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Best Safety Razor Shaving Guide

Everything you ever wanted to know for a better way to shave

Best Safety Razor

Best Safety Razor

In our view the best safety razor is one that has a high quality build, provides a great shave, and doesn't cost a fortune.  

This is especially true when you are just starting out because you just want to convert from a cartridge to a safety and the most important part is to get a good shave with a good razor at a good price. 

Here is our top rated Safety razor If you are ready to buy.  Keep reading if you want to learn more about the benefits of shaving with a double edge razor.

I created this guide to be one of the best resources available for safety razors, so grab a drink and start reading and soon you will know more than you ever thought you would know about shaving.

Let's start with terminology because there are plenty of acronyms that are thrown around and frankly they confuse beginners.  

Types of Safety Razors

This is a very generic term describing a type of razor.  Here is a link to a Wiki article for more details.  If you go back 100 or more years ago straight razors were the only way to shave and also very dangerous if you were not careful.  

Many men went to barbershops for a shave because the learning curve of using a straight razor wasn't a skill that everyone had.  As a result the barbershop was the place that men would frequent on almost a daily basis for their shave.  

That was until the late 1800's when a patent application was submitted by William S. Hensen.  He introduced a new razor design that was created to provide a safer shave.

This new razor had a protective device between the razor and your face, which meant less skill was required to shave and men were able to shave at home instead of visiting a barbershop.  

This new invention set the shaving industry and mens grooming on a new path.

 Single Edge Razor or SE Razor

The first type of razor introduced was a Single edge razor.  If you have seen the acronym SE used they were referring to a single edge razor or SE for short.  

If you are familiar with a standard razor blade then you know exactly what type of blade goes in this type of razor.  One side of the blade is extremely sharp and the other side is not sharp at all.  

 Double Edge Razor or DE Razor

In the early 1900's a new patent was submitted for a double edge razor.  The design was also created to protect the user, but instead of having a single edge on the blade there were two.  

Each side of the razor blade was sharp and the razor could be turned to one side or the other and shave.  King C. Gillette was the guy that filed for the patent and later created Gillette, which is one of the largest shaving companies in the world.  

The double edge razor that he patented back in the early 1900's is also referred to a DE razor and probably the most common razor used in wet shaving.

 The rise and fall and resurgence of classic shaving

Over the years there were many different razors introduced to the market for both single and double edge razors, but after the cartridge razor was launched they lost more or less disappeared from store shelves and could only be purchased in antique stores or specialty shaving shops.

Over the past few years there has been a huge resurgence of safety razors.  The shave you get from them is far superior to cartridge razors and the replacement blades are very cheap when compared to cartridge razors.  

Learning curve, Cost, and styles

No doubt there is a learning curve, but once you get your technique down there is nothing like shaving with one and you'll never go back to an expensive cartridge or disposable razor again.

Safety razors range from just a few bucks to hundreds of dollars for a single razor.  If you are a beginner it doesn't make sense buying either because the $6 version is a piece of junk and the $160 razor is overkill for someone just getting started.  

There are many other features such as open comb, closed comb, adjustable, 2 piece, 3 piece, and slant razors.  However, we are going to focus on the double edge closed comb 3 piece design because this is one of the most common razors and an excellent starting point to get into shaving with a safety razor.

Beginner Safety Razor

Not so long ago I was a beginner and had no idea what I should purchase.  I spent tons of time comparing the different weights, handle lengths, and reading tons of articles and recommendations from experts.  

Eventually I just decided to buy one and try it out, so I did.  Since then I have purchased more razors that I care to admit and my bathroom looks more like a shaving museum than a bathroom, but I learned a ton about razors because of it.

 

The most important thing that I learned is that you just need to get started.  

  • 95 grams vs 100 grams
  • long handle vs short
  • closed comb vs open comb.
 All of these variations make a difference to the experienced shaver, but for the beginner its just additional confusion that you need to sort through.  I suggest finding a razor that you like, buy it, try it, get your technique down, and then decide if you want to buy something else. 

 

Quality Razors

Cheap

The cheap version can be purchased on Amazon for about $6.  Click here for the latest price.  This razor will get you started, but the reality is that it is built very cheap and not what I would consider a quality safety razor.

Good Quality

The mid range razor is the Sir Hare model.  The build quality is excellent, the shave is very good, and the price is very reasonable around the $25 price point

Expensive

The high end safety razor is by Seki and around $160.  I don't know about you, but a razor at that price point seems a bit excessive.  Maybe one day I'll try it, but for now I'd rather save my money and spend it on something else.

 Conclusion

The Best Safety Razor on the market is a very subjective, however you really can't go wrong with the Sir Hare Safety Razor.  The pricing point is reasonable and it's an all around good razor with a no hassle guarantee if you don't love it.  I forgot to mention the razor has 5 blades included with it so you can start shaving as soon as it arrives at your doorstep. 

 

If you are looking for a shaving kit the Sir Hare razor is part of a kit, which includes shaving Soap, Razor blades, Shaving Brush, and packaged in a cool Cigar box making it an excellent gift.

 


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