Maximum Fitness is a self-described no B.S. essential guide to fitness and health for the busy man. Besides in-depth workout advice, they routinely cover topics such as fitness, health, nutrition, weight loss, supplements, sex and training tips and tricks.
Fendrihan’s shaving and grooming products recently made it to this fit magazine’s pages. Our Merkur Double-Edge Safety Razors were reviewed in their “Get Your Gear On” section as one of the ways to get the best shave. MaxFit considered them one of the best safety razors around:
It’s the ideal midpoint between a straight razor and a disposable: You get a close, comfortable
shave with less razor burn. These are the razors that your grandfather, Cary Grant, Lee Marvin and John Wayne used—
the ones that were used in the trenches during the Second World War. These modern classics cost a little more initially, but replacement blades are generally cheaper than disposables.
As for their tips for the perfect old-fashioned shave, their emphasis is on technique, but not without these three essentials: a safety razor; a pot of high-end British shaving cream, such as Geo F Trumper’s; and a proper badger-hair brush. And don’t forget to follow the perfect shave with a non-alcohol-based moisturizer; their recommendation, Geo F Trumper’s Skin Food.
A wet-shaving-centric event is in the works. Details so far are: Chicago, November 10, with topics such as fine liquors, cigars and traditional shaving. Some more information from Mantic59′s blog:
They want to bring in barber chairs to be set around the Palmer House’s mezzanine with barbers offering straight razor shaves, various vendors with giveaways, some kind of tasting event, and a room specifically for traditional shaving aficionados from the web forums to meet.
And they have asked me to conduct a presentation on traditional shaving! In fact there might be two: one for the “general” event and one in the room with the web forum users.
This all sounds really exciting and we are eager to see how it develops!
We often get questions about the degree of sharpness and performance of particular double-edge blade brands. These differ in various ways: sharpness, flexibility, coating and thickness, all of which have an influence in the way they shave.
In terms of sharpness, the most popular brands could be classified (in a rather inexact and unscientific way) as follows (from mildest to sharpest):
Please keep in mind that sharper is not always better. Some will prefer milder blades since they’ll find them smoother and less prone to produce irritation.
To find your ideal blade, it is a good idea to try a sampler pack. Start out with the mildest brand and move up to the more aggressive ones. Hair pulling is a sign the blade is too dull or mild for you. Excessive irritation means the blade is too aggressive. The right blade should feel… just right, and glide smoothly. Then you’re ready to commit.
Choosing a shaving brush can be as challenging as choosing a safety razor. The large selection of brushes, array of hair sources (badger, boar or horse), range of grades of hair (pure, best, super and silver-tip in the case of badger hair), choice of shapes or materials for handles, and variety of knot sizes seem to produce a certain “buyers’ block”.
Some simple rules for follow:
Bigger is not always better. Some big brushes, while certainly looking the part, might prove to be slightly impractical; especially due to their tendency to put lather in your ears as well as on your face.
Boar and horse bristles will be thicker and scrubbier than badger hair (which tends to be the most flexible and with the best water-retention qualities).
Soft and flexible is not always the answer. Some men, especially those with thicker beard and normal (not sensitive) skin types might end up deciding that a scrubbier boar or horse hair brush works best for them.
Grade is not absolute. When it comes to pure, best, super and silver-tip badger hair, the classification is not uniform across brands and manufacturers. A Simpsons super badger might end up being superior to another producer’s silver-tip.
Quality comes at a price. The maxim that you get what you pay for is rather accurate when shopping for a shaving brush. Still, you can find some brands with very good price/quality ratio. H.L. Thater probably makes the best silver-tip brushes, Vulfix most likely has some of the best super badgers and it’s very hard to find a better best-badger than the one made by Simpsons.
Weigh all the factors. Remember that you pay not only for the hair grade but also for knot-density and craftsmanship. A floppy and shedding silver-tip might end up being useless compared to a better made, denser super-badger brush.
Choose a hand-made brush. Machine-made brushes might be more prone to shedding and their bristles are trimmed in order to produce the distinctive shape of the brush. This last procedure destroys the bristles’ soft and very elastic tips, the main reason for choosing a badger brush.
With the variety of safety razors on offer and the amount of conflicting advice, choosing my first razor has become rather overwhelming. Can you give me a clear answer on which is the best razor for a beginner?
First, before we go into the issue of finding the “perfect” double-edge safety razor for a new wet-shaver we have to clarify several terms:
What is a safety razor? The answer is rather simple: any shaver that is not a straight razor (basically a sharp, open blade with a handle) is a safety razor. If the razor has any type of safety feature that is intended to reduce blade exposure to only the tip of the edge, and thus reduce your chances of cutting your throat while shaving, it’s safety razor. Double-edge razors and cartridge type shavers are safety-razors. Shavette razors, since they closely resemble a straight razor, are not. More detailed info on safety razors can be found on… well Wikipedia.
What is a double-edge razor? A razor that takes double-edge blades.
So, now the logical question is what is a double edge-blade?
A squarish blade that has cutting edges on both of its longitudinal sides. Note: double-edge blades are not the same as twin-blades. The latter are basically cartridges with two parallel blades, one on top of the other.
So to summarize, all double-edge razors are safety razors, but not all safety-razors are double-edge shavers (by now you should have figured out that we use the terms “razor” and “shaver” interchangeably).
Now that we have covered the basic terminology of safety and double-edge razors, we can concentrate on the question that so many new wet-shavers are asking:
Which is the best/perfect razor for a beginner?
An obvious, and rather cheeky, answer would be: whichever works best for you, but this is of little help. However, on a more serious note, we have to stress that most double-edge razors are similar, so your selection might better be influenced by which type of razor you like most from an aesthetic point of view.
For example, most Merkur razors have the same head (the part that holds the blade), hence their shaving behavior is rather similar. The only exceptions are their special models like Slant Bar, a very aggressive razor with a specially designed, slanted head and their adjustable razors (Progress, Futur and Vision).
For all other Merkur models the difference is only in the length, thickness and heft of the handle. Obviously, this part of the shaver does have some influence on how it shaves since, for example, a heavier razor will cut slightly faster, but the difference won’t be huge. Nevertheless, for some the difference between a good and mediocre shave lies in the small details.
Things get even simpler with Edwin Jagger, Muhle and Joris razors, as each brand currently uses only one type of razor head. So, for exemplification purposes, the difference between various E. Jagger shavers rests in the handles; how long, heavy, thick or decorated they are, with the head being identical for all models.
And how do razor heads differ from brand to brand?
There are some sizable differences. Joris and old open-comb Muhle razors tend to be the most aggressive, with aggressiveness being determined by the blade exposure, or the difference between the blade and the blade guard. Merkur razor heads are somewhere in the middle with the E. Jagger and Muhle new models being slightly milder. Weishi are by far the mildest razors to the point of not being recommended for those with normal to thick beards.
In conclusion, while differences exist between different brands and razor models, in the end new wet-shavers aesthetic preferences should pay no small part in choosing a razor.
Film maker Felix Nelson Elsen explores two North London barber shops —one modern, one traditional— to bring you an unfiltered, observational look at what goes on inside them. Barbershop talk, vintage tools and a bit of history all make for an interesting short film. Nice cameo of a Belgian Coticule in action.
Maximum Fitness is a self-described no B.S. essential guide to fitness and health for the busy man. Besides in-depth workout advice, they routinely cover topics such as fitness, health, nutrition, weight loss, supplements, sex and training tips and tricks.
