What about the Mach 20?
this post was submitted on 07 May 2025
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This has been a favorite sketch of mine for YEARS.
"You take one stroke, it takes 20!"
Hey, it's Bizarro Kramer.
It's Feldman. From across the hall.
Ngl, I've always had a suspicion that part of the reason the extra blades happened was the satire.
Once the idea was introduced, half the marketing was done, and the association with laughter isn't a bad thing. You let the joke fade, and the idea lingers. You see the product launch, and even if you recall exactly how absurd it was when you saw it on snl or whatever, it's still a positive memory. The satire commercial acted as a real commercial before the product existed.
Obviously, there's an upper limit to it, and I think they've hit it as no six blade heads have come out that I know of. But, being real, after 5 blades, all the satires jumped to unrealistic numbers and more extreme silliness. It was like the various comedy writers figured out that the various razor companies would be glad to slap one more on there, and sell it as an entirely new thing that needed a new handle as well. So they said (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ and went hard.
There used to be a video of the satire commercials followed by the eventual real ones. I couldn't find it on YouTube, but I may just suck at searching there, or it could have gotten pulled. I dunno, but I remember the real commercials being way closer to the satire ones than I had thought when it happened.
Obviously, there's an upper limit to it, and I think they've hit it as no six blade heads have come out that I know of.
According to Wikipedia there are 6 and 7 blade razors in South Korea
Dollar Shave Club makes 6 blade razors in the US. I just saw them at the grocery store yesterday.
But, being real, after 5 blades, all the satires jumped to unrealistic numbers and more extreme silliness. It was like the various comedy writers figured out that the various razor companies would be glad to slap one more on there, and sell it as an entirely new thing that needed a new handle as well. So they said (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ and went hard.
Are you telling me the Gillette Facefuckerupper of legend isn’t real?
(The Wenger Giant was a real novelty product. Yes I hate consumerism yes I hate “collector” culture but it tickles my brain just right to imagine that I’ll be able to snag one someday. They’re really expensive rarities now and serve no practical purpose but they do reveal that stodgy old Swiss executives can still have a sense of humor. Until then, the trusty no-name gas station multi tool is perfectly usable.)
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I get by with a single blade no problem. Hot water rinse ---> lather with bar soap ---> shave with razor - first with the grain, then against the grain ---> apply aftershave, letting it soak in ---> apply moisturizer to shaved portions after showering.
That sounds exhausting
It's meditative, really.
You don't really think about all the small steps you do in other activities. You just follow the muscle memory you've built up. It's the same deal for shaving.
Men when routine takes longer than 5 seconds
Always hated regular shaving because no matter how close the shave was it was stubbly in a few hours. I grew a goatee because I haged shaving my chin area. A decade later I started growing a beard of somewhere between a quarter inch to an inch in the winter to keep my face warm.
Now I have that short beard year round and occasionally shave the neck when it gets itchy. So much less work, it honestly feels pretty nice to have that little layer of hair keeping my skin an even temp.
Hooray for less effort!
Most of that you do for regular shaving too. Just instead of canned soap you make lather. If you want to be lazy theres great shaving cream in a tube from Cremo you can skip the lathering step.
Lathering soap with a firm board bristle brush also exfilulates and scrubs your skin. Feels amazing after.
I do the entire routine and it's very relaxing to do a full shave with good gear. I switched 10 years ago and saved sooooo much money.
You can get started for $30-$50 to get a safety razor, cremo and a variety pack of blades. You won't look back. Quick and easy shaving. Slap on soap and learn your face angles. It really is muscle memory.
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Kinda the same with my safety razor, I do a hot water plus soap rinse -> shaving gel made for intimate use -> Shave with the grain (Gets close enough for me)-> Apply alum stone as aftershave -> Clean razor -> Rinse face -> Moisturise if necessary.
As long as I rinse the razor properly after shaving I get away with switching blades once a month or so and I got a 200pc Mühle Stainless Steel pack for ~50 euro back when I bought my razor. The alum stone looks barely used. I'm never going back to cartridge razors.
I got a sample pack of about 200 when I first purchased my safety razor like 10 years ago as well. I got about 20 left. It's crazy how cheap it all is.
Blades vary greatly between brands. Get a sampler pack from eBay to find ones you like. Then buy them in bulk. 100 blades will generally cost from $8-$14, depending on the brand. Some, like Feather, are more expensive.
I might be a fool but I don't mind paying €51.95 for a 200 pack when the manufacturing is in Germany.
If there was any manufacturing of blades in Sweden I would probably buy those unless the price or quality is way different but all I can find is china manufactured blades with "Swedish stainless steel" such as Rockwell.
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Reading all that was a good reminder of why I stopped shaving...
Yes, shaving is a chore - when you have to do it on a daily basis.
As a professional bald fart for more than 15 years, one of the reasons I'm thankful to be able to work from home is that I no longer need to shave head+beard on a daily basis. I really dislike the "shade" so always tried to shave as close to the skin as possible, which took me up to half an hour. Now that I have a job I get to look like one of those wojak characters with aggressive baldness and not worry about shaving for days.
Granted, with a safety razor that time came down to like 20-25 minutes and got less nicks than with a disposable razor. But when I had the chance to get a Leaf razor that came down to 15-20 minutes and never got nicks again. And with that one it's like the best of the two worlds - multiple blades to speed and make easier the shaving process and the non-disposable razor with real cheap and superb blades.
I have a safety razor and a straight razor and prefer them both. The safety razor especially shaves CLOSE.
I used safety razors for years, but even with a practiced hand, I often cut myself. I think that's the biggest benefit to Gillette razors. It's really hard to knick yourself.
Sounds like you had blades that didn't work well with your skin. When I started using mine, I bought a big sample pack of blades and only a couple brands worked for me. The others were a nickfest.
I switched to a shavette and I find it to be the best of all the worlds. No stropping, close shave, cheap upkeep.
Since I keep a beard I also dry shave the line ups, so no soap or brush or bowl clean up either.
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I’ll never stop being angry about the enshitification of razors. I tried so many different brands of cartridge razor and they were all terrible. When I tried safety razors, even with improper technique and not having found the right blades yet, I still got a better shave than with any of the cartridge razors. It’s not even close. I bought a nice safety razor and 200 blades which could last me decades for less than one Gilette Fusion with six replacement heads. I tried the fancy creams and boar’s hair brush, but honestly I’m fine with just water.
When I tell this to people in real life they almost always excitedly start in on “Have you heard of Dollar Shave Club?!” as if they aren’t suggesting I spend much more money on an inferior shave. One blade is about $0.05. Even if DSC did offer $1 options they would still be 20x more expensive.
I bought a titanium Henson safety razor for like $100 (they have cheaper aluminium options) and like 5 years of blades for $5. I get a great shave every time and very rarely draw blood these days :) Well worth it, especially compared to a couple months worth of cartridge razors for $30+ from the local supermarket. It's probably the best cost cutting move I've made in years.
Edit: Just looked at Henson again, out of curiosity. The titanium razors are over $600 now, but the aircraft grade aluminium are still affordable. It looks like my shaving "investment" has performed better than my stock/share portfolio LOL.
When I switched, I got the whole setup you describe. Even special soap from etsy. It was too much of a ritual.
Between simple blades and an electric, I'm good and it's pretty fast as long as I keep up with it.
I did do dollar shave for a little bit and it was okay. But this is an easier version of set it and forget it. Like you said, it's pretty cheap.
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Forget 5 blades, what you need is the Gillette 3000!
Early 1990s champagne comedy from Australia.
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I like the one from MadTV where they had, like, a 20 blade razor. One of the things it did in the graphic was peel off a layer of skin ensuring total removal of the follicle.
I was gonna post a picture here but I can't find it. Trying to find picture of Fry from Futurama holding multiple bladed razor (10+?), looking confused with how to shave with it.
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Soon my life-long dream of using a shaver the size of my entire face will become reality. Eyebrows? Nose? Who needs them anyway?
Can someone recomend a non-disposable, non-enshitified razor? I'm in my twenties and have only ever used disposable razors. Please help.
Most safely razors. Or, if you're looking for a body shave, leaf has a razor that takes safety razor blades but puts it in the style of a cartridge. Less learning curve. I'd personally give it a 9/10. For reference, I'd give Gillette 5 blades a 6.5/10
Get a safety razor and a variety of blades. You might need to try a bunch of blades to find the ones you prefer but what works best for you will depend on the razor and you. You don't have to spend tons of money on the razor but you can. I use an old (1950s or something ) Gillette I found on ebay like 15-20 years ago. See nicer new ones but mine works so I just keep using it. Anyway, razor barely matters, blades depend more on you than anything.
Edit: Just looked on ebay. Lol, vintage ones are spendy now - I think I paid a couple bucks for mine. Did see a new stainless steel basic version for under 15 bucks. I'd start with something like that and a variety of blades.
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I'm using a safety razor, blades are less than a dollar, you get a nice shave and there are whole communities about getting the best shave with the least skin irritation.
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Whenever people talk about the amount of blades on a razor, I always get reminded of this scene in this Edmund Finney's webcomic: https://eqcomics.com/2009/07/03/one-upsmanship/
To be fair, it IS a much better shave having 5 blades. I don't even use shaving cream or anything. I just raw dog my face with razors, and it comes out super smooth.
I used to raw dog my face decades ago with single razors. Took forever, and I'd bleed.
Uses product the wrong way, complains that it doesn't work well.
There's a reason why shaving soap is a thing and I'm sure you would even feel that the 5 blades experience is better if you used it, but that single blade part is just ridiculous, I shave everything including my hair with a single blade and don't bleed.
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My cheese grater still has more blades.
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