The Art of Things – Men’s Grooming – The Shave

We have all seen them, the shaving commercials on the television where the next generation razor with 675 blades (a joke). Like a sports car with rockets, the multiple blade razor zooms across your face. It gives you the closest and smoothest shave.

That is ok, I guess. My problem with those razors is

1. They keep changing the blade construction which means having to buy another handle.

2. The razors and the blades are disposable plastic.

3. The multiple blade type is better for a clean shaved face and not for us with facial hair.

So, for my money, I like the good old school safety razor made of metal with the single blade.

I use the Merkur Futur adjustable safety razor. This razor is great because the gap between the blade housing and the blade can adjusted. It is made of metal, which makes it durable, and you only have to buy it once.

The safety razor holds one single blade. There are a while range of brands to choose from. I tend to buy Merkur Razor Double edge razor blades, but there are tons of others at a range of prices such as the Shaving Revolution, the Vikings Blade, and more.

A problem I had with shaving in general has been disposal of the used blades. The safety blades even when used are sharp. I always had a problem with throwing the into the trash (do not want to cut someone). But I found the QShave Disposal Case Safe Storage Bank for Used Safety Razor Blades (try saying that five times fast). It holds up to 300 used blades. That they say is two years of used blades.

Shaving cream

One of the aims of this overall setup is to reduce waste and throwing away used shaving gear into a landfill.

The nicest option is the Art of Shavings Shaving Soap Set with a shaving soap bar and a refillable wood case. Every time you need another bar of shaving soap you just buy another, and only the packaging gets thrown away.

The downside to this soap approach is it works best with a shaving brush. These can be cheap to pricy. It is another item of less but better works and you get a reasonably good one. I use the Art of Shaving Silver Tip Shaving brush. This is a pricy item, but the point is too cheap and the brush just does not work well.

Truth be told you can get basic shaving cream in tubes and cans, but those options produce more waste to throw away. Personal choice.