Where Can I Find a Razor Like 'No Impact Man'? Good Question

I was recently inspired by 'No Impact Man' Colin Beavan and his antique shaving kit. I love the leather strip to sharpen the blades, and the whole "non disposable" factor. But I'm wondering, aside from happening upon it at a flea market, which I can't bet on, where I can find such a kit? And for a reasonable price? Any ideas?

Sent by Jordan

Editor: This is a great question, and we'd like to know, too! We know that the Art of Shaving has a few options, but they're not exactly cheap. eBay is always a good option, but of course you're reliant on what's available at the time (and if you can outbid someone else).

Anyone else have any ideas?

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Comments (5)

I was going to recommend The Art of Shaving, too. I think what you're looking for is called a safety razor.

A good place to learn about razors (mostly straight, but I believe they also cover safety as well) is:
http://www.straightrazorplace.com/
I've heard good things about the man that runs this online store:
http://www.rasurpur.de/english/shop/derazors/derazors.html
It looks like he has safety razors that start at 29 Euros (scroll down).

Art of Shaving is not actually a good place to go. With the exception of three straight-edge razors, most of the razors they carry (safety razors) either require multi-bladed heads or double-edged blades that you dispose of.

The razor Colin was using was a Wilkinson Sword 7 day set (may have been called the empire). This used a sturdy blade similar to a straight edge razor that would be honed and stopped to maintain sharpness. You could then rotate through the different blades to make them last longer before they would need to be honed again or you could continue to use one and have the others as a backup if you ever would drop and chip your blade.

These blades do not get disposed of, they get stropped before every use to align the edge of the blade and when it starts to become dull it gets resharpened by honing it. Ever-ready and Rolls Razor also made razors similar to this. I don't think any of these razors are still manufactured so you would need to buy one second hand. Straight edge and double-edge (DE) razors can still be purchased new.

As far as non-disposable goes straight edge and single edge non-disposables such as these are best. Using a double-edge safety razor is another option. Going that route you would be disposing of blades but since they are stainless steel with no plastic casings they should, in theory, be easier to recycle. Many people make a slit in the top of a soup can and fill that up with their used blades, when it comes time to be recycled the whole can can be melted down.

Sites like http://straightrazorplace.com http://www.shavemyface.com and http://www.badgerandblade.com all have forums that will be able to offer more assistance and classifieds that you could buy these razors from.

Not familiar with No Impact Man's kit, but my husband does use a safety razor, which is similar to the image. He doesn't use a leather strip to sharpen the blades, but even if you're disposing of blades, they last longer than modern disposable razors, and they're steel so there's probably a way to recycle them if you're careful.

http://www.classicshaving.com/Safety_Razors.html has razors starting around $25. Shaving cream and brush are another initial cost, but the tubs of shaving cream last for a really long time. Another trick is to buy double edged blades on ebay, you can get a box of 100 for ten bucks. All in all we're now saving money as compared to when he used a mach3.

So no plastic, less waste, less money, and a better shave...even if it's not quite No Impact Man's setup, we highly recommend it.

Antique stores often carry them (better to check the blades for nicks, though), and could probably name a dealer or two.