A razor can be a tool you keep.
It can also be the entrance to a replacement system you keep paying for.
Both will shave your face. But the purchase at the beginning tells you surprisingly little about what either will cost over the years.
To understand where the double-edge safety razor fits, it helps to look at what came before it, what came after it, and what changed when the industry began selling the cutting head as a complete replacement assembly.
This is also why we had razors custom made for Beardsman™.
We believe a grooming tool should earn its place through useful construction, sensible running costs and lasting service. Its value should remain after the excitement of opening the box has passed.
Before the Replaceable Blade
A traditional straight razor puts a permanent cutting edge in your hand.
Used well, it can deliver an excellent shave. But ownership includes maintaining that edge: stropping, eventual honing and learning to handle an exposed blade around your face.
People shaved themselves with straight razors, and barbers offered the skill as a service. Either way, keeping the edge ready was part of the arrangement.
A modern barber’s replaceable-blade shavette is different. It resembles a straight razor, but accepts disposable blades. When we discuss the historical straight razor here, we mean the tool with a sharpenable, permanent edge.
The safety razor introduced a guard and a different way of holding the blade. Guarded designs existed before King Camp Gillette’s familiar double-edge system.
The important development in that system was the thin, replaceable blade.
Gillette worked with engineer William Emery Nickerson to make the idea commercially practical. Production began in 1903, and the patent was granted in November 1904, according to the Smithsonian.
The owner could keep the razor and replace a dull cutting edge without sharpening it.
That was a substantial change in everyday maintenance.
The Useful Middle Ground
A double-edge safety razor still asks something of your hand.
You control the angle. You learn a light touch. You adjust as the head moves around the jaw and chin.
But you don’t maintain a permanent edge as you would with a traditional straight razor.
That places it in a useful middle ground: a guarded, replaceable blade in a reusable tool, with more direct control than a typical pivoting cartridge.
“Safety” doesn’t mean impossible to cut yourself. The blade remains sharp, and technique matters.
Nor does it mean everyone must prefer one. A cartridge’s convenience can be valuable, particularly to someone who wants a familiar, quick routine.
The choice is about how you want to shave—and what you want to keep buying.
When the Cutting Edge Became a Cutting Assembly
Cartridge systems changed the replacement item.
Instead of inserting a loose double-edge blade, the owner attached a manufactured head containing the blades and other features.
Gillette’s historical investor fact sheet records the introduction of the twin-blade Trac II in 1971, the pivoting Atra in 1977, Sensor in 1990 and the three-blade Mach3 in 1998.
These systems offered features customers could feel or understand: a pivoting head, spring-mounted blades and less handling of a loose blade.
They also created a different purchasing relationship.
Standard double-edge razors generally let you choose among many compatible blade brands. A cartridge handle requires refills made to fit its particular system, whether from the original manufacturer or a compatible alternative.
Buying the handle helps determine which shelf you return to.
Strictly speaking, cartridges are also a form of safety razor. In ordinary shopping language, though, “safety razor” usually means the traditional double-edge tool. That is how we use the term here.
Why the Industry Wanted You to Upgrade
Replacement blades were already a profitable recurring business. Cartridges didn’t invent repeat purchases.
They offered an opportunity to increase the value of those purchases and the profit earned from each customer.
We don’t have to guess whether this mattered.
In a 2005 investor presentation filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Gillette described moving customers toward “higher performing, higher margin products.”
The presentation identified double-edge users as a large opportunity for conversion to more premium systems. It described a product ladder supported by brand loyalty and marketing, with greater profit per user higher up that ladder.
That is the company’s explanation of its commercial strategy.
It doesn’t prove that every cartridge feature was worthless. It does establish that persuading people to spend more on shaving was an explicit business objective.
Advertising could sell convenience and performance while also moving customers into a more lucrative replacement system.
For the customer, the useful question is straightforward:
What does the improvement give me, and what will I pay for it repeatedly?
Why We Had Razors Made for Beardsman™
We selected this kind of tool because its value is easy to explain.
The razor remains in service when the blade wears out. Standard double-edge blades give the customer choices in brand, price and how the shave feels.
Our razors are heavy for their size. That weight has a practical purpose: it can help you feel the head and learn to guide it with a light touch instead of adding pressure.
Weight alone doesn’t guarantee a comfortable shave. It works with correct angle, preparation and technique.
We also believe useful equipment should have the opportunity to stay useful for a long time.
A well-made metal safety razor, properly cared for, can serve for decades and potentially pass from one generation to the next. That is a possibility built into this type of tool, rather than a promise that any razor is immune to damage.
Threads can be damaged. Mechanisms can wear. Dropping a razor can break it.
But replacing a worn blade does not require replacing the tool holding it.
Replace the blade. Keep the razor.
That fits our belief in giving customers tangible value for their dollar and reducing unnecessary waste.
What Does Shaving Actually Cost Over Five Years?
Three-way model: Beardsman™ double-edge safety razor versus Gillette Mach3 cartridges versus BIC Sensitive single-blade disposable plastic razors. Five shaves per week, 52 weeks a year, or 1,300 shaves across five years. This is a modeled consumer comparison, not a randomized test or a nationally representative price survey. Beardsman sells one of the products, and all assumptions are disclosed.
Blade-life assumptions: five shaves for each double-edge blade, ten for each Mach3 cartridge, and five for each BIC disposable razor. We are deliberately not using Gillette's advertised maximum of fifteen shaves as our main assumption. Your actual blade life may differ.
Five-Year Results
Five-year checkout spend in this model: BIC disposables $78.98; Beardsman double-edge $89.97; Gillette Mach3 $371.88. The detailed assumptions and purchases follow.
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| System | Replacement use | Replacements consumed | Five-year checkout spend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beardsman double-edge | 5 shaves per blade | 260 blades | $89.97 |
| Gillette Mach3 | 10 shaves per cartridge | 130 cartridges | $371.88 |
| BIC single-blade disposable | 5 shaves per razor | 260 whole plastic razors | $78.98 |
The inexpensive single-blade disposables cost the least in this particular model. That is worth saying plainly. A durable reusable safety razor's advantage is not necessarily the lowest possible purchase price: it is that the substantial handle stays in use instead of being thrown away with every dull edge. The Mach3 is the most expensive here, largely because cartridge replacements cost more.
Actual Purchases by Year, With Inventory Carried Forward
We count whole retail packages purchased, rather than pretending a customer can buy fractional packs. Safety razor: a $30 handle and 100-blade boxes costing $19.99 each. Mach3: a $9.99 starter containing two cartridges and $37.99 refill packs of 15; replacement starters modeled at the beginning of years three and five. BIC Sensitive: twelve disposable razors per pack, priced at $3.59 each pack. No cost of soap, aftercare, brushes, shipping, tax or other accessories is included. Note that purchase timing is not the same as annual consumption.
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| Year | Safety purchases | Safety spent | Mach3 purchases | Mach3 spent | BIC purchases | BIC spent | Safety cumulative | Mach3 cumulative | BIC cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Razor + 100 blades | $49.99 | Starter + 2 refill packs | $85.97 | 5 packs | $17.95 | $49.99 | $85.97 | $17.95 |
| 2 | 100 blades | $19.99 | 2 refill packs | $75.98 | 4 packs | $14.36 | $69.98 | $161.95 | $32.31 |
| 3 | None | $0.00 | Starter + 1 refill pack | $47.98 | 4 packs | $14.36 | $69.98 | $209.93 | $46.67 |
| 4 | 100 blades | $19.99 | 2 refill packs | $75.98 | 5 packs | $17.95 | $89.97 | $285.91 | $64.62 |
| 5 | None | $0.00 | Starter + 2 refill packs | $85.97 | 4 packs | $14.36 | $89.97 | $371.88 | $78.98 |
| Total | Razor + 300 blades | $89.97 | 3 starters + 135 refills | $371.88 | 264 razors | $78.98 | $89.97 | $371.88 | $78.98 |
End-of-year safety blade inventory is 48, 96, 44, 92 and 40 blades. Five years consume 260 of the 300 blades purchased. Mach3 purchases supply 141 cartridges across three starter packs and nine 15-count refill packs, leaving 11 after 130 are used. Twenty-two BIC twelve-packs supply 264 complete razors, leaving four after 260 are used.
What Goes in the Trash?
The comparison includes used shaving hardware, including discarded Mach3 handles, separately from gross retail-package/shipping-weight estimates below. In five years, we model 260 double-edge blades, 130 Mach3 cartridges, and 260 complete BIC disposables used. Three Mach3 starter kits are purchased in years 1, 3 and 5. Two handles have been retired and discarded; the third remains in use at the end of year five. Counting all three as waste would be incorrect.
Estimated item weights: 0.5 g per double-edge blade and 4 g per BIC Sensitive disposable, based on reported individual measurements. The Mach3 cartridge mass of 5 g remains an unverified scenario assumption. A quoted 41 g weight for a standard Mach3 kit containing a handle and two cartridges implies 31 g for the handle (41 − 2 × 5), only if that quoted weight excludes packaging. This handle estimate is therefore provisional, not a verified measurement.
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| Discarded item | Units over five years per user | Modeled mass per unit | Waste per user | U.S. short tons per million users |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Double-edge blades | 260 | 0.5 g | 130 g | 143.3 |
| Mach3 cartridges | 130 | 5 g, unverified | 650 g | 716.5 |
| Mach3 discarded handles | 2 | 31 g, inferred | 62 g | 68.3 |
| Mach3 hardware total | 130 cartridges + 2 handles | Scenario | 712 g | 784.8 |
| BIC disposables | 260 | 4 g | 1,040 g | 1,146.4 |
These estimates concern discarded hardware only, not retail packaging or measured landfill disposal. The shipping-weight-equivalent table below includes products and packaging together and must not be added to these hardware totals or it would double-count product mass. Packaging and waste-stream assumptions require separate verification before claiming total landfill impact.
Packaging and shipping-weight assumptions
Packaging and Shipping-Weight Proxy
To put packaging into the five-year analysis, we also calculated the total published package/shipping-weight equivalents for all consumable packs purchased. These figures include goods still unused at the end of year five. They are not measured waste, verified retail-packaging weights, or landfill tonnage, because the published figures may include protective shipping materials or estimated shipping weight. The Beardsman safety razor's original handle packaging is excluded because no verified weight was available, so its comparison is not fully inclusive.
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| System | Published weight × packs purchased | Five-year weight equivalent per user | Equivalent across one million users (U.S. short tons) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double-edge replacement blades only | 3 × 3.21 oz per 100-blade box | 273 g | 301 |
| Mach3 handle kits and refills | 3 × 0.15 lb starter kits + 9 × 0.22 lb refill packs | 1,102 g | 1,215 |
| BIC Sensitive 12-packs | 22 × 0.375 lb per pack | 3,742 g | 4,125 |
Source notes: Wilkinson Sword 100-pack seller-listed package weight 3.21 oz; Gillette Mach3 15-cartridge refill pack (estimated ship weight 0.22 lb) and starter kit with two cartridges (estimated ship weight 0.15 lb); BIC Sensitive 12-pack (estimated ship weight 0.375 lb). Weights are not laboratory measurements and cannot separately establish cardboard, plastic, steel or material sent to landfill. For reference, a hypothetical 1 million purchasers × package-equivalent pounds ÷ 2,000 gives U.S. short tons.
This gross-weight proxy must not be added to the separate discarded-hardware table because that would double-count the razors and blades themselves. It is a second way of describing purchased material, not additional waste. For a genuine waste audit, measure packaging separately and weigh each discarded component.
Calculations, sources and reuse
Calculations, Sources and Reuse
- Shaves: 5/week × 52 weeks × 5 years = 1,300.
- Safety: 1,300 ÷ 5 = 260 blades, requiring 3 packs of 100. $30 + 3 × $19.99 = $89.97.
- Mach3: 1,300 ÷ 10 = 130 cartridges. Three $9.99 starters supply 6 cartridges; nine $37.99 15-count refill packs supply 135 more. 3 × $9.99 + 9 × $37.99 = $371.88.
- BIC: 1,300 ÷ 5 = 260 whole disposable razors. Twenty-two 12-count packages supply 264. 22 × $3.59 = $78.98.
Price basis: Beardsman safety razor, $30, Beardsman product collection; Wilkinson Sword 100 double-edge blades, $19.99 Walmart listing cited in the original October 7, 2026 comparison; Gillette Mach3 $9.99 two-cartridge starter and $37.99 15-count refills from Target listings in that comparison; BIC Sensitive single blade 12-pack, $3.59, Target, checked October 15, 2026. Prices, promotions, stores and locations vary. The modeled Mach3 handle replacements in years 3 and 5 are assumptions, not typical failure rates.
Alternative blade-life scenarios: Replace the five and ten-shave assumptions with whatever you actually experience. A cartridge lasting 15 shaves requires fewer refills; a double-edge blade lasting only three shaves requires more; the price conclusion is sensitive to both assumptions. This is one scenario, not a universal winner.
How to cite: Beardsman Oil Co. (October 2026), “Five-Year Shaving Cost Comparison,” in The History of the Safety Razor: How Shaving Became a Cartridge Business. Permanent study link. The comparison chart and tables may be reproduced with clear attribution. For environmental reporting, cite the waste figures explicitly as illustrative scenarios based on unmeasured per-unit weights, not observed landfill totals.
What the Comparison Leaves Out
These figures cover the razor and its cutting replacements.
They exclude shaving soap or cream, brushes, bowls, aftercare, tax, shipping and any blade sampler.
Both systems need suitable preparation and lubrication. You can use a familiar shaving cream while learning a safety razor; a new brush and bowl are not compulsory purchases.
If you choose extra equipment, include it in your own total.
Buying several razors and collecting soaps can turn an economical routine into a hobby. There is nothing wrong with enjoying the equipment, but those purchases change the savings.
Your time matters too. Learning a safety razor takes practice, and a cartridge may remain quicker for you.
The useful comparison is the complete routine you will actually use.
Less Material Thrown Away
A double-edge blade is still waste.
So are its wrappers and packaging. Used blades need secure collection and disposal according to local requirements. Loose blades don’t belong in household recycling.
The practical difference is what leaves the bathroom when the edge wears out.
With the safety razor, it is the blade. With a cartridge, it is a larger assembly containing blades, plastic and other components.
The comparison involves different replacement frequencies, so counting discarded pieces alone would be misleading.
We aren’t claiming a measured carbon-footprint advantage or calling either system waste-free.
Our reasoning is simpler: keep the substantial tool in use, and replace the small component that wears out.
That is a useful direction for reducing unnecessary material turnover.
A Tool Worth Keeping
The safety razor began as a way to make shaving and edge maintenance more manageable.
Cartridge systems offered another kind of convenience, supported by a business model that rewarded moving customers toward more profitable replacements.
Today, you can choose between them with the costs visible.
For Beardsman™, the appeal of the safety razor is lasting usefulness: a substantial reusable tool, accessible replacement blades and choices that remain with the customer.
It can earn back its higher purchase price through ordinary use. It can reduce the material discarded with each fresh edge. Properly cared for, it has the potential to remain useful long enough to become someone else’s first razor.
Those are tangible reasons to carry it.
If you’re ready to learn the technique, our guide to shaving with a safety razor covers preparation, blade selection, angle and a comfortable first pass.
A tool you keep. An edge you replace. Value that continues.