DE or SE?

There is an ever-growing horde of rabid SE users active on the boards, hell bent on converting people from DE to SE. If results and cheapness are your bag, SE is for you. The much meatier SE blades can be touched up and used over and over, and face it, the vintage SE razors are cool and relatively undervalued, although that is changing. Lots of pros, and a couple of cons: There are not nearly as many models of SE razors or blades as are there are in the truly international world of DE. To resume:

SE PROs
Utterly cheap if you are 'handy' and can touch up your edge without fucking it up (not difficult)

The really old razors are pretty gorgeous and steam-punky:

The rest of the razors will appeal to fans of the DECO - Moderne aesthetic:

The build quality of the all-metal models is truly first rate, it will outlive you no problem.

Even nice old ones are relatively cheap. I paid 15 USD for nice OCMM with a mint case and 30 blades.

SE CONs
VERY limited choice of razors and blades compared to DE.

At least on my face, SE blades out of the box are dull and pull like a MF

If you're not 'handy' enough to touch up the edge of SE blades, the blades are WAY more expensive than DE. You can still get decent Trac II/Atra carts for less.

CAVEAT - If you have a pre-Micromatic SE razor like a GEM 1912 which are cheap and plentiful you can pretty easily make a robust and effective holder for DE blades - so that's a real advantage over just about any razor on the planet if you ask me. Sadly, this will not work in Micromatics or later:
DE Blade Holder DIY
DE Blade Holder pics


DE PROs
HUGE, international variety of both razors and blades, to satisfy any possible budget and/or aesthetic.

DE is the original disposable "system" - one of Gillette's original pitches was "no honing, no stropping". If you have a TTO, switching out blades is a breeze. Even the 3 piece DE razors as a group are pretty easy and idiot proof assembly-wise. Blade gets dull, you pitch it. Easy.

QUITE cheap if you find a cheap blade you like and buy in bulk. I've had sublime shaves from the lowly YUMA - you can too.

Best for beginners.

DE CONs
Even the best blades are good for no more than a week or shaves before they have to be pitched.

Forget about any vintage Gillette other than the Tech - the prices are ridiculous. You'll never get one off the boards either unless you are lurking 24/7.

OK, somebody help me - I'm not coming up with any more CONs

Coolest DE Blades?

Are Sharks the coolest DE blade? They have to be in the top 5. You can buy 300 from bestshave.net for $21 with free shipping which is a pretty sick deal on these great quality, long-lasting Egyptian blades, one of the finer brands produced by our friends at LORD. Most people can get up to a week of good shaves from these, which is pretty hard to argue with.

Packaging nazis will also be happy to know that all Shark packaging is recyclable and/or compostable!

Honing and Stropping SE blades

After a some false starts honing SE blades, I can say that the method has been perfected. What got me started was my very first SE shave, with a blue PAL carbon blade in the OCMM. It tugged and pulled something AWFUL, and I got to thinking, what can I do to make this blade better?

I took a PAL Blue, taped the spine, and gave it about 10 laps on a lathered barber hone. Light stropping on jeans. The result was an almost unbelievably glassy smooth and comfortable shave with the Micromatic, from a blade I had written off as total crap...

What I didn't realize at the time was that the angle on the 'honing' was all fucked up, as I discovered to my dismay after a marker test - the only thing I really did to the edge was the stropping - and let me tell you, denim jeans work GREAT on carbon SE blades. If you do nothing else, it's a no-brainer.  If you have a hone of barber grade-up, then you can get serious about your edge. Sadly, that's not all there is to it. If you have already, or can obtain a vintage ASR STROPPING HANDLE, then you are GOLDEN!

I paid $12 for mine, which was part of a boxed Damaskeene set. The razor is truly gorgeous and very little used. Problem is, it's fucked because it had an aftermarket blade, SHA-VE-ZEE in it for the better part of a century. Interestingly, those blades are about .07mm bigger than normal GEM blades, which in addition to springing the spring on an otherwise cosmetically gorgeous Damaskeene, got me to thinking that these blades were meant to be honed, as there was quite a bit of extra metal at the edge end... Guess they didn't get the memo about how blades are supposed to quickly wear out and be replaced.

Well I have conducted numerous and ongoing experiments and determined that the vintage unpunched/notched blades take an incredibly sick edge, my current favorite is Ever-Ready Radio Blades. I got three of them included with my chrome cased E-R 1924 travel set, and so far the one I've been using is showing no signs of being ready for the blade slot.

I use 1 piece of electrical tape on the spine of the stropping handle. There are 2 reasons for this: firstly, it will preserve your vintage and in all likelihood irreplaceable handle from hone wear for at least your lifetime. Secundo, it increases the angle on the hone ever so slightly so that only the very cutting edge is honed.

My E-R blades were all pitted and nasty. The good news is that all 3 are totally sound, the pitting very much just surface and the very edge. I cut new bevels on them with the Naniwa 1000, and a few laps was all it took to eliminate the old pitted edge. Then a decent straight-ish progression, King Ice Bear 4k with slurry, then without slurry, C12k with heavy slurry though to clear water. Stropping progression is sham-wow, newspaper, leather. These blades KICK ASS

I feel sorry for all the SE guys who have put up with what they thought were good shaves. They owe it to themselves to see what those razors can do with a blade that is actually SHARP! For me, while the cheapness factor is already quite appealing, the real reason to do it is to make the blades actually sharp - the difference is pretty mindblowing.


And an instructional vid :

HONING:

STROPPING:

GEM Micromatic OC

The "OCMM" is one of the bad boys. Most fear it, which made me really want to give it a try. For a mere $15 delivered with an assortment of blades, I got this fine example of made in USA quality. The GEM takes the single edged blades, like a paint scraper. You should never try blades from Home Depot though, just go to the drug store, Rite Aid and Walgreen's both have them on the shelf.

First, the razor itself is truly a thing of beauty - hold it in your hand, and you will be proud to be an American (if you are one). The heft, the precision, the Art Deco styling, wow.

The first shave was underwhelming. I used one of the PAL Blue blades - and they do indeed suck. I came very close to pitching it halfway through the first (WTG) pass, it was tugging so bad but I decided to tough it out. The verdict is the shave was decent, but in no way spectacular. This razor has a reputation for being badass that is overhyped and undeserved. I suspect that the whimps who cower in fear before this razor and play up its dangers have never even tried the damned thing. The fact is that (for now) I can get a better shave from my Yuma with half the passes. That's right, I said it - my $2.50 Yuma is more badass. But, and this is a pretty significant but, The GEM is truly a beautiful thing. The YUMA is nothing more than a holder for a blade - quite literally - the 'safety' bars are purely decorative.

Shave #2, I used a GEM Personna blade. Waaaay better. Still took 4+ passes to get there, but the GEM delivers. I could get used to this except I'm such a cheapskate and SE blades are 40-50 cents each and there are only a few available options unlike the bountiful (3rd) world of DE. Even so, SE is still waaaaay cheaper than carts. The second shave was good though, as good as 3 passes with the YUMA. Don't be a whimp, the OCMM is nothing to fear.

Pre and Post shave stropping on jeans has resulted in buttery smooth shaves with carbon blades.

Ghetto "Safety" Razor Set-up

How much money do you need to get started? You could spend a whole hell of a lot more than $10 and not get better gear than this setup, 100% made in Turkey:

Yuma razor $2.50
#6 brush $2.50
Arko stick $2.00
assorted blades - a few more bucks. If you get hooked, you can buy a 2-3 year supply of blades for $15-20

OK, my chunk of alum is actually from Thailand. You can get an authentic Turkish barber alum block for just a couple of bucks - probably not a bad option when you see what vendors are charging for them on Amazon and definitely worth a try if you live somewhere without Asian groceries. It may not be pretty, but the performance is absolutely undeniably great! Available from bestshave.net now. Be a man and get over there.

What got me going

It was this. WTF is this?!?

Are you kidding? Thank G-d Grandpa's Super Speed was there to remind me that there was a CHEAP, viable, and manly alternative. The Fusion Proglide Power is nothing less than a total and complete abomination. Ask yourself: would Robert Mitchum put one of these anywhere near his face? If you are one of the saps who use these, I have a question for you: how many excellent shaves do you get for your $2.50+ per cartridge? One more time Spuds, you can buy a decent DE blade you will get 4 shaves out of for 10 cents! (US). Actually, $2.50 will only get you a Chicom counterfeit. Do yourselves a favor and "drop the dildo." Don't buy into the CON that more blades are better than one. Where will it end? A fucking Jason mask with 99 vibrating blades inside?

Do the math. Also consider the amount of plastic bullshit you are putting in the landfill. Be a man!

OOOhhh, look, you can save a whole USD on 8! Got to love the price per 100... compare this to 100 of even the fanciest DE brands! Seriously, I want some users/marks to comment and let me know the lifespan of these carts - don't be shy!

Blades, schmades!

I'm going to break with the orthodox on this, I don't think there really is all that much difference between DE blades. There is ferocious brand loyalty out there, but I'm pretty well convinced that a blade's a blade. Ever examine one? it's just a sharp, micro-thin piece of steel. Even medium fancy brands like Astra have the classic Warsaw Pact small arms grease on them. They smell like what they are. Ammo. The old Schick injector is another good example of this, literally inspired by the feeding mechanism of semi-autos. They all pretty much work, until they get dull and then you pitch them. That's what makes the very idea of fat-cat fancy DE razors, and kooks shelling out piles of money on ebay for 'collectibles' pretty ridiculous. Some asshole just bought 2 5-packs of vintage Winchester blades on Ebay for $685! WTF?!? Another asshole seller has a BIN on 6 NOS Gillette adjustable "Slims" for $1950! 4 days left - some jerk will buy it for sure! You could buy a fucking shipping container full of Yuma razors for that much dough! What is a DE razor? Even if it is handsomely crafted, it remains nothing more than a tool for holding a cheap DE blade. Some of the best shaves of my life have been with a lowly Yuma razor and the throwaway Zorrik East Indian blades that Miraç threw onto my order for free! bestshave.net - you can get a complete outfit for about $10. That includes a brush and a 3+ month supply of the best soap you ever used. Another $10 will get you a year's worth of decent blades. You may want more, but you sure as hell don't need more than this. Straight razor snobbery at least makes some sense, but to me DE is all about efficiency and frugality.