Tag Archives: Thoughts while shaving

1933 oscillating razor

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NEW SAFETY RAZOR HAS OSCILLATING BLADE
Especially designed for those with tender skins and tough beards, a new safety razor employs an oscillating blade to cut the hairs. While the razor is drawn across the face, a pair of friction rollers revolve and cause the whole blade to move sideward with a reciprocating motion, as indicated by arrows in the photograph at left. As a result, this miniature mowing machine is declared to give an unusually close shave with a minimum of chafing and discomfort. The one piece razor may be operated and cleaned with one hand.

Friction rollers? In other words, they put something in the razor that requires you to increase the pressure you put on the skin… which is kinda stupid, seeing as how one of the key to a great shave is to use minimal pressure. I can see why this brilliant idea didn’t take off quite as much as the inventors surely hoped for…

Be careful!

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An insect bite and a very sharp blades makes for scary stuff…

Looked much worse than it was though.

More old clippings – modified razor

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MODIFIED SAFETY RAZOR GIVES CLOSE SHAVE
To obtain an extra close shave with a standard type double-edge safety razor, I filed off all the guard teeth on one side of the razor holder except the two end ones. I first shave rapidly with the guarded side and then finish more cautiously with the unguarded side. There is very little danger of cutting oneself because the tooth left at each end forms a satisfactory guard. It is important, however, not to remove them. Experiments made with a razor having all the guard teeth filed off on one side revealed that the corners of the blade were likely to cause small cuts, no matter how carefully the razor was used.—P. W. Calhoun.

Uhm… not for me. If I want a more aggressive razor, or a razor that cuts closer to the skin, I just reach for one of my other razors. For the curious and/or experimental shaver it might be worth a shot though.

Emergency razor?

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An emergency razor that fits in my wallet? YMMV, but I rather be unshaven than doing a dry shave with a cartridge razor.

Neat idea and execution though…

Need a shave?

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No razor, no problem – check the kitchen drawers…

Steampunk razors

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There is a certain overlap between traditional wetshaving – using yesterdays razors today, because they give a superior shave – and steampunk.*

If you’re travelling the internet and have a taste for the steampunk aesthetic – and I quite enjoy the steampunk aesthetic – you can’t fail to spot a few really niiice razors here and there. Mostly straights, but then there is a limit to what you can do to a DE or SE… not enough surface area for a good etch, gluing some gears on simply isn’t good enough, and some of them look pretty steampunk already.**

Anyhow.. here is a few steampunk inspired straights I spotted around the web lately:

*) According to Wikipedia: Steampunk perhaps most recognisably features anachronistic technologies or retro-futuristic inventions as people in the 19th century might have envisioned them, and is likewise rooted in the era’s perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, and art.
**) My brass GEM 1912 springs to mind, not to mention the Rolls Razor with it’s built in honing device.

A clip on light for your razor

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http://books.google.no/books?id=zCgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA247&dq=popular+science+%22safety+razor%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=FEn2U7vVC4bIyAPs84CAAw&ved=0CEMQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=popular%20science%20%22safety%20razor%22&f=false

A New-Safety Razor with a Lamp Attachment
AN Englishman, weary of bloodshed, has bethought him of a means of enlightening the gloomy and otherwise dangerous ritual of the shave. He has invented a miniature electric lamp provided with an adjustable clip and flexible cord which may be attached to the razor and light the path of the blade through the tough bristles of the human face.
With his lamp attachment one may plunge fearlessly into the blackest depths of a three days’ growth of beard and emerge from the ordeal unscathed. The lamp is attached to a conventional type of razor by a simple clip. It travels with the blade or with the motion of the hand. By looking in the mirror the man shaving himself can determine just what progress he is making and whether or not he is going to come through the operation with his two ears intact.
The lamp clip can be attached to any one of the many makes of safety razors. The inventor is now busy on another lamp attachment for the old type of razor.

Gloomy and dangerous my bum… well, maybe it was in August of 1916.

Priorities… I have mine set straight.

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I’m having a broken tooth extracted today – long story, not all that relevant here, etc.

But the real, burning, important question I keep coming back to is this; Will the swelling go down so I can shave tomorrow? Because, as you all know, shaving is important.

Four score and some years ago

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84 years, 3 months, and 2 days ago Jacob Schick patented the first electric dry razor – paving the way for countless razor burns and bad shaves… well, maybe not. Some people do claim to get a good shave from the electrics, but I’m not one of them. Still, the electric shaving machine is older than many people might realise – and the first model was quite a bit simpler than the modern devices.

All That Newfangled Shaving Gear Can’t Compare to the Old-Fashioned Stuff

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Found an interesting article over at WIRED that states what is obvious to me; disposables can’t hold a candle to traditional safety razors.

Also, I liked this comment on disposables:

Some of the pricier varieties are miracles of engineering, with more blades than a flotilla of sea pirates.