Today marks the culmination of a several-month quest. My quest to find… the manliest shave of them all!
(*cue thunderstrike*)
…
It all started one cold, winter morning. Or maybe in the summer. Or autumn. Well, in any case, it definitely started. Otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this.
Anyway, after it started (…or maybe it was spring? Hmmm…), or rather, as it started… well, the point is:
Shaving.
Like most modern men, I was brought up on cartridge razors. I had my own experiences with quite a few crappy ones that left razor burn on my cheeks, found some decent ones, but wondered – is there a better way to shave? With less skin irritation? Without paying for those expensive brand cartridges?
I searched online, and eventually came across a community about “real shaving”. The real men of old, who use the real shaving methods of our grandfathers. Not some pussy cartridges and shaving foams, oh no. They use real naked razorblades and proper old fancy shaving soap, put on with a brush made from real badger hair. (I like to think they also catch the badgers with their bare hands and rip out their tail hairs while standing naked on top of an active volcano, shouting “FREEDOM!”)
The moment I saw this community, I knew I had arrived. I too would become one of the real men, shaving with a real naked razor, inwardly laughing at “successful” men while passing them on the street, knowing they could never be as manly as me while shaving with a cartridge razor.
So I googled, and found the best option for a newbie like me. A double-edge razor.
From now on, it would be just me, and a naked razorblade. Well, okay, and a razor that mostly covers the razorblade, so I can’t cut myself too badly. But still, it was a start.
So I ordered my double-edge razor, a pack of razorblades, some good quality old-fashioned shaving soap and a badger-hair brush. (I wasn’t manly enough yet to catch my own badger with my bare hands.)
And they arrived, and I rejoiced, and we all lived happily ever after. Well, sort of.
You see, it takes quite a bit of skill to shave with a double-edge razor. Unlike a cartridge razor, where the blades are stuck in at a pre-defined angle, with a double-edge you control the angle of attack yourself. And keeping the optimum angle for a close comfortable shave is quite tricky.
My first couple of shaves were excruciatingly slow. In fact, I started only lathering half of my face, because if I lathered all of it, the other half would dry up by the time I got to it.
Then I noticed I kind of looked like two-face from Batman. So I couldn’t help but complete the picture:
Anyway, long story short, after I got the hang of the technique, my shaving became more comfortable, only slightly more time-consuming (I lather up and shave twice over. Most people recommend three times for a great shave, but two is a good trade-off for me between time and shavedness). My shave is also just as close as before (if not better), and, most importantly, far more manly!
And the story would end here. Except it doesn’t.
Because double-edge shaving was just the stepping stone for me. And now that I got the hang of it, I would move on to the manliest shave of them all: SHAVING WITH A STRAIGHT EDGE RAZOR!
(*Dun dun DUNNNNNNNN!*)
A straight-edge razor has two advantages.
1. It’s a great weapon for psycho killers:
2. It feels super-manly to shave with it!
It really is the ultimate in manly shaving (or so I thought. Read to the end to find me proved wrong.) I already managed to cut myself far more in two weeks using a straight-edge than in several months with a double-edge razor! 
I’m still slowly making the transition, shaving with a double-edge some days, using my new straight-edge razor on others. Funny thing I noticed – using a double-edge razor has now become the standard for me for a comfortable quick shave. I no longer even think about keeping a cartridge razor around, because I don’t need them.
Well, I’d love to tell you how I mastered straight-edge shaving, but I’m still working on it. Maybe one day in the future 
Oh, and just when I thought I found the ultimate in manly shaving… I found the real manliest beard grooming of them all:
*Sigh*. Maybe one day.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I too started shaving like this, and using a double edge razor has become the norm, and it is fast, and I get a really great shave, and I also bought the shavette that you have on the picture, and yeah, I cut myself. I also bought a true steel one piece straight razor, but I haven’t honed it yet because I want to learn to use the shavette before I use a ‘real’ straight razor.
You make me SO glad that I’m a woman and that I don’t have to attack my face with a sharp blade. *shudder*
I quite literally laughed out loud at “It’s a great weapon for psycho killers:” and the photo. (The Two-Face one is great too.)
Try not to slit your own throat, though, we’d miss you.
.-= Ali Hale´s last blog ..Review of The Dojo by Charlie Gilkey and Jonathan Mead =-.
@Luis:
Ah yes, precisely what I was thinking. I want to learn to shave with a straight-edge before using a REAL manly straight-edge razor. The only difference is I haven’t bought mine yet. Probably get one around the time I ran out of my current pack of blades disposable straight-edge blades.
@Ali:
If I accidentally chop off my head, I’ll let you know.
And you know what? We guys love putting big sharp blades near our faces. It makes us feel more manly
(If I could shave with an old rusty machete, I probably would.)
In my part of the world, double-edged razor blades (exactly like the one in the pic) are the norm. Guess there are more “real men” here
.
Seriously, its the cheapest, the meanest, and the greatest and very efficient tool to shave i’ve found so far ( I’ve tried’em all : branded razors and foams, cheap cartridges and soap, etc. ) . But I’ve found that the double-edged razor and gel combination works the best for me, since its the most efficient and quite affordable shaving solution.
It feels great, is fashionably retro, and simple, all at once !
@Salman:
Ah yes, they think they’re manly… but WHO’S MORE MANLY THAN A MANLY SHAVER WHO HAS KNOWN THE SUFFERING OF A TRULY CRAPPY SHAVE?
Okay, I’m just trying to spin it somehow… but I can’t really get around the fact that your part of the world has more manly shavers. Oh well
Otherwise agree on all your points. Though I haven’t tried gel with proper razors yet – I’ll probably give that a shot when my current shaving soap runs out. For science!
When you’ve finished with the blades from a double edged razor (for your face) they are useful for cutting corns ans sharpening pencils…
@Shirls:
I do neither of those things, but good point, maybe I could use them for something.
For example, wait until I have enough of them, then weave them together with steel wire, and make… the manliest underpants of them all!
In regards to learning with a shavette before using a real straight razor, shavettes are actually harder to use.
A real straight has a stiffer blade than the shavette, which actually makes it slightly easier. With a poor angle and tough hair, a shavette will occasionally flex in to you and cut you.
@Cole:
At least now I have an excuse for cutting myself. MY SUPER MANLY TOUGH HAIR BENT THE SHAVETTE!
(I’ll be getting a real straight-edge razor soon, and see how that one feels compared to the shavette.)
Okay, seriously loved the picture of you with the staight edge razor and the happy crazy look on you face. Too funny.
@Susie:
You think it’s funny? Well… then why don’t we… put a smile on that face…
Funny story. & yes I agree with you. Keep writing.
PS your pictures made me LOL
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