merkurrazor

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.


merkurHDA 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.


men-ushavingbrushA 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.

  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.


shavingcremeShaving 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.


bladesamplesRazor 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.



Related posts that might interest you:
  1. My first fortnight of double edged razor shaving
  2. The preservation of man: My first double edged razor shave
  3. Derby Extra double edged razor blades review
  4. Merkur Super Platinum double edged blade review
  5. Personna Platinum double edged blades review