What draws you to a particular brand?

[Quaznoid]

I don’t buy much, but when I do I return to the products that have proven themselves to me: Gillette, Schick, Lord and a few others.

I haven’t bought a new razor in years and I don’t intend to. If I’m in an antique store or flea market I always peruse the razors and I might buy one if it’s in good shape at a good price. Several years ago I stumbled onto a never-used Black Beauty for $5. Couldn’t pass that up.

If I need blades I go online and look for the cheapest Lord family stainless or platinum and I don’t care which of the myriad names they’re sold under. I buy Chinese Schicks at a local drug store.

Haven’t bought a brush in at least 15 years. If I needed one (unlikely) I’d get another VDH at a local store.

As is well known, I don’t buy soaps. My aftershaves are old brands like Skin Bracer, Old Spice or a Pinaud product.

I’m not enticed by new stuff. I don’t need the latest thing. And I eschew luxury.

 

[Life Is A Dream]

As much as I think I'm not susceptible to biases, I am. Having said that...

Soaps (in order of priority)

1. Vegetarian or vegan ingredients.
2. Reviews from various sources I trust.
3. Supporting local, artisan made products if they rival the quality of products made by a large brand.
4. Packaging material. I prefer metal to plastic tubs.
5. Graphic design. Even though it has nothing to do with the soap's performance, I appreciate this effort.

Razors
I am still fairly new to DE shaving, so I'm trying to get my technique refined with the tool I currently have. I am on the lookout for new razor but I suspect it might take a while.

Blades
Same thing as razors. I'm sticking with my current razor/blade combo till I'm satisfied with my technique for my 2nd (and maybe) 3rd pass.

 

[Mojo88]

All about performance. I have experimented with so many combinations I felt like it was getting repetitive in nature. I have a handful of razors as opposed to 50 or 60 that I once did. I settled on a couple creams, soaps and one boar and one silvertip brush. I live close to where Imperial Shaving was. It was nice to stop in and get the owners take on products. Sadly they closed. So now I just use what I have found works. All and all a pretty inexpensive hobby. I have spent far more on a boat and guns.

 

[RRGGMM]

All about performance. I have experimented with so many combinations I felt like it was getting repetitive in nature. I have a handful of razors as opposed to 50 or 60 that I once did. I settled on a couple creams, soaps and one boar and one silvertip brush. I live close to where Imperial Shaving was. It was nice to stop in and get the owners take on products. Sadly they closed. So now I just use what I have found works. All and all a pretty inexpensive hobby. I have spent far more on a boat and guns.

I agree that as you get deeper into the shaving gear options, it can feel repetitive. I have 20 safety razors, some for sentimental reasons, all for shaving. I like them all, but there is a lot of overlap, and many shave so similarly there is little practical reason to own them.

 

[Mojo88]

I agree that as you get deeper into the shaving gear options, it can feel repetitive. I have 20 safety razors, some for sentimental reasons, all for shaving. I like them all, but there is a lot of overlap, and many shave so similarly there is little practical reason to own them.

Early on it was a lot of fun to find razors in thrift and antique stores. It was something to do in the winter and my wife enjoyed antique shopping. Now it’s just not that common to find something. The dealers in my area seem to prefer selling razors on eBay. I have seen Super Speeds priced at 50.00 in the stores. They set for years, you can see faded price tags and dust on the razors. As you mentioned there is a lot of overlap. I still look, but it has to be something special for me to buy it.

 

[DesertIguana]

The Wet Shave industry is not an industry spend million on Super Bowl Commercials, so I thin k it is blogger, tube channel, and last forum that spears information, and misinformation.

We as consumer need to lear to separate truth from fiction, and last touch, feel, and smell product before you buy. Some vendor are so confident in their product they off a 30 day money back satisfaction guarantee. Blackland does this and sevreal others.

Don't think anyone in Wet shave industry is getting rich like Apple, or Microsoft.

 

[Brutus]

In one word?
Quality.

In two words?
Quality and price.

In three words?
Quality, price and support.



You choose…



B.

 

[Phoenixkh]

I am sitting here wondering....... have I bought any razors on my own other than my first one: the Claymore Evolution? I don't think I have.... so what draws me to a particular brand seems to be copying other people here. <eg>

It turns out, I'm not an explorer.... I would be lost with the wet shaving maps provided by those who have gone before me. The same could be said for anything shaving... soaps, pre-shaves, brushes.. all of it. I am a mere copier.

 

[Mojo88]

I am sitting here wondering....... have I bought any razors on my own other than my first one: the Claymore Evolution? I don't think I have.... so what draws me to a particular brand seems to be copying other people here. <eg>

It turns out, I'm not an explorer.... I would be lost with the wet shaving maps provided by those who have gone before me. The same could be said for anything shaving... soaps, pre-shaves, brushes.. all of it. I am a mere copier.

Imagine a time long, long ago in a far away place. It was a wild time, the year was 2005, no iPhones, Blockbuster Video was the way to rent movies and cartridge razors ruled the world.

You could go to the mall and an upstart company, The Art of Shaving was around, just getting started. They offered shaving creams and preshaves. Those items hadn’t been popular in years. Additionally, they offered double edge razors that hadn’t been available for mass consumption. I saw that and wondered if there was something comparable. I started looking and information on wet shaving was just not a topic.

Later that year a brave group of men got together and created this website. I lurked for a while and decided to join in 2007. It was more like a locker room as compared to today. There was talk of double edge razors, British shave creams and cats with watermelon hats.

A guy named Mantic was the first proponent of wet shaving on the web and it was the topic of discussion. Blades were hard to come by and ordering them off line was the only way to get them for the most part. Discussions about cleaning razors and products used had thread after thread.

Vintage razors were dirt cheap and crazy scores happened on a regular basis. Mt Grayling had the mother of scores. A small drum that had literally hundreds of Fatboys that were going to be scrapped. He sold them here and created the most impressive collection of rocket razors I have ever seen. I found boxes and boxes of razors for next to nothing myself. I found Mr. Gillettes collection and almost lost my mind.

Fast forward and internet stores started popping up. People were making videos and information was available. Prices on vintage razors went up and Merkur probably had more orders than they ever imagined. Custom makers entered the game and some made it and some didn’t. Inexpensive stuff flooded the market.

Now you can find anything you would want from custom blades, artisan soap, brushes and all the shaving gear to last a millennium.

What stands to me out is the original OG of shaving - Joel. Some know him on here some don’t. He had the vision and tenacity to create this site. Sure other sites have been around, but the information here has stood the test of time.

 

[Texchappy]

7/10
First weeper in quite a while but error was between chair and keyboard, er sink. otherwise would have been a pleasant shave with one of my favorite razors and one of my favorite blades.

 

[Barley]

I'm a sucker for tradition and nostalgia. So I am drawn to traditional, iconic (but not necessarily luxury) brands. That being said, I am careful about brands that are purchased by other companies in-name only, that denigrate the reputation of the quality of yesteryear.

 

[Eben Stone]

I like to support local mfg and artisans but I will buy products made globally that outperform.

Artisans who are in it for the hobby and making money over just making money will always get my support first.

That sums it up nicely for me as well.

 

[Bungo Pete]

I like to support domestic artisan brands, but the quality has to be there. I also like old school brands and avoid large, woke corporations if at all possible.

 

[Phoenixkh]

Imagine a time long, long ago in a far away place. It was a wild time, the year was 2005, no iPhones, Blockbuster Video was the way to rent movies and cartridge razors ruled the world.

You could go to the mall and an upstart company, The Art of Shaving was around, just getting started. They offered shaving creams and preshaves. Those items hadn’t been popular in years. Additionally, they offered double edge razors that hadn’t been available for mass consumption. I saw that and wondered if there was something comparable. I started looking and information on wet shaving was just not a topic.

Later that year a brave group of men got together and created this website. I lurked for a while and decided to join in 2007. It was more like a locker room as compared to today. There was talk of double edge razors, British shave creams and cats with watermelon hats.

A guy named Mantic was the first proponent of wet shaving on the web and it was the topic of discussion. Blades were hard to come by and ordering them off line was the only way to get them for the most part. Discussions about cleaning razors and products used had thread after thread.

Vintage razors were dirt cheap and crazy scores happened on a regular basis. Mt Grayling had the mother of scores. A small drum that had literally hundreds of Fatboys that were going to be scrapped. He sold them here and created the most impressive collection of rocket razors I have ever seen. I found boxes and boxes of razors for next to nothing myself. I found Mr. Gillettes collection and almost lost my mind.

Fast forward and internet stores started popping up. People were making videos and information was available. Prices on vintage razors went up and Merkur probably had more orders than they ever imagined. Custom makers entered the game and some made it and some didn’t. Inexpensive stuff flooded the market.

Now you can find anything you would want from custom blades, artisan soap, brushes and all the shaving gear to last a millennium.

What stands to me out is the original OG of shaving - Joel. Some know him on here some don’t. He had the vision and tenacity to create this site. Sure other sites have been around, but the information here has stood the test of time.

As a newbie, I looked at all the forum sites, the FB groups, etc... and after a bit of trial and error, found B&B to be far and away the most active and most informative forums site. I wish I would have found you guys years ago, but at least, I stumbled on B&B when I was 68, almost 69. I had my two year anniversary here yesterday... East Coast time. It's already 9:21AM here in Bali... on Sunday.

Thank you so much for taking us down memory lane.... I enjoyed reading it.

 

[Juanmosey]

Mostly USA retro stuff. Gillette, Skin Bracer, etc. In my mind canned foam is retro so I use Foamy or Proraso. I wish Noxzema would come back. I'm not much different than Quaznoid. 71 years old in June.

 

[awk_m4]

I shave daily and I’m drawn to those products that give me a consistently excellent shaving experience.
The only razor I use is a Henson. I’m one and done as far as blades are concerned. Life is too short for crappy shaves.

 

[ERS4]

Usually I don’t deliberately choose the same brand of shaving products in a row.

Except "Cintika".
Obviously, I'm not buying these 90's novatly razors just for daily use.
Of course, they are absolutely usable, and can even be said to be more useful than they look. Even though they look strange, they are not as deviant from human body mechanics as imagined.

The main thing that attracts me must be the interesting appearance. Even when I am not shaving, I will keep holding these razors and admiring the cute contours.

 

[nelsonic21]

Value and nostalgia are usually what draws me to a product. Most of my razors are vintage Gillettes (which are also a good value) and most expensive is a Razorock Lupo. My favorite brushes are my Simpsons Berkeley and Omega boars. Price per ounce is always the biggest factor when picking soaps/aftershaves with Van der Hagen being the soap I've bought the most. I also like Schick injectors because ease of use and how long the blades last.

I have bought some more expensive gear with mixed results. St. James of London cream had an excellent scent, but lasted less than 2 months. I got a Karve brass razor with an extra base plate, but sold it because it didn't shave any better than a Superspeed. My Rudy Vey 2020 group buy brush is the priciest item I have and I felt it was worth it since it was a limited edition product from member of the shaving community.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

For traditional wet shaving products I don’t think there are any widely recognised brands. Perhaps a couple of the old brush makers, Plisson and Simpsons might count as brands but honestly I don’t think either is large enough to really be well known. Gillette used to be the biggest brand but they exited the traditional wet shaving market decades ago and they only continue to make blades (many of which are not Gillette branded). Today we mainly have small businesses making niche products that we only know about because we frequent shaving forums, and my purchasing decisions are based only on the merits of each specific product. There is no manufacturer that I wouldn’t buy from and no manufacturer that I would always buy from.