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Or you can spend a premium on a nice razor, like the old safety razors, and purchase replacement blades for around $0.50 each.

Or, you know, for the discerning gentleman you can get your blades marked with each day of the week.

When will they outlaw razor blades that only fit one razor?

Only when they can't buy safery razor blades and double edge razor blades and you have to go to a Gillette. There is a standard razor format still out there. The blades fit box cutters and paint scrapers, art tools, medical tools, as well as razors. You can buy the blades at either the grocery store, drug store, or hardware store. Your other option is to go the single vendor lock-in route. You don't have to pirate blades if you decide not to go with a single vendor solution.

You can't find many online music stores selling a variety of formats for several brands and functions of devices. This is the issue. I can buy several brands of razor blades at any one of the stores to fit my open format razor and can shop for the best brand and price. There is no online store selling competing brands of DRM content compatible with whatever brand of music player you happen to like. There is also no price and quality choices. If you buy online for your iPod, the only choice in the USA is 99 cents a track at the only quality level of 128Kbits. If you have a Zen, you can't buy compatible content for any price. If your device plays MP3's, you are SOL at the iTunes store. It's like having a safety razor and absolutely nobody sold blades for it so you had to rip your own from tin cans. (I know e-music, but try to buy any mainstream music there..)

Here are some examples of safety razor blades to fit your any name and function device that uses safety razor blades..

Mekur brand http://www.amazon.com/Merkur-Double-Safety-Blades- 3-Pack/dp/B0001XGNRK/sr=1-1/qid=1169789189/ref=sr_ 1_1/104-5655065-6533564?ie=UTF8&s=beauty
Auto Parts blades
http://www.parts4cars.com.au/cart.php?target=produ ct&product_id=19167&category_id=439
Feather brand
http://www.classicshaving.com/catalog/item/522941/ 906451.htm
Excel brand
http://www.dickblick.com/itemgroups-r/razorblades/
Wilkinson brand
http://www.blademail.co.uk/acatalog/Classic_Twin_E dge.html
Gem brand
http://www.2spi.com/catalog/tools/smtol14.shtml

There are more not listed here.. You can't mix music and players like you can razors. MP3 format works fine, but everyone wants to be the defacto DRM single vendor instead.

About two years ago, I did away with safety razors as my normal at-home shave.

I have never looked back (okay, I /did/ try a rediculous four-blader... it sucked,
and felt like it was yanking the hair right out of my face).

My razor of choice: A good straight razor.

I had to re-learn how to shave, but very franky this tool has turned out to be cheaper
and, combined with good quality shaving soap, a much better shave than any safety razor
that I have ever used.

Just don't use one on a moving train... ;-P

Some links (no, I have no affiliation with any of these groups):

* http://www.straightrazorplace.com/
* http://www.classicshaving.com/
* http://www.dovo.com/

I have gone back to using the old fashined double-edged safety razors with replaceable blades. That is how I originally learned to shave back in the early 1970s. It is the same shaving technology that my dad used. For a while, I switched to the disposable double and later triple blades, but I finally went back to using the old double-edged razor blades. It only costs about 45 cents per week to shave with those. Each edge of a double-edged safety razor is good for several days and since there are two sides to a double-edged safety razor, each blade lasts for about 1 week. The used blades are stored in the back side of the tiny little 10-blade plasic package of so very little space is required used by them in the garbage can or the local landfill.

I have the best results when using the slightly more expensive Feather or Merkur blades than when using the ones that I get at the local supermarket or drugstore. The slightly more expensive blades are the ones that cost about 45 cents per week. I no longer have my old Gillete razor so I have been using the Merkur "Long Classic" Open-Comb razor instead. I have been getting a very good shave this last year or so with that combination.

My gradfather used even older technology, he used a straight-edged razor which he would keep sharp by stropping and honing. I don't plan to go back to doing it that way though.

I have gone back to using the old fashined double-edged safety razors with replaceable blades. That is how I originally learned to shave back in the early 1970s. It is the same shaving technology that my dad used. For a while, I switched to the disposable double and later triple blades, but I finally went back to using the old double-edged razor blades. It only costs about 45 cents per week to shave with those. Each edge of a double-edged safety razor is good for several days and since there are two sides to a double-edged safety razor, each blade lasts for about 1 week. The used blades are stored in the back side of the tiny little 10-blade plasic package of so very little space is required used by them in the garbage can or the local landfill.

I have the best results when using the slightly more expensive Feather or Merkur blades than when using the ones that I get at the local supermarket or drugstore. The slightly more expensive blades are the ones that cost about 45 cents per week. I no longer have my old Gillete razor so I have been using the Merkur "Long Classic" Open-Comb razor instead. I have been getting a very good shave this last year or so with that combination.

My gradfather used even older technology, he used a straight-edged razor which he would keep sharp by stropping and honing. I don't plan to go back to doing it that way though.

I have gone back to using the old fashined double-edged safety razors with replaceable blades. That is how I originally learned to shave back in the early 1970s. It is the same shaving technology that my dad used. For a while, I switched to the disposable double and later triple blades, but I finally went back to using the old double-edged razor blades. It only costs about 45 cents per week to shave with those. Each edge of a double-edged safety razor is good for several days and since there are two sides to a double-edged safety razor, each blade lasts for about 1 week. The used blades are stored in the back side of the tiny little 10-blade plasic package of so very little space is required used by them in the garbage can or the local landfill.

I have the best results when using the slightly more expensive Feather or Merkur blades than when using the ones that I get at the local supermarket or drugstore. The slightly more expensive blades are the ones that cost about 45 cents per week. I no longer have my old Gillete razor so I have been using the Merkur "Long Classic" Open-Comb razor instead. I have been getting a very good shave this last year or so with that combination.

My gradfather used even older technology, he used a straight-edged razor which he would keep sharp by stropping and honing. I don't plan to go back to doing it that way though.

I have gone back to using the old fashined double-edged safety razors with replaceable blades. That is how I originally learned to shave back in the early 1970s. It is the same shaving technology that my dad used. For a while, I switched to the disposable double and later triple blades, but I finally went back to using the old double-edged razor blades. It only costs about 45 cents per week to shave with those. Each edge of a double-edged safety razor is good for several days and since there are two sides to a double-edged safety razor, each blade lasts for about 1 week. The used blades are stored in the back side of the tiny little 10-blade plasic package of so very little space is required used by them in the garbage can or the local landfill.

I have the best results when using the slightly more expensive Feather or Merkur blades than when using the ones that I get at the local supermarket or drugstore. The slightly more expensive blades are the ones that cost about 45 cents per week. I no longer have my old Gillete razor so I have been using the Merkur "Long Classic" Open-Comb razor instead. I have been getting a very good shave this last year or so with that combination.

My gradfather used even older technology, he used a straight-edged razor which he would keep sharp by stropping and honing. I don't plan to go back to doing it that way though.

...simply rest the razor on the Blade Master for a few seconds to condition the blade prior to first use. After each shave rest the razor on Blade Master until next use. The incredibly powerful magnetic field realigns the blade's cutting edge at the molecular level....

I keep wondering if it might be possible to hack my own razor blades: stainless steel isn't terribly easy to sharpen, but I bet it would hold an edge forever. I'd prefer some sort of "saftey" arrangement, rather than the old fashioned straight-edged razor. Has anyone out there looked into this?

You are aware that safety razors that are basically what you are talking about have been around for over a century, right? The blades don't last forever, but they last as long as the cartridge razors for as little as $.15 per blade (possibly cheaper).

See, for example, ClassicShaving.com, specifically here.

I keep wondering if it might be possible to hack my own razor blades: stainless steel isn't terribly easy to sharpen, but I bet it would hold an edge forever. I'd prefer some sort of "saftey" arrangement, rather than the old fashioned straight-edged razor. Has anyone out there looked into this?

You are aware that safety razors that are basically what you are talking about have been around for over a century, right? The blades don't last forever, but they last as long as the cartridge razors for as little as $.15 per blade (possibly cheaper).

See, for example, ClassicShaving.com, specifically here.

When they turned razors into vibrators, I told myself "That's it. Technology has betrayed us". So about a year ago I bought a classic safety razor: http://www.classicshaving.com/catalog/item/522941/ 906442.htm

One double sided blade, no silliness. And you know what? Exactly the same shave as I was getting from my mach 3, but instead of paying 10 to 15 bucks for a package of 5 blades, I now pay 5 bucks for a package of 10. Just like with the mach 3, I get about 3 or 4 shaves from a blade before it goes too dull. The only trouble is you can only buy the blades from drug stores, supermarkets won't carry them.

Anyway, the other thing -- as was mentioned in an earlier post -- is that shaving cream is a god damned scam. Just use ivory soap and hot water. And if you've got thick stubble like me, shave after a hot shower. The soap lubricates better, and frankly, I can see my face while shaving and that's important if you don't want to cut your lips off.

For a shave much better than a safety razor, check out this article:

How to get that perfect shave

which points to this site:

ClassicShaving.com

By the way, "manual transmissions" are certainly far superior to automatics, but if you really want to get into retro-cool, try bicycles: a simple, effective technology; and if you keep it up you won't die at an early age with a massive gasoline-gut. (Not getting run down by an SUV driver on a cell phone is the trick, of course, but it's not as hard as you might think if you read up on the literature on the subject.)

http://www.classicshaving.com/Home.html
I've instructed the frau to get me a kit for the holidays.
It's in keeping with my bowties, manual transmission, KJV, and gentoo: gotta stay in character.

I tried one but found that I couldn't operate one as well as I should so I moved on to a double edge safety razor and haven't looked back. I get a nice, close shave using it.

The secret is to shave after you've taken a shower so that the beard bristles have had a chance to soak up some moisture. After that use a good shave oil.

As for shaving creams? I don't know, I don't use them. Some good English shaving soap lathered up with a badger bristle brush works just fine for me.

The whole 'give-away-the-razor, profit-on-the-blades' goes way back. When we're talking about razors, in that metaphor, we're not talking about injection-molded plastic handles for a Sensor or Mach-3, we're going back to the days of double-sided, steel-only blades. Note that the euphemism speaks of 'blades', not 'cartridges', tipping you off to this.

In those days, a razor was a solidly made metal consumer product, like a small hand tool. It made good marketing sense to give away -- or sell very cheaply -- something that had high perceived value, especially when it would only function with the manufacturer's specially socketed blades. And when there were only 2 or 3 different models (equivalent to the manufacturer's name), it was a lot easier to keep track of which brand you were committed to -- as opposed to today's menagerie of 40 different product lines.