Safety Razors - Gadgetry and Danger
I know. There is something nostalgic about the idea of shaving with an old-timey safety razor, just like your grandpa did. However, there is also something rather impractical about it as well.
Razor and shaving purists may not agree, but a safety razor (commonly called a doube-edge or DE razor) isn't necessarily the key to the best shave on the planet. Look at other advances in engineering and technology we have all come to appreciate, and rarely challenge the benefit of. For instance... a modern car with airbags. Sure, an airbag could knock your ass out like Mike Tyson do, but how many lives has it since saved vis-à-vis rippin' around back in 1975 in a Chevelle, blasting Bohemian Rhapsody on your 8-track, and colliding with a tree? Tons.
Technological, quality and safety improvements to products are real. While many new iterations of the original safety razor have made their appearance on the market lately, most still incorporate the flaws of the old ones.
1.) A safety razor with both usable edges exposed cannot be any narrower than the blade is. This dimension hasn't really changed since 1901. Good luck getting it under your nose, player.
2.) There are like 35 different safety blades on the market – with different thicknesses, sharpness, steel compositions, country of origin and so on. If a razor can accept any of them, what does that say about achieving consistent results with it?
3.) Disposal and storage of blades requires extra care for any children or pets in the household (most users tape over the edges with masking tape and throw away). Cartridges were invented partly because of a safety issue. Think… a mini carrot-peeler type cut, versus massive blood loss and a sliced tendon while trying to compact your wastebasket with your hand.
4.) It's a gadget. Assembly, disassembly and installation and removal of blades is like playing with a razor-sharp Rubik's Cube. Are you about playing games, or shaving?
5.) A TSA agent will form-tackle your ass and taze you in the nuts if you try to take it through security at the airport. Now look at ya. Crumpled-up on the ground convulsing, holding a bullshit gadget.
Look, razor R & D is expensive. When the major razor companies tightly control the very specialized machines used in manufacturing and assembly of commercial-quality razors (and aggressively pursue any would-be competitors), it leaves many startup razor pioneers who want to “buck the system” frustrated. How can they compete with the big boys? How can they manufacture a top-notch modern commercial-grade product? How can they make something that doesn't look like it belongs on Etsy? Unfortunately, most can't. Most just roll out expensive handles which take generic old-school blades and market that to you. Because that's all they had the ability, competency and resources to do.
Whether a gadget razor is debuted on Shark Tank, or pushed out to the public on countless Instagram and Facebook ads, all versions are the technological equivalent of a 1901 safety razor – and all variants use blades for which the brands have essentially zero production control over. At UNO, we didn't have that problem. We sneaked around behind the major razor companies backs with our manufacturing and design ingenuity, and popped them directly in their ear-hole with a cupped hand (we'll elaborate in a future article). Not for what they've tried to do to us, but for what they've rather effectively done to all of us as consumers for decades... lie. Outright and bold-faced.
The highest quality Swedish stainless-steel razor ribbon is coated with platinum, and then a Teflon-equivalent polymer is applied in a nitrogen gas environment. That's what we incorporate in UNO cartridges. A predictable, reliable, very smooth and long-lasting modern blade which is safer to handle and user-friendly.
If you're gonna try single-blade shaving, why not try something you're somewhat familiar with. In 2020, cartridge razors aren't novel to anyone – safety razors are. Keep it simple. Shave with a single-blade razor using today's technology, not grandpa's antique razor re-boot. Don't dick around with an overpriced shaving gadget; get an UNO.