Future of (my) Shaving

Current Status

So upon much reading I decided I would take the plunge into the world of the double edge safety razor. I spent a while looking around Dublin for the Wilkinson Sword Classic. This is a (mostly) plastic Wilkinson Sword DE razor. I couldn't find one anywhere I looked. Eventually I turned to eBay where I was able to buy one, with 5 WS blades and shipping from Poland for around €9. This is cheaper than 4 Mach 3 blades. I thought I'd try it.

I waited, oh how I waited, for it to arrive and eventually it did. It's not a badly constructed razor, it's mostly plastic, quite heavy feels solid. I thought it was worth a go. Anything I had read online said it was a reasonable razor for a beginner or back up razor. My first shave with it was a nigh on which my wife and I were going out. Folks, if you're making the move to DE shaving, do not pick a special occasion for your first attempt. It was stressful, bloody and resulted in me finishing with my Aldi razor. I spent a while trying to make the bleeding stop.

I had read online and watched videos that show DE shaving is very different to using a cartridge razor. In my infinite wisdom I thought I should just go for it. I also assumed, naturally, that something brand new would be both easier and better than the thing I've been doing for at least 22 years. It turns out I was mistaken about this. Sadly I don't think I have any photos of the blood bath. In the end ice was the tool to stop the worst of the bleeding. After about 30 minutes I was able to wash most of them away with cold water and go for dinner only slightly self-conscious.

The blood bath was on Saturday 15 July. The photo below was taken two days later, after shaving for the second time. This is a significant improvement on my first experience with said razor. I should highlight that the razor is not at fault. My DE shaving skills are entirely to blame.

17 July 2017

I continued using this razor for the remainder of the week. In that week I reached point where I could almost shave without cutting myself. Six days later, on Friday the 22 July, I decided I should buy a better razor. Being unable to use that one properly, I thought I should spend money on a new razor. I had read quite a bit online and a common recommendation was the Merkur 34c. I had my mind set on that one and went into town to buy. If you're in Dublin, there is a shop in the Stephen's Green centre which stocks a lot of razors. I held a few of them in there; Merkur; Parker and Muhle. In the end I settled on the Merkur 38c. It has a longer handle than the 34c and I thought a nicer balance. The razor came with a single Merkur blade and the shop gave me a pack of 10 Muhle blades.