I was in the grocery store recently and could not find blades for my ‘had it since college’ cartridge razor and it irritated me since my interpretation of the lack of cartridges was that they were making shelf room for the latest 5+ blade cartridge systems. This event, plus the absurd ever-increasing blade count and cost of the cartridges led me to investigate alternatives.

I’ve spent the last two weeks shaving with a classic old ‘safety blade’ razor, the kind most folks used up through the 1970’s, that I bought at classicshaving.com.

I’m going to stick with it for the time being, despite some shortcomings. While I get a smoother shave from the cartridge systems, the classic shaving stuff is just tons less expensive – a 45 cent blade lasts me a week, compared to a ~$1.25 cartridge that lasts about the same amount of time. Also I think part of the issue is my lack of experience with this – my first shave using it was awful but I’ve been getting gradually better. The key seems to be holding the razor at just the right angle – it’s much less forgiving about this than disposable or cartridge razors are. I’m also suspecting the shaving cream I’m using is part of the problem as it seems to gum up the razor, so I’m going to try a few alternatives in that department.

These are worth checking out if you’re appalled at the spiraling price of shaving supplies and looking for an alternative.