Editor's Note: Close Shave

A best-of-the-best post on how to make this daily ritual fun

Shaving first became a thing for me as a kid in the 1960s. I’d watch my father work a nickel-plated Gillette Fat Boy across his face covered in Noxzema shaving cream. Inside the razor was a Gillette Blue Blade that he slid out of its flat metal container with his thumb.

When my dad wasn’t around, I’d sneak into my parents’ bathroom to turn the handle’s base and watch the bomber doors open and close on top. You also could turn a dial at the top of the handle from 1 to 9. I had no idea what that meant or the benefit it provided. Later I’d find out it governed the blade’s exposure, which translated into sharpness.

My first razor in high school was a Gillette Trac II. Then when I went off to Europe hitchhiking, I bought a straight razor at Galeries Lafayette in Paris, not realizing at the time there was a whole bunch of other stuff I needed to buy to use it, like a leather razor strop and strop dressing. So the straight razor went back into my backpack and I resumed using a cartridge razor.

Enter Covid. My friend, Glenn, gave me a Rex double-edge razor for the holidays and that brought all my razor curiosity back. I then began to collect in a search for the absolute best razor, the best brushes and the best shaving cream. Five years later, I completed my odyssey and now I’m going to share my discoveries with you.

Best razors. Nothing beats the Blackland Vector machined single-edge safety razor. It requires a single edge blade. I use Feather Artist Club ProGuard Razor Blades 15 Count, which offer a bit of protection. It’s the closest you’ll come to a straight razor, without the nicks and cuts. It moves around your face like a Zamboni. Each blade lasts up to 10 days.

A cheaper alternative is a vintage late 1940s Gillette Super Speed TTO (turn to open) double-edge razor. There is no date code under the head (they didn’t start dating them until 1950). To illustrate, I found one that seems to be in excellent condition (go here). Prices range from $19 to $40. The less expensive ones will have flaws. The higher-priced razors look great and perform superbly. Sharpest double-edge blade: Personna.

My favorite shavette. A shavette gives you all the closeness of a straight razor but wihtout all the gear and sharpening. You simply insert a Feather Artist Club ProGuard blade, but you have to move slowly because it has all the perils of a straight razor. It requires a technique that develops over time. My favorite blade-replacement model is the Feather Artist Club Soft Grip DX Straight Razor.

Best shaving brushes. I prefer badger rather than synthetic. But not all badger brushes are alike. They come in grades. The cheap ones are lousy and flop around like a wet mop. The better ones are firm and lather beautifully. The following article will explain the different grades (go here).

My favorite brush brands are Thater (Germany but no longer available—you can find vintage ones on Ebay); Shavemac (Germany, but they no longer sell to individual buyers—you have to buy at a store that sells them); and Simpson (U.K., look for them at stores that sell them by typing Simpson brushes into Google). Key is the quality of badger and the knot size that’s right for you. I prefer 26mm and 28mm).

Best shaving cream. The best shaving soaps and creams come from England. By best, I mean a rich lather that protects your face with a thick cushion and smells terrific. I prefer cream to soap, simply because it’s easier to lather up.

My favorite brand is Truefitt & Hill. They’ve been in operation since 1805 and boast the world’s oldest barbershop in the St. James’s section of London.

A cheaper alternative is Taylor of Old Bond, which is excellent. Other brands are Geo. Trumper and D.R. Harris. To start, you need to choose the scent that’s right for you. The best starter scent is sandalwood. Truefitt & Hill has a U.S. online site and distributes from Georgia. The others are available at Amazon.

Other great creams: Martin de Candre Original (France), Lauger’s Skogsra (Sweden) and Castle Forbes (Scotland). The first and last can be purchased online at US stores such as Pasteur Pharmacy and Maggard Razors. Lauger’s has to be ordered from Sweden.

Preparation. The absolute best product to get your face prepared for a shave is a tube of Barbasol 1919, which goes for around $7. To prep, hit your face 10 times with very warm water and then do the same with your neck. Then apply a small amount of Barbasol and work it in. Apply warm water and your hands will slip off your face. Don’t wash off the Barbasol, just get it slick. That’s your undercoat.

At some point in the future, I’ll tell you all about the best vintage Gillette razors. I have one dating back to 1906, just two years into the newly invented double-edge technology. And that’s what I love most about shaving: Using technology that evolved over time as improvements were made to deliver a close shave.

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What I watched: After I finished the exquisite The Count of Monte Cristo miniseries (coming shortly to PBS), I moved on to Spencer (2021), a historical psychological drama film about Diana, the Princess of Wales (Netflix).

Here’s the trailer…

Ken Peplowski (1959-2026). Following my post on Ken, I heard from clarinetist and saxophonist Pete Neighbour [photo above of Ken Peplowski courtesy of Ken Peplowski]:

“Marc, thank you for remembering Ken P. so eloquently. Although he’d been seriously ill, I thought he was over the worst. When we spent a little time together when I was last in New York, he was his usual upbeat self. His passing hit me in so many ways; not least of which is the fact that he was a mere two months younger than myself. I shall miss him—and his playing.”

Herman Leonard was perhaps the finest jazz photographer of his generation. To read my interview with him, go here.

Last week, Lee Prout sent along photos he took about 10 years ago of the exterior of SF Jazz’s San Francisco offices, which showcased Leonard’s images in the windows. Here are two below…

Charlie Parker. My friend, painter Nelson Diaz, sent along this rare photo of the Charlie Parker Quintet at New York’s Three Deuces in the late 1940s. From the left, Charlie Parker on alto saxophone, Dani Perez on bongos, Tommy Potter on bass, Carlos Vidal Bolado on congas, Duke Jordan on piano, Max Roach on drums and Miles Davis on trumpet.

Joe Howard was a trombonist who recorded extensively for movie studios and TV shows. He worked for all of the networks and was on all of the Big Band Era records arranged by Billy May. Here’s his album Something Smooth (1955)…