I think that it's also important to consider that it's much easier to cut oneself when using a double edge razor. The multiple blades locked to a specific angle that makes a modern razor safer likely also contributes to its greater cost and plastic waste.
I suspect that it's more also difficult to travel with exposed blades than with modern cartridges; both due to the ease of packing and due to security hassles.
Personally I started shaving using an electric razor, switched to a double edged razor, and then eventually switched to a modern razor.
A Double Edged razor - also called *Safety Razor* - is a tool that is pretty safe, and requires a few minutes (few shaves) to get the hang of it and virtually almost never cut yourself again.
You do not need to travel with exposed blades, you can remove the blades, and probably buy new blades for a few cents at the destination.
Making things superficially safer at the cost of wasting resources the future generations will need greatly to save 5 minutes of training and practice is the typical problem of our age. As the author pointed out, this trend applies to many parts of our lives with slight differences.
I've never been anywhere inside the US where I could disembark a plane and buy razor blades for my DE razors.
The biggest safety benefit for cartridge razors is that they prevent you from cutting yourself when side-slipping, whereas a DE razor will gash your face open if you side-slip. But it is a tradeoff.
This is bizarre - I flew into Alberta from BC with just a carryon, meaning I couldn't carry razor blades. The TSA gave me weird looks for the bladeless shavette, but I could walk into Pharmasave (and I've seen them at Save-On, Shoppers, and more) and buy both double-edge razor, and the blades, in minutes
I'm actually incredulous you can't buy blades anywhere in the states
Yeah this was my experience going to Victoria BC. I was surprised that I could buy double-edged blades for my razor in the pharmacy there. Little stuff like that makes me think I belong in Canada more than the US.
> I've never been anywhere inside the US where I could disembark a plane and buy razor blades for my DE razors
This is odd. I've purchased razor blades from Walgreens and CVS locations across the US. Pharmacies in New York, San Francisco, and Denver as well as local pharmacies in small towns. I've also purchased them traveling abroad in Europe and the UK.
I just checked Walgreens' stock around me and every store within 5 miles (I think there's 7 of them) claims to have the Walgreens brand DE razor blades in stock.
Been using DE razors for probably 15 years and never had anything more than a nick.
It's pretty safe but accidents still happen. Just the other day I sliced my finger while grabbing my king gillette from the filled sink. It happened because I wasn't looking and the blade was exposed. I basically unscrewed it to clean out the hairs and didn't tighten in back up before dropping in the sink. And this happens to me sometimes that I don't fully tighten it. Even though I've been using this type of razor for a couple of years already I still manage to nick myself occasionally if I'm not careful.
I really rarely nick myself. I usually use a towel to grab the head of the razor when tightening/loosening it for cleaning or changing blades. Luckily for me I have not cut myself yet in the process.
I have a scar on my pointer finger from a deep cut from playing with the head of a HDD as a kid. It is similar to a deep razorblade cut. It still aches sometimes 20+ years after the accident. Be careful!
Which, funny enough, was one of the complaints about Gillette's disposable safety razor blades long before we had totally disposable razors which are much more wasteful.
Same. I love the Henson. Had it for a few weeks now but it feels no less safe than the Harry's disposable cartridges I was using before. Ignoring the tiny amount of extra plastic I save each year and the 10s of dollars on cartridges, I really just enjoy throwing away less stuff and the feel of a well made object that is intended to last for a long time.
+1 for the Henson, it's an engineering marvel. It's precision machined to stabilise the whole length of the blade edge to prevent it from wobbling and bending, which makes shaving much easier and the blade last longer. It makes the blade seem sharper. It also makes it harder to cut yourself since the blade can not sink into your skin.
This is the kind of engineering we need more of. No more proprietary, vendor lock in recurring costs. They designed a razor to work as perfectly as possible with an existing standard (the double edge safety razor blade).
I don’t have the Henson razor so I can’t directly compare, but I do have a Rockwell, and also a stubby Mekur. Someone gave me the Rockwell as a gift thinking safety razors somehow wear out, so I have two.
So I took a close look at the Henson website with the product photos, and today before shaving I took a close look at both the Rockwell and Mekur, and also used the Mekur for the first time in years just because of this.
As far as I can tell, every thing about all these safety razors is very similar. There’s no huge innovation going on in this area, and while I don’t know if other safety razors are built super crappy, at least the two I have are still good: Mekur still works the same after 20 years and Rockwell close to 10.
Comparing photos to the Rockwell, it looks almost the exact same: it screws down the same, holds the blade with the two side holes plus centre screw, curves the blade the same way, open channels on the back to flush hair out easily, etc. Rockwell even has a bonus compared to Henson: the plate you can flip over to go from 3 (30% angle?) to 1 (10% angle?) while the Henson is fixed.
Comparing the Mekur to the Rockwell (and at this point I’m assuming Henson), you can feel more of what the blade is doing with the Mekur, I think it has to do with the lighter weight. The Rockwell shaves a bit smoother over the skin, but this gives slightly more irritation after the shave - but not much. I can tell the angle of the Rockwell on 3 is more aggressive and shaves closer, but I’m fine with it and have never bothered to try on 1 and as said haven’t used the Mekur in a while either.
Anyway I have a gut feeling that Henson has advertised more, or more recently, based on other comments saying they saw it on YouTube, so I think that whatever high quality safety razor of the day/year/decade will be what most get, and what you will most likely hear about, even though there is nothing really new or better for a while now.
Interesting thought: the Mekur may be the better “safety” razor design just because you open and close it from the end of the handle, vs having to hold the head with your fingers near the blade to screw it down when changing blades on Henson and Rockwell.
Also, it’s interesting that both Henson and Rockwell are both Canadian.
I went from cheap disposables, to a safety razor, back to electric. Prefer the new electric razors, but nothing will beat the safety razor for a clean shave.
I went from a cheap electric ages ago, to cartridge razors, to a DE safety razor, stuck with that for a decade, and finally landed back on electric.
Modern electric razors give me the best shave I've ever gotten. The shave is as close as it needs to be for all practical purposes, but it's much gentler with essentially no risk of cuts, bumps, or irritation. I use a Braun Series 9 on my head and face (Panasonic Arc is supposedly great too) and a Philips OneBlade on my neck (the less close shave avoids causing bumps), in a hot shower with whatever oil I have on hand for pre-shave (MCT) and either Cremo, eos UltraProtect, or Amazon Basics shaving cream (these three all do about the same job, but I had to experiment with a bunch of others that were awful).
The Braun 9 is a bit of an up front investment, but beyond that the ongoing costs are fairly low as long as you maintain it properly. Factoring in cleaning/lubrication supplies, replacement heads, and shaving cream, I'd ballpark it at around $10/mo.
> I think that it's also important to consider that it's much easier to cut oneself when using a double edge razor.
I've actually found it to be the opposite in my case, after having used a double-edge safety razor for almost 7 years. When I use the DE razor, I know exactly where the blade is and it gives me greater control if I need to go over a spot again that I missed. With the disposable razor, I've always found it difficult to tell where the blades are on my skin, which makes me prone to errors. The multiple blades in sequence also make it much more nick-prone when going against the grain for a closer shave, or as in the missed-spot scenario I just mentioned.
But yes, you're right - it's basically impossible to travel with a DE razor without a checked bag. Even just carrying the handle without the blade in your carry-on is a risk. I have an acquaintance who lost his DE handle to a TSA agent that wasn't interested in understanding that the handle by itself poses no more risk than a toothbrush. So, if I'm flying, I'll suffer with the disposable razor and never shave against the grain.
Bevel makes disposable safety razors for travel. Yes disposable double edged safety razors. They are quite nice nice. It's a plastic handle with standard double edged blade in there but it's non removable.
I stand corrected! I do suppose I could also get a travel safety razor that comes apart into 3 parts (as opposed to a single piece with a butterfly opening) and pack them separately. Of course that could mean some blade wastage: I'm rarely in one location long enough to use up all 5 in a pack.
Not to shill, but the reason modern razors make it harder to cut yourself is that the head pivots. This isn't intrinsically tied to being a disposable cartridge. I know that at least OneBlade and Leaf make razors with pivoting heads which accept either single-edge or halves of double-edged blades respectively. You get the benefits of lower waste/spend and fewer cuts/less careful shaving.
Ironic that the razor you call double-edge was originally known as a safety razor - one of its main advantages over the previous technology (straight razors - of Sweeney Todd fame)
The pivoting head on these is a game changer after using the traditional double edge razor. I do cut myself on occasion (Feathers are SHARP) but usually when I'm trying to rush things, and not as much as with the traditional razor.
>The multiple blades locked to a specific angle that makes a modern razor safer
So are the blades in double edged razors, which is why they're also called ... safety razors. The cap at the top and the bottom basically fix the blade at a particular angle, when you angle it wrong it just won't really cut. They were literally designed so people could shave at home instead of going to the barber.
While it's true it is a little easier, I also don't find I ever do it. Admittedly, this no doubt depends on skin and use case, and I only shave around my beard, not all over.
For my use case, I find the multiple blades get clogged more easily and make it way harder to get a clean line, so a simple safety razor works best by a big margin.
I suspect that it's more also difficult to travel with exposed blades than with modern cartridges; both due to the ease of packing and due to security hassles.
Personally I started shaving using an electric razor, switched to a double edged razor, and then eventually switched to a modern razor.