I was spending some quality time listening to comedian/actor Larry Miller’s podcast last night.

For anyone not familiar with his comic genius, he is probably best known in my circles for his portrayal of the bitter doorman in an episode of Seinfeld. “You think you’re better than me because I’m a doorman, don’t you?”

Larry and his guys enjoyed barber shop shaves in a previous podcast. In this show, he talks about wet shaving gear sent to him by a listener. Larry is now the proud owner of a Merkur 34c and an assortment of blades.

This podcast also talks about the ‘sixth level’, which is a reference to Larry’s classic standup bit “the five levels of drinking”. In my opinion this bit is one of the all-time greats and stands right up there with the best of Cosby, Carlin, or Pryor. Google it and check it out, I imagine you could see it on Youtube or someplace – do yourself a favor.

Welcome to the fold, Larry! May I suggest a Tweezerman brush, while you’re developing your style, and perhaps some Proraso cream to start you on your baby-bottom smooth path to shaving enlightenment?

Larry Miller, wetshaver

Cambridge University is seeking a PhD candidate interested in studying the mechanics of wet shaving.

The study will be funded by Gillette – so I suspect the results will be something along the lines of shaving is best accomplished by using a Fusion ProGlide.

No, seriously, I would never expect a hallowed institution such as Cambridge to stoop so low. It should be some interesting science. Hope the bloke gets his doctorate for it.

A clip:

“Gillette have developed instrumentation capability to characterise the mechanical response of hair during shaving.
“The broad aim of the research is to extend the capability through further characterisation of the mechanical aspects of shaving.
“Further characterisation will enhance model fidelity of predictive simulation of the shaving process.
“The PhD project will focus on understanding the mechanical interactions typical of wet shaving.”

You can read more about it here: Cambridge to study wet shaving

Pretty nifty gadget for automatically shaving your head.

Classic Gillette Blue blade ad from TV’s early days, featuring Sharpie the Parrot.

Look sharp, feel sharp, be sharp!

For the holidays, some Mad Men-era Gillette Christmas advertisement goodness from Oz. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

In the fight over the bankrupt rubble that was Personna maker American Safety Razor Company, Energizer Holdings comes out victorious.

This isn’t bad news. At least venerable ASR is still held by Yanks – Energizer being based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Energizer, of the famed battery brand Eveready and Energizer, also owns Schick. So the number three player in the shaving market falls, to be gobbled by number two. Number two now is in a better position to unseat numero uno, P&G/Gillette.

Well, maybe not.

But I for one, would like to welcome our new shave-bunny overlords.

All Hail the Shave Bunny!

In honor of the World Series, WSB presents a classic old Super Speed ad. This is the one I think of when I see the male models complaining about ‘tugging and pulling’ in the current Gillette spots. Pee Wee Reese and Roy Campanella show us how real men used to do it.

In today’s collectors’ lingo, the ‘light’ version is known as the Blue Tip, ‘regular’ is the Flare Tip, and ‘heavy’ is the much sought-after Red Tip.

Just throwing that in there, since they didn’t have the miracle of color TV in those days.

Enjoy, and Play Ball!

(oh yeah, and Go Giants! Fear the Beard! use a Super Speed instead!)

If you live in an older building, you might have one of the best living-space designs ever conceived in your medicine cabinet.

Wet shavers have a dilemma not really faced by cartridge or electric users: how to safely get rid of those used blades?

Back in the day, companies would offer blade banks as promo items. Just a tin box with a slot cut in the top, festooned with ‘Shave With Barbasol’ or whatever on the side. Drop your old blades into it until full, get rid of the box, safe, easy, green (box and blades would quickly deteriorate).

I (now that I live in a newer place) and many other wet shavers use homemade blade banks made from soup cans or some other container to store our used blades.

Users of cartridges can pop them back into the slot they came from. When the pack is full, dispose of that ounce or two of plastic and do your part to KILL THE PLANET!

…just kidding, cartridge blade users. Who loves ya more than I do?

Anyway, an ingenious method to get rid of blades was to pop them through a slot cut into the wall. There they would rest behind the sheetrock until the end of time (or a carpenter came in to remodel the bathroom and they spill out when the wall was torn away).

Hotels had this slot. Homes usually had a slot cut into the back of the medicine cabinet. Best innovation since indoor plumbing.

A few years ago, Lance Morrow wrote a great essay for Time Magazine on this topic and the art of wet shaving. This post is pretty much my repository for this link, ’cause it’ll just get lost in my bookmarks otherwise.

Through the Looking-Glass With a Safety Razor

The newest Schick entry into the shaving market is a five-bladed device that features, rather than the hydrating ‘strip’ that’s been around for more than a decade, a ‘reservoir’ that contains aloe vera, vitamin E… you know, stuff to make your skin feel better.

I priced a pack of four replacement cartridges at Walgreen’s at $11.99 USD.

That’s THREE DOLLARS A CARTRIDGE, kids.

At that kind of price, it ain’t your face that needs to be lubricated.

It’s simple, fellas. If you want your skin to feel and look great, and your wallet to stay full, take up wet shaving.

You can get a vintage Gillette Super Speed on eBay for ten bucks.

Blades average a quarter each.

Etc. Etc.

You can buy a nice tub of high-end English shave cream if you really feel the need to drop serious coin on your shave, and even then you’ll save a bundle compared to this Schick affront to the dignity of shaving.

If you’ve found your way to this post via Google, because you were looking for info on the Schick thing, I sincerely hope I’ve talked you out of it, or at least given you food for thought.

Lifehacker has a post about how to extend razor blade life by soaking your gear in mineral oil between uses.

I’m sure this works, because anything you can do to eliminate water from the blade will keep it from oxidizing. Those tiny rust spots can wreak havoc on your blade’s edge.

I’ve also previously posted about a canny gent from Iowa who has set up an entire line of products devoted to keeping your blade edge sharp.

I’m not too crazy about spending a lot of money to save some. I’m also not much into oil when it comes to wet shaving. I find shave oil gums up the blade more than it’s worth.

So, I’ll say again: I use a different method for eliminating water from the blade, and it works pretty well. It’s also dirt cheap and doesn’t leave any residue.

Rubbing alcohol. Plain old isopropyl.

I keep a covered dish of it by the sink. When I shake the water from my razor, I then immerse it in the alcohol, and swirl it around a bit.

That will displace the water, dry quickly, and extend blade life.

Now go spend that money you saved on something great, like a new brush or some killer soap.

Wait! I meant, flowers for your wife. Yeah, that’s what I meant.

The gent found through his research that water rusts blades – figure out how to remove the water, and presto! Blade life is extended. You shave with the lube, then store your razor in the extender.

Christensen.

His Revolt sells for around ten bucks a bottle.

Okay.

I’m down with invention, making a buck, the American way.

And I agree, if you can remove all water from your blades after a shave, they stand less chance of developing micro-spots of rust which will make the next shave rougher.

I’ve been doing some research of my own in this field and have found something that does the trick a helluva lot cheaper than Revolt.

Rubbing alcohol.

Plain old isopropyl alcohol displaces water. Using it as an after-shave razor rinse, you clear water from the blade before you put the razor away. You can enjoy the warm, relaxing pleasure of a wet shave and still extend blade life.

I’m not claiming anything new here. I’ve read about this trick, and have been trying it lately.

My DE blades have gone from three comfortable shaves to five. Also, any nasty germs that may have jumped from my face to the blade are killed before the next shave.

I keep an Anchor Hocking bowl of the alcohol on the sink. After my shave I swish the head of the razor in there.

Works like a charm, for 80 cents a bottle.

Maybe there’s another way, Jeff…

The Roberts Method relies on the use of products designed by Mr. Roberts and available through his shop, Enchante. The products stress natural ingredients minimizing the use of chemicals. All Method products are meant to keep the maximum amount of water on the face and beard, saturating the whiskers to their utmost potential.

Strict ‘forms’ of whisker cutting are observed, making Method Shaving almost a martial art in execution.

While devotees of Method Shaving are few, they are loyal and their numbers are growing.

I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on the Method, as I haven’t tried it. I do want to add information about Method Shaving to the Wet Shavers Blog for the record, and give you a handy jumping-off point to find out more about it.

Here’s a list of links to sources of details on the Roberts Method. First off is of course a video by Roberts’ fellow Texan, Mantic.

Mantic’s Concepts of Method Shaving Part One

Hydrolast products forum

Method shaving board at The Shave Den forum

Enchante shop online

Here’s an article from 1972 on how to shave with a straight (cutthroat) razor. The advice is as sound today as it was back then. Or in 1872, for that matter.

Ah, desperation. Having a little trouble selling these things, are we, boys?

DE wetshaving costs me less than a dime per shave in blade use, plus some soap cost that’s maybe a penny, plus fixed cost of razor and brush over a lifetime.

Anyway, Here’s the link. There’s a video worth a look, a Tony Manero/Saturday Night Fever send up with Derek, Tiger, Roger and stuff.

The demographic the Fusion is aimed at for the most part wasn’t even born when Saturday Night Fever came out. Buy hey, Proctor and Gamble are the marketing wizards, not me.

Can’t say I never threw you any love, Gillette.