managed to whip up a bloody, weeping storm of carnage.

Nothing I could seemed to have any impact on the blade, it just wouldn’t cut my stubble cleanly. Even with the grain was horribly scratchy and left me with ‘hamburger patty’ skin.

Not any time soon but in the future I’ll try another one of these blades but if I can’t get past the first stroke without irritating my skin then the box is going straight into the bin.

One morning after shaving I tried to describe it to a female friend as she wasn’t getting the problem:

‘You know what bukkake is right?’

‘uh..yeah?’

‘Well imagine zombie bukkake, that’s what brushing your face with cold shaving lather feels like!’

‘…’

‘…why are we friends again?’

Later that morning I decided enough was enough and hit the internet in search of answers. The answer to my problem was found in the shaving scuttle.

The basic idea behind a shaving scuttle is that it’s a double walled bowl or mug. You pour hot water into the wall and it in turn heats up the inner bowl which then keeps your lather warm. Sounds simple enough but sourcing one in Australia proved to be a nightmare.

I spent a good two weeks trying to track one down here and made various enquiries from US suppliers. Not being able to find any locally the best I seemed to be able to find was a hand crafted one for $70AUD or so shipped.

I was about to give up and bite the bullet but then I ran across some information that Target were selling some metallic bowls that with a little bit of modifying made a decent enough scuttle. Eager to get my hands dirty and knock up a scuttle myself, last Thursday I saddled up the Long Haul Trucker and rode down to Target.

To make your own cheap shaving scuttle here’s what you’ll need:

• A drillable double walled bowl (Target $13)
• 17″/64 or 6.75mm drill bit (Bunnings $7)
• Drill (I used my elcheapo Kmart single speed drill)
• something to hold the bowl against while you drill
• fine sand paper (optional but recommended)

1. Gathering the materials

The Target stainless steel bowl was found in their kitchen section and came in various sizes. I got the smallest one as the next size up was quite large. I’m a bowl latherer so I need a bit of room but the honestly the large bowl was like a mixing bowl.

I’ve included the barcode of the product on the right there to make it easier for you to find. Keep in mind any double walled bowl will do so long as it’s drillable and of a suitable size. For obvious reasons ceramic bowls are out (unless you’ve got some fantastic way to drill them without the bowl shattering).

Next up was the drill bit. I’ve got various drill bits at home but as far as I know they’re all still good to use. Not wanting to particularly destroy them I figured I’d make a pitstop at Bunnings on my way home and get the cheapest drillbit I could find suitable for drilling metal.

They had quite a few different options but the cheapest I could see was the brand ‘Viper Bit’. I guestimated the size of the hole needed and settled on 6.75mm. You can go smaller but keep in mind too small and you might have trouble filling the bowl later.

The drill I used was my trusty $20 Kmart ‘Maximate’ 12V single speed. If I could do this with a yumcha drill then any drill should do. Sandpaper I just had lying around in one of my tool boxes.

2. Drilling the holes

I’ve never drilled metal before so I was a bit weary of the drill bit slipping around. I don’t have a workbench with clamps or anything so I had to make do jamming the bowl against a wall corner.

With my crappy single speed it took roughly 20 seconds to penetrate the outer top rim of the bowl. I pressed down rather hard to begin with so the drill bit guided itself and didn’t slip.

Make sure you ease off as the bit goes through so you don’t have the drill go crazy against the inside of the outer bowl when you puncture through.

You’ll be drilling two holes on opposite sides, I can’t remember the physics behind it but remember how you used to have to puncture two or three holes in the old pineapple juice tins or they wouldn’t pour properly? Same deal here, if there’s only one hole the scuttle will take ages to drain and fill up.

3. Finishing it off

Next is just a quick rub with some sandpaper to smooth the holes. Mine weren’t particularly sharp or uneven but I did it anyway. I was also pleased to see the drilling didn’t cause the bowl rim to become uneven or warp at all.

After you’re done sanding make sure you empty out the metal shavings from inside the bowl (inside the double wall too) as you don’t want to be rubbing metal filings on your face the next time you shave.

I found the easiest way to clear the inside was just to fill the scuttle with some water, put my thumbs on the holes, give it a shake and then empty out. Give it a few taps to dislodge any shavings that might be stuck too.

4. All done!

No more zombie bukkake for you every morning!

One of the great things about this scuttle is because it’s stainless steel it heats up really fast. With the ceramic scuttles the advice is usually fill with hot water and go have a shower or something for 5-10 minutes until it’s warm.

With a metallic scuttle it’s nice to be able to just fill it, start mixing a lather and then shave straight away.

Being stainless also means it’s not going to rust anytime soon, so long as you empty it and let it air out between uses of course. For this reason I’d advise against packing it away into a drawer between uses, instead let it dry on your bathroom sink top.

Unlike the ceramic scuttles you are also able to use boiling water although I’d advise against it. I found boiling water made the lather start to break down or “melt” between passes, I assume because too much heat was transferred through the metal bowl. Hot water from the tap is fine.

Considering the outlay for this scuttle was only $20 I felt pretty happy when I was done considering the $70 shipped alternative from the US. Enjoy your new scuttle!

From what I can gather the red variety I got in my Mensbiz sampler pack are made in the US. The blades come wrapped in paper and on the back state they are distributed by ‘American Safety Razor Co. Verona, VA 24482′.

There is no mention of where they are made though and from what I can tell the Israeli Personna’s clearly have ‘made in Israel’ marked on them.

The Personna Platinum Red blades come in a cardboard box which is a different from the plastic containers all my other blades came in. Annoyingly this means there’s nowhere to put used blades. The blades themselves are made from stainless steel and are platinum coated.

1. Sharpness

The Personna red blades felt slightly sharper then the Derby in that the glide I felt was slightly better then a Derby blade. I’m still working my way up to the Feather blades which are supposedly the sharpest blade available but I’d put the Personna blades are definitely sharp enough out of the box.

Like the Derby blades the cut was sharp, smooth and gentle. There was no pulling or tugging at my skin.

2. Durability

I got three excellent shaves out of one Red Personna blade and on the fourth I could feel that the blade was starting to pull. The fifth shave was starting to venture into rough ‘cartridge shave’ territory so I didn’t go ahead with a sixth shave.

In contrast the Derby’s gave me six trouble free shaves and felt as sharp as the Red Personna to begin with.

3. Irritation

No issues were found on the first three shaves but come the third shave my neck started to get a bit of irritation. The ends of moustache area were also causing the blade to struggle a bit which meant time wasted going over the same areas till I was satisfied.

The fifth and final shave with the same blade was quite rough on my neck and the time spent touching up the shave was quite noticeable. On the morning of the fifth shave I was actually late for work I spent so long touching up!


The Personna reds are a nice blade and when the time comes to start using one blade regularly will definitely be a consideration on a ‘cost-per-blade’ basis. My aim is to get 3 shaves from a blade and for this purpose I found them acceptable. Anything more then that though and you’re pushing your luck.

Astra Superior Platinum blades are platinum coated and made in Russia. If the platinum coating is supposed to make them last I think Russian platinum might be broken.

1. Sharpness

The first shave with an Astra blade gave me no dramas. I did get a tiny bit of weeping around my neck but that’s to be expected as each new blade for a double edged razor requires a slightly different technique.

I had no issues with the blade catching on my skin nor did the blade drag around.

On the second shave it all went to hell though. It was like somebody took some sandpaper to the blade and dulled the crap out of it. It was dragging and pulling like nobodys business.

To be fair I’m trialling each new blade for 2 weeks of shaving (6 shaves), I don’t expect to get six perfect shaves out of every blade but honestly after one shave the Astra had just had it sharpness wise.

2. Durability

As mentioned above after my initial shave the next five shaves were hell. The second shave was rough and over the following four shaves it only got worse.

I was sorely tempted to cut this trial down to just one week but I kept at it. The blade was so dull by the fourth shave that I was doing six passes painfully slowly so as not to drag or scrape on the tougher hairs on my face.

I’d definitely say the Astras are a one shave only blade.

3. Irritation

Again after the first shave Irritation rose progressively through the fortnight. I found my skin, particularly the neck wasn’t as irritated as when I was using a Mach 3 and mostly settled by lunchtime. Still, the roughness was extremely noticeable when compared to using say the Derby blades the previous fortnight.

I’ve got four more Astra blades to use as part of my sample pack and when I’m done trialling the other blades will use them once per shave and then toss.

I don’t plan on ever going near an Astra blade again.

They are billed as having ‘chromium ceramic platinum tungsten and polymer coated edges’ (ie. triple coated) and are made in Turkey from stainless steel sourced from either Japan, England or Sweden.

1. Sharpness

I had absolutely no issues gliding these blades over my skin. After six shaves I wasn’t having any trouble on even the most stubborn of my facial stubble. In the two weeks I used the blade I only nicked myself once near my lip and that was due to starting to rush.

2. Durability

My standard shave week is 3 shaves on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Using the Derby Extra blade I managed two weeks of shaving (six shaves) without any noticeable drag towards the end.

Obviously the first shave was the most hassle free but the sharpness dropoff wasn’t as steep as I’ve experienced with some other brands. On the fifth and six shaves the blade still easily glided over my skin, even against the grain.

3. Irritation

Apart from nicking myself once or twice due to rushing in the morning I experience no irritation using the Derby Extra blades. My neck was smooth and free of the usual red bumps I was getting from my Mach 3.

If I payed attention and concentrated I wound up with a perfect shave everytime. Highly recommended all round blade.

From paranoia about bleeding to death, worrying about losing half my mornings to shaving and trying to get that pre-shave routine down pat at 6am in the morning, here’s what I’ve learnt.

Plan out your first shaves

For me this meant shaving in the evening before bed. This might seem like an odd time to shave but I’m glad I chose to do it for the first week I was using the Merkur HD. My first shave left me with more then a few superficial nicks on the right of my neck then I’d be comfortable rocking up to work with.

Planning the shaves in the evening for the first week also gives you ample time to get your preshave routine right. Getting the preshave right is important as a preshave routine has the ability to make or break a shave.

By the end of the first week I was much more confident going into the second week of trying to get a morning routing happening that was quick, efficient and luxuriously smooth.

Technique

One of the biggest advantages of a cartridge system is that anyone with any level of skill can get a reasonable shave with one. These days they are pretty much idiot proof and you can rub the razor whichever way you want all over your face.

Hell you could be shaving on a rollercoaster during an earthquake and still not cut yourself.

Using a double edged razor forces you to learn your face. Things like angle and wrist weight come into play and have important roles in ensuring the absolutely minimal (if any) of skin irritation occurs.

Once again the first week of night time shaving is very useful for learning exactly how your hair grows. Another thing you want to do is become familiar with the best technique to work with the hair growth patterns you have.

For example my stubble grows uniformly down on my cheeks so two passes with the grain followed by an against the grain on the third pass is all I need to get baby smooth skin there.

For my neck however I have bits of my jawline that grow towards my ears whilst the upper neck grows inwards towards my adams apple. Over the first week of shaving (and the second week of morning shaves too) I tried different routines and began to memorise the various areas of my face and how to best shave them.

This is obviously going to be unique to each person and is a brilliantly useful thing to know about your face. Knowing how it grows and how to best shave it means your prepared in the future for any kind of shave, cartridge or otherwise.

Regular modern shaving allows you to completely bypass getting to know your face and I think it’s a major loss for those that don’t bother.

Routine

At the end of the day you want to have a smooth rash free face in the least amount of time and still feel fresh and awake in the morning. Whilst you might want to indulge and spend 30 mins on the weekend shaving once in a while, let’s face it – nobody wants to be doing that every weekday.

Currently I’ve got my shave down to about 15 minutes total. That’s counting from the pouring of boiling water into the towel bowl to applying aftershave at the end of my shave. I have no doubt it will get slightly faster over time as I get better at shaving but for now 15 minutes is a perfectly adequate amount of time to be spending making sure my face looks great in the morning.

To put it into perspective some people spend more time then that styling their hair!

I’ll write a bit more in detail about my preshave routine next weekend but will highlight the fact that it’s the most important part of the shave. A good preshave means you save time during the actual shave. There’s less chance of nicks and burns as the face is fully prepared.

About 4-5 minutes of my 15 minutes is devoted to preshave time. This includes 2-3 minutes of wearing a hot towel on my face and the initial lather and brushing of the stubble.


For me the investment has already proven worth it, my skin (particularly around the neckline) is a lot happier and I’ve even noticed my skin is a lot clearer and uniform in colour.

Happy skin = happy me.

What I’ve learnt in the past fortnight or so about my facial hair and how to best shave it was worth the initial investment into the shaving equipment alone. The fact that I now actually look forward to shaving every morning as opposed to hating the routine is doing miracles for my morning life.

Whilst I’m not about to fully commit to becoming a morning person, having a nice clean double edged shave every weekday is definitely the best thing I’ve woken up to in years. As a non-coffee drinker this is probably the next best thing I’m going to have.

Well that and the cold blast I get over my face riding to work during winter but that’s whole other story for another time.

If they’d bothered to read the post they’d have seen the entire reason I recently moved to a double edged system was precisely because I was sick of the crap cartridge razor companies were pushing.

On top of following the same model that I’ve come to despise (the cheap handle + ridiculously priced cartridges), Rolling Razor also make a number of other mistakes which I believe will lead to the worst shave ever.

1. Don’t use prepubescent teens to advertise your razor.

If you browse to the Rolling Razor website the first thing you are greeted with is a shiny endorsement by the Jonas Brothers. Admittedly I don’t know what they do beyond ‘they are a band’ but I do know that they look like a bunch of 13 year olds.

When I think shaving I don’t think highschool teenager pimple balls who uses way to much Lynx. Jesus Christ if you’re going to get celebrity endorsements get someone who actually looks like they NEED to shave.

Now if a razor company can get someone like Jack Black to go clean shaven and advertise their products well hey, you might just get my attention.

2. Same shit, different shape.

One of the biggest gripes I have with razors available today is cartridge cost. It’s just freaking ridiculous.

Instead of being innovative (well it’s hard to compete with 20-30cent double edge blades that last a week of shaving) Rolling Razor just continue the model but add a gimicky circle holder thing.

The blades cost USD $7.95 ($10AUD with the current conversion rate of 79.5c) for a four pack, which unless you have girly hair usually winds up being a week to two weeks of shaving daily.

To put this into perspective for $10 I can buy 50 weeks worth of shaving blades for my Merkur HD.

3. Cringeworthy sales pitches

The following spiel is used to market one of the Rolling Razor models, the ‘Silver Streak’:

It is said, that Zeus himself stood atop Mt. Olympus and cast his lightning bolt towards Earth. Upon impact there was a massive explosion which revealed a glowing ring of light… that ring of light was Silver Streak! From that day forth shaving became a magical experience with unparalleled accuracy and lightening quick speed.


Oh right so the most powerful god in greek mythology sent down his lightening bolt just to reveal to us a plastic handle razor. Wouldn’t plastic melt in a massive explosion?

And where’s the religious outrage? Isn’t this like going ‘hey there, before Jesus died he slit his wrists and after a massive explosion wine party WE BOTTLED IT FOR YOU TO DRINK!!! YEAH!

Oh and for the ladies why don’t you try our sugar infused MARYLICIOUS! One day she forgot to pack her pads and had a massive explosion in her underpants, GOOD THING WE WERE THERE TO BOTTLE IT!

Then there’s the pitch for the ‘Desert Camoflauge’:

At the first sign of conflict, Ares, the God of War took both his legendary spear and shield and cast them towards Earth. Upon impact, they merged, and with attributes of protection from the shield, and precision from the spear, the Jungle and Desert Camouflage were created. Now the stealth warrior has the ability to covertly eliminate any unwanted stubble with precise and calculated moves.


So let me get this straight. Conflict arrives at heaven’s doorstep and THE GOD OF WAR HIMSELF throws his weapon and shield away down to Earth. What the hell happened next?

I’ll tell you what happens next, god of war receives the biggest beating of his life because the god of war IS A FREAKING MORON!

So I’m fighting in Iraq and some Al Qaeda guy jumps out of the bushes and then what? I whip out my Jungle Camouflage razor and throw it into the sand hoping something happens?

‘Hmm al qaeda at 3′o’clock.’

‘I’ll handle this…’

‘No, it’s ok Joe. I’ve got my trusty Roller Razor, I’ll handle this one.’

‘Wait John I’m pretty sure that’s not going to wo-RATATATATATATATATATATAT!’

‘…goddamnit ANOTHER MAN DOWN! I wish they’d stop sending us these stupid things!’

4. Not readily available in stores.

The official reason for this is:

Due to the worldwide demand and the overwhelming online success of our automated “free shipping program”, our quantities are limited and as a result, Rolling Razor is not yet able to meet the demand of traditional retail stores.


This is just marketing speak for ‘we don’t sell enough razors to afford worldwide distribution yet. But please, continue to buy our cartridges at premium prices from our basement operation.

5. The blades themselves

I have three problems with the blade system itself. The first problem is that you’re only using one blade at a time. Whilst this works great in a double edged blade system traditionally this is terrible in a cartridge system. Ever tried to use a single blade disposable razor?

Even with the circular motion of the blades lets face it, only one is going to be against your skin at any given time and it’s probably going to most times be the middle one right which will lead to premature wear in that single blade before the other ones are gone.

Unless your face is like a roller coaster you might as well be shaving with a single blade disposable system.

Secondly they cite the reason for the circle grip is because “the short distance between the handle and the blades provides you with greater control and accuracy.”

Really? Have you ever tried to use one of those idiot circle pens? Or how about a thumb stylus? There’s a reason we hold pens and chopsticks like we do. Imagine trying to use chopsticks with just your index finger!

I don’t know about you but my wrist + hand is far more steady then my index finger on it’s own.

Thirdly the stupid dual blade system. They claim that

When you use both heads, you will be using each cartridge half the time so they’ll each last twice as long! Beyond that, protective coating on our cartridges and blades will dramatically prolong the life of your blades.


Now to use the other razor you have to take the handle off your finger and flip it around. Alternatively you could just rinse the thing off which would most likely be quicker.

What I want to know though is how is using 2 heads over the one shave going to prolong the life of the individual blades? Experience tells me that once you fit a disposable cartridge razor with a blade that even if you don’t use it for a month the blades still get dull.

Let’s face it, the dual blade system is just a gimmick to get you to go through twice the amount of blades twice as quickly.


In addition to all the above reasons then there’s the spam. Why in the holy hell would I be interested in a cartridge razor when I’ve just gone out and bought a double edged system that I’ve clearly liked so much I’ve bothered to write about it! TWICE!

Viral marketing in blog comment spam is such a stupid way to promote your product, you only wind up pissing off your potential customers as well as inflicting negative ‘buzz’ like this upon yourselves. I’ve written about this before but it seems some companies still think it’s going to work.

Take note marketing world, writers don’t like you leaving stupid spammy comments for them to moderate.

by Jeremy Jackson

“It’s just me and the you now” I thought to myself as I looked down at the razor resting gently on the bathroom sink. I eyed my trusty Mach 3 sitting in it’s cup to the side and felt a pang of guilt. I’d had it for over a decade and it was pretty much all I’d known when it came to shaving.

If this experiment worked, then if nothing else  it had earnt its retirement.

The kettle popped and pulled me from the bathroom. Carrying the kettle in I poured it into the tub I’d set aside, the water roughing up the towel inside and searing it with heat. Turning back to the mirror I placed a generous dollop of cream into my small makeshift mixing bowl and began to twirl my brush.

It’s quite a thing to watch shaving cream form from a little blob into a mass of wondrous lather, it made for a refreshing change to the usual pressurised cylinder variety I was so used to. The difference was like store bought whipped cream and doing it yourself, refreshingly delicious.

As I’d seen in the videos I’d watched the night before I picked up the brush and began to gently mash it into my face. Small circles facilitated the spread of the lather and after a few minutes I had a loose white beard.

Handling the towel with my barehands was a blistering mistake. I’ll be sure to pop on some gloves next time as it turns out wringing out hot water is not for the faint hearted. Gently pressing the towel to my face afterwards forced me to close my eyes and drift away. At least momentarily until my three minutes were up.

Wiping away the foam I set the towel down and again began the ritual that would become increasingly familiar to me. With my face prepped and ready I picked up the razor and held it firm.

“This is it.” I thought to myself.

“This is what it’s all been building towards. I wonder, if this doesn’t work out who will be the one to find me in my bathroom? He died, razor in hand and bleeding to death. What a terrible way to die.”

That was the last thought I had as I placed the razor to my cheek and felt the blade gently pull at my skin.

Shaving with a double edged razor for the first time makes you feel like a child. Everything you knew with a safety razor pretty much goes out the window.

The process fast becomes a battle between getting the blade angle just right and desperately trying to not commit the bad habits you’ve picked up from years of using a safety blade you couldn’t slice butter with even if you tried.

From the preperation beforehand to the actual usage of the blade the entire experience seemed very therapeutic and relaxing. Far more so then a massage or a spa which leave me more tired then anything else. Wet shaving was somewhat of a relaxed awakening and I can’t wait to make it part of my morning ritual.

Currently I’m shaving every night this week. The closeness of the shave is more then enough to last through the working day the next morning and this way if I make any mistakes I’ve got a good nights sleep to recover from them.

Thankfully the damage from my first shave wasn’t that bad. Although I did manage to mess up the right side of my neck with a fair few superficial nicks. I’m happy to report though that I didn’t cut myself once which was a great relief.

I did three passes for this pilot run, with the grain, across the grain and then against. All up it took me forty three minutes including prep, there’s obviously a lot of work to come if I want to be able to do it all in 10-12 minutes.

Aside from the minor nicks I had no rash to speak of and my face felt alive as I gently patted it down with some aftershave.

Something about wet shaving with a razor just feels right. It’s a time honored tradition and finally doing it properly released a great sense of pride in me. I felt like in my own little world I’ve somehow helped to re-instate a forgotten craft. If masculinity was an endangered species in our modern metro plagued time, well hell I was a conservationist.

The art of shaving with a double edged razor is not something I’m going to learn overnight but it is something I’m actually looking forward to exploring and mastering. It’s a strange feeling being excited about something I’ve done at least twice a week for the last ten years.

If only everything in life was this achievable.

by PhotoBal

If you’ve got decent growth facial hair and work in a professional environment, shaving is something you can’t escape. It’s not going to change as you get older and for most of us it’s something that needs to be done every day, or second day at the least. Then there’s the poor unlucky buggers who find they have to shave twice a day just to keep up with the regrowth.

I’ve been using a Gillette Mach 3 (the original one, none of these 4, 5, 6, 7, 391 blade cartridges with super turbo vibrating action for me thanks), for as long as I can remember now. Last week however, I finally decided I’d had enough of arriving at work looking like I’d let someone’s kid take a red marker and go picasso all over my neck.

After hitting the internet I came the conclusion I had two options.

Straight razors: I wasn’t keen on this option as I’d never used anything other then a disposable cartridge razor before. Frankly the idea of using a ‘cut throat’ razor every morning when I was half asleep (I don’t shower till I get to work, after I’ve shaved at home) scared me a little.

Double edged razors: This is what I settled on. It was a similar system to the Mach 3 I was using and I figured using it would be far more familiar then a straight edge razor. (Also double-edged sounds a lot less dangerous then a ‘cut-throat’!)

The initial outlay appears to be quite expensive for a double edged razor system given that you can buy a disposable cartridge handle and some gel/foam from a supermarket for <$20.

What needs to be taken into consideration though is that shaving is something I can’t avoid. It’s not going to go away as I get older and is probably something I’m going to have to do for most of my working life. Disposable cartridges are ridiculously overpriced and are an ongoing expense.

So what’s a few $100 well spent if I can arrive at work looking like I haven’t spent all night rubbing sandpaper into my neck?

Thankfully my foray into double edged razor shaving came in well under a few hundred dollars, which was a welcome pleasant surprise. In fact given how little I spent when buying from online retailer Men’sbiz, I’m kicking myself I haven’t try this earlier.

Here are is a rundown on the basic equipment you need if you’re thinking about getting rid of the disposable cartridge system.


A razor: This I admittedly knew nothing about. After a bit of internet research I decided the best bang for buck I was going to get would probably be a German made Merkur. I wasn’t after anything fancy so in the end I tossed up between their standard razor and the heavy duty (HD) version.

I have pretty large hands so in the end I decided to go with the HD model. When it arrived I was glad I did as something I hadn’t realised was that the double edge razor handles are quite short. They’re literally half the size of your standard disposable razor handle.

I’ve read that this is to encourage the light strokes needed to use a double edged razor properly. Having said that you still need something to hold onto so if you’ve got bigger hands definitely consider the Merkur HD model as it’s thicker and weightier then the standard model. The Merkur HD model from Mensbiz was $69.95, $20 more then Merkur’s standard razor.


A brush is needed to work up a lather and then apply it to your face. You probably can use gel but I figured if I was going to this much trouble I might as well do it properly and invest in the right tools. There are basically three types of brushes:



1. Badger hair is from what I gather the Rolls Royce of shaving brushes and comes in different varieties from the cheaper pure, to the midrange fine bristle and then to the luxury offering, the silvertip.




2. Boar hair is a firmer bristle alternative to badger hair and is much cheaper. One downside of it though is that the bristles don’t hold as much water which makes working up a lather a tad more laborious, especially when applying it to your face.




3. Synthetic brushes vary in quality and characteristics. Generally speaking though the idea is to imitate the qualities of a more expensive badger brush but with cheaper parts at a more cost effective price.


I had decided to start off with a badger pure bristle brush but Mensbiz didn’t have any in stock in the price range I was after. I definitely wasn’t comfortable dropping $100+ on one of the premium badger hair brushes and I wasn’t keen on the cheaper boar hair brushes so I decided to try a synthetic offering.

The ‘Men-U Premier Synthetic  Bristle’ brush seems to be aimed at the same usability as a midrange badger brush and set me back $60 which was an attractive price considering the badger alternatives.


Shaving cream is again another itemI knew absolutely nothing about and I wasn’t sure what to get here. I figured I couldn’t go wrong with the made in England brand ‘Taylor of Old Bond Street’ (sounds like something the Queen uses on her legs), so I settled on their sandalwood cream.

I have some cologne in Sandalwood and really like the smell so I figured it’d be nice to go to work with a hint of sandalwood on my neck every morning. The tub of cream came in at $21 and from what I’ve read lasts quite a long time.


Razor blades come in many different brands and each has it’s own feeling. The main differential points when it comes to blades are sharpness and feel, with each brand varying slightly. Naturally the blade that suits one person might be horrible for another so again I was a little stuck here.

You can read all the reviews on blades in the world but at the end of the day you’re not going to know if it’s right for you until you’ve tried it.

Luckily Men’sbiz offer an attractively priced sample pack to cover first time shavers. For $17.50 you get 30 blades across a variety of brands which gives you ample choice in selecting the right blade for you.

I’ve read that ideally one blade lasts about a week so for 30 weeks worth of shaving, $17.50 is stellar value. After smooth, rash free skin this is what I’m going to love about using a double-edged razor the most.

That’s pretty much all you need to get started in double-edge razor shaving. All up I spent $170 but Men’sBiz also had a 20% discount which brought it down to $134, still qualifying me for their free shipping for orders over $120.

I placed the order Tuesday last week at about 2:30pm and the item was couriered (with a tracking number) to me by 9:30am Wednesday, at no cost – talk about service!

I’ve put off having my first shave till the weekend because on the off chance things went hopelessly wrong I didn’t want to have to rock up to work with a cut up face (try explaining that one to the boss). I’m going to have my first proper shave tonight and I’ll be sure to link to my experience here when I’ve done a write up.

If you’re thinking about making the switch go for it, I know when my gear arrived I couldn’t stop thinking about shaving – I just got ridiculously excited. I think if anything that’s just testament to how bad using a disposable cartridge system are for some of us. Thanks again to Men’sbiz for the convenience, information and ridiculously fast shipping.

Let’s face it guys, some things were better off not being re-invented.