Razor sharp.

The article focuses on razors and shaving sets. Not so very long ago, shaving was the realm of the specialist. The barber (who often doubled as a surgeon) was the only one considered qualified to wield a sharpened steel blade near someone else's jugular. But since 1904, when American mogul King C. Gillette patented the safety razor with disposable blades, men haven't looked back. Thankfully, the modest safety razor has recently morphed into a dazzling variety of forms worthy of the most discriminating men. When it comes to shaving, there are a few basic choices: wet or dry, safety or straight. In the quest for the very best shave, most men would agree that wet shaving is superior. "Wet shaving is having a renaissance," reports Philip Watterson, managing director of Progress Vulfix Ltd. on the Isle of Man, the company that makes the renowned Vulfix line of shaving equipment. Besides Vulfix, some of the other names in high-quality brushes are Merkur and Rainer Dittmar of Germany, and Edwin Jagger of England. Dovo is the world's largest maker of straight razors and offers handles of bone, buffalo horn, ebony, mother-of-pearl and Micarta ivory--which can be found at retailers of high-end men's accessories. A few final tips, then: shave with--not against--the grain; rinse the face with the hottest water and the razor with the coldest; and never ding your blade on a hard surface (even its own handle), lest you take the edge off its performance. For that, surely, would be the unkindest cut.