Sustainable Design - Razors - 5 blade, 4 blade, 3 blade, twin blade, double edge safety razor. Which one is best?

I am a fool. Retail therapy, impulse buys and occasional bad days made me spend far more than I needed on razors. 

My razor collection (sic). Left to right : Schick Hydro 5, Double Edge razor(reflective band to differentiate with my roommate's), M5 Personna/Baléa, twin safety disposable razor (Personna?), Gillette Fusion

For millennia,  the straight razor, a piece of metal sharpened and honed to cut hair was used a razor. It needs to be maintained, however is it reliable and provides a good clean shave. From the design standpoint, it is close to perfect : effective, long lasting, easy of use, low cost. A straight razor can be acquired for $6, a whetstone for another $5, and a strop for $2. All three will outlive you. There is a learning curve with regard to the maintenance of the blade, however that applies to most objects we want to keep for a long period of time. A move that I intend to do soon.

For the sake of reviewing, I will describe my experiences about the various commercial razors shown above. As a disclaimer, I must state that my preference is the double edge razor - in part for low cost, in part for convenience, in part for reducing the amount of waste that I create. Plastic and metals are recyclable, however when they are joined in a disposable razor head it is a costly process.

So much manufacturing technology that goes in to the garbage after only a couple weeks.

The most advertised Gillette Fusion is a 5 blade razor. It lasts a couple weeks - or 4 if you only shave 4 days a week according to Gillette. At close to $4 a piece, it is a little steep. That is about 25¢ a shave if you are really pushing it. They can be maintained with a bit of patience by stropping them on denim jeans. I haven't had that much luck. At two strokes a second for 100 strokes, it corresponds to less than a minute. I could give it another shot, however the quality of the shave wouldn't justify that effort. The brilliance of disposable items is a marker of progress? Please explain.

With regard to the construction, the handle and cartridge holder are the weakest parts of the razor. While I understand the use of soft rubber ribs to improve grip, it doesn't feel very solid or pleasant. The head holders are exposed which could be damaged by an accidental drop. 

Shaving is fine, however I still managed to cut myself, get shaving bumps and have had a hard time under the nose (philtral column) and above the chin (mentolabial sulcus or the location a labret piercing). 

The Shick Hydro 5 with the lubrication strip folded back for better reach

The M5 - A very solid blade, but it still get plugged with hair

The other 5 blade contenders are the Schick Hydro 5 (far left) and the Balea or Personna M5(centre). Both have much better handles than the Gillette Fusion, with no exposed parts on the M5, but the shaving head suffers from some of the clogging problems that I encountered with the Gillette Fusion. The cost per shave for each are overpriced. While the finish of the Schick handle is great - anodized aluminum is beautiful and the rubber is very firm, cartridges are too expensive. In fact, I would like to have that handle for my double edge razor.

The disposable razor is the worst. The shave is fine, but it isn't very satisfying. It will get you by, but the top blade gets plugged, impossible to clean properly, and only lasts a about a week. It costs about 5¢ per shave if you get them in a pack of 5 for a dollar or so.

My favourite by far is the double edge razor. I recently received a Merkur as a gift. I love it. There are plenty of knock offs, which do a great job. You may have to try a variety of different blades to see which one is the best match of with your razor. The bend angle of the razor, your holding angle, the angle of the blade, the thickness of the blade and ultimately the growth pattern of your hair are just a few variables that come to mind. It comes to about 2¢ a shave, pushing it to about 1¢. The blades can be sharpened or stropped over denim or leather. A sharpener could be built from a few wheels that roll around or over the whetstone, a block of wood with the angle adjusted for the blades.  Perhaps, I will build a sharpener and post the construction details.