my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Community   » Film-Yak   » Shaving; the curse of the beard. (Page 1)

This topic comprises 3 pages: 1  2  3

Author Topic: Shaving; the curse of the beard. Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 02-25-2007 12:35 PM                     I've always found shaving to be a real pain; I think most men seem to. Some years ago I was having skin irritation problems from shaving, I went to see the Doctor, and she told me to stop shaving for a few days; then the beard growth started causing similar problems. When I first started shaving I used an old straight razor which had belonged to my father; he'd died a year or so before, and therefore had no use for it. I think he'd actually switched to a safety razor in his last few years. I didn't get a very good shave with this; the problem was that I couldn't keep a decent edge on it, and once they get really blunt they're very difficult to sharpen. After a year or two I also switched to a safety razor. Over the next thirty years or so I must have tried just about every type of safety razor there has been, double edge, single edge, Techmatic (anybody remember that one?), single, double and triple blade, disposable; you name it, I've tried it. About 18 months ago I bought one of the Gillette M3 Power battery-powered ones. This has been the best to date, but the blades are very expensive, getting on for two pounds each. A few years ago I bought an electric shaver; I've only ever used it when I can't have a normal 'wet' shave. You might not think it to look at my photograph, but my hair, including my beard, grows very fast, and I find the electric is almost useless with anything more than a very slight growth, so I have to use it at least twice per day. In recent times I've only used it on my trips to America. Every few years I've thought of switching back to a straight razor, but two things have stopped me; the price of them, and the difficulty of maintaining a good edge. Yesterday I realised that since I bought the M3 Power I've spent about hundred pounds on blades for the thing; that was the end of the cost argument. My incompetence at keeping a razor harp didn't seem a very good reason either. In Birmingham there's a traditional gentleman's type shop that sells mainly equipment for three activities; smoking, (is there really a market for almost fifty different cigarette papers?) shaving and writing. I bought a one of the cheapest razors, 54 pounds, and a strop, 30 pounds. So far, I've had two really good clean shaves from it, no cuts, no skin irritation, I can shave places like, the back of the neck, that are very difficult to do with a safety razor. Safety razors never seem very hygienic to me; they collect a lot of 'muck' around the blades which is almost impossible to remove. with a straight razor you just rinse it, wipe it, and it's spotlessly clean. I find the M3 Power gives about as good a shave, but only with a new blade; after the first one or two shaves I can feel that the edge isn't as good, but because the blades are so expensive I use them for far longer than I should. That just leaves the problem of how to keep the straight razor sharp. I'm going to have to learn to strop the thing properly everyday, but I think I can avoid having to do anything more. My local barber is very friendly; I'm sure if I take it with me whenever I go for a haircut he will hone and strop it for me for a small charge. Anybody got any practical tips for keeping a razor sharp?  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 02-25-2007 01:04 PM                     Don't know about straight razor blades and how to keep them sharp. Straight razors kind of scare the shit out of me. They make me think of old mob movies or some Brian De Palma flick where some lady gets sliced up by one of the things. On the disposable cartridges, I just rinse them frequently with water directed through the back of the cartridge and out the front. That does a pretty good job of preventing gunky build up between the blades. It sucks how razor blade prices have gone up due to price spikes for various metals. I use a Gillette "Mach 3" razor. Usually I'll get at least a couple of weeks use out of a blade, sometimes longer. Now I have less of my face to shave since growing out a goatee, so my razor cartridges should stand to last longer. I never could get used to electric razors. I've tried various types over the years and they all irritated the living hell out of my face. One of my friends swears by the Braun electric razor, but I think I'll just stick with the standard disposable blades.  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-25-2007 01:27 PM                     I find I get the best shave standing in the shower after there is lots of hot steam around I used to use the wilkinson protector until they were bought out and got to be poorer edge now I use the Mach3 and williams shaving soap  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 02-25-2007 02:55 PM                       Gillette Foamy regular, here, and Sensor 3 disposables.  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 02-25-2007 03:14 PM                        Try www.heimerdingercutlery.com site. They are in Louisville Ky and have top quality German straight razors. Our family bought knives from them back in the 1920's when we owned a meat packing house. Louis  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 02-25-2007 06:01 PM                        I only shave about once per week, mostly because I am lazy. Fortunately my beard growth isn't out of control, and by the end of said week I am just "fuzzy". Would my beard grow in much faster if I shaved every day? Also, I only use a beard trimmer to shave my entire face. Sometimes I'll use an actual blade to shave my neck since no electrical mechanism shaves well in that area.  |  IP: Logged Joshua Waaland Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 800 From: Cleveland, Ohio Registered: Dec 1999 posted 02-25-2007 07:09 PM                     My wife printed an article off for me from www.theknot.com before we got married. The person who was interviewed for the article was the owner of a posh salon somewhere and he recommended that you use a shaving soap with a brush. I tried it but found it hard to travel with and kind of a pain to use. The one thing that they recommend which I have stuck with is shaving after a shower. The steam and hot water helps soften the hair and open the pores leaving more of the hair exposed for a closer and smoother shave. I always shave with disposable Shick razors for senstive skin. They have a vitamin E strip on them which helps to soothe. I find the expensive, mutiple blade razors do a better job and require fewer passes (which can irritate the skin more), but are very expensive as you have pointed out. However, no matter what you use in this part of the world to shave with, the climate this time of the year makes for dry, itchy skin. I put on lotion after my shower and I am dry before I even hit the bed.  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 02-25-2007 07:18 PM                        I have had a full face beard since the latter part of 1997. Early in that year I developed Bells Palsey on the left side of my face. To say I looked grotesque for the first month would not be a lie. However, by growing the beard I am able to hide the effect the Bell's Palsey created. The only time that it can be seen is when I laugh. So I have shaped it and now the beard seems to belong. Oh yes, Of course the "Martini's" help my vision.  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 02-25-2007 07:41 PM                       quote: Joe Redifer Would my beard grow in much faster if I shaved every day? Probably so. I never had any real beard growth until I started shaving, back when I was 16 or 17. Now, I'm dealing with stubbles by early evening. Oh, and the damned thing is WHITE now! Look at my member pix, it's a couple years old. You can see my beard's pretty white on the sides there. Today, it friggin' looks like C. Everett Koops!  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-25-2007 07:59 PM                     >> The Rolls Razor << Used one for about two years in college. The next best thing to a straight edge.  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 02-26-2007 04:30 AM                     There are loads of those things still around, there was one at home when I was young, but I never knew anybody that actually used one. There's a barber's shop which I pass on the way home that has several on display in the window. I rather like the metal box they came in, which also contained the sharpening mechanism.  |  IP: Logged Dieter Depypere Master Film Handler Posts: 343 From: Deutsch-Wagram, Lower Austria, Austria Registered: May 2005 posted 02-26-2007 01:35 PM                     I only shave once a week, and I use a Mach 3 (Gillette). Blades are about 8 Euro here (box of 4 blades). The Mach 3 is in my opinion a very good razor. I cannot use electric razors, I always shave wet. I once saw a device on TV that should keep the blades sharp. It works with a magnet, and costs around 15 Euros. The only thing you have to do is to lay the razor in this device (at least the blades). The magnetic field should straighten the egde. I haven't tried it, because I don't believe it may work. Additionally, I forgot the name of this product...  |  IP: Logged Christopher Meredith Expert Film Handler Posts: 126 From: Jackson, MS, USA Registered: Apr 2006 posted 02-26-2007 01:43 PM                        I echo the shaving in the shower technique. Been doing that for years. I also found that I can get a really close shave on the Mach 3 by shaving once with the grain, then re-lathering, and shaving again against the grain. Also, the Mach 3 Turbo blades are definitely worth the extra few bucks over their non-turbo counterparts. I can use one of those turbo cartridges for at least 2 months without cuts or leftover stubble.  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 02-26-2007 03:39 PM                        Interesting; I can't use anything other than an electric razor. Anything manual makes my skin horribly sore within a couple of days. It's happened once or twice when I've been away and forgot to take the charger with me, and I came home looking like something out of a cacky 1970s horror film. I've never had that problem with an electric one. The instruction manual for my Braun says that you should replace the blade and foil every 18 months, but I reckon they seriously start to lose their effectiveness within a year or so. The units themselves only last around 2-3, because the batteries get knackered, and, being sealed units, you can't replace them.  |  IP: Logged Chris Hipp Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1462 From: Mesquite, Tx (east of Dallas) Registered: Jul 2003 posted 02-26-2007 04:33 PM                     Some people have to sharpen (not just strop) a straight razor several times for one shave. I have some that will shave anything other than my facial hair all day, but when I put it to my face it will do one good stroke and then the blade is dull. If you are going to use a straight razor then get a high quality one. You may spend $200+ for one but it is comparable to the cost of buying blades every week over a period of time. Also use a glcerine based shaving soap with a brush after you get out of the shower. The trick to using a straight razor is keeping the blade as sharp as possible and keeping the skin as slick as possible. You actually cut yourself less with a straight razor than a safety blade because the safety blade is at a fixed angle. Because I am one of those with a thick beard and require multiple sharpenings for one shave, I just use cheap throw away razors with the glycerine based shave soap.  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 3 pages: 1  2  3

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.