Single Blade Efficiency

As with all good debates you will always hear the pros and cons when comparing multi-blade cartridge razors to single edge razors. To avoid getting into one of those debates I will say that both have their advantages and disadvantages. For me personally, I found the cartridge razors to be painful to use and seldom received a good close shave. And because of the expense, I was always shaving with them until they quite shaving and started plucking the whiskers from my face!

When I started DE wet shaving, I soon began to realize that it's not how many blades you have in the razor that determines a good shave. A single, good sharp blade in the right razor and good technique can give you a perfect and comfortable shave. And because the blades are inexpensive, I don't think twice about changing out blades when the one I'm using gets dull.

When I gave my son-in-laws their first DE razor, they told me that the cartridge razors were painful to use, hard to keep from clogging up, keep clean, and expensive. Think about it. Nobody likes an unsanitary device that could cut them and spread some kind of infection.

Now take a moment and think about efficiency. Suppose the young woman in the video had a scythe that had five blades on it. Can you imagine the drag she would have? It would almost be impossible to slice through the grass. To me, the marketing ploy of "the fist blade grabs the whisker the second one cuts it closer than the third... well you get the picture. In reality, you are just shaving your face five times in one stroke with a five blade cartridge.  A single blade that's sharp, in the right tool, and with good technique can make short work of "mowing the grass." Like the video above with the scythe, you don't need to invest in a $50,000 brush hog to do the work!

Wow, what a lady! Who needs an expensive TV weight loss program when you have a single blade scythe!