My evolution for shaving was this: First, I used to shave every day or two with a regular disposable razor. Those 3-blade ones with the attached plastic handle. It was as wasteful as it was annoying to use. Every short stroke clogged it with hair and gel/foam, requiring frequent rinsing (and they never get completely clean!). Then later on, I'd transition to trimming my beard down every few days down to stubble with a beard trimmer and using a disposable my neck and cheeks. It was pretty cheap, and worked well enough.
Then I discovered online communities dedicated to using old-fashioned safety razors. Those entirely metal, late 19th century contraptions that take those standard double-edge razor blades - the ones you probably imagine when you hear the words "razor blade". Seemed like an interesting prospect, pundits online constantly sung their praises: No plastic waste; less irritation with only a single blade raking against your skin; and blades can be cheap as dirt.
I hear you ask, "Why don't I use an electric shaver? That is even more frugal!". Those things have never really worked for me. Electric razors, both rotary and foil never caught my dense stubble at all. It was truly pathetic how much hair would be left after going over an area 20 times. It'd just end in a patchy job and a lot of wasted time, not to mention all the irritation after scrubbing metal over my face countless times. I'm truly jealous of those who can get good results from an electric shaver.
Christmas 2025, my partner gifted me Kanzi safety razor, which turned out to be a rebranded Baili 3-piece safety razor. It's heavy, made of chrome-plated zamack (zinc alloy), and well-made for being under $20 CAD. Considering that well-known razors can often go for $50 to well over $100+, this was a steal.
So there I went, going through the supplied unbranded blades (my research indicated that these were also made by Baili). Each of those blades probably lasted 3 uses at most. Despite the starter blades not being the best, the thing just sliced through old stubble like it was nothing. And what's better, it didn't clog at all! My partner observed that my face was the smoothest it had ever felt, so it even got me a closer shave!
There are a few different options for brushes. These are the common ones in order of increasing cost: synthetic, boar, and badger hair. I just bought a Wilkinson Sword synthetic brush since it was cheap and available at the nearest drugstore. In my experience, at least with this brush, synthetic does the job nicely of producing a good lather. Even when lathering directly on my face, it's soft enough to not be abrasive. The animal hair brushes seem more like a "nice to have" rather than a necessity.
Next to absurdly priced safety razor brands, soap is where most online wetshaving folk enthusiastically burn their money. Unless you have so much wealth that it's a burden not to spend, I'd err on the side of caution here. Don't get caught in the "consoom" mindset so prevalent on reddit's wetshaving community. After some trial and error, I've landed on using cheap Dove Men+Care soap, advertised as suitable for shaving. Lathers extremely well into a stable lather and is only $5 CAD for 4 bars, or cheaper when on sale from Costco. It just works™️.
Getting the technique down is quite simple: keep the blade a constant angle during the shave, avoid super long strokes, and don't apply much pressure. I do a full shave every other day, alternating that with just doing my neck and above my beard line. Some swear by showering before shaving, as to soften the hair, but I shave then shower. I'd much rather rinse off all the soap and hair in the shower than clean myself twice.
Online I'd see people do multiple passes in different angles than just a single "with the grain" pass. Often this would go in order of harshness:
Thought I'd try it out, but quickly discovered that my face couldn't take three passes. It just wasn't worth the irritation. However, I managed to find a formula that my face could withstand:
There's so many brands of blades out there manufactured in many countries. The website Razor Blades Club (a decent source) has 170 different double edge blades on offer. Crazy, right? You could easily turn into a collector with all this variety.
So what differs between all these blades? Usually these qualities:
You can actually buy sample packs of different blades from different vendors. That way, you can narrow down which blades work best for you. I opted for the Wide Variety sample pack from RBC (not the Royal Canadian Bank, lol) so I could try as many types and brands as possible. You can of course create your own pack by picking and choosing your own blades.
Naturally with my love of spreadsheets, I started a sheet to track the efficiency (sharpness), feel, and durability of the blades, as well as the other blade qualities. I'll update the spreadsheet here once I'm done with all of them. The idea is that I'll narrow onto a blade or type of blades, then commit to buying a 100 pack of my favourite.
Right off the bat, I can say that no teflon coated blades will be winning the blade-off. Can't see the appeal of rubbing imported forever chemicals all over my face and getting it in our wastewater.
I can't say why I got obsessed with this shit lately, but it has improved my shaving experience considerably. The classic safety razor is one of those things where the old fashioned way was actually superior. Cheaper and more pleasant to use? And no plastic? It makes so much sense. I recommend you give it a try.
last updated: 7/18/2026 | first posted: 7/18/2026