After meeting and hanging with MMM himself at a meetup last night, I was inspired to return to the forum and provide a little tip I had picked up in my absence.
In my work life, I have to appear on TV from time to time. Now, will scraggly stubble ruin my career? Probably not. I live on the casual West Coast. Does it help that a clean-shaven image goes hand-in-hand with a clean-shaven attitude at work? Probably.
With that in mind, I shave twice a week. Not with a grandpa safety razor and not with a great grandpa straight razor (although, I have frustratingly shaved with one a few times). I shave with the most anti-mustachian cartridge of them all: the Gillette MACH3(R) Mens's Razor.
I have been cutting my whiskers at least twice a week since March with only one SINGLE MACH3 cartridge. In the past, one cartridge had comfortably lasted me maybe a month at shaving twice a week, but recently I've been able to extend its life with no end in sight through simple stropping.
Do you need a fancy leather strip from the shaving store to do this? No. All you need is the towel wrapped around your waist and your forearm.
How to strop a MACH3(R) Razor:
0. Wait until the razor-sharp sheen of your new cartridge has faded and you are thinking of chucking it because your face is getting all cut up.
1. Attach the cartridge to your razor handle the morning or evening of your shaving routine.
2. Push the razor in straight lines against the terrycloth towel that is wrapped around your waist 12 times. If you shave in the buff, use the hand cloth hanging up on the ring in your bathroom.
3. Take one bare forearm and do the same thing 12 times, pushing the razor in one direction. Don't pull, or you will cut yourself, silly.
4. Shave and revel in the cleverness of your ways.
5. Repeat the towel and forearm stropping after your shave
6. Eject the cartridge into its little plastic case for storage.
I don't know what magic science exists behind this approach, but the razor seems to get no more dull, even after months. So far, I haven't cut myself at all -- which is even better than a new blade after five or six shaves. About two or three days stubble is the perfect length to get a nice, close shave.
I haven't bought cartridges since March, yet I am still reaping the benefits of a baby-smooth face, without the old fashioned shaving paraphernalia associated with frugal grooming.
At the rate I'm going, I may be spending $15 for four cartridges every two years, if that.
