A few months ago I replaced a razor on which the handle had started to fracture (I must shave more gently....) with a 'new-fangled' job, around £6-8 I think. Some vastly over-complicatad and fragile-looking clip thingy for the blades - and it never really gave me "the best a man can get" but did the job. Anyway, the three blades that were 'bundled' with it had done their time. Went to buy new - "£8.29 for pack of 5" - what, I said, is this a joke? It wasn't. How on earth can that be justified?

Anyway, on the shelf a foot or so along in B***s was their own-brand at around £3 with 5 blades and replacement blades at about £3.50 for 10. Guess what? And the blades just 'slide on' like they used to. And it shaves me. Not really any competition.

I never buy those famous brand name blades that use highly paid "stars" to promote their product.

Why should I pay €16 for 4 refills of a famous 5 blade razor when I can spend a third of that on an "own brand" product with 6 blades which last longer than said "brand name" ones do?

Try Aldi.

Good quality.

Second that Mr Run, :ok: Just buy a new handle and 5 new blades, £2 ? Job done..

Bless, l was about to delete that remark

I never buy those famous brand name blades that use highly paid "stars" to promote their product.

Strange, any time you see pics of these "stars" in the press they usually have a few days stubble.

"£8.29 for pack of 5" - what, I said, is this a joke? It wasn't. How on earth can that be justified?

Remember reading that Gillette blades are the most stolen items from shops pretty much on a world-wide basis.

Small, expensive and a big ready market for the stuff.

My local supermarkets seem to have stopped selling the two-blade disposable Bics that I normally buy and now it's three blades or a cheap Indian two-blader which is just junk.

Read a thing a couple of years ago about road hijackers targeting lorries carrying containers of those blades as weight for weight they were more valuable than gold and a lot easier to get rid of.:uhoh:

I've had the same razor for 25 years now, mind you, I've had to replace the handle 12 times and the head 15.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbha4XclSMU

http://www.vintage-adverts.com/WebRoot/BT/Shops/BT3325/4A8E/9398/F3DC/D9F4/12F8/0A0A/33E8/498D/2011-07-30_123741PM.jpg

I've still got my father's Rolls (razor).

The famous names thing applies equally to kitchen appliances.

Mind you, it doesn't seem to work too well if you look at the heavily discounted George Foreman, Jamie Oliver etc., kit in the shops.

Wilkinson's Sword Edge - Any one else remember them? Used to cost a bit and they were kept under the counter but gave a beautiful shave.

Don't know if this is still the case but a few years back the razor blades sold as advertising promotions were better quality than the normal ones and you could find the promotional material on sale, labelled as such - and at a higher price.

If we were meant to shave, we would have been born without beards.

Try Aldi

In fact, their triple-blade cartridges came up tops in a recent consumer test report in Germany - as good as similar Gilette and Wilkinson products.

Why not just wax? Then you'd only have to do it once a fortnight = much less hassle :ok:

And youse all being brave, manly, aviating sort of men youse wouldn't be bothered with a little bit of pain? Right :}

Derby Extras, $3 for 10 blades. Or $20 for 100 if you're planning ahead.

I don't know why you need a 3, 4 or 5 blade razor. Why don't the manufacturers just keep the last and closest cutting blade? Job done.

Out here we just hammer the stubble back in with a brick and chew it off on the inside.

Doing the weekly shopping and noticed the usual blades were now on a hook with a security device on the end of the hook to keep them from being lifted. Asked the cashier to unlock it so I could purchase a set. She sent the young bag boy over to help. He brought a pair of scissors. :hmm:

I think these multi-bladed razors are a bit of a gimic. There's nothing wrong with a more traditional safety razor with a single blade, plus, even the most expensive blades are considerably cheaper than the multi-blade gadgets. I like the look of LM's Rolls razor.

I use one of these

Buy male grooming products & shaving products from The Gentlemans Groom Room (http://www.thegentlemansgroomroom.com/Merkur-Chrome-Futur-Safety-Razor.htm)

It gives the best shave of any razor I have ever owned. It is an expensive razor, but is so well engineered so on a cost per day analysis I think it is very reasonable!

The Rolls Razor (available from 'antique dealers or even house-clearances) contains all the components needed to sharpen (and keep sharp) the blade.

Several on eBay for around £15- £25. Make sure that what you are buying is a complete razor and not just a blade!

Well worth it when you consider the price of disposable blades. If you don't get a better shave - just resell it on eBay!

Rolls Razor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls_Razor#Origins:_razor)

SRT

As in frozen logger?

After an excellent landing etc...

Out here we just hammer the stubble back in with a brick and chew it off on the inside.

Ah-ha! A quote from the song 'The Frozen Logger' wot I used to sing in folk clubs:

"And when he shaved his whiskers
From off'n his horny hide
He just drove 'em in with a hammer
And chawed 'em off inside.'

Hammer?


Looxury...!:}

First razor, purchased in the '60s, was a Gillette Techmatic. It had a continuous blade which you wound on to a fresh section when required. Long since discontinued.

I use cheap 'disposable' Bics. Get between a month and six weeks out of each - a year out of a package of 8.

Not terribly green (no plastic recycling in Switzerland) but cheap and effective.

I'm going to invent a product that removes the need for shaving. Simply shave and apply my product and you won't need to shave for a week or a month. Or grow you stubble to the point where you look your coolest and then apply to hold that look.

When I do invent the product, no doubt one of two things will happen. I will mysteriously disappear forever or one of the major shaving brands will buy me out for billions. Because shaving is the one cosmetic trap we men find ourselves ensnared in and it's worth billions to the blade companies.

They make their money from selling blades that wear out quickly and that never quite reach the perfect shave as claimed but still cost a fortune. It's a racket really.

We should all just grow beards and put them out of business.

I use an electric.

I use an electric.

A bit painful during a power cut......;)

Try King of Shaves. I come out in spots if I don't use a good, sharp razor, so have always had a problem. I find King of Shaves blades are similar price to the Wilkinson Sword I used to use, but last longer.

A bit painful during a power cut.....

re-chargeable battery - lasts a week, that's a long power cut.

Some years ago I wnt for an interview for an engineering job at the Gillette Factory in London. One of their engineers admitted to me that the sharpness of their blades varied from batch to batch and they didn't know why. Maybe the science of blade manufacture has improveed since those days but I still find that new blades are a bit variable.

On the subject of multiblade razors, a report some time ago claimed that when the first blade cut the whisker the stub retracted into the skin for a short while. This meant that all subsequent blades had nothing to cut so multiple blades were just a sales gimic.

Incidentally, I have a Rolls razor (inherited) in the loft which I have never considered using. Should I really try it?

Yes. . . .

Make sure that you sharpen and hone the blade first.