Parker 87r Butterfly Razor

It was the same old story: boy sees razor (while slightly drunk and browsing online shaving websites). Boy falls in love with razor. Boy justifies purchase by convincing himself its about investing in his skincare. Boy buys razor. At the time I didn't own a TTO (twist to open) but became unhealthily obsessed with getting one. I'm pretty sure my dad had one at some point, so maybe that's where the obsession came from. My inner teenager yearned to fumble under the duvet with the Parker 87r, fiddle incessantly with the bit at the bottom of the handle and watch the mechanism at the top open and close, like a flower opening and shutting its petals in one of those speeded-up nature films.* But I finally settled on the 87r simply because I liked the handle. I know, I know – you shouldn't buy a razor because of the handle, but I did.** Don't judge me. And it proved to be a worthwhile investment. Well, I say that now, but that wasn't how I felt when I had my first shave with it.

I finished the first pass unimpressed. I finished the second and third passes still underwhelmed and promised myself that I'd never buy another razor again.*** And so the 87r stood forgotten and forlorn in my razor rack for many months, abandoned like an unwanted kitten in a bag. But then I went back to it recently out of guilt and ended up with a perfectly smooth, irritation-free shave. I realised – as I stood in front of the mirror admiring my stubble-free and ultra-smooth cheeks - that at the time I bought it I'd only been wet-shaving for a few months, so the unimpressive results I'd got from it initially were almost definitely down to user error and poor shaving technique rather than the hardware. I even went so far as to prostrate myself in front of it in the bathroom and beg its forgiveness.****

So, months after I originally bought it, the Parker 87r has been welcomed back into the fold and now stands proudly in my razor rack, no longer abandoned but in a place of significance. It even has its own little spotlight***** so that it stands there illuminated by both its own glory and artificial light.

* You can also turn it upside down and pretend you're opening the bottom doors of a WWII bomber plane. Or so I've heard.

** It was the first time I'd done this. But it certainly wasn't the last. And continues not to be.

*** A hollow promise, as any wet-shaving aficionado will appreciate.

**** I didn't actually do this.

***** No it hasn't.

#wetshaving #shavingcommunity #shavelikeyourgrandfather #DEsafetyrazor #shaveoftheday