Gillette cartridge razors under assult by vintage DE razors

[Kevan]

I say the same thing every time a thread like this pops up. The vast majority of men couldn't give a flying crap about all this stuff we go on about. For them, it's about getting their bathroom routine done in as little time as possible. That means shaving is done and over with in 2 minutes or so. Splash the face, slather on some gel (or not) and scrape the razor on your face repeatedly in downward strokes. "Multiple passes" means going ATG before a date or interview.

Traditional shaving takes longer and involves futzing with a lot of stuff. Most guys couldn't be bothered. And Gillette knows it.

 

[michiganlover]

I say the same thing every time a thread like this pops up. The vast majority of men couldn't give a flying crap about all this stuff we go on about. For them, it's about getting their bathroom routine done in as little time as possible. That means shaving is done and over with in 2 minutes or so. Splash the face, slather on some gel (or not) and scrape the razor on your face repeatedly in downward strokes. "Multiple passes" means going ATG before a date or interview.

Traditional shaving takes longer and involves futzing with a lot of stuff. Most guys couldn't be bothered. And Gillette knows it.

+1

And spot on!!

Most guys have a shaving routine that takes less than 5 minutes. They are simply not interested in a routine (no matter how good the results) which takes 15 minutes to complete as a seasoned vet, and more like 30 minutes to complete as a newbie. The significant learning curve is also a major downer. Most men simply won't suffer through a cut up face while they learn.

We are not now (nor will we ever be) a serious threat to Gillette.

On the other hand, I can see something like Dollar Shave Club making Gillette shake in their boots; but probably not, P and G would just buy them out, and shut them down.

 

[MACGI98z28]

Some of the comments on that article...People using the same cart for months, or using 3-4 Fusion carts per YEAR? These people either work for Gillette OR they have grown incredibly tolerant of horrid shaves. Vintage razors have an uphill battle against that kind of ignorance.

The only people hurt by an increase of .001% in demand for DE products is those of us using them now.

 

[LouBarraza]

In only the 3 months ive been shaving with a DE,Ive gotten so use to it that I can shave with it almost faster than a cart razor.It takes practice.When I first started,it took me almost 40 mins and a few minor weepers here and there.Now,im down to 10 mins and thats using only WTG,and ATG for a BBS,and very minimal or no weepers.

 

[mo_zo]

I say the same thing every time a thread like this pops up. The vast majority of men couldn't give a flying crap about all this stuff we go on about. For them, it's about getting their bathroom routine done in as little time as possible. That means shaving is done and over with in 2 minutes or so. Splash the face, slather on some gel (or not) and scrape the razor on your face repeatedly in downward strokes. "Multiple passes" means going ATG before a date or interview.

Traditional shaving takes longer and involves futzing with a lot of stuff. Most guys couldn't be bothered. And Gillette knows it.

Good post Kevan! Exactly what I see around me, all guys desire a short shave: shower, can cream/gel, one pass with 3-4-5-6 blades cartridge than a splash & AS.
Result ?
All of them are complaining about irritation, ingrown hair, discomfort. But they continue to shave like that, just because they are lazy.
Well I spent 30 minutes on a shave, but I feel awesome .

Lucky me that I stopped at Mach3. I have coarse beard and had only 3 good shaves with a cartridge and another 3-4 terrible. A pack of 5 DE blades (0,5$ !!!!) lasts me 5 weeks minimum with every single shave just great. Wanna talk about cost ?
What else, the look of the razor ? Cartridge razors looks fine only on TV spots and when came out of the box, after some shaves become clogged. Not necessary to talk about my Muhle R41's aspect.

Viva B&B !!!

 

[Kevan]

In only the 3 months ive been shaving with a DE,Ive gotten so use to it that I can shave with it almost faster than a cart razor.It takes practice.When I first started,it took me almost 40 mins and a few minor weepers here and there.Now,im down to 10 mins and thats using only WTG,and ATG for a BBS,and very minimal or no weepers.

Yes, but 10 minutes, or even 5, is too long for the majority of folks. Plus the cleanup involved and how you have to pay attention to the blade angle. The popularity of carts boils down to speed and convenience mostly, as well as idiot proof usability.

 

[Alejandro1969]

Proglide! Ha! Ha! Ha! What a seriously useless name! It's making me sick just looking at it. How the mighty fall and it's a long way down!

 

[Speedwell68]

So they are saying it lasts 5 weeks. So lets assume that means you shave every day. Currently 6 Proglide blades in the UK costs £14.50 and 5 Derby Blades costs £0.50. A blade of Derby's quality will last me 7 shaves, so in that 5 week period I would have spent £0.50 on blades. If I was using a Proglide that would have cost me £2.41, almost 5 times the amount. Come on P&G try a little harder than that.

 

[Vickers]

So they are saying it lasts 5 weeks. So lets assume that means you shave every day. Currently 6 Proglide blades in the UK costs £14.50 and 5 Derby Blades costs £0.50. A blade of Derby's quality will last me 7 shaves, so in that 5 week period I would have spent £0.50 on blades. If I was using a Proglide that would have cost me £2.41, almost 5 times the amount. Come on P&G try a little harder than that.

Exactly. I was thinking the same thing math-wise while reading this thread yesterday, but (ironically) I was too lazy to crunch the numbers. But you have inspired me!

In my case, I could order 8 ProGlide cartridges for $30.99 from Amazon, so that's $3.87 (!!!) per cartridge.

I use Astra SPs for the most part, and they are currently $10.36 for 100 (also on Amazon).

I usually change blades every 3 days, so in 5 weeks I would use 12 blades.

12 X 10.36 cents = $1.24

Even if I used a brand new blade EVERY SINGLE DAY it would be only $3.63, still less than the $3.87 5-week-old cartridge.

Crazy!

 

[Col Finley]

Thanks for this. My wife and teenage daughter are not ready for DE shaving but I got them into the Dollar Shave Club at least. And, well, um, I also own P&G stock...just covering all the angles.

 

[rwdflynavy]

I posted this article to facebook (no one on facebook knew of my DE obsession). Got several replies back from friends of mine who either DE or use a straight. Very surprising. There are more of us than we know...

 

[TheSC]

I'm shocked at how long some of these people are using their blades. Some saying they only use 2-3 carts a year!!! I was lucky to get two weeks out of my Fuzion not shaving every day. After that it was tug and irritation city.

 

[mystkm]

I say the same thing every time a thread like this pops up. The vast majority of men couldn't give a flying crap about all this stuff we go on about. For them, it's about getting their bathroom routine done in as little time as possible. That means shaving is done and over with in 2 minutes or so. Splash the face, slather on some gel (or not) and scrape the razor on your face repeatedly in downward strokes. "Multiple passes" means going ATG before a date or interview.

Traditional shaving takes longer and involves futzing with a lot of stuff. Most guys couldn't be bothered. And Gillette knows it.

+1! Well put. Very well put!

Yes, but 10 minutes, or even 5, is too long for the majority of folks. Plus the cleanup involved and how you have to pay attention to the blade angle. The popularity of carts boils down to speed and convenience mostly, as well as idiot proof usability.

And it is that idiot proof usability and speed of use that keeps cartridges in favor. Why some guys will go on about I can get X amount of shaves with my cartridge and in the same breath brag about how they can shave in under 2 minutes while simultaneously lamenting about razor burn and ingrown hairs. I don't get it.... They can be faced with exhibit A, fast shaves, horrible after-effects, or, exhibit B, longer shave, better results. Being slaves to a clock is the only thing I can wrap my mind around.

 

[TheSC]

And it is that idiot proof usability and speed of use that keeps cartridges in favor.

Probably the same people who complain about how horrible McDonalds is, but eat there three times a week.

 

[johne123]

In my case, I would get bad ingrown hairs on my neck with a single pass of any of the multi blade cartridges since I started shaving. I tried most of the prep things I could find about (the internet was still being put together then): shave after a shower, good shave cream. I still couldn't avoid ingrowns unless I shaved every other day. So, that's what I did for years.

BTW, I've never paid for a cartridge handle. I have a sensor, mach 3 turbo, and fusion - all sent to me in the mail. I never liked the latter two. Having a different pivot point felt weird going around my jaw line. Since sensor and sensor excel cartridges were cheaper anyway I stuck with those until starting DE shaving last month.

I'm still working on technique, but I can now mostly do one pass on the problem area with my Muhle R89 every day.

 

[Renato1]

It's a bit of an unfair article, as it doesn't compare apples with apples. Fusion has little springs behind each cartridge blade for a smoother shave experience. Schick and most of the other imitators have fixed blades.

You pay for what you get, and for me Fusion is magic - without it I would never have been able to condition my face skin back to DE shaving. I'm still using the first cartridge that came with my Fusion razor - I used it for a couple of weeks before taking up DE shaving, and a couple of times since. But back before I gave up DE shaving for electric decades ago, I used to get a month out of every DE blade.
Regards,
Renato

 

[cfender]

5 weeks from a fusion? I beg to differ...

When I used them I would toss M3 and Fusion cartdridges after 4 or 5 shaves. I could feel the loss of sharpness after 3 shaves.

 

[MACGI98z28]

I'm shocked at how long some of these people are using their blades. Some saying they only use 2-3 carts a year!!! I was lucky to get two weeks out of my Fuzion not shaving every day. After that it was tug and irritation city.

When the M3 rolled out, it did last a month of shaves. Now it does not but the price has not changed (my opinion is that they changed the steel used for the blades)...I went from weeks of shaves to 6 shaves and then I was tossing them...That and the price of Mach 3 is what got me into the DE world. I am never looking back.

 

[Haggises]

I used to go through 3-4 Mach3 carts per year - only by one pass neck and cheek shaving with a full beard in the shower.
Cant imagine doing a full face shave for that long.

And now I think.....what's the point?

 

[rwbrown04]

I wasn't really unhappy with the Mach3 when i jumped on board the DE train but was bored and luckily heard about it through friends. Like previous posters, I did a 1.5 pass shave, WTG plus touchups. XTG for intervies, ATG for dates. I generally got about a month out of a cart, but that was pushing it quite a bit and not doing 5 days a week.

With DE not only do i enjoy it more in a relaxing way, I have less stress about shaving. I used to thing...hmm my blade is tugging a little, so today I wont shave and I'll change the blade monday.... Now halfway through a shave I will pop out a blade I dont like for a new one without even thinking about when it was changes last, it doesnt matter, it wasnt working anymore!

Without someone to make me aware of this interesting new hobby/passtime/obsession/ritual, I'd still be on the Mach3 train. I still dont have anything against it, I have stockpile of the blades from a big box store, and keep on in my travel kit for backup.

In general I'd say any exposure to the larger population will be positive, we will get some inquisitive types like myself, some may dabble and go back but if theres a couple converts then more power to them.