Thread: Anyone shaved with no safety bar?

Hi everyone,

I was in Milan (Italy) this weekend and went to a store were 99.99999% of you would be like kids in a toy store. Amazing place with great shaving gadgets including streight razors made of real elephant ivory and damascus. They also had a fine badger brush with ivory handle...how wrong is that).
Anyway talking to the 83 year old owner and great guy he told me to take the safety bar off my Mercur Safety Razor to get a shave as close as with a streight razor. I used to shave with streight razor so have the experience but was wondering before venturing into this experiment....anybody here ever tried it?

I personally don't think that is a good idea. Gillette, Merkur and others have designed these DEs with optimum efficiency and safety in mind. Removing the safety bar will effectively ruin the razor and make what would be a pleasant shaving experience unsafe and subject you to possible injury. Shaving with a straight razor is one thing and shaving with other implements is another kettle of fish.

If you want to simulate what that would be like in a safer manner buy a shavette, which is made like a safety razor, and uses DE blades that are snapped in half. Still not a true straight razor shave but at least using the tool as it was meant to be used. IMHO.

You have think about what makes a safety razor just that. Once you modify it to remove the "safety" parts, well, why not just use a straight to begin with.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

You have think about what makes a safety razor just that. Once you modify it to remove the "safety" parts, well, why not just use a straight to begin with.

well...the "safety part" was designed so people could shave in an easier fashion without having the learning curve of shaving with a streight razor (notice I am talking about the safety part not the fact you can use disposable blades etc etc etc), but I have already passed that part as I used to shave with a streight before but stopped because I simply dont have the time to sharpen it every morning before work. I still use it on a lazy Sunday.
I was actually thinking it could be neat to use it this way for the second or third pass...but again wanted to see if it was "commo practice" before I did it. I do love a close shave!

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I personally don't think that is a good idea. Gillette, Merkur and others have designed these DEs with optimum efficiency and safety in mind. Removing the safety bar will effectively ruin the razor and make what would be a pleasant shaving experience unsafe and subject you to possible injury. Shaving with a straight razor is one thing and shaving with other implements is another kettle of fish.

If you want to simulate what that would be like in a safer manner buy a shavette, which is made like a safety razor, and uses DE blades that are snapped in half. Still not a true straight razor shave but at least using the tool as it was meant to be used. IMHO.

Good idea! never saw one before believe it or not...can I use regular DE blades and break them in half? How does one do that is a safe manner?

Thanks!!

Hello Gallinazorey.

I use the razor you can see in this post.

It has not got a safety bar and I find it quite sure. I do not remember to have cut myself seriously and I have never used a straight razor. I must say that I do not use it in the part of the neck... hehe.

Regards.

Originally Posted by belce

Hello Gallinazorey.

I use the razor you can see in this post.

It has not got a safety bar and I find it quite sure. I do not remember to have cut myself seriously and I have never used a straight razor. I must say that I do not use it in the part of the neck... hehe.

Regards.

That it!! Thats EXACTLY what my Mercur without the safety bar will look like.


so someone here IS using it this way...interesting! thanks

This is the one I have

I don't understand the need to shave with a DE with the safety bar removed. Obviously at least a couple of people have or intend to. Can you imagine the lawsuits against safety razor makers if they actually built them without the safety bar for producing an unsafe consumer product. I am sure they have and that is why they don't make them without a safety bar. Use it that way at your own risk fellas.

Bob

Originally Posted by Gallinazorey

This is the one I have

Does it work for you as is ? If you cut the safety bar and it doesn't suit you it is trash. The shavettes that take a half DE blade you just hold the blade in your fingers and bend. They snap easily. They are "too sharp" for a comfortable shave and you have to be really careful of you'll be bleeding.