Collection: Shave & Razors

What a Safety Razor Is

A safety razor is a metal handle that holds one double-edge blade, with a guard that sets how much of the edge meets your skin. The blade sits flat rather than in a pivoting cartridge, and you replace just the blade when it dulls.

The weight of the handle is what does the work. A cartridge razor is light enough that you have to press; a safety razor is heavy enough that you do not.

One handle lasts for years. The only thing you keep buying is a thin steel blade.

Find Your Setup

The razor

The Perfect Glide Safety Razor has a weighted handle and a textured grip for wet hands, and takes any standard double-edge blade. Also in matte black.

The blades

Razor Blade Refills come ten to a pack. Most people get somewhere between five and seven shaves from a blade, so a pack lasts a while.

Something to shave with

Solid Shave Butter is a bar rather than a canned foam, so it travels and there is no aerosol. The Ultra Sensitive Solid Conditioner + Shave Bar is fragrance-free and does double duty on hair.

Both together

The Razor & Shave Butter set pairs them, and there is a black razor and shave butter bundle if you prefer the matte finish.

How to Use a Safety Razor

Shave at the end of a shower, or after a few minutes of warm water. Skin and hair soften, and a softened hair is easier to cut cleanly.

Hold the handle at roughly a thirty degree angle to your skin and let the weight carry it. Short strokes, no pressure, and rinse the head every few passes so hair does not pack up under the guard.

Go with the direction the hair grows first. If you want to go against it, do that on a second pass over skin that is already lathered again, not on dry skin.

Pulling the skin taut with your free hand helps most on knees, ankles and underarms, where the surface is not flat. A shave butter gives you enough slip to feel where the razor is.

Changing the Blade

Unscrew the handle, lift the top plate off, and the blade comes straight out. Put the old one into a blade bank or a sealed tin rather than loose in a bin.

Handle it by the short edges. The long edges are the sharp ones, and a double-edge blade is sharper than anything in a cartridge because nothing is in the way of it.

Change the blade when the shave starts to feel like it is dragging rather than gliding. A dull blade is the cause of almost every bad safety razor experience.

Cost and Plastic

A pack of blades costs a fraction of a pack of cartridges, and the handle is a one-time purchase. The math gets better the longer you keep it.

There is also no plastic cartridge to throw away every few weeks, and the blades themselves are steel. It fits the same thinking as the rest of our bottle-free range.

Looking After It

Rinse the head and shake the water out after every shave, then store it somewhere it can dry rather than in the stream of the shower.

Every few weeks, take it apart and rinse the plates. Soap and hair collect in the gap under the guard, which is what makes a razor feel rough when the blade is still fine.

Dry the blade too if you are leaving it in. Steel rusts, and a rusted edge is a blade you need to change early. For the rest of the routine, see body care and exfoliating.

Safety Razor FAQs

Is a safety razor harder to use than a cartridge razor?

It asks for a different habit rather than more skill. Lower angle, no pressure, shorter strokes. Most people have it after two or three shaves.

How many shaves do I get from one blade?

Roughly five to seven, depending on how much area you cover and how coarse the hair is. A 10-pack of refills covers a long stretch.

Can I use a safety razor on legs and underarms?

Yes. Go slower around the knee, ankle and underarm, where the surface curves, and pull the skin taut with your free hand.

What do I do with used blades?

Collect them in a blade bank or a sealed tin and dispose of the whole container once it is full. Loose blades in a bin are a hazard for whoever handles the bag.

Do I need shave butter, or will soap do?

Anything that gives slip will work, but body soap tends to dry out under the blade. A shave butter stays slick for the length of the pass, which is what you want with a single blade.

Does it fit standard blades?

Yes. The Perfect Glide takes any standard double-edge blade, so you are not locked to one refill.

Can I fly with it?

The handle can go in your carry-on. The blades cannot, so pack those in checked baggage or buy them when you land.