I grew tired of being ripped off by the expensive cartridge blades, which are about $2 a piece and wear out even when I dry them and dip them in mineral oil. I had been hearing reports of manly shaving equipment, harkening to an earlier era when men shaved the heavy duty way. Merkur was mentioned. I did some research and decided on a non-adjustable two-piece, the Merkur Barber Pole Heavy Duty 38C (shown here next to my Seiko Tuna).
I plan on giving it a go in the next couple of days. I have to confess I'm a bit anxious about cutting myself, but with razors a fraction of the cost of the big name cartridge variety, I need to train myself to safely shave with the Merkur.
I'm 52 and I have very little experience with this type of razor. As a child, I would see my father's rusted razors lying around.
The Merkur is of very high quality and simple to use. You unscrew the bottom, which releases the butterfly wings on top; then you grab the blade by the sides being careful not to touch the sharp blades on the front and back. It was fairly simple putting in the provided blade. The Great Shaving Experiment begins.
Who knows? If it goes well, I might indulge in a Merkur Futur Chrome.
The main benefit of being a beard guy is that shaving is less of a hassle. I have to trim and I still shave my neck, but only with a beard trimmer as anything closer will give me nasty razor burn (the main reason I wear a beard). That Sicilian heritage gives me ingrown hairs like you wouldn't believe.
Posted by: jonnybardo | June 08, 2014 at 05:52 AM
p.s. I like the Merkur/Tuna aesthetic - very metallic and manly.
Posted by: jonnybardo | June 08, 2014 at 05:59 AM
Beards are cool but they have to be groomed in a way that for me feels like more work than shaving.
As you can see, I put the bracelet back on the Tuna. Turns out that was my preference after all.
Posted by: herculodge | June 08, 2014 at 06:18 AM