I might become a clean shaven kind of guy. And to do so I want to experiment with safety razors. Anything I ought to know before I get something?

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[–] • 1 pt

You will cut yourself. A lot. But it's worth it. These days, I find using a whetstone too annoying and time consuming, so opted for safety razors. Bought a box of 100 Shark brand half-razors for use on a shavette handle. I put in a new blade each time I shave, which is about three times a week. The box cost <$10. That's almost a year's worth of shaves for less than the price of one package of Costco toilet paper.

DO NOT GO FOR THE SUPER-SHARP-DAMN-NEAR-DIAMOND-EDGED RAZORS WHEN YOU'RE LEARNING. You will cut yourself way more than "a lot." Get the Shark brand ones; they have rounded corners to avoid nicking but are still really sharp (but not WAAY too sharp). I normally only have to do a single pass (against the grain) to end up with the closest shave I've ever had in my life— and I've tried shaving with damn-near everything (even a brand-new $100 boning knife, on a dare)— and it looks like I shaved against the grain every time. No more ingrowns. Depending on how much hair you grow, they'll more-or-less be single-use (they'll get dull quickly).

Once you get good at not cutting yourself: look for sharper ones to make your shave that much better, and your blades last that much longer. I bought Wilkinson brand razors, at first, and thought they sucked because I looked like someone was using my face as a pin-cushion after each shave. Used the Shark ones, got good. Ran out, so went back to the Wilkinson ones while waiting for my order to arrive, since there were some left over:

My man: it feels like you're gliding a perfectly frictionless feather over your face. Like you just applied Photoshop's eraser tool to the facial hair layer of a photo, and the mirror is your canvas. Completely effortless. Even though you shave with the grain, you feel no presence of hair when swiping your finger against it.

Some cheap brands are absolute trash, though, and you'll end up with a bunch of uneven blades that feel like you're trying to sandpaper your hair off. Research, research, research. Feel free to ask any questions.

You will cut yourself. A lot. But it's worth it. These days, I find using a whetstone too annoying and time consuming, so opted for safety razors. Bought a box of 100 Shark brand half-razors for use on a shavette handle. I put in a new blade each time I shave, which is about three times a week. The box cost <$10. That's *almost a year's worth of shaves* for less than the price of one package of Costco toilet paper. DO NOT GO FOR THE SUPER-SHARP-DAMN-NEAR-DIAMOND-EDGED RAZORS WHEN YOU'RE LEARNING. You will cut yourself *way* more than "a lot." Get the Shark brand ones; they have rounded corners to avoid nicking but are still *really* sharp (but not *WAAY* too sharp). I normally only have to do a single pass (against the grain) to end up with the closest shave I've ever had in my life— and I've tried shaving with damn-near everything (even a brand-new $100 boning knife, on a dare)— and it looks like I shaved against the grain every time. No more ingrowns. Depending on how much hair you grow, they'll more-or-less be single-use (they'll get dull quickly). Once you get good at not cutting yourself: look for sharper ones to make your shave *that much better*, and your blades last *that* much longer. I bought Wilkinson brand razors, at first, and thought they sucked because I looked like someone was using my face as a pin-cushion after each shave. Used the Shark ones, got good. Ran out, so went back to the Wilkinson ones while waiting for my order to arrive, since there were some left over: My man: it feels like you're gliding a perfectly frictionless feather over your face. Like you just applied Photoshop's eraser tool to the facial hair layer of a photo, and the mirror is your canvas. Completely effortless. Even though you shave *with* the grain, you feel no presence of hair when swiping your finger against it. Some cheap brands *are* absolute trash, though, and you'll end up with a bunch of uneven blades that feel like you're trying to sandpaper your hair off. Research, research, research. Feel free to ask any questions.

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[–] • 1 pt

(edited )

I guess I should have asked more questions about the blades because it should like that's what matters more than the handle. Bad news is I already bought so I hope I'm getting something good.

I've got a pack of 8 Gillette Silver Blue (just to get my face wet.. with blood), and a Weishi handle.

I almost got some Rapira blades. Maybe I saved myself from a Hillary Clinton visit.

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