Getting a clean shave

[kagemusha]

Went to the states last month and forgot to take a razor. Bought one on the first day, the same brand I use in J-land, Gillette mach 3, and was surprised to find out how different it felt.
Not only the shave was much smoother, the knife keeps on going like a brand new till now.
I shave my head every few days and in Japan I have to change the blade every two weeks or so, the american one goes on for a month now.
What the fuck?
Is it just a freak knife or are the standards different even though we're talking about the same brand?

[Screwed Up Eyes]

Are you crazy? Everybody knows razor blades work differently in Japan because there are four distinct seasons.

[wuchan]

Went to the states last month and forgot to take a razor. Bought one on the first day, the same brand I use in J-land, Gillette mach 3, and was surprised to find out how different it felt.
Not only the shave was much smoother, the knife keeps on going like a brand new till now.
I shave my head every few days and in Japan I have to change the blade every two weeks or so, the american one goes on for a month now.
What the fuck?
Is it just a freak knife or are the standards different even though we're talking about the same brand?

Gillette products here are made in china, the blades in the US ones are made in the USA.

[American Oyaji]

I personally like the Fusion. I never shaved with a blade before because I would bump up real bad, but this works nice.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I personally like the Fusion. I never shaved with a blade before because I would bump up real bad, but this works nice.

You just remined me of a bit on Stern back when Guliani was running for mayor of NYC. They had someone immitating his voice and courting the black vote by promising to "find a cure for razor bumps". Fucking hilarious.

[Taro Toporific]

... are the standards different even though we're talking about the same brand?

Japanese brands of razors like Kai are so terrible, that Chinese-made Gillette seems great to the Japanese.

Ditto for Japanese electric razors: Panasonic sucks compared to Phillips.

The odd thing is that Kai surgical scalpels are just fine](I've been compiling in my mind for some time a list of Japanese Worst-in-the-World-Quality Products. J-Razor blades are at the top of the list along with J-washing machines, J-pizza, J-linoleum, J-deodorant, ...) [/color]

[Taka-Okami]

Are you crazy? Everybody knows razor blades work differently in Japan because there are four distinct seasons.

What's this four season shit? I never heard a japo say that once in 5 years I was there.

[Greji]

What's this four season shit? I never heard a japo say that once in 5 years I was there.

If you look for it, it comes out all over. Shiki this, shiki that. Sometimes you don't think about it, or wouldn't notice it. But it is hard to believe that in five years, no J-body has asked you if you have shiki in your country. It's a regular along with the can you use hashi/jozu etc., bit.....

[Yokohammer]

What's this four season shit? I never heard a japo say that once in 5 years I was there.

That's astonishing. If I had a hundred yen for every time ...

There was a TV show a while ago (probably a few years ago, actually) where they did an on-the-street interview asking Japanese people why they were glad to have been born in Japan. A significantly large percentage of interviewees gave "because Japan has four seasons" as the reason. Of course "shiki" (the four seasons) does have connotations that go beyond the seasons themselves -- food, festivals, etc. -- and it is an aspect of their country that the Japanese seem very proud of, but it gets a bit overused.

[BigInJapan]

[Kurofune]

I haven't tried Kai blades, but read some positive reviews on US shaving forums (yes, I'm a shave geek). Are there different versions of Kai, like carbon steel and stainless steel?

The bad boy of blades is Feather, also a Japanese company. Depending on the man, they're either amazingly aggressive or just too damn sharp. Feather recently came out with a high-end double-edge razor, and it apparently does a great job of taming Feather blades. At $160 in the US, I'll stick with my Gillette.

In the US, Panasonic electric razors get great reviews. But I too would rather have a Dutch-made Norelco.

I had a Toshiba (non-flat screen) TV that I bought new, and the edges of the screen went purple in less than 8 years.

The same thing happened in four years to a Toshiba I bought in the US.

[FG Lurker]

Discovered recently that shaving after ~10 mins in the sauna gives an incredibly close shave without any skin irritation. Makes sense, but had never thought about before.

[Osakadave]

Discovered recently that shaving after ~10 mins in the sauna gives an incredibly close shave without any skin irritation. Makes sense, but had never thought about before.

At the end of a good hot shower works well too.

I tried the Kai razors once. I wouldn't wish them on anyone.

[FG Lurker]

At the end of a good hot shower works well too.

That's what I always used to do, but a hot sauna really takes it to the next level.

[Iraira]

Heard that US razors are designed to shave against the growth direction of the beard while J-razors are designed to shave with the growth direction, hence the closer shave with a US razor. Person who told me this might have been jerking my chain, but mindless trivia is mindless trivia:D .

[wuchan]

Heard that US razors are designed to shave against the growth direction of the beard while J-razors are designed to shave with the growth direction, hence the closer shave with a US razor. Person who told me this might have been jerking my chain, but mindless trivia is mindless trivia:D .

NEVER SHAVE AGAINST THE GRAIN!!!

Only a well trained barber with a very sharp razor can do it. Consumer razors can never be as sharp as a sharpened and stropped straight edge. The main problem is multi blade razors remove two layers of skin causing "shave bumps" later in the day as the hair grows back. US razors are marketed as "no cut/shave as you like" products but they aren't.

[prolly]

i shave against the grain (and i have facial hair like jon hamm) with no problems - provided i shave after a shower and my face is properly softened.
i also use a shave brush.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Who needs razors?

Magic Shave is the razorless hair removal system for black men. The skin-conditioning formula features cocoa butter and natural oils for soft, smooth, bump-free skin.

[RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS]

The best shaves are with safety razors. And also the blades are much cheaper than cartridges and last longer. Feather blades (which are Japanese) are pretty good.

[American Oyaji]

SJ, my dad used to swear by that stuff, but I hate the smell and the idea of chemicals to remove my beard.

However, that Gillette Fusion razor is the only one I've ever been able to shave with without bumping up immediately.