Shaving Brushes: Synthetic, Badger or Boar?

The second key item in any wet shaver's arsenal is a good shave brush. It is such a useful peice of kit which multi-tasks and saves you money at the same time.

A shave brush serves the primary purpose of building and applying a lather, traditionally from a shave cream or soap. But the brush also helps to lift the bristles and exfoliate the skin, preparing your face for the shave.

There are three main distinct types of hair used in a shave brush: synthetic, badger and boar.

Synthetic & Boar
Modern brushes are often constructed from synthetic bristles (primarily nylon) or from boar hair, or from a mix of the two. Basic boar hair or synthetic shave brushes are typically constructed from stiffer bristles which have a high water retention capacity allowing for a good lather. However,such brushes vary dramatically in quality from one to another. The men-u premier shaving brush manages to combine the water retention capacity of a synthetic brush with a very soft feeling bristle much akin to a badger hair brush.

Synthetic and boar brushes are generally a fair bit cheaper than badger brushes, but a top end men-u premier will set you back around £35 or $60. I think this is a really good price when you consider the price of a top end badger hair brush and the fact this brush combines the best of both brush types (synthetic and badger).

Badger hair brushes

The badger hair brush is the favoured bristle for the majority of traditional wet shavers, and there are many benefits to be found in using such a brush. These brushes also have a high water retention capacity, and the bristles last for a very long time, meaning the brush maintains its quality for years and years.

These qualities, as well as the softness of the bristle, vary depending on the grading of the badger hair. There are four common gradings used by retailers and manufacturers to describe their brushes:

• Pure badger - this is the hair type which is most abundant on the badger's body, and is usually dark in colour, stiff in feel and cheapest in price
• Best badger - these brushes have more hair, which is longer and finer, producing a superior lather to the pure badger
• Super badger - this is composed usually of pure bristles which have been treated to exceed the performance of the best badger
• Silvertip badger - the rarest and hence most pricey type of hair, tips of the bristles appear white in colour, holds lots of water and can create a lather more quickly than other brushes

This last picture is from a brilliant article from badger and blade. Here is the link :

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2355

Modern Day Safety Razors

Disposable Razors

The Bic disposable razor was the next innovation in the safety razor industry when the company introduced a razor which was entirely disposable, unlike its predecessors with disposable blades.

I have used the bic single blade disposable razors and think they're brilliant value for money. I bought a pack of 10 when I lost my Merkur Futur safety razor and was pleasantly surprised at what a good shave they gave.

I intended to use them until I could afford a new double edge, but was so impressed at the value (around 12p per razor, £1.20 for 10 from any local pharmacy) that I thought I would stick with disposable razors and give some others a go.


I tried the multi-bladed Bics aswell as the Gillette Blue II (another brilliant disposable razor), but just preferred the Bic one blade for value and performance, aswell as for the irritation-free shave I acheived when using it.



The thing I really liked about these disposable razors most of all was the blade angle. As I had only been using my Merkur Futur for a couple of months before losing it, I hadn't conquered the correct blade angle and wasn't getting the best shave possible.

The head of the Gillette Blue II and the Bic was fixed at the perfect angle and I was able to get a very close shave given the difference in price of a £40 Futur and a 12p disposable.

If you are shaving using multi-blade razors such as the Gillette Mach 3 of Fusion, I would recommend giving these disposable razors with a fixed head a go - you might be suprised.

The Rise of the Multi-blade

Gillette have produced safety razors capable of taking cartridges with multi-blades since the early 70s'. The claim which has aided the rise of the multi-blade is that the first blade simply pulls the hair allowing the following blades to cut the hair.

Since the first double bladed cartridge razor was launched, gillette has produced razors capable of following the contours of the face due to pivoting heads, and rival brands have followed such designs. The Wilkinson Sword Quattro was a four blade innovation launched to trump the popular Gillette Mach 3, and Gillete responded with the five bladed Fusion.

There is much controversy surrounding the rise of multi-blade safety razors, with the companies arguing the razors give the closest possible shave in the shortest amount of time, and the pivoting head and electric vibrations further aid the shave. Others are drawn to the profitability of these razors and the blades (Gillette saw a 50% rise in blade sales with the introduction of the more expensive Mach 3), and many feel that the razors have only enjoyed such success due to their widespread availabilty and heavy promotion.

Traditional wet shavers argue that the extra blades irritate the skin, and the razor weight is not heavy enough to acheive a close shave without applying pressure which causes irritation.

I personally prefer the traditional double edge due to pricing, aesthetics, less irritation and razor weight. However, I won't deny the success of multi-bladed razors such as the Gillette Mach 3, a legend in the history of wet shaving.

I like the look of the rarer, heavier razors capable of taking gillette mach 3 blades which are increasingly seen in barbershops. These combine the weight of a traditional safety razor with the benefits of multi blade shaving.

Safety Razors- All You Need to Know

Now for my personal favourite: the safety razor. The safety razor was developed as an alternative to the more dangerous and trickier straight edge. The razor really stated its claim in the industry when Gillette first supplied the US army with 3.5 million razors and 32 million blades through World War I.

The safety razor concept consists of the use of a guard to prevent the small blade from cutting the skin.

This was a huge step forward in terms of wet shaving, as a razor was now readily available which could be used relatively easily in comparison to its predecessor, the cut throat.

The availabilty of disposable blades further aided the rise in popularity of the safety razor, and many people had replaced the cut throat or their trip to the barbers in favour of the convenient safety razor.

Sadly the introduction of multi blade safety razors saw a fall in the popularity of the traditional double edge, but there is still a huge market for the razors thanks to 'traditional' wet shavers, who favour a shave cream or soap, along with a shaving brush and a traditional razor.

Merkur are one of the dominant producers of safety razors today, with Parker being another contender in today's traditional safety razor market. Whilst it is more difficult to find such razors in everyday convenience stores or pharmacies, there is an incredible selection of double edge safety razors available online.

Whats more, the blades for the such razors are much cheaper thank the multi blade counterparts, and I find they give much less irritation when correct shave technique is used.

In terms of a razor which is cheap to use, safe and gives a really close shave with little irritation, I don't think the double edge can be beaten, but that is simply an opinion. It is best to try all types and find out which is best for you.

When learning to shave with the traditional safety razor, my main resource was the Mantic59 videos on YouTube, which are simply brilliant. They give you an overview of the A-Z of traditional wet shaving, giving information on products and technique alike. Check them out if you are new to traditional wet shaving. If you are familiar with the concepts of traditional wet shaving then my guess is that you're familiar with Mantic already. If you're not, its worth having a look anyway.

The Shavette: a More Convenient Straight Razor or Just a Glorified Safety Razor?

I first encountered the shavette when I visited a local barbershop and was suprised to see the barber yielding a straight razor to shave the back of my neck. When I saw him then take out what was half of a derby safety razor blade, I was intrigued and had a look on the internet to find out more.

Shavettes are reasonably priced and a decent dovo of Solingen shavette will set you back around £25 or around $40 but you can find much cheaper models, such as the one offered by http://www.shaving-shack.com/

Whilst I really like the idea of being able to simply throw out your used blade at the end of the shave and insert a sharp new one for the next without the pain of stropping, I just couldn't understand what advantage the shavette has over a traditional safety razor as they both accept similar blades.

However, the shavette often offers a selection of attachment blade holders which can hold different varieties of blade.

Here are a couple of the different blade holders offered by dovo, and the selection ranges from holders for standard double edge or single edge safety blades to personna shavette blades which are much thicker and similar to a real straight razor blade, but still disposable.


So the shavette may well be a more convenient alternative to the straight razor, with the personna shavette blades offering a similarly close shave to the straight razor. I can't help thinking the traditional straight razor just has a certain coolness or appeal which I can't put my finger on, and I  think the shavette, however brilliant, just misses that edge.

For more info on the shavette, here's a pretty good video I found on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_wcL-nPGRg

Straight Razors: The 'Cut Throat' King of Sharpness

Following on from my previous post, I'll try to outline the main points you might like to know about the straight razor when deciding which razor type is best for you.

Originally yielded only by skilled barbers, the straight razor has grown in popularity with wet shavers the world over as easily available information on how to use this shaving tool is easily available over the internet.

The straight razor, when treated correctly is arguably the sharpest type of razor, but this sharpness comes with a trade-off with convenience, as most traditional straight razors must be treated correctly to maintain blade sharpness, and must be yeilded correctly to prevent injury, as the title of 'cut throat' may suggest.

A strop is a strip of canvas or leather, and is used to sharpen the straight razor by re-aligning identations.

Straight razors require stropping after each use in order to maintain optimum blade sharpness.

Alternatively, a whetstone or sharpening stone might be used to sharpen the blade.

The type of blade found in a straight razor can be defined according to the type of point, the type of grinding method used or the degree of curvature.

The key piece of information usually given about a straight razor is the degree of curvature or blade width. This is the number given in units of eighths of an inch and is the distance between the back of the blde and the cutting edge.

Wider blades extend the number of passes which can be made before rinsing, whereas a narrow blade can reach smaller areas but needs to be rinsed more often, which may arguably extend shaving time.

These videos are brilliant for giving the main points on straight razor shaving if you want to know more about it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUK56EqF-B0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLbpe62bubk&feature=channel

Razors: so many to choose from, but which one to choose?

I thought I should kick this blog off with a question which is still plaguing me: Which razor should I use?

There are numerous varieties of razor, each with its own assets and drawbacks, but personal preference is often the ultimate decider as what may seem like the best type of razor to one wet shaver may seem like the worst to another.

The main types of razor used for traditional wet shaving are as follows:

• the straight razor, or 'cut throat' razor

• the shavette, a variation of the cut throat which allows disposable blades to be inserted
• the 'double edge' safety razor

• the multi-blade safety razor