I remember asking at the end of 4th grade asking my father to shave my face after he finished cutting my hair. He could actually cut hair pretty well, so never had that buzz cut most fathers give, and he had the proper tools for a shave. That was the pace of things with facial hair, it needs a shave when my hair needed trimming, every few months or so. But things changed pretty quickly after that. By the end of the summer my father handed me his old Remington electric shaver and encouraged me to use it. So, there I was shaving my face with an aging razor while getting acne. Remington Microscreen certainly didn't shave closer than a razor, and unfortunately, I didn't get my money back. Things just got worse.
Junior high was a horror of problematic acne, razor burn, facial rash, and attempting to figure things out. I also found out I was allergic to aluminum, so most antiperspirants were out, ugh. What a mess. Sometimes I'd raid my sisters bic razor singles, but usually I just went two or three days, waiting for my face to heal, at which point my whiskers were long, and the famed Remington Microscreen would proceed to rip my face apart, chewing my follicles like they were bubble gum. I'd go to school with a rash and bleeding acne. WHEEE!
The above picture is a warning. If you see anything resembling this, do not use it, or even think about it, unless you have the finest peach fuzz imaginable. This will tear your face clean off.
It went on for some time, exactly, through college. For a graduation present I got a pen (that will be spoken of at some point) and razor,a really nice razor. It was a Merkur Futur.
The Merkur Futur is adjustable, very smooth shaving, and heavy enough to be comfortable in the hand. I used it off-and-on for nearly 10 years. Why off and on? While living in Southern California the double-edged blades were kept behind the counter at most drug stores, or just not sold. Crazy, right, but they were one of the most stolen products. If you've spent all your money on coke, I guess you have to steel the blades. Oh, and then when living in the East Bay, I could hardly find them because they were "Ecologically insensitive." WHAT?!? Like those plastic cartridge, or disposables are really eco-friendly. I didn't feel like growing a beard, so I'd shave with that old electric, and then when I could find blades I'd buy all I could find, use them up, and then suffer. My only complaint about this amazing razor, is that some of the parts used in its construction are not, as the Germans would say, rostfrei. After a decade, it started having major problems. Uneven shaving, and a loose handle. I looked carefully, and it was actually blowing apart from the inside. I decided, unwisely, to try a top notch Panasonic electric. Mistake. But due to a no return policy, it still sits in a drawer. That's one of my main complaints about razors, I understand about the sanitary aspect, but some are amazingly expensive, whether electric or safety, and quite an investment. Hopefully you'll find some help here. So what's a razor-burned, full-bearded dude to do?
Find it at your local junk store. That's what I did. While looking around for brass instruments at the local vintage and antique cooperative, I found two razors, a Gem 1912 and Gillette flare tip Super Speed. The Super Speed is part of a broad family called one piece or butterfly razors, since the head opens like a butterfly. I don't think I paid more than $20 for the two, and unlike earlier, was able to get double edged razors at the local drug store. The shave from both of these are superior to anything I had used before this point, and are still two of my go to razors.
I cleaned them thoroughly, soaked them in alcohol for a day, and then took an old toothbrush loaded
up with the finest car polish I had and scrubbed. Clean, sterile, and newly shiny.
The Gem 1912 (left), obviously a single edge. when newly loaded, can remove a heavy 3 day beard without a thought. The Gem stainless blades blades are sharp enough to use against the grain after the initial shave with the grain. It is aggressive and can, if handled improperly, cause bleeding. The learning curve was about 3 shaves. It is worth the scrapes.
The Gillette Super Speed (right) is a much easier shave. It doesn't handle the heavy multi-day growth, but as a daily shave, is very nice, probably one of the best I've used. It is not as close, but very gentle. Mine is a 1959 (E) first quarter (1). I have read that the Super Speeds from the 40's are even better, but the best come from 1951 and '52 when the brass shortage forced Gillette to make the handles from either stainless or aluminum. There is an Aristocrat model that is open comb (like the ball-end 3-piece razors from the 20's) that I would imagine is a very close shave. That I'd love to try.
To note, both of these tarnish, the Gem much more since when purchased almost all the plating was worn down to the bare brass. I repolished both again after a few months. They never tug the skin when tarnished, but can when newly polished. I suggest, if you get one of these vintage razors, gently polishing only once as part of the cleaning process, and letting them patina.
So, now I've been using double and single edge razors exclusively for 12 years. I have never had a rash, since, no bumps, no burn, and I can shave every day without worry. In that time, it has also become harder to find those vintage razors for a reasonable price. I have been lucky to get a number of them, never paying more than $12, but now my local shops, when they do have them, are all marked well over $25, and often in worse shape. If you find them, buy them. Try it out. And try all the different blades available to you, many sites have tens of choices, if not hundreds, for double edged, and at least a few single edged.
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