Safety Razor vs Cartridge Razor: What shaves the best?

Safety razor vs Cartridge Scheermes: Wat scheert het beste?

“Your status as a shaver is still amateur? We all come here to see if you wanna go pro”.

As you know, we often post battles between 2 products. Purely to provide a clear picture of the exact differences so that you can make a clear choice based on this about which product you want to use. In this context, it is high time that we put 2 popular shaving instruments against each other.

Mainly also because we regularly get the question: what is the best razor? A Safety Razor or the widely used cartridge Razors? Both indeed have very different characteristics when it comes to comfortable Shaving.

What are the biggest differences between a Safety Razor and cartridge razor?

Firstly, there is of course a big difference in design. But also in materials between these 2 contenders. Safety, durability, and the eventual costs per shaving instrument also play a significant role. Of course, the blades themselves do too. For instance, the Safety Razor on the fixed Razor Head has 1 double-sided blade, while Cartridge Razor have 3 to even 7 blades grouped in a plastic cassette.

A Safety Razor thus has 1 double-sided blade in the fixed head. The blade itself is covered by a comb, Base Plate and top plate. There are also Safety Razors with a Razor Head equipped with a butterfly closure. This makes it slightly more fragile but even easier to insert a double blade. Because the average Safety Razor is (much) heavier than the plastic variant, you don’t need to apply pressure to the skin yourself. This is the case with the very light cartridge razor. Another difference?

With a Safety Razor, you can effortlessly choose from a vast amount of Brands double blade blades. This has to do with its universal fit. You have the choice of many qualities of steel and sharpnesses. You can experiment with it exceptionally well.

Tip: the Safety Razor also has a sibling. A best Safety Razor but with a twisted fixed head. For men with heavy beard hairs, a very comfortable alternative to the straight Safety Razor. Read in the article, what is a Slant Safety Razor, everything about the operation of this also very good razor.

What materials are a Safety Razor and cartridge razor made of?

Safety Razor

  • Stainless steel or aluminum body possibly with a nickel coating
  • Fixed metal/aluminum unscrewable Razor Head

Cartridge Razor

  • Plastic holder
  • Rubber grip
  • Separate plastic cassette with a rubber strip, plastic comb, and the metal blades incorporated

Gillette Fusion

How does a cartridge razor work?

Take, for example, the Gillette Fusion5 Proglide equipped with a plastic cassette with 5 blades on board. While we also have a Mach3 as an example could take. The design remains basically the same. The advantage of a Cartridge Razor is that you need little technique to achieve a reasonably smooth shave.

The instrument is light in use and the head of this razor rotates with every movement you make over the skin. You would have to do something very crazy to injure yourself. This is also because the 5 blades are tightly encapsulated.

The cartridge is characterized by the blades stacked on top of each other, the lubricant (rubber) strip, and the comb. The blades are pre-set at the ideal cutting angle. Then it doesn't matter much how you hold the razor. The strip is there to reduce irritation while the comb does its best to flatten the skin so the blades can glide more easily over the skin.

The head of most cartridge Razors can not only rotate over the skin but also tilt from left to right. This keeps the blades on the skin when they go over the contours of the Face.

Advantages of cartridge razor:

  • Due to the materials used, cartridge razors have a comfortable grip. This is partly thanks to the presence of the rubber lining. This way, the holder stays well in hand. Even if your Hands are wet or covered with Shaving Soap
  • The Shaving is easy. You don't really have to concentrate to avoid shaving mistakes or injuries. Such a cassette with blades is very forgiving. No matter which type you use
  • You don't really need to maintain a cartridge razor. Rinsing well with warm water is sufficient

Disadvantages of cartridge razor:

  • You have to scrape over the same piece of skin multiple times, up to 6x, to achieve results, which damages the skin earlier. In this case, 6x a shaving motion x 5 blades = scraping over the skin 30x to achieve a smooth skin
  • Not the best blades when you have sensitive skin
  • Blades are generally of lesser quality than the steel of the double blades
  • Chance of razor burn because you have to scrape over the skin much more often
  • Chance of ingrown hairs. The hairs are pulled out of the skin and then cut by multiple blades, causing the hair to shoot back under the skin, resulting in an ingrown Hair with inflammations as a result
  • With a cartridge razor, it is difficult to estimate the exact spot where you should start from the sideburn
  • It is harder to rinse the hairs and soap residues out of the cassette
  • You cannot use other Brands Razor Blades, so experimenting with other types of blades is not an option
  • It shaves (much) less smoothly than a Safety Razor while you have to scrape over the skin much more often with cartridge blades
  • Financially draining. The disposable cartridges are very expensive!
  • Significant environmental impact due to various plastic materials and packaging

As you can see, there are quite a few hooks and Eyes to a cartridge razor. In our article, which razor is best for you, we delve much deeper into the differences between multiple Razors.

 

Muhle Safety Razor R89

How does a Safety Razor work?

With a Safety Razor, you need to apply a bit more technique than with a Cartridge Razor. The Safety Razor is available with a closed and an Open Comb. The Safety Razor with Closed Comb is the most popular.

It is also recommended for beginners. At the end of the Base Plate, there is a continuous guide that guides the blade over the skin. This design exposes the skin less to the blade. Very comfortable indeed.

With a Safety Razor with a Open Comb, the continuous guide is absent. Then the Base Plate often ends in ribbed teeth. Due to the Open Comb, many users experience the Safety Razor as much more aggressive. You also need to Shaving more carefully to avoid shaving mistakes. You place a Safety Razor at an angle of 30 degrees on the skin, and then you can maneuver fantastically over the Face.

Result: You glide over the skin with less resistance. With a Open Comb, you also have access to more blade surface, allowing you to cover even more skin. This achieves an even smoother result. A Safety Razor with Open Comb works excellently on heavy beard hairs. Try to tame those with a cartridge blade... Good luck.

Advantages of Safety Razor:

  • You only need to glide over the skin 1 to 2 times to achieve a very smooth result
  • You can get the blade directly under the nostrils
  • Much more comfortable Shaving for men with sensitive skin
  • Much less chance of razor burn, ingrown hairs, and acne
  • A much smoother end result than with a cartridge razor
  • Save a lot of money compared to a cartridge razor
  • Much better for the environment (!)

Disadvantages of Safety Razor:

  • You might consider the higher entry price for a Safety Razor as a disadvantage. However, you can make it as expensive as you want. You can get a good Safety Razor for 40 euros and quickly earn it back with the much cheaper double blade blades.
  • It requires more technique than Shaving with a cartridge razor
  • The steel of a Safety Razor, especially the screw thread, needs to be cleaned regularly

In our blog, perfect Shaving: the use of a Safety Razor, we delve deeper into the operation of this, in our Eyes, best razor on the market.

Which is more economical to use? A Safety Razor or a cartridge razor?

To get straight to the point: in the end, you are always more economical with a Safety Razor. Purely due to the double blade blades that you can purchase in many variants for little. The payback period of the Safety Razor itself depends on how much money you want to spend.

For example, you can purchase a very good razor like the Mühle R89 Safety Razor for less than 40 euros, which you can use for years. Or possibly invest in a fantastic Feather WS-D2 Safety Razor . If you maintain a Safety Razor well, you can actually use it your entire life. It doesn't get more sustainable and cost-effective than that.

How come it's cheaper?

Quite simple. Just take a look at the prices of the average disposable cartridge razor. For a Gillette Mach3, you pay around €4.00. Per blade. With some competitors of another Brand, you might be a Euro cheaper. But: this is still a lot of money.

Actually bizarre. For a blade that doesn't even shave superbly. You often get the holder for free when you decide to start with a cartridge. Hooray!

But what does a double edge blade razor cost then?

Hold on... The average Price for a good razor in a Safety Razor is on average between 25 and 40 cents. Repetition: The average Price for a good razor in a Safety Razor is on average between 25 and 40 cents. A disposable cartridge blade is therefore on average more than 10x more expensive. Cuckoo!

Just sharp: suppose you shave from your 20th to your 80th and you use an average of one New blade per week. So you use 52 blades per year. For 60 years.

Cost of disposable cartridge blade (60 years) – Average 1 New blade per week

3,120 weeks x €4.00 = €12,480.00

Cost of double edge blade (60 years) – Average 1 New blade per week

3,120 weeks x €0.40 = €1,248.00

Of course, there are also men who shave 4 or 5 times a week instead of 7, and that obviously affects the costs. But the above calculation example does indicate what a huge price difference exists between a disposable cartridge blade and a fully steel double blade. Even if you only shave 3 times a week, you will still save significantly.

How many shaves does a razor blade last?

Let's first take a look at the disposable cartridge blades. The average Mach3 or Fusion cassettes from Gillette, for example. On average, you can perform 5-7 shaves with these Razor Blades. These are, of course, the averages but also our experience.

Some users believe it's enough after 5 shaves, and there are also men who manage to squeeze out 10 shaves. We would particularly advise against the latter, by the way.

The same actually applies to the double blade razors. If you go for the entry-level and the cheapest versions, you can use such a double blade about 5/6 times. The choice is vast. One of the entry-level options is the Derby Double Edge Blades. Only €0.10 cents each and you can shave very comfortably with them.

The author of this article is very enthusiastic about the Wilkinson Sword Double Edge Blades After about 8 to 9 times Brand, I notice it goes a bit less smoothly.

Tip: Check out our extensive Collection with the best Double Edge Blades. Also try to vary with different sharpness and Brands. Many Safety Razor addicts have gone before you and have now found the ultimate Safety Razor and Double Edge Blades combination(s) that make Shaving wellness.

Sustainability Safety Razor vs Cartridge Razor

We can be brief about this. The many diverse components that a cartridge razor contains also lead to much more waste. It involves quite a bit of different types of plastic, rubber, ink, and metal. The holder of a cartridge also only lasts a certain period. So, throughout your life, you will throw away a number of them.

Source USA Today: Still, billions of plastic razors and refill blade cartridges get tossed in landfills each year. With a Safety Razor, you only deal with a razor-thin steel blade that you can save up and, for example, hand in separately. That’s it. A good holder can certainly last a lifetime. Crystal clear and a no-brainer.

Tip: Use a razor dispenser. Then you can safely and properly store the used double-edged blades and later dispose of them in the recycle bin in a controlled manner.

Summary Safety Razor vs Cartridge Razor

In fact, you should see a cartridge Safety Razor like a printer and its Toners. The printing system itself is relatively very cheap, but when it comes to the Toners, you will spend money. That is the business model. It’s actually the same with Cartridge Razors. There will always be fans who want nothing more than Shaving with a cartridge razor.

And here too, you have a lot of choices in the cartridge Razors like the Mühle – Gillette Mach3 Purist or if you want to be chic, you can also choose a Mühle - Gillette Fusion Sophist.

And the winner is!

It should be clear by now that if you care about shaving comfort, costs, and the environment, you can't ignore the best Safety Razor. Not comparable to a cartridge razor. The latter has become enormously popular due to the huge marketing budgets spent on it in the last 30 years. As a result, you become somewhat conditioned and purely out of convenience, you use a plastic razor. Purely out of convenience.

But you can't compare it to the shaving sensation and the super smooth effect you achieve with a Safety Razor. In short, a cartridge razor is no match for the ruler in the Shaving. The Safety Razor. By the way, also the best razor for women. The ladies are big fans. Read in our article: why the Safety Razor is the best razor for women. In short: with such a massive instrument, you shave old school but always cutting edge. Grandpa wasn't so crazy after all!

Tip: check the 10 best Safety Razors that we have compiled for you. Easy, right?

If you still have questions or comments, we would love to hear them from you. For now? Shave that!

Good luck & regards,

Your friends, The Alpha Men