This post got lost in the latest software upgrade, so I thought I repost it to get used to the new software:
The Bigelow & Parkin folding safety razor is quite an unusual little machine. It takes normal DE blades and folds up so small that it the size of a ten pack of DE blades when fully folded. It was patented in 1921, but I couldn't find reliable information about the production period. Not past the end of the 20s some sources claim, but there seems very little information out there.
After playing with idea of getting a Bigelow & Parkin folding safety razor for a while, I finally pulled the trigger. After quite a long wait, it eventually arrived from the US. No leather pouch was mentioned in the listing, but it came with a small red leather pouch advertising The First National Bank at Pittsburgh, Pa', albeit in really poor condition - more than 90% of the stitching is missing and it wont hold the razor securely. Never mind.
The razor itself was a bit grubby, but after going through the full program (Denture cleaning tablets, Vanish Oxi Action, Silvo metal polish, Autosol, toothbrush, elbow grease and ultrasonic bath) it cleaned up nicely as you will see in the subsequent images.
Here is how it works:
View from the top with the little grip handles folded in. Note the star shaped holes - they give more grip than round ones or handles without holes would.
The handles fold out:
View from the bottom (compare with the second grubby image). You open the razor by lifting the base plate where it says Open here:
Then you put a blade in ...
close the base plate and fold out the handles fully. Pick up the razor with thumb and index finger and youre ready to go.
First impressions:
It looks well made and quite heavy for its size. It weighs in at 33.4 grams, so if you are looking to save every gram when travelling there are better options. For compactness it cant be beaten though.
Now for the shaves themselves:
I decided to opt for one of my favourite blades for both shaves, PolSilver Super Iridium. (Note to self: order a lifetime supply of them
)
For the first shave I used T&H No.10 cream because it was right in front of me, for the second shave I pretended to be on holiday and used Faena Mastic soap (One of the few soaps I get along with. Holiday in a soap - I love Greek mastic ice cream).
I was initially quite intimidated by the look of this razor. It feels like you are holding a razor blade and not much else. Muscle memory from DE shaving doesn't always help as there is no handle. You need to pay close attention to blade angle. I was initially tempted to use the wrist to move the razor, but that's a bad idea as the blade angle changes if you do this. You mostly use the entire arm to move the tiny thing. Just like normal DE shaving, but the way you position the arm is different - you need to position the elbow further away from the body. When shaving around the chin a little wrist action can however be helpful to follow the contours with the correct blade angle. The razor gives good audible feedback, letting you know if it is doing its job properly. Overall the shave was surprisingly smooth and close. I nicked myself twice on the first shave because I was holding it wrong. On the second shave I was already more confident and no blood was drawn. Result.
One drawback seemed to be, that while shaving under the nose your hand is in the way and you can't see what you are doing. A bit weird, but I managed without incident on the first shave. On the second shave I realised that (again) I was holding it wrong. A slight adjustment in the grip and I could see what I was doing. (You dont have to hold it as a straight extension of your fingers, but at an angle).
The result was mostly BBS with my usual four passes on shave one and full BBS on shave two.
Overall I'm very pleased with this dinky razor. Its more than just a scary gadget, it is a fully functional razor. Trying to master it was fun and I was rather pleased with myself after the second shave. Will I use it again? Will it make it into my rotation? (Well, I don't rotate as such, I pick what I fancy that day) The answers are two big fat YESes. Is it my favourite razor? No, but Im glad that I finally have this cool gadget in my arsenal and I might use it as my travel razor (because I can - and with a Schick injector as backup). Now, if only I could get my greedy thumb and index finger on the gold finished one Waits' Compendium shows.
tl;dr: Great little shaver.
Andreas
The Bigelow & Parkin folding safety razor is quite an unusual little machine. It takes normal DE blades and folds up so small that it the size of a ten pack of DE blades when fully folded. It was patented in 1921, but I couldn't find reliable information about the production period. Not past the end of the 20s some sources claim, but there seems very little information out there.
After playing with idea of getting a Bigelow & Parkin folding safety razor for a while, I finally pulled the trigger. After quite a long wait, it eventually arrived from the US. No leather pouch was mentioned in the listing, but it came with a small red leather pouch advertising The First National Bank at Pittsburgh, Pa', albeit in really poor condition - more than 90% of the stitching is missing and it wont hold the razor securely. Never mind.
The razor itself was a bit grubby, but after going through the full program (Denture cleaning tablets, Vanish Oxi Action, Silvo metal polish, Autosol, toothbrush, elbow grease and ultrasonic bath) it cleaned up nicely as you will see in the subsequent images.
Here is how it works:
View from the top with the little grip handles folded in. Note the star shaped holes - they give more grip than round ones or handles without holes would.
The handles fold out:
View from the bottom (compare with the second grubby image). You open the razor by lifting the base plate where it says Open here:
Then you put a blade in ...
close the base plate and fold out the handles fully. Pick up the razor with thumb and index finger and youre ready to go.
First impressions:
It looks well made and quite heavy for its size. It weighs in at 33.4 grams, so if you are looking to save every gram when travelling there are better options. For compactness it cant be beaten though.
Now for the shaves themselves:
I decided to opt for one of my favourite blades for both shaves, PolSilver Super Iridium. (Note to self: order a lifetime supply of them
)For the first shave I used T&H No.10 cream because it was right in front of me, for the second shave I pretended to be on holiday and used Faena Mastic soap (One of the few soaps I get along with. Holiday in a soap - I love Greek mastic ice cream).
I was initially quite intimidated by the look of this razor. It feels like you are holding a razor blade and not much else. Muscle memory from DE shaving doesn't always help as there is no handle. You need to pay close attention to blade angle. I was initially tempted to use the wrist to move the razor, but that's a bad idea as the blade angle changes if you do this. You mostly use the entire arm to move the tiny thing. Just like normal DE shaving, but the way you position the arm is different - you need to position the elbow further away from the body. When shaving around the chin a little wrist action can however be helpful to follow the contours with the correct blade angle. The razor gives good audible feedback, letting you know if it is doing its job properly. Overall the shave was surprisingly smooth and close. I nicked myself twice on the first shave because I was holding it wrong. On the second shave I was already more confident and no blood was drawn. Result.
One drawback seemed to be, that while shaving under the nose your hand is in the way and you can't see what you are doing. A bit weird, but I managed without incident on the first shave. On the second shave I realised that (again) I was holding it wrong. A slight adjustment in the grip and I could see what I was doing. (You dont have to hold it as a straight extension of your fingers, but at an angle).
The result was mostly BBS with my usual four passes on shave one and full BBS on shave two.
Overall I'm very pleased with this dinky razor. Its more than just a scary gadget, it is a fully functional razor. Trying to master it was fun and I was rather pleased with myself after the second shave. Will I use it again? Will it make it into my rotation? (Well, I don't rotate as such, I pick what I fancy that day) The answers are two big fat YESes. Is it my favourite razor? No, but Im glad that I finally have this cool gadget in my arsenal and I might use it as my travel razor (because I can - and with a Schick injector as backup). Now, if only I could get my greedy thumb and index finger on the gold finished one Waits' Compendium shows.
tl;dr: Great little shaver.
Andreas
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