cross-posted from: https://lemmit.online/post/5774540
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The original was posted on /r/todayilearned by /u/ICanStopTheRain on 2025-05-07 03:51:37+00:00.
Original Title: TIL that in 1975, after Gillette introduced a two-blade cartridge razor, Saturday Night Live aired a fake commercial for a three-blade razor. Gillette introduced one in 1998. In 2004, a satirical article in The Onion introduced a fictional five-blade razor. A real five-blade razor came out in 2006.
Kinda the same with my safety razor, I do a hot water plus soap rinse -> shaving gel made for intimate use -> Shave with the grain (Gets close enough for me)-> Apply alum stone as aftershave -> Clean razor -> Rinse face -> Moisturise if necessary.
As long as I rinse the razor properly after shaving I get away with switching blades once a month or so and I got a 200pc Mühle Stainless Steel pack for ~50 euro back when I bought my razor. The alum stone looks barely used. I’m never going back to cartridge razors.
Blades vary greatly between brands. Get a sampler pack from eBay to find ones you like. Then buy them in bulk. 100 blades will generally cost from $8-$14, depending on the brand. Some, like Feather, are more expensive.
I might be a fool but I don’t mind paying €51.95 for a 200 pack when the manufacturing is in Germany.
If there was any manufacturing of blades in Sweden I would probably buy those unless the price or quality is way different but all I can find is china manufactured blades with “Swedish stainless steel” such as Rockwell.
I cannot express adequately how different blades are from each other. Some are smoother than others, some are sharper and some improve after a few uses. Some last longer.
I have fairly fine whiskers, so I don’t need a crazy sharp blade like Feather. My skin is also a bit sensitive, so a smooth blade is best.
For me Big Ben, blades made by Lord in Egypt are really good. One of the versions of Shark, also made by Lord are pretty good too.
I find Wilkenson Sword blades to be horribly scratchy, and the name for some of the Gillette blades. Voskhod aren’t bad, except they are Russian.
You don’t realize how different they are until you try.
I got a sample pack of about 200 when I first purchased my safety razor like 10 years ago as well. I got about 20 left. It’s crazy how cheap it all is.