Ok it really hasn't been too long since I have stopped using garbage like the gillette mach series and things of the like but I have learned a few things since then.
First off when it comes to a quickie wet shave (any kind of blade and lather) there is none. A quickie wet shave generally sucks.
For quickies I find the electric razor to be king. It will do a good enough shave or barely good enough perhaps and that is what my amateur self would recommend based on my experience. Keep in mind that a slow shave with an electric is much better than a fast one. The good thing about electrics is although they may cause irritation you wont get cut if you do a quick shave.
I find a good quality safety razor (I prefer double) to be KING of close shaving. Compared to all my straights that I have so far tried from the best to mediocre I find the sharpness, closeness, and efficiency of a quality safety razor loaded with a quality blade to be very very very hard to beat. You need to learn to hold an angle with a safety razor or you will get a mild cut or nick but the learning curve is relatively quick and easy. Once you got the hang of it your are set for a very very long time. Reloads for safety razors and , even the more expensive high quality ones (I recommend feather) are fathoms, fathoms less expensive than using disposables in not too long run at all. Even with the initial investment of getting a good quality double ~ $35.00 (and probably much cheaper if you know what to check for when buying) to $200.00 and up will very soon pay off when you don't have to deal with the so called better disposable razors.
Vintage safety razors are also a great bang for the buck made at a time when they were in high demand and had to be quality to compete.
You want to save money and be a cheapskate, maybe you have to be, I am not judging you but I have to tell you if you still use disposable razors you are violating your principles of cheapness, polluting the environment with over priced disposable crappy plastic , and just plain getting ripped off. That is something no self respecting cheap skate wants marring his/her reputation so learn to hold in angle and you will not only uphold your principles, but you will do it with superior products with superior results which will be written all over your face.
The next best to me is the Straight Razor. They provide a high quality shave, you never have to change the blade and are known to last 100 years and more. The learning curve for a straight is slow, long and with it comes to requirement to learn stropping at the very least but ideally you should learn honing and minor rebelling as well. The initial investment can be relatively inexpensive if you know how to shop for your equipment with patience after studying what to look for otherwise it can be very expensive if you want to start with high quality brand new or almost new products.
Rushing or being careless with a safety razor can be a very dear mistake and if you have kids in the house you want make sure your safety razor is as secure as a firearm.
I found my shaves with a straight got better and better over time as my skill developed. I find some straights shave better than others regardless of price and quality.
After learning to shave proficiently with a straight my safety razor shaving became very easy and very smooth, with the closest shave possible because when using a straight you really learn how to hold a good angle.
I do not recommend a straight unless you are committed to going all the way and appreciate fine quality blades.
Now the bottom of the barrel pure crud in my opinion. If you are using disposable razors please do yourself a favor and get over the quick, generally safe learning curve of holding an angle with a safety razor and picking the best one for yourself.
If you are still using a disposable you are getting ripped off royally. Disposables are as idiot proof as possible but not really that idiot proof.
After learning to use a safety razor and retrying a supposably high quality disposable again (Mach 4) I found if you are not just as careful you will get nicks and irritation in short order. Disposables pull hair and get clogged up real quick. You get the least amount of shaves because they are garbage designed to crap out after a couple of shaves so you can run back to the store and pay tens of dollars for their garbage reloads. Disposables plain suck coming from someone who used to use them frequently before learning the basics of real shaving.
Don't take my word for it. Professional barbers always either use safety razors or disposable straight razors (modern health dept guidelines make it difficult for barbers to use standard reusable straight razors.) not crap wall mart disposables because safely razors and straights give the best shaves.
Chuck the canned shaving cream too because you will save a ton of money using a good quality shaving soap or cream and using a brush makes shaving more fun.
First off when it comes to a quickie wet shave (any kind of blade and lather) there is none. A quickie wet shave generally sucks.
For quickies I find the electric razor to be king. It will do a good enough shave or barely good enough perhaps and that is what my amateur self would recommend based on my experience. Keep in mind that a slow shave with an electric is much better than a fast one. The good thing about electrics is although they may cause irritation you wont get cut if you do a quick shave.
I find a good quality safety razor (I prefer double) to be KING of close shaving. Compared to all my straights that I have so far tried from the best to mediocre I find the sharpness, closeness, and efficiency of a quality safety razor loaded with a quality blade to be very very very hard to beat. You need to learn to hold an angle with a safety razor or you will get a mild cut or nick but the learning curve is relatively quick and easy. Once you got the hang of it your are set for a very very long time. Reloads for safety razors and , even the more expensive high quality ones (I recommend feather) are fathoms, fathoms less expensive than using disposables in not too long run at all. Even with the initial investment of getting a good quality double ~ $35.00 (and probably much cheaper if you know what to check for when buying) to $200.00 and up will very soon pay off when you don't have to deal with the so called better disposable razors.
Vintage safety razors are also a great bang for the buck made at a time when they were in high demand and had to be quality to compete.
You want to save money and be a cheapskate, maybe you have to be, I am not judging you but I have to tell you if you still use disposable razors you are violating your principles of cheapness, polluting the environment with over priced disposable crappy plastic , and just plain getting ripped off. That is something no self respecting cheap skate wants marring his/her reputation so learn to hold in angle and you will not only uphold your principles, but you will do it with superior products with superior results which will be written all over your face.
The next best to me is the Straight Razor. They provide a high quality shave, you never have to change the blade and are known to last 100 years and more. The learning curve for a straight is slow, long and with it comes to requirement to learn stropping at the very least but ideally you should learn honing and minor rebelling as well. The initial investment can be relatively inexpensive if you know how to shop for your equipment with patience after studying what to look for otherwise it can be very expensive if you want to start with high quality brand new or almost new products.
Rushing or being careless with a safety razor can be a very dear mistake and if you have kids in the house you want make sure your safety razor is as secure as a firearm.
I found my shaves with a straight got better and better over time as my skill developed. I find some straights shave better than others regardless of price and quality.
After learning to shave proficiently with a straight my safety razor shaving became very easy and very smooth, with the closest shave possible because when using a straight you really learn how to hold a good angle.
I do not recommend a straight unless you are committed to going all the way and appreciate fine quality blades.
Now the bottom of the barrel pure crud in my opinion. If you are using disposable razors please do yourself a favor and get over the quick, generally safe learning curve of holding an angle with a safety razor and picking the best one for yourself.
If you are still using a disposable you are getting ripped off royally. Disposables are as idiot proof as possible but not really that idiot proof.
After learning to use a safety razor and retrying a supposably high quality disposable again (Mach 4) I found if you are not just as careful you will get nicks and irritation in short order. Disposables pull hair and get clogged up real quick. You get the least amount of shaves because they are garbage designed to crap out after a couple of shaves so you can run back to the store and pay tens of dollars for their garbage reloads. Disposables plain suck coming from someone who used to use them frequently before learning the basics of real shaving.
Don't take my word for it. Professional barbers always either use safety razors or disposable straight razors (modern health dept guidelines make it difficult for barbers to use standard reusable straight razors.) not crap wall mart disposables because safely razors and straights give the best shaves.
Chuck the canned shaving cream too because you will save a ton of money using a good quality shaving soap or cream and using a brush makes shaving more fun.
