Ever since a now legendary thread by Icrontic’s Bobby Miller regarding how best to shave, the classic wet shaving phenomenon has spread through the community like a virus. At the time of Bobby’s original posting, several Icrontic members, including myself, were already using double-edged safety razors and were ready with advice.
One of the few downsides of using a classic double-edged safety razor is that they will often fail the airport security screening, even if you don’t try to carry any blades. Because of this, for travel I assembled a very inexpensive but complete shave kit, which became one of the most popular prizes at EPIC 2009. The kit is easy to put together, easy to use, and inexpensive.
The cornerstone of any classic wet shaving experience is of course the razor. Luckily for us, Icrontic is not the only place where such a shave is experiencing a resurgence of popularity. What this means is that companies have put classic designs back into production. A good, yet inexpensive, example of an old design seeing new production is the Weishi Double-Edged safety razor
Weishi has produced a razor that is of a twist-to-open (TTO) design, in almost a carbon copy of the 1960’s classic Gilette Superspeed razor. Like the razor it’s patterned after, the Weishi is a very gentle shave, making it great for beginners and almost impossible to cut yourself with. Personally, I liked the comfort of shaving with the Weishi, but for some faces this razor might not be aggressive enough.
The original Gilette Superspeed razor after which the Weishi is patterned.
Fortunately, another thing the Weishi razor has going for it is the price. It can be found for as little as $10 USD on eBay, either under the auction title “Weishi” or “classic safety razor.” The key to finding the Weishi itself is to make sure it’s a twist-to-open action razor, and it often comes in a little plastic case with a mirror on the lid. The auctions often come with blades, but blade choice is often a matter of personal preference.
No shaving kit would be truly complete without a shaving brush, and some form of shaving soap or cream. Luckily, a company called Van Der Hagen has created a budget shaving kit
Van Der Hagen's complete "Premium" shave kit.
Whether you’re looking to start classic wet shaving or you need to build a cheap kit for a long term travel destination and can’t carry your razor on the plane, this kit is up to the task. Incredibly, the entire kit can be assembled for less than $20 USD, and replacement DE blades can often be found for around 49 cents a piece. For less than the cost of a pack of replacement blades for your elevenbillionty bladed ‘latest and greatest’ face shredder, you can be on your way to a happier classic double edge safe face.
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