Wetshaving?
The whole idea of “manliness” is kinda bullshit, but if we’re gonna roll with that, the most “manly” thing to do is not shave at all.
Sharpening and caring for your knives is hardly an outdated skill you’ll never use. If you’re not regularly sharpening your knives, you’re doing yourself a major disservice.
Why is an image of someone sharpening a kitchen knife called “obscure and outdated”? Is everyone out there just using shitty dull knives now? Lol
I knew someone who would replace their knives every year or two after they were dangerously dull. He called me a sucker for buying a nicer set, and it never occurred to him that they could be sharpened and reused.
It’s getting bad out here.
As the older “uncle” of the family, I get called to handle a lot of things, like unjamming a garbage disposal (you stick a broom handle in and push until it moves again) to changing a car tire (the instructions are LITERALLY printed on the body of the car) to very basic things like removing insects and spiders from the houses of adult families, to fixing electrical problems (breakers tripping.) And of course, fixing computers… miles and miles of fixing computers. Usually just installed programs that need to be removed or setup that needs to be completed, the age of viruses seem to be slowing but they still call at odd hours asking for help to remove a “virus” when it’s just an app on borderless window mode.
I never thought of any of this as “man skills” I always thought this was just shit you had to do as an adult. I was prepared for helping kids just getting started, not grown-ass men and women with arms and legs and presumably careers with responsibilities.
I would say I’m surprised people can even wipe their own ass anymore but I have read some posts about people having to deal with boyfriends who think touching their own butt is “gay” so really I am not surprised by anything anymore. Is it any wonder why politics is so incredibly stupid? It’s a reflection of larger society.
Wetshaving seems fancy but honestly its the cheapest, fastest and best way to shave, that i have found.
In my experience it’s also the best way to show up at the office with a bloody neckline
Everyone who shaves, regardless of gender and razor type, should have a styptic pencil. It stops bleeding like magic.
Beyond that, shaving with a safety razor is different because you’re never supposed to apply pressure - idk if that’s something you were doing.
I have a block of aluin, which I think is the same thing? It helps, but it isn’t magic. I’m not applying pressure, but still I get many very small wounds.
Alum blocks are similar but different, it’s worth looking into getting a styptic pencil or at least researching the differences.
Hmmm, what handle are you using? The common suggestion I’ve seen is to get a vintage Gillette tech off of eBay. It’s nigh impossible to cut yourself with one of those, and they’re usually around $10-$15.
The issue isn’t so much that I’m cutting myself, but that I end up with multiple very small wounds, roughly the size of a hair/hairsack. Like my shave is just a little too close?
I have an adjustable handle, Merkur 50C I believe. I set it to the least aggressive setting, and am trying all different brands of blades, but so far there’s little difference.
Ah, sounds like razor bumps maybe? I don’t know too much about them unfortunately. What do you use right now?
It does take a little practice, like anything worth doing. You save a ton of money (disposable razor blades cost pennies) and you aren’t throwing away all of that plastic.
I got my safety razor in 2011. I’m not sure if I’ve spent twenty dollars in blades since. Best investment ever.
I spent $20 on blades in 2018, it was for a pack of 200 and I haven’t even gone through a quarter of them
If y’all still out there shaving with cartridge razors you’re wasting so much money on getting a shittier shave.
But, yeah, “Art of Manliness” and their ilk do try to capitalize on a call to return to old fashion things by selling jazzed up overpriced safety razors and brushes.
You don’t need fancy shit to get a better cheaper shave.
Until the TSA lifts restrictions on blades, cartridge razors will continue to be a necessary evil in my kit. However, there are so many better options for your home, as you say. The shown safety razor style is perfectly fine, and so much less expensive, even if you don’t go all in with a solid soap and brush, and just use a normal shave cream like Creamo.
Its inclusion here is absurd. Cartridge shavers are shitty for the environment, and shitty for your wallet; they’re not less manly, they’re just a less smart choice.
Now that’s interesting, I’ve gotten guff for flying with a safety razor but I’ve never had it confiscated or been denied entry to the flight.
I’ve flown with a safety razor many times with a blade installed in it and nobody’s ever seemed to notice or care. I don’t tend to travel with extra blades, though – one will do me for a week or whatever, no problem.
Largely same. Though once flying from Houston International to JFK a TSA agent started saying I couldn’t bring a blade onto an aircraft and she wanted to take the handle itself. I started to protest trying to negotiate her only confiscating the blade when a massive man wearing a 10 gal hat, a mustache that connected to his mutton chops and, most importantly, a big shiny badge said in a broad Texan accent “Now, Missy, how you gonna take a man’s razor? You want him to grow whiskers and folks call him kitty? Go on now, get on your flight!”
The TSA is bizarre.
Hi! I’m wondering what’s wrong with AoM? I always liked that they had really nice vintage (fucking love vintage stuff lol) looking skill booklets that I could use or learn from. I haven’t been there in a loooonnnng time though, so I’m curious if I’ve missed something?
A lot of the shaving gear has a HUUUUGE markup for that vintage look. You can get it way cheaper direct from the manufacturer.
Say what you will, but that’s a nice looking jacket.
You could even say it is bespoke
