Blades By Mail

My shipment from Blademail.co.uk arrived this morning:

Blades - Unopened Package

I put the order through on Monday morning for a “Pillar Pack” of 100 double-edge razor blades which I’m hoping will last me for the duration of the next year:

Blades - Opened Package

The pack contains 20 dispensers, each delivering 5 blades:

Blades - Pack And Dispenser

I originally read about the traditional wetshave on Lifehacker, but paid no heed to it until one fateful day in Boots when I was in need of blades and low on cash and noticed how much of a difference in price there was between the “novelty” multi-blade shaving systems and the traditional single-blade setup. I was game and took the plunge. The next morning I gave it a go: my hands were trembling and my face was left resembling a butchers block but something about the experience kept me coming back for more.

Blades - Single Blade

As the calendar progressed my skill with the blade has improved and the time required each morning has decreased. I still get a bit of razor burn but I don’t nick myself anywhere near as often. I’ve also upgraded from a shaving gel to using a brush, mug and shave cream to produce a lather for my face.

It’s all time consuming and the perfect shave still eludes me but this purchase (including postage) only left my debit card £14.85 worse off. To buy that quantity of blades in packs of 10 would have cost me £30 in Boots, so that’s a possible saving of £15.15 over the course of a year. 4.15p per day, I feel like I’ve beaten the system!