The Importance (to Some) of Razor Choice

Why All the Fuss?

Some readers may be wondering why all this writer's fuss about choice of razor? Why not just pick one of the available adjustables and call it good? Or even simpler, why not pick a moderate (not mild, not overly aggressive) non-adjustable razor and live with that?

These are reasonable questions, and I will address them in today's article.

The Perfect Shave

The perfect shave is baby smooth in all directions over one's entire beard. It is also without insult to skin including no blood shed and no other skin irritation of any kind.

For me, using a double-edge razor (DE), the perfect shave is a fantasy.

For me, the best shave that I can get with minimal skin insult is one that is baby smooth with grain and across the grain, but with perceptable stubble (by touch) when feeling against the grain. Virtually all of my shaves look close -- even those single-pass, with-grain shaves. But for a good shave that looks good all day, my best shave is the target for which I aim.

Why Not Truly Baby Smooth?

Oh, I can shave so that my beard is truly baby smooth over nearly its entirety. The price that I pay for that ultra-close shave is blood shed.

The combination of my face and neck topography (contours), the flat angle of my beard grain in many places, and the sensitivity of my skin as well as its lack of micro smoothness results in shave outcomes that are a balancing act -- balancing between closeness and skin insult.

Uber-sharp blades tend to cause a bit of invisible razor burn even in the mildest razors -- and that's at best! Worse is when they open small weeper wounds, or when my careless technique allows minor nicks.

I Prefer Adjustable Razors

When I go for an optimal shave, which is essentially every day, my skin is so sensitive to the blade that non-adjustable razors limit the useful life of every blade I try.

This is because essentially all new blades work best for me in a very mild razor. If the razor isn't extremely mild with a new or newer blade, then I'm guaranteed to have to deal with wounds. 

However, as a blade progresses through its useful life -- which is typically 20 to 30 daily shaves -- the razor must become less mild if I am to achieve my desired degree of shave closeness. This realization resulted in my stating the concept of PRA: progressive razor aggressiveness. So every non-adjustable razor is a huge compromise meaning that for any given blade, there will be a period where the blade-and-razor combination is optimal, but there will be longer stretches within the blade's life span where the shave is not close enough (meaning excessive perceptible stubble), too close (meaning wounds), or both.

A razor that is adequately adjustable for my beard must go from very mild to moderately aggressive. An adjustable that is adequately variable for the everyman must accommodate me in the very-mild-to-moderate adjustment range, but then also go to very aggressive settings for those that need that.

Optimal Adjustable Razors

For some, vintage adjustables such as the Slim from Gillette meet the preceding adjustment-range criterion. Yet there is the issue of razor comfort. For me, the Slim has at best tended to produce a bit of invisible irritation that I must treat with after-shave products.

For others, the Parker Variant is the optimal razor. Though it doesn't adjust to as mild a shaving character as the Slim, it does tend to offer a comfortable, minimal-irritation outcome for those who don't need an extremely mild razor when using a blade fresh out of the wrapper.

The Wisdom of Experience

My years of chasing the shave that is comfortable, baby-smooth and wound free have taught me that, in my case, that goal is a fool's errand. But before I realized that fact, I had rejected the Slim as offering too harsh of a shave for my mug. Of course, lately in the light of my growing shaving enlightenment, I'm revisiting the Slim, and comparing it to the Variant -- as I announced in my article yesterday.

Comparison Progress

Today's shave was the third shave with a Dorco ST-301 blade. With two shaves under my belt with the Slim (shave number one and three) and one shave with the Variant (shave number two), I'm already drawing some useful conclusions.

But I won't report out any observations until I've completely done the trial using the full life of the blade. Stay tuned for the eventual analysis.

Happy shaving!