A little while ago I posted a quick thing about a Schick Auto-Band Razor advertisement. In that post I mentioned that the Gillette Techmatic have been called… well… let’s just say that some online sources are less than impressed. And within hours of me putting out a twitter post about it, a fellow Norwegian wetshaver, twitterer, and blogger proved for me one of the core tenants of traditional wetshaving: Your Mileage Will Vary. And it Will Vary considerable too.

SolidShaves declare his love of his Techmatic in a reply to my tweet. And he has a declaration of love to the Techmatic on his own blog¹ too. He does not agree with the opinion of others that the Techmatic is a less than stellar shaver. Kurt does, in fact, declare that it is one of the best razors ever.

The core issue at hand here isn’t if the Techmatic is better or worse than another razor.² The core issue is that none of us are the same. Our preferences differs. Our skin differs. Our stubble differs. Our technique differs.

In short; Your Mileage Will Vary.

And that is one of the things that appeals to me when it comes to traditional wetshaving. It is not about what the best (or worst) razor is. It is about what is best for me – or for you, Kurt. It is about finding the optimal combination of razor, blade, lather, brush, and aftershave to make my – or yours – morning shave into a restful moment of Zen in a busy day.

Or, in my case, having a large rotation of razors and more soaps than I can shake a brush at to choose between. After all, if Your Mileage Will Vary, so will mine.

Footnotes

1. Go read his blog – or at least go look at the pretty pictures he has there. It is worth your time.
2. Although it does share a fault with modern cartridge razors: If the quality control of the replaceable cartridge is a bit spotty, you will get suboptimal shaves.