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.
Honestly, an absolute classic. I read it every couple of years whenever this pops up on the internet, and it’s still good every time. Truly superb.
I’ll never stop being angry about the enshitification of razors. I tried so many different brands of cartridge razor and they were all terrible. When I tried safety razors, even with improper technique and not having found the right blades yet, I still got a better shave than with any of the cartridge razors. It’s not even close. I bought a nice safety razor and 200 blades which could last me decades for less than one Gilette Fusion with six replacement heads. I tried the fancy creams and boar’s hair brush, but honestly I’m fine with just water.
When I tell this to people in real life they almost always excitedly start in on “Have you heard of Dollar Shave Club?!” as if they aren’t suggesting I spend much more money on an inferior shave. One blade is about $0.05. Even if DSC did offer $1 options they would still be 20x more expensive.
I bought a titanium Henson safety razor for like $100 (they have cheaper aluminium options) and like 5 years of blades for $5. I get a great shave every time and very rarely draw blood these days :) Well worth it, especially compared to a couple months worth of cartridge razors for $30+ from the local supermarket. It’s probably the best cost cutting move I’ve made in years.
Edit: Just looked at Henson again, out of curiosity. The titanium razors are over $600 now, but the aircraft grade aluminium are still affordable. It looks like my shaving “investment” has performed better than my stock/share portfolio LOL.
This is the wild power of branding with good marketing. Gillette figured out how to hack an entire generation’s brain into believing they need to spend $40 bucks for a small pack of razor blades that will be dull within weeks.
Amazing. Let the sheep be sheep and keep your eyes open to more cases of this.
When I switched, I got the whole setup you describe. Even special soap from etsy. It was too much of a ritual.
Between simple blades and an electric, I’m good and it’s pretty fast as long as I keep up with it.
I did do dollar shave for a little bit and it was okay. But this is an easier version of set it and forget it. Like you said, it’s pretty cheap.
i switched to electric, which was more convenient, and less irritation.
I hate shaving but I like my feathers. I only shave like once a week and it’s still easy peasy
I decided to go with idiot-proof gillette silver blues instead of a more sharp blade like feather because I wanted to shave lazily without worrying about my technique.
I’ve actually never had an issue with the sharpness. Maybe my razor has a tame angle(?) In any case, more about the single edge than the particular blade I imagine.
I’m so damn relieved I have good facial hair genes and can get by with just a trimmer
FYI blades go dull after a few years even without use just due to entropy.
Can someone recomend a non-disposable, non-enshitified razor? I’m in my twenties and have only ever used disposable razors. Please help.
Most safely razors. Or, if you’re looking for a body shave, leaf has a razor that takes safety razor blades but puts it in the style of a cartridge. Less learning curve. I’d personally give it a 9/10. For reference, I’d give Gillette 5 blades a 6.5/10
Get a safety razor and a variety of blades. You might need to try a bunch of blades to find the ones you prefer but what works best for you will depend on the razor and you. You don’t have to spend tons of money on the razor but you can. I use an old (1950s or something ) Gillette I found on ebay like 15-20 years ago. See nicer new ones but mine works so I just keep using it. Anyway, razor barely matters, blades depend more on you than anything.
Edit: Just looked on ebay. Lol, vintage ones are spendy now - I think I paid a couple bucks for mine. Did see a new stainless steel basic version for under 15 bucks. I’d start with something like that and a variety of blades.
I really like my Henson Shaving razor. Had it a year, haven’t gone through more than about a 3rd of the blades. Unfortunately for USA’ians, Trump’s tariff package just made them more expensive for residents of the US of A.
I bought a Merkur heavy duty razor for $35 in 2008 and I’m still using it today.
I think I buy a 50 pack of feather blades every 4 years for <$20.
One just noticed in a shop that Merkur has a travel razor, so if you prefer something compact instead of adjustable that’s an option to consider
Old school safety razors. I like Wilkenson blades.
Get a Merkur adjustable, they are a bit pricey, but you have to buy it once. Alternatively you can get an old Gillette from ebay. From there, blades are cheap. You can go all the way and get a cutthroat, but it needs technique and care. DE is a good compromise.
I learned to use a straight razor over covid. You use barely any pressure, tilt the blade and go with the grain and you’re good
The handling is not complicated. Once you feel confident you’ll surely cut yourself though:) But the blade needs more care, you need to leather and occasionally hone it - but you might probably need a single one for life
The Merkur Mk34c looks pretty good to me. Thank you!
Check out the adjustables as well!
I’ve had a Maggard double edge safety razor for about 5 years now and I love it. Just get a head, handle, and assortment of blades to see which kind you like best. I still haven’t used all the blades I bought in my first order 5 years ago
I use electric when I need to be fast. Panasonic Arc 4 or 5, the Braun mentioned is good too.
For better shaves though, Leaf Twig as the razor, and Arko Shaving Bar wicked up with a cheap boar’s hair brush. Takes some getting used to, I’m in my late 30s and only used disposable and electric all my life. It was totally worth the transition. Smoother skin, no irritation after the break-in period, and I feel like I look better.
The Leaf Twig is BIFL, very easy to handle for rookies, and it’s small so it helps shaping if you keep a beard.
I use electric, and have had the same braun 9 series with cleaner for more than 20 years. You can replace the heads on it when they get dull (which takes a long time) and it has an automatic cleaner which keeps it working well even when you don’t shave for quite a while.
Henson shaver and the blades they sell. Or get some of the Vietnamese blades I use. “Dorian” I think is the name. Get the ones made in Vietnam. They are a bit better than the ones made in S. Korea. $10 for 100.
I was gonna post a picture here but I can’t find it. Trying to find picture of Fry from Futurama holding multiple bladed razor (10+?), looking confused with how to shave with it.
Do you have an idea of what episode that was from?
No idea, I tried to look for it but gave up xd
Safety razor with some Feather blades.
What are Feather blades?
Feather is a brand. They’re Japanese and shar as hell.
Japanese double edge blades, they cost 2-3x more as others (roughly 1USD per piece), but they are the sharpest ones on the market. The only complaint you can find is that they are maybe a bit too sharp
I have a six-blade razor for my HeadBlade razor.
I have a Henson double edge shaver and use cheap but effective blades a couple of times. Better shaves and way cheaper overall than anything I’ve used before.
#6 RAZORS
Reminds me of the Gillette 3000 from the 90s!
deleted by creator
What about the Mach 20?
This has been a favorite sketch of mine for YEARS.
“You take one stroke, it takes 20!”
Hey, it’s Bizarro Kramer.
It’s Feldman. From across the hall.
Ngl, I’ve always had a suspicion that part of the reason the extra blades happened was the satire.
Once the idea was introduced, half the marketing was done, and the association with laughter isn’t a bad thing. You let the joke fade, and the idea lingers. You see the product launch, and even if you recall exactly how absurd it was when you saw it on snl or whatever, it’s still a positive memory. The satire commercial acted as a real commercial before the product existed.
Obviously, there’s an upper limit to it, and I think they’ve hit it as no six blade heads have come out that I know of. But, being real, after 5 blades, all the satires jumped to unrealistic numbers and more extreme silliness. It was like the various comedy writers figured out that the various razor companies would be glad to slap one more on there, and sell it as an entirely new thing that needed a new handle as well. So they said (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ and went hard.
There used to be a video of the satire commercials followed by the eventual real ones. I couldn’t find it on YouTube, but I may just suck at searching there, or it could have gotten pulled. I dunno, but I remember the real commercials being way closer to the satire ones than I had thought when it happened.
But, being real, after 5 blades, all the satires jumped to unrealistic numbers and more extreme silliness. It was like the various comedy writers figured out that the various razor companies would be glad to slap one more on there, and sell it as an entirely new thing that needed a new handle as well. So they said (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ and went hard.
Are you telling me the Gillette Facefuckerupper of legend isn’t real?
(The Wenger Giant was a real novelty product. Yes I hate consumerism yes I hate “collector” culture but it tickles my brain just right to imagine that I’ll be able to snag one someday. They’re really expensive rarities now and serve no practical purpose but they do reveal that stodgy old Swiss executives can still have a sense of humor. Until then, the trusty no-name gas station multi tool is perfectly usable.)
If I was a rich man, I’d hire someone to carry that thing around in their pocket and stay by my side at all times, waiting for when someone asks “anyone have a knife”
I have a safety razor and a straight razor and prefer them both. The safety razor especially shaves CLOSE.
I used safety razors for years, but even with a practiced hand, I often cut myself. I think that’s the biggest benefit to Gillette razors. It’s really hard to knick yourself.
Sounds like you had blades that didn’t work well with your skin. When I started using mine, I bought a big sample pack of blades and only a couple brands worked for me. The others were a nickfest.
I switched to a shavette and I find it to be the best of all the worlds. No stropping, close shave, cheap upkeep.
Since I keep a beard I also dry shave the line ups, so no soap or brush or bowl clean up either.
What is the cheapest and lowest effort option if you don’t care if the shave is overly close or not. Like a mm isn’t going to bother me.
Depends how you define cheap.
If you want the cheapest expense to shave today, it is going to the nearest drugstore or grocery store and buying a bag of 2 blade plastic razors.
If you want proper shave (which you said you don’t really care) then you buy a decent safety razor (or shavette)for a little bit of money (probably $50 - $200) and buy blades for like 25 cents each for the rest of your life whenever they get dull.
Probably the cheapest $/shave option is to go buy a $50 set of grooming clippers that are self sharpening and rechargeable, take care of them, and use them basically forever. But it is only cheaper if no replacement necessary over time.
The cheapest guaranteed long term option is option 2 above :).
IF YOU ARE VERY HANDY WITH BLADES and you already own some sharpening stones with grits running up to about 12k and don’t have sensitive skin and you already own or can get a strop, you could probably have cheaper overall cost with a traditional straight razor lol.
Edit:
If you are super cheap and time rich, join a church that has small group meetings at other people’s houses (or some other social group that meets at the members’ houses but doesn’t require you to buy anything), excuse yourself to shit, grab their razor from the shower and go to town. You will need to buy a scarf and make it your signature item. Wear it at all times so no one can tell thet you came with stubble and left clean shaven.
My safety razor handle cost me $15, and works great.
Bought a pack of 100 blades for under $20, and that will last me a long ass time (my facial hair growth is slow).
I could get you 10 years of shaving with a safety razor for the price of that bag of cheap 2 blades.
Currently use very cheap clippers, a lot less than $50, IIRC it was like £7. They take AA batteries. Not sure how long they will last for but probably cheapest as far as £/shave out of the options listed as its cheap enough that it shouldn’t have to last too long to be better than all the other options so far.
Problem with the more expensive rechargeable ones is that the lithium batteries will eventually die and lithium batteries + charging circuitry adds a fair bit of cost to every device they go in compared to AA batteries that I can buy 1 charger for and use between multiple devices. Downside with the AA trimmer, the rest of it is cheap shit quality and there are no other choices available that I have been able to find. I would probably be fairly happy to buy a slightly better one that used AA batteries.
Looked up the corded ones, apparently they just run 230v directly, which sounds spicy next to water but oh well. Was expecting them to be like 5-12v and then an amusing option could be sticking some AAs together - getting one of those special electrical sockets put into the bathroom isn’t a cost I want to bother with.
Yeah the economics of clippers and batteries vs chargers seems like a project. I have had some really bad luck with cheap clippers getting blades out of alignment and then biting me, so I’ve switched completely to disposable blades. They last a long time, but there is a learning curve to effective use, mostly angle and lather.
A cheap safety razor with a pack of blades that will last ten years can be as low as $30.
The only problem is you might need to order a blade sampler pack to find ones that work with your skin better. Once you find them, though, just use conditioner as shaving cream and you can be economical forever.
A beard is the cheapest low effort option. Just trim it once in a while and you’re done.
Well I am almost.there, currently let it grow for a few weeks before trimming back to as close as the trimmer gets without the guard on.
If you don’t want to deal with it at all forever, you might want to look into electrolysis/laser hair removal. Depending on coupons and providers in your area as well as the type of hair you have, that might be the cheapest option, but it’s permanent/semi permanent, so it’s not a good option if you suspect you’ll want to have facial hair later in life. It can range from $250-$2500 total, so it’s also a very hit or miss thing.
I inherited an old safety razor that a great uncle used. It’s likely older than I am, by a lot. I still use it to this day. My hair follicles are more like copper wire. Any other kind of razor (minus my straight razor) would be dulled half way through. They’d also be completely clogged up after just like an inch so it took forever too.
To be fair, it IS a much better shave having 5 blades. I don’t even use shaving cream or anything. I just raw dog my face with razors, and it comes out super smooth.
I used to raw dog my face decades ago with single razors. Took forever, and I’d bleed.
I do with water and hand soap triple blades ez
Uses product the wrong way, complains that it doesn’t work well.
There’s a reason why shaving soap is a thing and I’m sure you would even feel that the 5 blades experience is better if you used it, but that single blade part is just ridiculous, I shave everything including my hair with a single blade and don’t bleed.
shave everything with a single blade and don’t bleed
I’m not who you were replying to, but I recently got a straight razor and have been cutting myself every time I try it, I don’t really understand how to use it. Could you give some tips?
currently I use shaving cream on my legs then run along against the growth, but any time I have a slight bump or even the fingerprint like ridges on my knees it will cut the top off. I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong, is this just how it’s supposed to work or am I doing it incorrectly?
I don’t use a straight razor, just an old school safety razor, the one time I tried a straight a ended up with a pretty big cut on my cheek 🤷
A straight to shave legs might be a bit much as it tends to be hard not to end up with cuts on the knees even with a “regular” razor…
oh I see, thanks for responding though
i raw dog my face with 2 and 3 blades and it’s perfectly fine. I just shave in the shower, tons of water anyway.
Soon my life-long dream of using a shaver the size of my entire face will become reality. Eyebrows? Nose? Who needs them anyway?
