You are reading a single comment by @arup and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@arup
Blimey, I didn't there would be this much interest in shaving practices. There has been no mention of a FIXED head vs a swivel head.
When I was in Goa in 2002 I used to go and get shaved rather than do it myself. They would always use a hot flannel and then massage the face a bit. A new blade - one side for going with the grain and then the other side for a few final upstrokes. To finish there would be this thing that looked like a big crystal and then an optional massage.
Depending on the barber in question the massage would be either just an extended face massage or it would be the full on Indian head massage. I remember my wife watching as I had it done and wondered if I was still conscious.
After that trip I bought those normal square blades and a cheapo safety razor from Boots. I used a brush and a cream that came in toothpaste like tube. After a few months the novelty wore off and I started to look at more modern razors. I went for the mach 3 and loved it. But they are expensive even if you get them in bulk on ebay (the stingy so and so that I am). With the Kings shave oil they are fine. But with the new Kings gel they get clogged really badly.
So I tried the Bic double bladed ones with Aloe recently and totally lacerated my face. I tend to shave in the bath which really opens up the pores. Shower is also good and it's easy to rinse the razor. But even that didn't do it's usual trick. That's what got me thinking about an alternative.
So perhaps I'll give this Merkur a go. Seems like the old skool principle of fixed gear in the world of shaving. One blade is all you need. Rather apt I thought.