Remodeling contractors hate this one trick…
How bad could it be? They’d all be piled up at the bottom of one stud cavity and you know they’re there. If you’re demoing the wall you’re gonna have gloves and a shop vac and a bigass broom and shovel anyway.
Still I got a little blade bank (about the size of those mini soda cans) on Amazon for $7 for my double-edge blades. Last year. And it still has plenty of room in it. Supposedly it holds 300 blades. That’s two blades a week for nearly 3 years. An absurd frequency…I replace my blade every week and I shave my head and they could totally go longer, they’re just so damn cheap.
I think these plastic boxes the blades come in often have a slot for used blades on the bottom. They take up so little space without the paper around them that an entire pack fits into a 1mm slot maybe.
A small blade safe can hold hundreds of blades and it’s like 4"x3"x3". Makes sense they thought the inside of drywall 5’x3’x1’ would be fine. It can probably hold tens of thousands. Even with a new blade daily that’s decades. And when you tear down the wall you’re dealing with Sheetrock, nails and screws already. All that time would have dulled the incredibly thin blades.
This is all to say: it seems wild but was a decent idea.
yeah I have one that’s a few inches cubed for 6 years now and it’s nowhere near full.
https://sh.itjust.works/comment/7775973
Hundreds of thousands
What to do when it’s full? Break the wall?!?!? gEnIuZ
It’s a pretty big area back there and razors are very small. It would take decades or maybe evenover a hundred years of regular use before it is likely to fill up. The building could even be condemned or otherwise destroyed before it’s full.
But yes, if it did somehow fill up, you would need to remove the tiles and cut a section out of the wall to empty it. That’s not so big a deal if you only have to do it every 50+ years.
I’ve seen medicine cabinets in old houses with razor disposal slots in the back.
I’ve come across one or two walls full of blades doing basement renos.
Why were the walls doing renos?
how is this a “meme”?
I’ve totally been throwing ancient screenshots at almost-matching communities lately, including here, because I am trying get Lemmy some momentum – Lemmentum if you will – and be the change I want to see.
But yeah no meme here.
If I had this in my home, I would draw a face around this “mouth”.
come feed me used blades
Curious as to why this fell out of fashion?
The used razor blades were arming the rats who were also in the wall.
狗娘养的 - Reavers!
Yeah that’s some bad mojo
This was behind the medicine cabinet in my house.

Idk why but this bothers me
Because they owned the house for who knows how many decades and only used 9 razor blades?
Safety razors with disposable blades were introduced about 120 years ago, at one blade a day that’s a bit less than 45000 blades
Double edged blades dimensions are: 0.1mm x 42.7mm x 22mm for 98.21mm³
45 000 blades would take a volume of 4 419 450mm³ or about 270in³
A regular indoor wall is made of 2x4 and each stud is 14.5 inches apart (16 inches on center). A 2x4 is in truth 1.5" x 3.5" so each inch of height inside the wall is 3.5 x 14.5 x 1 which is 50.75in³
45 000 blades stacked perfectly would therefore use 270 / 50.75 = 5.32 inches of the wall’s height… So even if they didn’t stack perfectly, it’s pretty safe to assume that there’s enough space inside the wall for hundreds of years at one blade a day (especially since old houses usually used true 2x4 and had their studs at 24" on center)
One blade a day?!! Are you a billionaire or something? The acceptable signal to replace the razor is when the pain from the dull blade pulling your hairs makes your eye watery, and then you try to man up for a couple more shaves before accepting defeat and put in a fresh blade.
It’s an exaggeration to show how long it would take to fill a wall
Also, most people use blades for more than one day’s shave. I think more like 3 - 7, depending on the blade and how picky the shaver (I get more than seven shaves per blade).
Yep, just trying to show how there’s no way someone fills that wall in their lifetime
Same. I’ve gone 6 weeks on one blade if I was working from home a lot and didn’t have to shave often.
Assuming they would use the volume perfectly is a pretty big assumption, it’s likely you wouldn’t even get a tenth of that.
Wet shaving is still very much a thing; in fact in the last decade or so, it’s had a renaissance of sorts. I’ve been a wet shaver for 2.5 years but decided to buy me an electric shaver because these days I have less time for wet shaving. It can done be quickly but what’s the point if you’ve got to rush it. Links for those who got curious:
Links for those who are curious: https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/
Hi there! Looks like you linked to a Lemmy community using a URL instead of its name, which doesn’t work well for people on different instances. Try fixing it like this: !wetshaving@sub.wetshaving.social
It can done be quickly but what’s the point if you’ve got to rush it
Yep a good shave needs time and most of all four passes: first with the grain, that’s for the colleagues, second two at right angles to the grain, that’s for your lover, and the fourth one against the grain, for personal satisfaction.
OTOH if you know what you’re doing a quick and dirty shave is just as good as an electric one and you don’t have to deal with batteries. If a short buzz cut is all you want do that.
The whole setup is a bit of a bother if you’re new but basic guidelines:
- Shower. Well you don’t 100% need to but dry skin and shaving don’t mix well so do it before.
- A whisk and bowl, a cheap synthetic whisk is just fine the natural hair ones are a bugger to deal with anyway (have to take care to dry them properly etc), 5-10 bucks for the whisk, 25ct for the bowl in the euro store they came in a 4-pack, really tiny stainless ones. The rest I use for mise en place.
- Shaving cream/soap. Don’t think you’ll get away with using those self-foaming gels in a can they clog the razor, don’t glide well, and I’ve never come across one that’s nice to the skin. Comes in bar or tube form, some are better at gliding some smell better if you’re lucky you get both, I’d put the palmolive shaving cream on #1 as “what to get when you don’t know what you want”: Glides very well, dirt cheap, forgiving when whisking, like a bit over a buck a tube.
- The actual foam: This is going to take some trial+error, you want extra water in it but don’t make it a soup, you want fine bubbles and proper shaving cream/soap will make them have standing power (though if you’re in a pinch you can use regular soap, no biggie). It should be nice and sloppy, with two 'c’s. If in doubt, whisk more. Apply, then let soak, make coffee or something. Oh, some people don’t use a bowl to whisk but do it directly on the skin. IMO they’re madmen, it’s like brewing tea in your mouth, but you do you.
- The razor. Lots could be said about geometry, about different comb sizes, ultra-fancy blade change mechanisms, long story short buy a Merkur 23C, 30-40 bucks, chrome-plated zinc and brass. Good weight, excellent general-purpose geometry, inexpensive, literally unchanged for a hundred years. You might be tempted to cheap out and get a Wilkinson they sell cheap plastic holders that take standard razor blades but trust me the only reason why they’re selling them is to make people believe standard razor blades suck.
- The blades. Feather is the creme de la creme and might be just a bit too sharp for some, and also comparatively pricey. Russian manufacturers generally are good but given the situation let’s boycott them, many western producers have spotty quality, that leaves BIC. Yes, the guys who also make lighters, ballpoint pens and surfboards. Bonus: Carton/wax paper packaging, if you re-wrap used blades and put them back in the carton you can toss them in the bin, no worries. How long a blade lasts depends on many factors, the biggest of which is your personal preference. But even if you buy feather blades and use a new one every day you’ll still end up spending less money than using a cartridge system.
- Shaving: See the very top. Be aware of the grain, flip the razor over to wear the blades evenly, occasionally rinse it in the sink, you’ll figure it out. Avoid being silly: Don’t move the thing sideways over the skin that’s how you cut yourself. The geometry of the razor will tell you the right angle, just let it lead. Always make sure there’s good gliding going on, never tolerate resistance. Make funny faces to get skin into places where it’s easier to shave, make it taught, etc. It’s an ancient, secret art, traditionally transmitted from father to son, with a break in tradition you’ll have to rediscover it for yourself.
- Cold (not ice cold) rinse. A very good way to wake up.
- Aftershave, a deeply personal matter. Generally speaking you want an astringent to stop any bleeding (also micro bleeds you can’t see) and a disinfectant and something nice for the skin, my personal recipe is first alumina alum, rinse, then a bog-standard random face wash from the discounter, says aloe vera. The alum will burn worse than an aftershave with alcohol could ever burn but once you rinse it’s over and I don’t want to sit there with a slightly burning face for half the morning. As said: Deeply personal matter. Use whisky if you want I don’t care.
That sounds like shaving with extra steps.
You’re completely right, I described shaving with the extra steps of figuring out what to buy and why to buy it as well as showering and making coffee. I even briefly touched on cooking.
Thanks for sharing the instructions with folks here. As I said above, I’ve been a traditional wet shaver for two and a half years, so I pretty much know all this. However, wet shaving takes a lot of time for me and for various physical reasons and limitations, I cannot spend a long time shaving. I’ve learned how to speed up the process, but this means sloppier technique and it shows on my skin. At this point I want to give my skin a break by having a short stubble rather than going for BBS (that stands for BaBy Smooth) every single time. 😄 I don’t mean to scare people away from traditional wet shaving, I’m just speaking for myself, who happens to have some motor function problems etc. If you’re fairly “normal”, there should be no reason not to try traditional wet shaving. It’s a treat and something to look forward to every single time.
I use those blades in present day.
When I put in a new blade, I keep the wax paper wrapper, then rewrap the discarded blade in said wax paper before discarding it.
Give or take twelve years into this endeavor, I’ve had zero issues with this system.
Safety razors are great! They’re way cheaper than “conventional” (3, 4, 5 blade) razor blades. They shave a lot closer, and you can get a variety of different grades of blades to fit your comfort level.
The only reason the expensive multi-blade disposable razor cartridge became popular was because Gillette enshitified their razors to maximize profit.
I have this (I am sure irrational) fear that if I use a safety razor, I will cut the shit out of myself. Which, I realize, goes against the word ‘safety’ in the name.
You do have to be a little more delicate because it is easier to cut yourself but it doesn’t take long to get a feel for it. I doubt I cut myself any more than I did with a 4 blade cartridge.
I’ll have to try to get over my fear and try it. How does it do when you haven’t shaved in a few days? Because I’m very lazy about that.
It takes a few weeks for your face to get used to being shaved by a safety razor but once it is, my god.
It’s like the MSPaint Erase Tool in real life. I used to do electric razor only going over and over and over
Now it’s like almost pornographic how easy it is to shave – one swipe down, two, three, four… half the face is hairless.
Four swipes left, left side is hairless.
Four swipes under the moustache and bam.
Highly recommended getting over the beginner’s curve, watch some YouTube videos but here’s a Linux primer on how to do it:
- Fill shaving cream bowl or basin with warm (not hot water).
- Allow horsehair brush to soak in basin for 1-5 minutes.
- Shake excess water off the brush
- Add about half a toothpaste brush amount of shaving cream to the basin, stir into a rich lather, consistency of yogurt. If it’s foaming up/running there’s too much water. I recommend PRORASO, Menthol (Refresh). One $10 tube lasts 3-6 months. Extremely cost effective.
- Run some warm/hot water on a very low pour from sink. This is used to wash hair off your razor between passes.
- Sterilize your safety razor with a 55-75% isopropyl alcohol spray. This is optional but prevents any kind of infections, because these razors basically slice open everything including pimples.
- Lather up your face. Sides, bottom, moustache, whatever.
- Don’t apply excess/heavy pressure, these razors are extremely sharp. Go down in a stripe, flip razor over, do another stripe. Down cuts hair, holding at a mild angle, across (left right) cuts your skin, so never try to slide the razor across your face.
- Go slow, practice, once your face is used to it, it becomes second nature and shaving is 10× more pleasurable and convenient than those disposable razors or whatever.
- It’s good enough that I recommend it to other people. I’m a man, few things make me actually feel like a man more than a good/proper shave.
I put all my used ones in a clear pill bottle. Plan is to burn them in the next campfire I have so that they never enter the waste stream.
You’re joking, right?
Why would I be joking? Razor blades will oxidize into nothing in a fire
That’s brilliant! We should burn all of our garbage so nothing enters the environment!
I’m not suggesting burning all trash, I’m suggesting burning a miniscule amount of steel to avoid the risk it poses to human and animal life. It turns into iron oxide (RUST). The fire pit ring itself will have about 100x as much of it.
Sharps disposal literally exists for this reason
Steel would also office without fire
Where do you think the rust goes in either case?
I literally don’t have sharps disposal available to me. The rust will mix with the ash and become dispersed harmlessly into the soil. Look at an iron ore mine and you will see millions of tons of iron oxide, because that’s how iron is usually found in nature.
I still use safety razors. I get all excited when I’m at a bathroom that I can slip one in the wall.
Safety razors are the best! They are cheap, you can buy a bunch of quality blades for pennies compared to a “Mach 3” or whatever.
Once you learn how to shave with one, there’s no going back.
What’s different about shaving with one as opposed to a regular disposable?
They’re much less irritating to your skin. Disposable razor commercials sold the world on the idea that more blades=closer and smoother shave; when in reality they can really tear up your face and leave razor bumps and ingrown hairs.
Just crazy cheap. I spent probably 5 dollars on shaving last year. That’s using the most expensive blades made.
The head isn’t on a hinge so you have to manage the angle yourself
Do they really not make any with a swivel head? That’s a pretty useful feature imo, and certainly would be easy to design for on a safety razor.
I’d say it’s more of a learning curve question. With a swiwel you get good results most of the time but if it doesn’t work as you need there’s nothing to do. With a solid construction you need to learn to manipulate it efficiently but then it’s that you can use it for any shape of skull. TL;DR convenient ≠ better
I’ve literally never once had a swivel head razor that didn’t work.
It really seems like a stretch to make this into a skill issue lol
Since I’ve started cleaning my blades I find I don’t have to change them all that often though
Wall full of tetanus.
Wall of Tetanus is a pretty sick 5th level spell.
It’s also a pretty good name for a metal band
here are some metal fonts to choose from
Wåll 𣠆ê†åñµ§
₩₳ⱠⱠ Ø₣ ₮Ɇ₮₳₦Ʉ₴
𝖂𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖊𝖙𝖆𝖓𝖚𝖘
山卂ㄥㄥ ㄖ千 ㄒ乇ㄒ卂几ㄩ丂
𝔚𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔢𝔱𝔞𝔫𝔲𝔰
Wムレレ のキ イ乇イム刀ひ丂
Ẁ̷͓̯͍͉͆̈́̓̿̋͘̕a̸̢̛̭̱͇̓̀̀̃̾̿̕ͅl̴̨̗͍̼̬̽̍̆̋̿l̶̛̰͙̣͔̠͈̈́͑͋̀̔͝ ̵̡̱̘͙̘̖̙̼̺̘͌o̷̳̼͍̼͛̈́̇͘͝f̵̙̥̹̹͓̼͇̃̎̿́́̈̚̕͜͝ͅ ̶̛̦͍̮̫̇̏̐̽̈́̉̉̓t̸̢̪͖̜̲͈͕̬̙̳̾e̴̱̲̯̣̞̰͛̽͊́̊͐̌͋̓̿ẗ̸͓́̑̂͊͋̍̀͘͠a̵̢̨͍̖̙̼̪͚̼̮͆̓̚n̸̡̳͈̬̺̱͔̳̎̾̀̅̅̈́͑̈́ũ̴͙̀̊̄͌͘̚š̵̲̮̘̰̀̂̈̈͝
🔱🅰️🦶🦶 🅾️🇫 ✝️3️⃣✝️🅰️🎵⛎💲
Surely better than in your foot?

















