"A man needs a fine blade"
When Haresh Clay said that in an episode of the "Highlander" TV series, he was talking about swords. But modern men do need a fine blade -- to shave.
Instapundit linked to Ralph Kinney Bennett's fascinating article on the history of shaving. If I may add, according to Isaac Asimov in his Book of Facts, Alexander the Great couldn't grow much of a beard, which is why he established the tradition of clean-shavenness.
Instapundit also pointed to his previous entries, including this one where he reproduced a note sent by yours truly. I still prefer blades to electric shavers, and I still use the Gillette Sensor Excel. In fact, in a twist on the tradition of a father willing his straight-razor to a son, I still have and use my father's old Sensor razor handle. (Is it an early model? It's a very, very good handle, very sturdy with metal parts, much better than the plastic ones I see today.) I find Sensor Excels very inexpensive and economical, just as good -- perhaps better -- than a Mach3, and comfortable.
Blades occasionally give me a problem. There's a small mole on the back corner of the right side of my jaw, and it can bleed badly when nicked. I've ruined more than one nice dress shirt by putting it on before noticing I'd cut myself trying to shave too quickly. Still, I love the close shave of a blade. My skin is as sensitive as you can imagine, but a good shaving cream takes care of that. Like Instapundit, I like Barbasol: it's cheap, it rinses cleanly, and it's as good a lubricant as the fancy gels.
When getting some new cartridges at Wal-Mart this summer, I noticed a Braun knock-off, including the trimmer, for only $3.84. That's right, three dollars and eighty-four cents. At first I thought it was on the wrong rack, but I confirmed it at the register. A big part of its cheap price is that it uses two alkaline AA batteries (which it came with) instead of being rechargeable. I have extra rechargeable batteries, though, and the shaver is surprisingly great for my occasional emergency (hurried) use. But I don't see it on the racks anymore, which surprises me since it's just as good as a real Braun.
Instapundit linked to Ralph Kinney Bennett's fascinating article on the history of shaving. If I may add, according to Isaac Asimov in his Book of Facts, Alexander the Great couldn't grow much of a beard, which is why he established the tradition of clean-shavenness.
Instapundit also pointed to his previous entries, including this one where he reproduced a note sent by yours truly. I still prefer blades to electric shavers, and I still use the Gillette Sensor Excel. In fact, in a twist on the tradition of a father willing his straight-razor to a son, I still have and use my father's old Sensor razor handle. (Is it an early model? It's a very, very good handle, very sturdy with metal parts, much better than the plastic ones I see today.) I find Sensor Excels very inexpensive and economical, just as good -- perhaps better -- than a Mach3, and comfortable.
Blades occasionally give me a problem. There's a small mole on the back corner of the right side of my jaw, and it can bleed badly when nicked. I've ruined more than one nice dress shirt by putting it on before noticing I'd cut myself trying to shave too quickly. Still, I love the close shave of a blade. My skin is as sensitive as you can imagine, but a good shaving cream takes care of that. Like Instapundit, I like Barbasol: it's cheap, it rinses cleanly, and it's as good a lubricant as the fancy gels.
When getting some new cartridges at Wal-Mart this summer, I noticed a Braun knock-off, including the trimmer, for only $3.84. That's right, three dollars and eighty-four cents. At first I thought it was on the wrong rack, but I confirmed it at the register. A big part of its cheap price is that it uses two alkaline AA batteries (which it came with) instead of being rechargeable. I have extra rechargeable batteries, though, and the shaver is surprisingly great for my occasional emergency (hurried) use. But I don't see it on the racks anymore, which surprises me since it's just as good as a real Braun.
posted by Perry Eidelbus at
12:39 AM
3 Comments:
I too like razors better than electric, but that is only because electrics don't do the job on my beard. I have a very thick and tough folicle and using electric leaves a lot of hair and causes immense pain. OTOH, I've thought of going straight razor, but I worry I might seriously cut myself in the morning when I have little time and am just waking up.
What do you mean, "I too like razors better than electric"
Electrics ARE razors, as are blades.
Strictly speaking, no. "Electric" is a necessary qualification for such devices, because "razor" by itself denotes a blade.
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