Looking for manliness in all the wrong places...

[elfs]

I cast a wide net looking for places where I might buy my beloved Merkur blades without having to drive all the way to the other end of King County. One of the popular suggestions was a place called "Under U 4 Men," which sold all of two things: underwear, and "manscaping supplies." According to at least one rave review, they had a fabulous selection of shaving supplies.

And indeed they did. They nice young man with the practiced accent pointed me to a lovely shelf with $35 badger brushes, an incredible array of traditional shaving soaps, and $100 cartridge handles. But not a single safety razor blade in the entire place. I asked about that. He said, "Well, if we had the kind of clientele who used that sort of thing, we would carry it, hmm?"

I can see I'm not the only one who's paranoid about the worldwide production of safety blades ceasing; only Merkur sells their blades in packs of 200. Not even Feather, another leading brand, does that.

Compared to any other shaving experience, the simple safety razor is still my favorite: fewest nicks, least amount of burn, closest shave. It's truly a manly art that liberals can enjoy; after all, the only waste is a fully recyclable piece of steel.

Maybe I will drive out to Bellevue tomorrow.

Comments

[lucky-otter.livejournal.com]

Why not just mail order them?

[blaisepascal]

Weird. My local regional-chain supermarket carries a house brand of safety razor blades in 10-packs. I don't know where to find razors locally, but I can get blades.

Admittedly, the blades probably aren't as good as Merkurs, but they are blades.

[jenk]

I was going to suggest The Art of Shaving, but if you're talking Bellevue you probably know there's one in Bellevue Square.

[hydrolagus.livejournal.com]

The website for RetroRazor lists these places as carrying blades. May or may not have Merkur though.
Goods for the Planet @ 525 Dexter Ave N, Seattle 98109 (206) 652-2327
Gino’s Barbershop @ 2231 7th Ave Seattle, WA98121 (206) 280-6907
Valentine’s Mens Grooming Salon @ 7912 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle 98103 (206) 706-6303
Vixen Day Spa @ 3209 W. McGraw, Seattle 98199 (Magnolia) (206)281-9399

[elfs.livejournal.com]

Thank you! This is why I love the Intertubes: When you have a resource problem, people will help you get the resources you need.

[slutdiary.livejournal.com]

I'd still recommend that once you haven't shaved in over a decade the fetish for just the right razor blade becomes less of a priority. Highly recommended.

:}

[omahas.livejournal.com]

Ah, my dear, but Elf does not grow beards. He grows razer sharp fuzz. :/

[slutdiary.livejournal.com]

Well, I was wishing him comfort, more than wishing you pain.

[urox.livejournal.com]

We just picked ours up from Safeway. Safety blades, that is.

[elfs.livejournal.com]

I tried those. Between the razor burn and the half-assed job they did, I don't think I'll be using them again.

[ladyallyn.livejournal.com]

L orders his from a place that also carries Feather straight razor blades (which I use for gold leaf work) He recently got a a stunning scuttle and a lovely new silver badger brush. I don't think it was from 'Art of Shaving' but I can't find the bookmark at the moment. If you don't find what you need poke me and I'll get it from him.