Does anyone here shave with a double-edge safety razor? I was intrigued by an online article that read…

“[They're the] same type of razor that your father, your grandfather, Cary Grant, Lee Marvin, JFK, and John Wayne used, and in the opinion of many shave-o-philes, the classic DE wipes the floor with any modern razor. I entirely concur – ever since I switched to using a DE razor, instead of a multi-blade cartridge razor, I get much closer and more comfortable shaves, my face doesn’t burn at all anymore, and all the red irritation on my neck I thought was there for good went away completely.”

Okay so the idea of shaving like Cary Grant, JFK and John Wayne sold it to me but the word in grooming seems to agree that shaving with a double-edge saftey produces the closest, most comfortable shave.

The idea is that shaving with a regular cartridge razor like a Mach 3 produces a very quick yet sub-par shave. In contrast, the double-edge razor gradually reduces the size of the beard which takes a little longer but results in a closer shave with less irritation. Apparently this is also a great way for black men to shave as a double-edge can easily shave through dense hair without causing ingrowns.

I don’t know if i’m quite ready to give up the convenience of a cartridge razor but the sound of a closer, irritation-free shave sounds very tempting. I may have to buy one that I can whip out for special occasions, taking the time to perform the whole shaving ‘ritual’ rather than quickly running a blade over my face in the morning before work.

It seems as though the best place to start with double-edged razors is with a company called Merkur and their ‘Hefty Classic’ safety razor.

And from there you can graduate to the undeniably tempting vintage razors.

Has anyone already taken the plunge? Send me an email or leave your thoughts in the comments section!