The Art of Zen Living

About two weeks ago, I received a package from Amazon.com containing the following:

• 1 “Merkur Long Handled Safety Razor-#180- Made in Germany” $29.49
• 1 “Merkur Double Edge Razor Blades- Pack of 10 Blades- Made in Germany” $5.29
• 1 “Col. Conk World’s Famous Super Bar Shaving Soap - 3.75 oz., Almond” $5.50

Subtotal of Items: $40.28
Shipping & Handling: $8.00
Total for this Order: $48.28

It’s worth noting that I already had the (I assume) boar’s hair brush pictured.  It ran me about $4 or $5 at Walmart a while back, and works just fine.  If you have to buy one, everything I’ve read suggests that buying a badger hair brush is the way to go.

So other than being able to take really cool old-timey looking black and white pictures at the sink in my bathroom, why would I decide to buy a piece of technology that, while revolutionary in it’s time, is clearly outdated now?  I mean, the thing does have TWO blades, but you can’t USE them both on your face at the same time!  Clearly that makes it inferior to the Bladezilla shaver I’d been using, with it’s 64 blades designed to cut the fur on my face so far below the skin I’m practically shaving my skull, right?

For those of you thinking that the possibility exists that this is a trick question, I’ll save you the suspense - it is.  I’m going to share with you how I came to this decision, my impressions, and point you to a few excellent resources for learning how to shave with one of these old-fangled contraptions!

At the end of last year, as I started learning how to take control of my life (which ironically involved a lot of letting go of things), I started learning more and more about frugality.  One of the comparisons I came across what the cost shaving with a double edged safety razor (pictured) as opposed to a “modern” New and Improved Power Blast Bladezilla Ultra Mega Master razor.  My experience was that even with the initial cost, I’ll break even in about 18 weeks, and start saving about $2 a week after that.  Not bad.  Added up over the course of a year, it was enough that I felt like, with a few other changes in how I did things, the latte factor might apply.

So I started looking around to see if I could find more detailed instructions on how to shave with one of these things, and to see if I thought I could even get an acceptable shave.  Turns out there were a lot of positive reviews of the end result, as well as a number of guides covering how to shave with a double edged safety razor.  It was all good enough for me, I decided to take the plunge.

Here are a few things I’ve learned:

1) When they say “don’t press down” and “apply as little pressure as possible”, they mean it.

I don’t really understand what they mean when they say that the weight of the razor is enough to do the job.  My experience was that the design of the razor is excellent, and the blade is sharp enough to cut the hairs without any pressure required.  Additionally, I learned that you want to take just a little extra care each time you start a new blade.  For me, that seems to be every 10th or 11th shave.  A new blade is really, REALLY sharp.  Any extra pressure at all, and you’re shaving into your skin.  I recommend against doing that.  It hurt, there was blood everywhere, and for the next few hours I looked like a joke for a bad skit or comic about shaving cuts.

2) Plan on trying this for the first time on a Saturday morning.

Or anytime you have a day or two before you have to make an impression on anyone.  It took me about seven or eight shaves to really get the hang of it, but after the first 2 I could at least make myself presentable.  This also gives your wounds time to heal if you chop yourself up like I did the first time.

3) It’s all about the angles!

You want that blade pretty much parallel to your face.  Not the razor, but the actual cutting edge of the blade.  I kept seeing the phrase “beard reduction, not beard removal”.  I think what they mean is that you’re going to make 2-3 short strokes over each areas as you work your way down your face.  At least, on my face, the majority of “the grain” runs top to bottom.  I may take 8-10 total short strokes to make it from the top of my ear to the end of my beard, half way down my neck.

4) The Grain.  Let me say a word about against the grain.

It seems like everyone wants to make a big deal about “don’t ever shave against the grain!”.  I saw that statement so often, I started wondering if it was worse to shave against the grain, or to feed my mogwai after midnight.  Pretty much my entire adult life, I’ve had to shave against the grain of my beard to get a decently close shave.  The difference with the safety razor is that when I shave against the grain with it, I get a fantastically close shave.  Take proper care, but if you typically shave against the grain of your beard, there’s no reason not to continue to do so if you find you need to.

5) The Ritual is Important.

It’s hard to explain why the ritual is so much different.  I think it has to do with the number of steps.  Wet my face.  Wet the brush.  Swirl brush over the soap two or three times.  Work brush over my face until I have a nice, thick lather.  Shave the right side of my face.  Work brush back over the left side of my face.  Shave the left side of my face.  Work brush over my left palm.  Rub hands together and smooth lather over my face.  Shave right side of my face “against the grain”.  Gather a bit of lather from my face and smooth it over the left side of my face.  Shave the left side of my face “against the grain”.  Wash face.  Take a bit of lotion or aftershave and apply.  Personally, I prefer lotion, as I can apply it to my entire face rather than just the shaven areas.

6) DOUBLE EDGED!

It’s like having 2 razors.  One of the things I hated about cartridge razors was that I’d have to stop in the middle of a “row” I was shaving and rinse the razor.  Not with this bad boy.  Just turn it around and use the clean, fresh side!

7) That’s a razor sharp metal blade you have at your throat.

I can’t explain why, but feeling that blade on my neck and face just makes me feel all manly.  I look in the mirror and think “Yeah, that’s me.  Just call me Billy D. Badass!”

8) Authentic shave soap and shave cream.

It’s not just a shave, it’s a sensory experience.  Real shave soaps and creams have lather, scents, oils and textures to them that the gel stuff they push today just can’t compete with.  Not to mention they’re a lot more cost effective.

9) This is the closest shave I’ve ever had in my life.

Not only do I get the closest shave I’ve ever had, I get it consistently.  The only thing that modern razors seem to do a better job of is taking more money out of my wallet.  While that may benefit Gillette, it certainly isn’t the best THIS man can get.

I’m sold.  The only thing about this experience I’ve found that could be considered a drawback is that it takes about 3 minutes longer than using a “modern” razor, but you do get a much better shave.  For me, taking that extra 3 minutes reminds me to be mindful.  It’s a way to be kind to myself first thing in the morning, and that sets a positive pace for my day.

I can’t seem to help thinking to myself as I work up that fantastic lather “Shave simple, shave happy…”

If you liked this post, please digg it. It’s something new I’m trying out, so I’d appreciate it!