Multi-blade razors

[TrevorH]

ArtVandelay said:

"Loss leader" marketing by Gillette IMO. They sell the handles for a loss (or possibly very little profit now) and make their money on the razor blades which have a 4750% mark up.

Not one to read the mail but:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1191456/Sh...

From someone who knows, much of this absolute BS. Any d*****d journalist can take the manufacturing price of a pushbike and compare it with the selling price of a Ducati to come up with a ridiculous headline markup figure. But is is/was the Daily Wail, I guess.

BTW - the key to a good shave is in the preparation.

[Riff Raff]

TrevorH said:

ArtVandelay said:

"Loss leader" marketing by Gillette IMO. They sell the handles for a loss (or possibly very little profit now) and make their money on the razor blades which have a 4750% mark up.

Not one to read the mail but:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1191456/Sh...

From someone who knows, much of this absolute BS. Any d*****d journalist can take the manufacturing price of a pushbike and compare it with the selling price of a Ducati to come up with a ridiculous headline markup figure. But is is/was the Daily Wail, I guess.

BTW - the key to a good shave is in the preparation.

OK, since you are in the know, what is the margin on these fancy blades then?

[TrevorH]

No different to that on many other goods in the supermarkets.

[maix27]

RemaL said:

WorAl said:

CypherP said:

Is there a specific way to shave with a safety razor, or a particular method? I've never used one before, but i frequently get bad shaving rash and am pissed off with spending a fortune on gillete cartridges.

It has probably been asked before, but only occured to me to ask now as I've seen it talked about quite a bit recently.

Snowy Slopes has covered it earlier in the thread, it's basically about getting the angle of the blade against the skin right.

Lather up using a good brush and soap and put the razor on your face so the handle is about 15 degrees down from horizontal then move the razor down your cheek and rotate the handle down over until you hear/feel it start to cut the hair. That is the angle you need.

I shave once with the hair (same direction that the hair lies on your face/neck) then lather up and once across the hair. On this second pass I also find that if I get some of the lather on my hand and then where I have shaved across the hair, rub my finger tips across the skin, pulling it tight after the razor has passed and feel for any hair protruding, it will cover the hair with lather again and I can then shave that bit of stubble off. Does that make sense?

If you really want to, do a third pass against the hair, but I find the second pass is enough. The shave lasts me about a day and a half to two days then shave again on the third and I've never had rash/burn since changing to a safety.

ETA. I've just bought this http://connaughtshaving.com/mitchellsbowl.html

this (I think) http://connaughtshaving.com/vulfix403.html

and this is for Christmas http://connaughtshaving.com/merkurfutur.html

Edited by WorAl on Tuesday 23 November 17:00

Used connaughts a few times. went from a mach 3 to Merkur 34 and never looked back. 40 blades for £8 and lasted me over a year. better shave and cheaper. just take 5 mins more when shaving to save cutting anyting off

The Mitchell's Wool Fat soap is tremendous... i absolutely adore it, nothing leaves my face feeling as fresh and clean after a shave. Not tried Connaught before, i use ShavingShack.

As for mach3 vs DE closeness... DE is all about technique. 1st time you'll end up with a bit of stubble, as you get better, it gets closer. Blades are also important. I only really get on with Feather blades, which many will tell you can be a bit lethal at times if you're not paying attention. They really do cut rather than pull the hair though so i find one pass is enough for a morning shave if i'm in a rush.

I do need a new brush though, mine permanently leaks hairs nowadays. Suggestions in the under £20 category, or am i wasting my time with anything less than a Kent jobbie?

[WorAl]

maix27 said:

WorAl said:

this (I think) http://connaughtshaving.com/vulfix403.html

I do need a new brush though, mine permanently leaks hairs nowadays. Suggestions in the under £20 category, or am i wasting my time with anything less than a Kent jobbie?

Those ^

Omega brushes are pretty damn good IME.

[freecar]

TrevorH said:

No different to that on many other goods in the supermarkets.

Don't buy that for a minute. Cif bathroom cleaner doesn't generate enough profits to have Tiger Woods and David Beckham hawking their wares! The Office of Fair Trading don't normally start an investigation on the back of tabloid hype either.

[Riff Raff]

freecar said:

TrevorH said:

No different to that on many other goods in the supermarkets.

Don't buy that for a minute. Cif bathroom cleaner doesn't generate enough profits to have Tiger Woods and David Beckham hawking their wares! The Office of Fair Trading don't normally start an investigation on the back of tabloid hype either.

Must admit I thought the response was bks too. It may well be that the markup applied by the supermarkets on fancy blades is

TrevorH said:

No different to that on many other goods in the supermarkets.

but this doesn't really address the issue of whether or not Gillette and Wilkinson are making the blades for pennies, and then selling them wholesale for pounds. As you say. Beckham and Woods and Federer won't come cheap. Or maybe by the time that Gillette add in the marketing costs to the unit production costs they aren't making that much of a profit. I'm sure the OFT will get to the bottom of it though, and then bottle it. As Per.

[soad]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Bought mine purely on looks- still in the box. Will be interesting to see how i get on with it

Bic ones? Not used one since 1998/1999. Maybe should try them again

[snowy slopes]

I used to use a fusion and thought it was the business, but i used to get loads of ingrowing hairs, but since switching to a DE razor, i havent had any problems at all, but i guess each to their own

[Doniger]

WorAl said:

Doniger said:

Interesting thread.

Tempted to try safety razors after reading this, but given how much I hate shaving I'm wondering whether I can be arsed with making it even more of a chore.

Think I've always used multiblades and as infrequently as possible (once a week if I can get away with it) as I detest shaving...but it sounds like my W.Sword quattros are contributing to me ending up with a horrid rash after shaving? Or is it just ste technique?

I was exactly the same, hated shaving and got bad rash every time I shaved. Changed to a stty Wilkinson Sword safety razor and now I actually enjoy shaving and never have a rash. Looking forward to Christmas when I get my Merkur Futur.

Have just done exactly that, bought a £4 WS safety razor, a brush a few potions and lotions and tried it out.

I am TOTALLY converted - will never buy another horrid multiblade razor again, EVER.

That is all.

[snowy slopes]

Doniger said:

WorAl said:

Doniger said:

Interesting thread.

Tempted to try safety razors after reading this, but given how much I hate shaving I'm wondering whether I can be arsed with making it even more of a chore.

Think I've always used multiblades and as infrequently as possible (once a week if I can get away with it) as I detest shaving...but it sounds like my W.Sword quattros are contributing to me ending up with a horrid rash after shaving? Or is it just ste technique?

I was exactly the same, hated shaving and got bad rash every time I shaved. Changed to a stty Wilkinson Sword safety razor and now I actually enjoy shaving and never have a rash. Looking forward to Christmas when I get my Merkur Futur.

Have just done exactly that, bought a £4 WS safety razor, a brush a few potions and lotions and tried it out.

I am TOTALLY converted - will never buy another horrid multiblade razor again, EVER.

That is all.

The best bit though, is yet to come. wait till you discover all the goodies that these shaving companys offer on their websites, its like detailing for your face

[Soovy]

snowy slopes said:

It'ss like detailing for your face

I've got a couple of gay mates who are happy to apply snowfoam.

[snowy slopes]

Soovy said:

snowy slopes said:

It'ss like detailing for your face

I've got a couple of gay mates who are happy to apply snowfoam.

Only you can turn a perfectly normal thread, into a raging gheyer lovefest

[WorAl]

snowy slopes said:

Soovy said:

snowy slopes said:

It'ss like detailing for your face

I've got a couple of gay mates who are happy to apply snowfoam.

Only you can turn a perfectly normal thread, into a raging gheyer lovefest

Soovy, note he didn't say no!

[WorAl]

Doniger said:

Have just done exactly that, bought a £4 WS safety razor, a brush a few potions and lotions and tried it out.

I am TOTALLY converted - will never buy another horrid multiblade razor again, EVER.

That is all.

Just wait 'til you get a few months down the line and you've learned how to do it properly, you'll be splashing out on good soaps, brushes, razor, blades (though WS ones are pretty good anyway) so enjoy.

[Soovy]

WorAl said:

snowy slopes said:

Soovy said:

snowy slopes said:

It'ss like detailing for your face

I've got a couple of gay mates who are happy to apply snowfoam.

Only you can turn a perfectly normal thread, into a raging gheyer lovefest

Soovy, note he didn't say no!

Resistance is useless.

[snowy slopes]

Soovy said:

WorAl said:

snowy slopes said:

Soovy said:

snowy slopes said:

It'ss like detailing for your face

I've got a couple of gay mates who are happy to apply snowfoam.

Only you can turn a perfectly normal thread, into a raging gheyer lovefest

Soovy, note he didn't say no!

Resistance is useless.

yeah yeah Funny though, everytime there is a thread that might be even remotely ghey, and WorAl pops up

[WorAl]

snowy slopes said:

Soovy said:

WorAl said:

snowy slopes said:

Soovy said:

snowy slopes said:

It'ss like detailing for your face

I've got a couple of gay mates who are happy to apply snowfoam.

Only you can turn a perfectly normal thread, into a raging gheyer lovefest

Soovy, note he didn't say no!

Resistance is useless.

yeah yeah Funny though, everytime there is a thread that might be even remotely ghey, and WorAl pops up

Hey you beat me here, I was just replying to the conversation me and Doniger were having.

[snowy slopes]

WorAl said:

snowy slopes said:

Soovy said:

WorAl said:

snowy slopes said:

Soovy said:

snowy slopes said:

It'ss like detailing for your face

I've got a couple of gay mates who are happy to apply snowfoam.

Only you can turn a perfectly normal thread, into a raging gheyer lovefest

Soovy, note he didn't say no!

Resistance is useless.

yeah yeah Funny though, everytime there is a thread that might be even remotely ghey, and WorAl pops up

Hey you beat me here, I was just replying to the conversation me and Doniger were having.

So you say, but soovy mentions the ghey, and you're the next person to post??? Right okay, dont worry Al, your secret is safe, no one will find out.......bugger

[Doniger]

So anyway gheyness aside, cheers for the advice in this thread! This is the first time in 15 years of shaving that I haven't absolutely hated the experience and/or ended up with cuts and horrible red bits on my neck.