As you prepare to apply your Barbasol and your hair pomade while whistling a bit of Benny Goodman, what razor to do you reach for? Do you grab a seven-bladed monstrosity, cast in bright orange plastic and chrome and made to last three shaves? No. You reach for a single blade beauty, a razor that can shave four star generals and the common Joe with equal aplomb. You’re going to reach for a Beluga.
Or at least that’s what Zac Wertz of Cincinnati, Ohio is hoping. Wertz has founded Beluga Shaving Inc., a company that makes handmade razors that use the ultra-simple, double-edged blades made famous by your grandpa who didn’t take any guff and was happy to dry shave with a broken beer bottle if he had to. Unlike most single-blade razors, however, this model has a pivoting head and special guards to ensure you get a close but not bloody shave.
I meant just read this stuff:
Hipster shaving heaven!
To be clear there is absolutely nothing high-tech about this thing. It is more of a design project. But as someone who has tried a number of razor solutions, including Dollar Shave Club disposables and even some ultra-primitive single-blade solutions, I can see this thing filling a definite need. There are those of us out there who believe the old ways are best and if we can save a little green and feel like Hemingway after a five-day drunk while we rinse off our razors, more power too us. It’s important to save resources and, as smooth as those 10 blade monster razors seem to be, I think the smoothest shave still comes from a blade, a handle, and a hand steadied by a belt of whiskey and a little bit of barbiturate.