I’ll be upfront and disclose that I’m new to safety razors. The whole idea of using an actual razor blade on my neck to shave does make me a bit nervous. On the other hand, there’s a timeless appeal to this ritual. On top of the ritual, there are wonderful smelling shaving soaps. With the shaving soaps comes a whole world of shave brushes, lather bowls, and shaving accessory stands.

Up until now, I was pretty sure that the more blades my razor had, the better. As it turns out, there were a few flaws and issues with my prior assumptions. The more blades my razor had, the more my face didn’t like me. My face told me this in a few ways, one was razor burn, and the other was nicks. If I dared shave two days in a row, serious skin irritation and razor burn were the result.

The second issue with lots of blades is lots of spent money. The cost of 5-Blade razor refills was another factor in not shaving every day. I was hoping to stretch out how long I could use a razor refill. Using a razor too long usually ends up in a higher chance of nicks. Neither I nor my face was happy with the results. This generally led to skipping shaving for a few days.

After hearing about the benefits of safety razors, I decided to give them a try. I searched the internet for articles about which safety razor I should buy. I found a lot of brand suggestions, like Merkur, Edwin Jagger, and King C. Gillette. I also ran across a review for a single edge safety razor made by OneBlade. In the end, I bought the King C. Gillette double-edged safety razor at Walgreens, and the OneBlade Core Razor – single edge safety razor on Amazon.

All I needed now was a shaving soap, a shaving brush, and a shave bowl. I found all of these on Amazon. I went with the American Shaving After Shave Balm – Sandalwood Barbershop Scent, No. 63 Men’s 150 Shave Soap, The Body Shop Men’s Wooden Shaving Brush, and CHARMMAN Shaving Lather Bowl.

Before buying the OneBlade Core razor, I took a look at their website and read some additional reviews. I purchased the OneBlade Core Razor – single edge safety razor because it took a little of the fear away from using safety razors. With only one side of the refill razors having an edge, it seemed like a safe choice for my first safety razor. My plan was to start shaving with the OneBlade Core razor. Then, after getting comfortable with shaving with a safety razor, move on to the King C. Gillette double edge safety razor. The King C. Gillette safety razor was about $29 at Walgreens. The OneBlade Core single edge safety razor was also $29, but from OneBladeShave.com. From what I’ve read, the King C. Gillette double edge safety razor is modeled and designed almost exactly like the Merkur safety razor that costs close to $40 on Amazon.

From the reviews I read, it sounded like the single edge razors were just as good as the double edge razors, but needed refills more often because of the single edge. Also, the single edge refill blades are more expensive. On OneBladeShave.com, the single edge OneBlade Core Razor blade refills come in a pack of 30 for $29. On Amazon, it looks like 100 double edge razor blades cost between $10 and $20. For comparison, 12 Gillette ProGlide Men’s Razor Blade cartridges cost $31. So, either way, both the single edge and double edge razor blades were considerably cheaper than the average cost of cartridges for regular multi-blade shavers.

There were several reviews that mentioned the small notches that hold the blade in place.  The reviews complained that this was a weak point because the blade itself would wear out the notches.  After inserting a blade into the OneBlade Core razor myself, I instantly noticed why the negative reviews were incorrect.  For the notches to wear out from the blade resting on the notches, the pressure against the blade would have to be reversed.  The reviewers didn’t consider that the blade is being pushed back while in use because the edge of the blade rests on the skin while shaving.  This, effectively, prevents the blade from cutting or wearing out the notches.

I loaded the OneBlade Core Razor with a razor blade, which was safe and easy. I just pushed in the blade from the back of the shaver head. Then I prepared the shaving lather, which I’ll need a lot more practice with, as it took me a while to get the mixture and mixing technique to yield enough lather for a shave.

Then, I began shaving with the OneBlade Core Razor. It’s a little more tricky than the cartridge shavers. You have to get the angle just right, without applying too much pressure. I also watched a few videos on how to shave with a safety razor before I began. It took a while to get the angle and direction right.

I can’t express enough how important the angle is with safety razors.  It took me several days before I found the angle that worked well for my facial hair pattern.  The other difference between a cartridge and a single-blade shaver is shaving with the grain.  With cartridge shavers, I generally shaved against the grain on my neck.  I had to get used to shaving with the grain.

The first benefit I noticed with the OneBlade Core safety razor was that I could take multiple passes at the same section of my face without any irritation. With multi-blade cartridge shavers, each pass adds more irritation. This is a direct result of the design of multi-blade razors, to use the first blade to lift the hair while the additional blades cut the hair. This leads to facial hairs being cut below the skin’s surface because the first blade lifts the hair for the next blade to cut.

Safety razors, with only a single blade, cut the facial hair right at skin level. So the safety razor’s single blade can pass multiple times for a close shave without irritating the skin. The key with the safety razor is cutting the facial hair in the same direction as it grows. For me, this made shaving my neck a bit more difficult, as my facial hair grew in different directions on different parts of my neck.

Honestly, my first shave with the OneBlade Core Razor was not the best. I needed practice figuring out which direction the facial hair grows on different parts of my face. By the end of the week, I was beginning to get a very good shave from the OneBlade Core Razor. The surprising part was that during this trial run for a week, I shaved every day and never got any razor burn or noticeable irritation.

So, I’d call it a success. Close shave, no razor burn, no irritation, and less money spent. Well, I initially spent more money because I had bought two new shavers for $29 each. However, I’ll save money in the future with the cost of a single edge blade refill at 50% of the cost of a single cartridge refill. With the King C. Gillette double edge safety razor, the double edge refill blade is 5% of the cost of a single cartridge refill.

Also, the OneBlade Core razor set came with ten blades included. So, that alone almost makes the entire OneBlade shaving set cheaper than a pack of ten cartridge razor refills. On top of the OneBlade Razor handle and ten razor blades, the kit also included a stand for the OneBlade Razor.

I haven’t started using the King C. Gillette double edge safety razor yet. When I do, I’ll have a review for that razor as well. Also, the shave soap smelled wonderful, although I’ll save the shave soap for a different review.

However, regarding the OneBlade Core single edge safety razor, I would highly recommend this product. It is well made and designed, with an attractive look. The price, $29 on Amazon, is also an excellent price for all that is included in the set. The single-sided blade made it a comfortable transition into the world of safety razors. Even though the Core is OneBlade’s cheapest model, it felt solid, with a nice weight. It is a bit heavier than my cartridge razor. Another nice feature that is unique in safety razors is OneBlade’s pivoting head. The pivoting head also made the OneBlade Core a nice transition from cartridge razors.