I may be a tree hugging hippy but if I don't want to end up tripping over my flowing beard, I still need to shave occasionally, so what passes for intellectual capacity here has been intermittently occupied with finding a method of shaving that still allows me to pass for normal in The Towns.
I abandoned electric razors over a decade ago when planning a trip to Nepal. Plugs were in short supply in the mountains, so I'd changed to a well known brand with Three Parallel Blades. I thought no more of it until I realised that although this had undoubtedly been the better choice for a month of washing in a river, they were still contributing to landfill, and I really wasn't getting a very good shave out of them.
I heard a story from about how some years back the shaving industry decided they were not making enough profit with simple razor blades. They solved this by persuading the unshaven masses that the safety razor didn't work and exciting combinations of plastic and metal which cost about five times as much were a better option. Apparently they knew the best shave was offered by the humble safety razor, but hey, enough advertising can solve almost any problem.
This appealed to my inner hippy and when the Three Parallel Blades ran out, I swapped them for a safety razor, brush and lump of soap, and do you know, this really does give a better shave, the old school razor blades are cheaper and easier to recycle. To add to the smug green glow I even used an old tea cup for the soap.
Yeah, man. Down with the purpose made soap dishes of tyranny and capitalism.
Then the local shop stopped stocking razors and soap, which I suppose was inevitable. So until I find a decent shaving shop in Stuttgart, I now have to order stuff online via the evil corporations which arguably defeats the point of the exercise.
Right there with you. No longer have the beard (have to be clean shaven to be able to wear a full face chemical respirator) I use a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls_Razor, they are no longer made but there are plenty of them, as well as repair parts available via E-Bay. There are even YouTube video's on how to use them. It is very similar to the safety razor but the blade is permanent. Interesting side story… in many older houses in the US there is a slot in the wall mounted 'medicine chest' in the bathroom to dispose of your safety razor double edged blades. We were remodeling such a house, the cabinet was probably installed around 1920, some 75 years later it is being removed. There was a huge pile of rusted blades in the wall cavity to be dealt with.
Hi Aaron. That's interesting information about the Rolls Razor. I'd seen one belonging to my grandfather but I was rather intimidated by it.
The traditional approach did fine for grandpa…don't forget the leather strop to go with it….and he had a nice smooth chin…..
Hmm… Knowing my ability to injure myself given the slightest opportunity I'm still not convinced.
This is very weird, as I just heard of that for the very first time last week when someone who had moved into a new apartment posted a photo on twitter wondering where the razors went. Mad how I managed to get through 40+ years of life without hearing that and all of a sudden it comes from two entirely different directions at once.
I wondered about making my own soap as well, Unfortunately with finals coming up I think I'd better concentrate on those for the time being. I've stockpiled shaving soap now anyway.
Think I still have your grandfathers Rolls razor somewhere. I will investigate and report back.