Shaving and Saving.

Let's not beat around the bush: the cost of disposable razor cartridges is outrageous, compared to their actual cost (yes, even more than the cost of cheese over here). At one point, they were the most shoplifted item in the UK because of their retail price, which is why they're now locked up in special vending cases on both sides of the Atlantic. When you're an unemployment statistic, dangling in the wind while you hear back from a second interview at a company, you have to make the unemployment benefits go as far as they can. So I'm obviously not going to pay $30 for a set of 8 cartridges (which last a little more than a week each) when it'd cost more than my grocery bill some weeks. Two options presented themselves: electronic, or an old-fashioned razor. I had an electronic briefly when I was in school and didn't find it comfortable, so it was time to go old school instead; I ordered a double-edged safety razor on amazon last week.

Digression: I wish amazon.ca would give shoppers the option of choosing which courier they'd like, rather than it being a complete lottery. Internet shopping in this country is an aggravating business compared to back home. In particular, amazon.ca is a backward country cousin to its American and British relatives, in terms of service and range of goods available. I know part of that is the distances involved, but a merchant needs to supply the customer in the fashion most convenient to the customer, not the vendor. The razor arrived via UPS, who, as per usual, couldn't get in to the building, meaning I had to take a three hour round trip on public transport today up to UPS at the airport. Look at the box it came in, drowning in the amazon packing. What a waste of packing, stuffing, petrol in the delivery truck, and time (both mine and the UPS driver's). The small green box would have fit in my mail box through Canada Post several times over. Do better, amazon.ca

While the razor was on its way from Vancouver, I had a jaunt out on Sunday to buy the rest of the paraphernalia, having culled information from the internet about creams/soaps, and the best brands. Except for a shaving bowl, so I have to make do with an, er, IKEA shaving bowl. And when the razor arrived, it had the added bonus that it came from Sheffield. So in the pursuit of thousands of "Yorkshire points" in refusing to be fleeced by Gilette, I get to buy something from Yorkshire anyway. 

The razor is actually much shorter than your garden variety plastic disposable, but very much sharper blades and much heavier. The idea is that the weight of the head is sufficient to cut the beard, and your hand just has to guide. I only cut myself once on the first attempt, right on the jawline where I half expected to cut myself. The face is very smooth, but the neck is less good; the disadvantage a safety razor has is that the head isn't jointed, such that you have to contort your hand/wrist to maintain the right angle between skin and blade, and that's harder on your neck. The technique will come with time. The best bit about these sorts of razors: the cost of the blades; 100 of the blades this razor came with retail on ebay or amazon for about $15 (so 15 cents each instead of about $4 each for a cartridge). Score me about 50,000 Yorkshire points for not having to deal with Gilette possibly ever again. Crooks.