Dedicated to the manly art of shaving like a man. Battery-powered hunks of plastic are for CHICKS!
Inspired by our times, I will always endeavor to explore the BEST and CHEAPEST shaving solutions. The point here is that shaving can indeed be a cheap and enjoyable daily activity that you will actually look forward to! This is NOT about sacrifice!
I love my Super Speed. It is a 1959 Flare Tip that belonged to my Grandpa.
Along with the love, there is however a fair amount of frustration. I have a few spots on the neck where it simply will not cut, but that's just me. OK, to the naked eye it just looks like a nice shave, but I can still feel stubble that other razors can catch on those spots. I got stupid a couple of times and kept going over those spots from various angles. I was rewarded with some ferocious burn. Now that I have come to terms with its admittedly limited limitations, I have thrown it back into the rotation after a long hiatus.The cognoscenti all concur that it it is a fine model, fairly mild, and ideally suited to the beginner. The build quality is simply incredible when you consider that these sold for $1 back in the day. The razor is fairly small, but has some heft as it is nickel-plated brass. The ingenuity of the mechanism is still pretty damned remarkable - its ease of use has never been surpassed. You just throw in a blade and go - everything lines up perfectly. The precision of the tolerances is amazing - a reminder of when the USA really had its shit together, and made all its own stuff well and with union labor. I remember playing with this very razor as a child (without a blade) and I obviously in no way damaged it, thank goodness. I'm very happy to have it.
To round out my collection, I wanted to try an open comb. I read about this place Deutsche Optik that was selling what they call a "Gibbs French Army Razor" NOS. Sounded worth a try. First of all, I don't think this has anything to do with the army, I think it's just a nice vintage traveler. Second, I doubt that it really is a Gibbs, because Gibbs razors need proprietary blades and this one takes regular blades AND Gibbs blades (regular DE blades actually fit a lot better and require very little fiddling to seat). Build quality is superb, as is the shave. As with most open combs, this is aggressive without being dangerous. I you have trouble spots where hairs lie flat and no amount of skin stretching or angle adjustment can get them, this will mow them down with ease.
Shipping costs are extortionate. Even so, for $20 total delivered you could do a lot worse on a NOS razor, that won't perform as well or have the European cachet of this one.
OK, let's be honest - the classic straight razor is the manliest. "Gillette Fatboys" take note - you are in no way there. Like all of this "wet shaving" business, you can spend an absolute ton of money on NOS gold-washed Solingen seven day sets, combo coticule hones, Eschers, or a Shapton 50k. The fact of the matter is, you can indeed get a nice, smooth shave from a cheap Chicom razor, with hones and strops that are anything but fancy.
The idea I had was to see how cheap I could go on a setup that would actually work well.
THE RAZOR
I had read that of the currently manufactured cheapo straights, the Chicom ones were the best quality steel, and with a 'bit' of work could hold an excellent edge. In fact, certain straightrazor geek personalities fround themselves BANNED from straightrazorplace.com for daring to assert that one can get an excellent shave from these razors! The Solingen/Sheffield snobs just could not handle it! I bought the cheapest, most bare-bones Chicom razor available, the Double Arrow #66. The front 90% of the blade or so was actually very nice right out of the box, but the heel was a complete joke that required several sheets of 400-grit wet/dry to whittle down to where the blade would lie flat on a hone.
THE HONES
The first hone I got was a 1000 grit Naniwa Lobster waterstone, purchased from Great Sun in Seattle for $7. I have never seen a 1k Naniwa this cheap anyhwhere. An excellent "bevel setter" in addition to being a stone I can use on all of my kitchen knives.
Next I watched a number of barber hones on Ebay. The forums all sang the praises of the Swaty, so I was excited to win a Swaty-esque Austro-Hungarian hone in superb condition for only $6! This hone is pretty versatile but small even by barber hone standards.
My original plan was to have the barber hone be my finisher. I therefore required a midrange stone to use after the 1k. The straight razor establishment suggests the Norton 4k/8k combo, but that's $75! The barber hone being around 8k, I just needed a 4k to bridge the gap. I went with the Ice Bear 4k from my local woodcraft store - this has turned out to be a really nice stone to use.
THE STROPS
A straight user typically has both a linen or canvas strop for 'refreshing' and a leather strop for 'maintaining' an edge. This is 30-100 bucks I didn't feel like spending, so I improvised. I had a glass push plate from a swinging door left over from a remodel, but I could just as easily have used a board. For a "felt" strop I use a Trader Joe's made in Germany shamwow style kitchen towel. On one side I applied some classic Tom's toothpaste. This 'strop' polished the hell out the edge, but I still needed something to replace leather stropping. Sources for the last century talk about how great newspaper works as a finisher. The more black on the pages the better the action. So my strops were basically free. Do they work? Yes they do, and they cost nothing! Don't take my word for it, here's Popular Science magazine from August 1921:
A commenter on the thread points out that if you turn a can opener sideways and make the slit just under the top rim of the can, you can maybe add a year to how many blades you can get in. When full, one sharp rap with a hammer above the slit and your BB is sealed, and will easily, efficiently, and safely be plucked magnetically from the mixed 'recyclables', posing no danger whatsoever to any workers who happen to be involved with the sorting of the materials. Assholes who say that razor blades are 'hazmats' and need to be disposed of accordingly need to look again at the inherent safety, security, and undeniable frugality of this blade disposal system. It is also very manly, provided you don't paint the damned thing with butterflies and unicorns. A regular sized can has a very small footprint in our medicine cabinet. I keep my chunk of alum on a small ceramic dish on top the can, so the can itself actually maximizes spatial efficiency, the only other space I need in the cabinet is the arko stick, 2 safety razors and a pack of blades, and my Chi-com straight. The footprint, both in area and eco-friendliness, is indeed a small wonder.
Of course, if you really want to be old-school, and live in an old-school house or apartment, you can just use the handy blade slot in the medicine cabinet. It just might already be there. Another manly choice would be to cut your own slot in the bathroom wall for classic between the studs disposal.
Too bad there's nowhere around here you can get this done, I can see going once a month for sure if for no other reason than to get those unsightly nose and ear hairs "threaded".
Before WWI, most shaving brushes were, like this one, made of horsehair. There were some issues with anthrax and they fell out of favor in the West and were supplanted by boar and badger (depending on your class). This Turkish brush will deliver and hold a rich and luxurious lather once the ends begin to split after a week or so of use. Bruce on Shaving, a most respectable expert, claims these brushes have 85% of the good points of both boar and badger. I can neither confirm nor deny as I have never tried a badger. It's just a nice, effective brush that costs $2.50 - can you dig it? It may or may not have a strong animal stink when new. If so, try shampooing it a few times and it should be fine. After use, rinse all of the soap out. Shake. Squeeze bristles in corner of towel. Shake again. Now you can put it on the counter bristles up and it will actually dry. You want it to mold/rot? Don't do those things, and you'll be out another $2.50. Another point to consider is that some people who habitually soak their whole brush in the sink have had some problems, when you soak, just submerge the tips. Use a glass.
Another major point in favor of horse brushes? They dry much quicker than boar or badger - just a few hours standing up on its handle is all it takes for mine to completely dry.
This is LITERALLY NOT FOR VEGANS! ARKO contains beef tallow, and the cognoscenti agree that is produces copious amounts of rich, slick, pillowy lather. My shitty RiteAid boar brush can hold enough arko lather for a full 3 pass shave. Because of the tallow, it actually has a pulldate. This shit is beyond economical - it will blow your mind. You can get a stick delivered CONUS for under 2 bucks. It will last for months. You may also appreciate the undeniable manliness, minimalism and eco-friendliness of the packaging, and the fact that you don't need a bowl or a fancy 'scuttle' or any of that girly-man crap to clutter up your bathroom. Use is simple: Wet face. Wet end of stick. rub end of stick on face just a few times. Watch the lather EXPLODE with the first few strokes of the brush. The beauty of the stick is that the more growth you have, the more soap is delivered - so it gives you what you need every time. Snobs and whimps object to ARKO because of its price (way too cheap to be any good) and the smell. The smell is strong, but pleasant and manly. I happen to love it. If you go back to the canned goo after trying this wonderful and frugal product, G-d help you.
An almost forgotten, but well-nigh miraculous substance. I wish I had known about this shit in my teens and twenties - it FRIES zits! It heals wounds and irritation! You can get 1/2 lb for $0.99 at Mekong Rainier, Hop Tanh, and those are the 2 I know for sure in the Seattle area. Basically any Asian grocery will have the 'high grade' potassium alum, preferred over ammonium alum for post shaving use (less burn) If you paw through the bags you can find some with large chunks. After Several uses, a face of the chunk will smooth out and get a lot more pleasant. It is also an utterly efficacious underarm deodorant - just apply right out of the shower. Those with drier skin may want to rinse the face after a few minutes. Those with oily skin like myself will find that you really need no other after shave than this. A large chunk will last for months and give great service. The ancient Egyptians used alum post-shave and it is still widely used for this purpose in India and Turkey. Another cool thing is that if you save all of your small loose bits of alum you can easily grow a large single crystal from them! It's also a great way to gauge how well you did - if all you're getting is a nice tingle you did good - if there's a ferocious burn then you will know that your technique is lacking, and the precise locations where you need to be more careful or try a different approach.
OK, so you are not quite man enough for a straight or a YUMA - in that case you need to spend $10 on a LORD. This razor is really foolproof. You can indeed throw a blade in and go. It is fairly aggressive, very nimble, and gives great feedback. It is also very forgiving. You really don't need to spend more than $10 on a razor - the ease of use and undeniable performance of the LORD L6 is quite literally the best that a man can get for the money. You can spend 10+x on a razor and not get a better shave. I have used the crappiest Indian blades in it with superb results. It's made in Egypt, which is already pretty cool. The "LORD" lettering on the head is also pretty undeniable. Here is where you can buy:
Do you use a plastic razor? One of the ridiculous multi-bladed monstrosities, even with, G-d forbid, a battery? Then I invite you to learn to shave ‘like a man’ - well at least like a 20th century man. When my grandma died last November, I had to go through all her stuff. One thing I found was my grandpa’s 1959 Gillette Flare Tip Superspeed. We were using it as decor on the bathroom shelf, when I ran out of my 2 year Costco supply of Gillette Custom Deluxe twin disposables. A fairly high-grade pivoting head model, I had been pretty pleased with them. I duly went to Costco to restock. Problem was, all they had were ridiculous and much more expensive multi-bladed options. A visit to a “$ Store”, and I found cheap, but very questionable disposables, made in Mexico. I thought about all of the plastic. Finally, I had the flash - why not try Grandpa’s razor? How bad could it be? In the early 70s, I was often dropped off to spend the night with my grandparents, and I remember playing with this razor as a toddler - pretending it was a spaceship, fascinated by the Gillette ‘twist to open’ mechanism. By this time most people through the influence of advertising had switched to the Trac II and if you grew up in the 70s you remember the TV ads with the “twin blades” No, gramps never left a blade in the razor - at least not when I was coming over. When I started shaving, I bought a nice Atra handle and bought and/or lifted packs of cartridges. Through the years, I never even considered switching from twin blades, so complete was my childhood conditioning. Like a lot of people nowadays, I have had to find new and/or old ways to save money. So I bought a 10-pack of classic, double edged razor blades at the drugstore (made in SK) for a fraction of the cost of ANY other available option. The first shave with the Superspeed was revelatory. I was nervous about getting hacked up so was very cautious. Even so, the Superspeeds are considered mild by the cognoscenti. Through caution and dumb luck, I ended up with the best shave I had had up to that point, even using “Edge” canned goo. Ironically, the DE razor blade is one of the first examples of disposable consumerism - and yet represents the greatest shaving value today. WWI was the deathknell of the straight razor, and the “safety razors” with disposable blades became popular. The fact of matter is, if price is important to you, then you should at least try going DE; Excellent blades from Turkey, India and Egypt are available for less than 10 cents each delivered. At the very least, you should use a brush and proper soap. Of course, if you want to really lower your footprint, you can go with a 'ghetto' straight razor setup.
When it comes to the very cheapest and manliest, what other razor is there than the YUMA? What are the odds that a razor that costs only $2.50 can have such a dangerous and exotic allure?
check the exposure and gap - there literally is no 'safety' razor that is as aggressive as this. If you use any pressure at all you will make some nice deli slices of face.
Is it cheap? There is literally nothing cheaper that you would want anywhere near your face. It costs $2.50 - is that cheap enough?
Can you get a good shave with it? Absolutely.
The YUMA is loud, really loud. The hollow pot metal handle acts like a megaphone. It is a world away from the muffled high-pitched scritches of the "system" cartridges.
It's not a perfect world and this is not a perfect razor - there are a couple of issues that the user needs to be aware of:
It is constructed of shitty 3rd world 'metal'. You will deform it or break the safety bars off if you drop it onto the tile floor. The good news is the grip is actually very good and not likely to slip. Don't drop it or throw it and it will be fine. The other metal related issue is pretty obvious - you will crack/strip/ruin the threads in the handle if you overtighten. Happily, this too is easily avoided.
A key problem that the novice will have with the YUMA is that you actually have to tweak the blade alignment and exposure AS you tighten. If you just throw a blade in and tighten you WILL make a bloody mess. This is no Gilette twist-to-open, where you can load a blade with your eyes shut and it doesn't matter. The two things you need to visually confirm are the alignment by viewing from above, and the exposure by viewing the head end-on towards a light source. If you tighten too much you may find as I did that while the blade is aligned, one side of the razor was very mild (steep blade angle) and the other very aggressive. I backed up on the handle maybe 1/8 turn in all and it made the exposure the same on both sides. The razor was still solidly tight. It has never loosened on me during a shave. So already there are a lot of issues that aren't present in $10 and up razors! It's no trickier than a Gillette old-type, fwiw.
Saved the biggest potential issue for last: actually shaving with this thing. If you are coming from some other kind of DE razor, you should be fine as long as you respect the tool. Use the lightest of touches and you will get a great shave even with a 5 cent blade with a couple shaves on it. I have tried a number of blades in it, all with the best results imaginable:
ASCO
ASTRA
DERBY
LASER
RAPIRA SUPERSTEEL
SHARK SUPER STAINLESS
SUPERMAX BLUE DIAMOND
ZORRIK
If you are coming from the world of cartridges/disposables you will have picked up a lot of very bad habits that the YUMA will not forgive. Your bloody and scabby shame will be such that you will be unable to leave the house for a week. You have learned to stretch the useful life of the overpriced carts by applying lots of pressure. Admit it. If you apply a lot of pressure with a YUMA, somebody is going to need to call 911. No pressure! Visualize the blade just skimming the surface of the skin. Do yourself another favor and just go with the grain the first few times, and finish with your system. DO NOT try to get it all off in one pass, or two. You will bleed. Remember to rinse and re-lather for each pass. Do not go over areas with no lather repeatedly - you will pay. The "safety" bars on the YUMA are only decorative - it is difficult to conceive of a purer expression of the blade - you really only are aware of the blade itself, not the razor/holder. And the sound! You will hear each hair snap in half in terror of the approaching blade. I am proud to say that I have never had even the slightest nick with the YUMA - I simply respect its power - its power to harm, but also its power to deliver as good of a shave as razors that cost 20-50x more. Be a man and go to bestshave.net and order one or more now!
Give Miraç your business - if you don't, you are less than a man. He has an incredible range of incredible values for all your DE shaving needs. His prices hardly seem fair (to him), and someday that will probably change but in the meantime you can stock up for the shavepocalypse, or create custom starter sets to convert your skeptic friends and feel almost guilty at how little money you spent. Not many razors, but a great selection of blades, brushes, the full range of ARKO products, and much more. Many items are available with free shipping so you can for example get some crazy deals on name brand blades. Shipping only takes a couple of weeks to the west coast of the USA, not bad at all. Price of shipping is also quite reasonable, but the only caveat is orders are sent certified/return receipt so somebody needs to be around to sign when USPS comes to the door.
