I'll admit to being taken the last few years with the idea of Old-School Shaving. You can read my earlier posts on the topic here and here. Double-edge Derby blades and an Edwin Jagger chrome-plated razor and lathering up with a brush seemed the ticket.

Alas, that attachment, that apparent pleasure in my morning ritual came to a sudden stop recently ... the instant my pricey Edwin Jagger ($40 or so plus shipping) razor simply broke in my hand as I was shaving. I wasn't injured, but was I ever disillusioned about the merit of this supposedly durable product from Sheffield.

I sent an email to Edwin Jagger in England. No response, nothing. I was simply asking if, before I bought another EJ razor, would I have warranty recourse if this happened again. Okay, I was also suggesting if given the picture of the snapped razor I might qualify for a replacement.

The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized the EJ razor is a stupid design from what I learned in Mechanics 101 at college.

I never dropped it; I simply changed blades. The threaded post that holds the whole three-piece affair together is thin stock. If it's pot metal to boot, as I suspect, then that's another reason to forget about a replacement, even if free.

I suppose the core argument for Old-School Shaving with a metal razor + DE blades is that you aren't filling up the landfill with disposable plastic razors. But what about those DE blades in the landfill?

The only difference is you are not discarding the plastic handles of the disposable razors.

As for that pricey chromed razor, google Edwin Jagger and see if other ex-owners complain about snapped posts or chrome flaking off the razor.

I reconsidered and decided to put aside any aversion to plastic and try out some of the state-of-the-art budget razors available. A single-blade disposable generic (equivalent to BIC) and this morning a triple-blade disposable generic (equivalent to Custom Plus).

Guess what? In both cases, an effortless shave equal to the Old-School approach. The real secret is more the brush and lather than what moves the blade around.

While the snob value of plastic disposable razors doesn't match a hefty chrome--if pot-metal--razor, I'd add razor companies have made substantial progress on one front. Their razors are incredibly safe and put DE blades to shame (much as DE blades were a marked improvement upon the potentially lethal old-time straight razors).

So could it be that exhilarating feeling one has after an Old-School shave is relief at not having cut yourself?

---

Read more ...
(click to enlarge image)

Read Charlie Dickinson's story collection, The Cat at Light's End, as an ebook in these downloadable formats:

.mobi (Kindle)
.epub (most other readers)
.pdf (for PCs)

Also, a flash fiction, "Ylena Thinks Nyet," is at Cigale Literary Magazine.

---