Wet Shaving in Indonesia

[Davita]

As an after note Wifey is away for a few days so I will give the beard a shot again, last time I tried I was in Saudi, it was going quite well till my Saudi mate said, oh you look like an Arab now, whoosh, the beard disappeared in a flash

As a non-hirsute member of the human species, except on the cranium, face shaving to me is just a simple daily task to feel clean. Therefore, I always thought that 'not-shaving' was a manly thing like 'not-showering' or not changing socks.
Last week I ventured into one of those new 'barber' shops that have sprung-up all over Bali. Hitherto I've always had a haircut in the same salon as my wife has her hair done...which usually includes a cream-bath and shoulder massage. I never really liked all that pampering as I'm used to the military zoom-cut and out....or, let my hair grow till I was forced to cut lest people thought I was a girl....I did say I was a non-furry species.

This barber-shop was full of big hairy guys all having shaves and hair-cuts...the desk-girl said it would only be a short wait but she lied. I witnessed the most 'pompadouring' since I last saw a movie about eighteenth century France. I never realized that to obtain those bearded-faces took so much trouble and precision to get the geometric shapes demanded...and those guys were so demanding. One had very little hair on top and it still took a good half-hour to get it right according to his desire for a little fuzz instead of a clean bald look. My driver had gone to do his prayers so I was stuck watching this show until it was my turn. I said 'short back and sides' and heard this undercurrent hush as most who heard looked at me with disdain...I added "and please hurry." An oogh! was heard from a guy while admiring his Harley t-shirt and stroking his newly-formed goatee. He was waiting for his friend with the fuzz and they walked out together...holding hands.
I quickly paid and jumped into my car which had just pulled-up outside....my crew-cut (potong rambut Rp10,000) driver smiled a knowing smile.
My wife was delighted with my neat hairstyle and said I should go there more often.
I then thought I might, like Anglian, savour 'not-shaving' for a while and go back to get the full 'wimpy-wooshy' treatment like those other guys....I deserve it...

 

[vocalneal]

I think I could only get a couple of shaves from a Gillette, but Wilkinson would last all week if longer.

 

[Silet]

@ El_Goretto Reply to above.

I'm not sure I can help you or answer you directly but maybe I can point you in a direction to help you sort your question out.

I've never used Hargadunia for items that are above the import allowance. My total order may have gone above this but the individual items have not.
.
I was going to write about Hargadunia later but as you have posed this question I'll do it now.

I have found Hargadunia very good to deal with and their Customer Service are helpful. You can write to them in English and they will understand your question quite well but will answer in BI.

They are incredibly slow if you take the standard shipping as I do. I've never used their "express" 14 day shipping.

With the standard shipping times you can easily forget their 21 to 30 day claim, not only is it overly optimistic, it's impossible. Their standard shipping is all surface only, so instead of a slow boat to China it's a slow boat to Indonesia.

I'll go through their ordering system and I always pay by bank transfer via ATM so I have a receipt.

You order .... then confirm payment on their web site ... I then send an e-mail with a copy of the ATM receipt attached.

It can take them up to 24 hrs to confirm your payment but in practice it seems to be confirmed when the USA wake up for business.

When your order is confirmed it is ordered from within the USA, Ca.

Your goods are then ordered by the USA dept from Amazon who ship them to the USA warehouse. They then ship them by sea to Indonesia. (this must take at least 30 days looking at the shipping routes from Ca to Jakarta).

Then you have to wait for Customs clearance to be sent to Kelapa Gading. Once in KG they are sent out promptly.

The all of the above in my experience takes up to 6 weeks and in the case of my Gillette Wilkinson Sword blades it was two months. The blades went from India to Amazon USA and then to the USA warehouse as above. So it was a slow boat from India to the USA and then a slow boat from the USA to Indonesia.

Looking at your shipping cost on the Hargadunia invoice it is very high and may include Customs Duty as expected, I don't really know and the best thing to do is ask Hargadunia directly so you are absolutely sure, if you intend to use Hargadunia.

When I say high for your shipping costs I currently have a shipment that has been sat in the USA for one week now awaiting a ship and the shipping cost for that is Rp 71000. I cant check my previous orders as they have only recently itemised them, Before shipping was "free" on the invoice but the price of the goods was higher. Now the bill is more itemised with the cost of the goods lower on the invoice than stated on the site, the difference being the tax and shipping that you see.

I can only suggest you contact Hargadunia to make sure all duty has been included in your invoice and will be paid by them. A statement that says the shipping company will handle customs does not in my opinion infer they will pay so better you check.

If you are in doubt at all after contacting Hargadunia I can only suggest you pay the extra 2 Jt or so for peace of mind if you really want this machine.

 

[Davita]

When I visit Vancouver I return with a couple of boxes of Gillette disposable 'Custom 2' razors from Costco (about US$30 per 52 razors). Two boxes last more than a year.
For 60 bucks annually.....why bother with this sharpening palaver.

 

[Anglian]

That's a neat idea, I can get a couple of months out of a Mach 3 in normal use, I suppose in theory you could make them last forever

 

[Davita]

That's a neat idea, I can get a couple of months out of a Mach 3 in normal use, I suppose in theory you could make them last forever

I thought you were about to throw away the razor my future-bearded friend. When the 'sharia clan' come looking for kafirs you can probably put on a white cap and blend...great idea...

 

[Anglian]

I have a feeling my boss will not approve, I wouldn't grow one of those silly beards that are like those that are just under the chin

 

[El_Goretto]

If you are in doubt at all after contacting Hargadunia I can only suggest you pay the extra 2 Jt or so for peace of mind if you really want this machine.

Thank you for your feedback. I guess I'll have to contact then directly.

The above item was just an example. I actually bought that laptop last month through amazon but got it shipped to Singapore, where shipping and import duty only amount to $30, and made a trip out of it with the difference.

 

[Silet]

Thank you for your feedback. I guess I'll have to contact then directly.

The above item was just an example. I actually bought that laptop last month through amazon but got it shipped to Singapore, where shipping and import duty only amount to $30, and made a trip out of it with the difference.

Yes very nice, in your circumstances you did the correct thing for you but the spirit of my posts is that you do not need a VISA or any other card, only an Indonesian Bank Debit card, neither do you have to leave the country.

 

[macvert]

When I visit Vancouver I return with a couple of boxes of Gillette disposable 'Custom 2' razors from Costco (about US$30 per 52 razors). Two boxes last more than a year.
For 60 bucks annually.....why bother with this sharpening palaver.

WHAT!!! .... am I reading this right, around 100 razors per year?....... A GII lasts me a month or so & I just bought a pack of 10 for rp65,000 from Hypermart which should last around a year.

I thought you were about to throw away the razor my future-bearded friend. When the 'sharia clan' come looking for kafirs you can probably put on a white cap and blend...great idea...

Or you can use a white breakfast bowl .... you never know when it may come in handy......

 

[Davita]

I can get a couple of months out of a Mach 3 in normal use,

A GII lasts me a month or so & I just bought a pack of 10 for rp65,000 from Hypermart which should last around a year.....

According to this....https://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?t=366394
most people only get a weeks shave out of a G3 so you guys are doing well...unless Macs avatar is his real photo...then I can understand his shaving routine....
Also a G3 cost around US$2-2.50 each from discount stores. No idea on G11. Never tried but if either can last months I'll get some and try as my stash is getting low and I might not make it back to Vancouver this year after all.

 

[Anglian]

29,000rp for 4 throw away mach3, from Lotte Mart, usually 29,000rp each, I think they marked it up wrong, but that was the price at the till, so no queries

 

[Vicissidude]

Yes indeed. I probably need some forgiveness but not in the shaving catagory. I understand it must be desirable for some to maintain their baby smooth effeminate skin. I'll just stick with the rugged man skin.

Touché!

 

[Vicissidude]

Blades.

Below I will list the DE Safety Razor blades available within Indonesia from BukaLapak's sellers. If the blade you want is not on the list then I suggest you try Hargaduniaas it is doubtful Lazada will have it.

I will though give links to both Hargadunia's and Lazada's pages for your perusal should you wish to look.

When searching for blades on BukaLapak you need to search for Silet Cukur to get a list but you will also get other things besides at times such as windscreen wiper blades and boots (for some reason).

If you know and want the availability of a particular blade the search that by blade name, eg Silet Derby or Silet Astra etc.

Before I start I should mention (as I forgot earlier) That I have a "no-name" safety razor that I bought eons ago along with an Edwin Jagger DE89 that I bought in February this year via Hargadunia. This is just in case I need to mention them when if necessary comparing blades. I have a couple of others and one awaiting delivery but I will come on to those in my razor post.

Before I list the blades I'll start with what I bought here:- (all prices Rp/blade number)

SuperMax Chromium Rp 31500/100 (at the moment not available)
Derby Extra Rp 55000/100
Derby Premium (new 2016) Rp 50000//100
Gillette "Wilkinson Sword Edge" Rp 116000/100

So what blades are available here on your doorstep with a small JNE fee of around Rp 9000 and at what cost ? I think you may be surprised.

All the following are available from BukaLapak vendors as I write (in no specfic order):-

Gillette Sword Rp 23000/5 ( I do not know the provenance of this blade, to the best of my knowledge "Sword Blades" are either Gillette Wilkinson's Sword or Wilkinson's Sword Classic)

Gillette Goal Rp 15000/5 (crazy or what ?)

Tiger Rp 31000/100 ( looking at the package these blades are more than likely carbon steel and therefore if so will need care to prevent rusting)

Treet Classic Rp 75000/200

Laser Super Stainless Rp 60000/100

Dorco Stainless Red Box Rp 50000/100
Stainless Red Box HQ Rp 65000/100 (made in Vietnam under licence)
Stainless Prime Rp 50000/100

Lord Rp 6000/6 = (Rp 100000/100)

SuperMax Platinum Rp 95000/200 = (Rp 47500/100)

Astra Superior Platinum Rp 105000/100

London Bridge Rp 6000/5 ( Gillette Goal's sibling, another crazy price)

Zorik Rp 80000/100

Derby Extra Rp 55000/100

Derby Premium (new as of 2016 I think) 50000/100


So not a bad selection really in Indonesia. If you must have a specific blade not listed such as Persons or Feather then you will find them amongst others such as Gillette Wilkinson's Sword and Wilkinson's Sword Classic on Hargadunia. Lazada have other blades bbut not known names mainly Chinese origin.

Hargadunia https://hargadunia.com/search/razor blades

Lazada http://www.lazada.co.id/catalog/?q=de safety razor blades&searchclickposition=prod4

Lazada is difficult here to search, even narrowing it down spurious results come up. More expensive than Bukaapak for same blade.

Well that just about winds up my info on DE Razor Blades. I hope it has proved useful and will save you a bit of money.

Lots of great info. Thanks for this! I've never used those three websites.. good to know about these options. I look forward to your future posts about other products. Soaps and creams next, please!

 

[Anglian]

Last night when my wife called, I happened to mention I was growing a beard, deathly silence, then, No your not, no further discussion, she's home tonight, so I've got all day to think about it, am I man or mouse in front of the great lady, I have a feeling it's going to be mouse

 

[Davita]

Last night when my wife called, I happened to mention I was growing a beard, deathly silence, then, No your not, no further discussion, she's home tonight, so I've got all day to think about it, am I man or mouse in front of the great lady, I have a feeling it's going to be mouse

hahaha the dilemma.
Come on pal...you're RAF...so show you are a real man... and not a wimp..

Explain nicely that you grew your beard when she was away so other ladies in the neighborhood would understand how you missed your princess wife. Now she's back you will be very pleased to show your affection and shave the bristle to indicate your pleasure of her return. Tell her its a spiritual thought like when Bali men grow their hair while the wife is pregnant.
That way you maintain your dignity and may get lucky.......it will also comfort me to know us ex-Brylcreem Boys still know how to bullshit...

 

[Anglian]

hahaha the dilemma.
Come on pal...you're RAF...so show you are a real man... and not a wimp..

Explain nicely that you grew your beard when she was away so other ladies in the neighborhood would understand how you missed your princess wife. Now she's back you will be very pleased to show your affection and shave the bristle to indicate your pleasure of her return. Tell her its a spiritual thought like when Bali men grow their hair while the wife is pregnant.
That way you maintain your dignity and may get lucky.......it will also comfort me to know us ex-Brylcreem Boys still know how to bullshit...

As far as wifey is concerned meet mr wimp, I've been bombed by nazis, EOKA, and IRA tear gassed in several countries, but argue with wifey, no way

 

[vocalneal]

am I man or mouse

Probably find she is afraid of mice?

 

[john madden]

I witnessed the most 'pompadouring' since I last saw a movie about eighteenth century France. I never realized that to obtain those bearded-faces took so much trouble and precision to get the geometric shapes demanded...and those guys were so demanding.

Around our way they're not barbers - they're curators of facial hair!

 

[vocalneal]

In a pub quiz the other day I lost by one point.
The question was where do women mostly have curly hair?
Apparently, it's Africa !