What Is the Shaver For in Metal Gear Solid 2?

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty has a number of supplies for Snake and Raiden to collect, with most having obvious uses like guns and rations. However, some items are more mysterious, like the shaver in Metal Gear Solid 2.

Where to find the Shaver location in Metal Gear Solid 2?

Raiden can find the shaver early in the game when playing on hard mode or higher. In the Deep Sea Docks, there is a fenced-in area with diving gear. Using hanging mode, Raiden can get into this area and access the gear.

For whatever reason, in the initial release of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, you could find the shaver on any difficulty. It’s unclear why this item was locked to higher difficulties in the Substance release and beyond.

A clean-shaven Snake in Metal Gear Solid 2

The only use for the shaver is to give it to Iroquois Pliskin, who is actually Snake in a flimsy disguise. If you have it in your inventory, Raiden will automatically do this, somewhat awkwardly, in the cutscene where Snake gives him the SOCOM and cigarettes.

Giving the shaver to Snake in Metal Gear Solid 2 may seem like a throwaway gag at first. Nothing happens immediately after, and you don’t get any additional items. You actually don’t bear the fruits of your shaver discovery until near the end of the game.

When Snake shows up in full gear before the final battles of Metal Gear Solid 2, his appearance can change. If you had given him the shaver hours earlier, he would appear clean-shaven. Aside from the humor of it, there’s no other benefit to having a beardless Snake with you.

Additionally, there’s a second secret here, proving the dev team’s attention to detail. If you leave the game turned off for a week and come back to your save, Snake’s beard will actually show growth.

Notably, in the prior HD release of Metal Gear Solid 2, there was a glitch involving the shaver. The glitch made it so that even if you handed him the shaver, Snake’s shaven beard could only be seen in CODEC calls. Thankfully, this is no longer the case in Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol.1. So, if you’re looking for a clean-shaven solid Snake in HD, this will be your first chance!

The Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1 is now available across various platforms, including the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, PC, and Nintendo Switch.