What's new

How has old-school shaving changed over the last decade or so?

About a dozen years ago, I was for about a year a member of another online shaving community. After joining B&B recently, I perceive a couple of ways in which the discussion's center of gravity has shifted over the ensuing decade:
  1. Soap vs cream: My impression is that, among shaving enthusiasts, soap is gaining ground and cream is losing ground. If true, whether that is due to the trend toward small, artisanal production or something else, I don't know.
  2. Brushes: A decade ago, my sense was that the discussion was all-badger, all of the time. A small rump of boar enthusiasts only occasionally broke up the monotony. Today, boar seems a lot more mainstream among (admittedly outlier) shaving enthusiasts and synthetic has a large and vocal contingent.
What do you think? What are some of the ways you've seen the discussion change over the last decade or so?
 
Overthinking it had become the norm (in forums that is,in real life men who shave with a DE just lather up with whatever they please ,canned goo,cream or soap ,and shave within minutes :) )
 
About a dozen years ago, I was for about a year a member of another online shaving community. After joining B&B recently, I perceive a couple of ways in which the discussion's center of gravity has shifted over the ensuing decade:
  1. Soap vs cream: My impression is that, among shaving enthusiasts, soap is gaining ground and cream is losing ground. If true, whether that is due to the trend toward small, artisanal production or something else, I don't know.
  2. Brushes: A decade ago, my sense was that the discussion was all-badger, all of the time. A small rump of boar enthusiasts only occasionally broke up the monotony. Today, boar seems a lot more mainstream among (admittedly outlier) shaving enthusiasts and synthetic has a large and vocal contingent.
What do you think? What are some of the ways you've seen the discussion change over the last decade or so?

3. All the new razors, especially the Feather AC razors, newly manufactured GEM-blade razors, and the Oneblade.
 
As an unattached 'outlier' 10+ years ago, my focus was practicality. The Braun top of the line electric razor systems were my answer to quick efficient shaves without injury. I absolutely hated the cartridge + canned foam experience but didn't know any better; it was all I knew about wet shave. Talk about a major blind spot. Yet, the Braun were pretty darn good - accepting the limitations of cutting assemblies. I needed to shave twice a day to keep things tidy for my Ladies.
 
I am not really qualified to answer in full; I have mostly shaved with a brush and soap since 1971, but did not know there was a "wet shaving community" until two or three years ago. Nevertheless, isn't the enormity of choice available significant? So many razors, so many soaps, brushes, etc.
 
What I've noticed has changed:
  • A rather snobbish, elitist attitude among some community members that is hardly "gentlemanly behavior."
  • An OCD epidemic with minutiae that is ridiculous.
That pretty much covers it.
 
I am not really qualified to answer in full; I have mostly shaved with a brush and soap since 1971, but did not know there was a "wet shaving community" until two or three years ago. Nevertheless, isn't the enormity of choice available significant? So many razors, so many soaps, brushes, etc.
Yes! One fallout of the vast increase in alternatives is that (particularly in soaps, creams, aftershave, and fragrance) the three Ts (Taylor, Trumper, Truefitt) seem to be much less central to the discussion than they were a decade ago.
 
Too many folks trying to reinvent the wheel. Many of the new and expensive SE razors look more like a Bic disposable than a proper "old school" razor.
Entrepreneurs trying to cash in on what should be a simple and inexpensive daily task.
Excessive overanalysis of every tiny part of shaving.
We need to get back to the basic @#*& shower and shave with a good vintage razor.

Did your grandpappy have a "shave den"?

.
 
About a dozen years ago, I was for about a year a member of another online shaving community. After joining B&B recently, I perceive a couple of ways in which the discussion's center of gravity has shifted over the ensuing decade:
  1. Soap vs cream: My impression is that, among shaving enthusiasts, soap is gaining ground and cream is losing ground. If true, whether that is due to the trend toward small, artisanal production or something else, I don't know.
  2. Brushes: A decade ago, my sense was that the discussion was all-badger, all of the time. A small rump of boar enthusiasts only occasionally broke up the monotony. Today, boar seems a lot more mainstream among (admittedly outlier) shaving enthusiasts and synthetic has a large and vocal contingent.
What do you think? What are some of the ways you've seen the discussion change over the last decade or so?

I can agree with this although i'm pretty new at this only been doing this since January i'm still a cream user. As for brushes synthetic have taken the market by storm. I personally use a horse hair though :)
 
Razor handle length! The majority of vintage razors had handles around three inches in length. For some reason, that can't be explained by "large hands" most newbies reach for razors with four inches or more! We still see folks on the forums, after they encounter their first vintage razor, ask if it is a travel razor because of the "short" handle. When they post a picture, it's just a regular Tech, OLD, or New.
Bigger is not better!

.
 
I've been traditional wet shaving for 7 years, and been on B&B that whole time. Here are some observations between then and now.

I agree about the brushes, in part. Back then Badger brushes were king. It seemed like Boar brushes were only used by newbies, those with limited budgets, and a few fanboys. Nowadays, I still think that Badger Brushes are king, but the use of boar and synthetics has become more mainstream and more widely accepted.

Soaps vs creams. For me, creams have always seemed to be the minority. But in the last 5 years there has been a literal explosion in the number of soap brands being produced. Sure there's more creams too, but they haven't grown as much, so the soap market is just way bigger than the cream market.

Soaps. As I said above, a literal explosion. I think it is absolutely ridiculous how many soaps are out there today. I thought my head was spinning when I had to choose among half a dozen artisan makers when I first started shaving. I can't imagine a newbie trying to wrap their head around hundreds of artisan soaps and trying to choose which ones to try. In that aspect, I liked it much better then.

Also, there has been a large step forward in the lather quality of artisan soaps from then to now.

Razors. Vintage razors still rule, but I tend to believe that more newbies are choosing to start with modern razors first, as opposed to most starting with vintage when I was starting out. Again, this is largely in part to the staggering number of modern and artisan razors available today. There were just a handful of artisan razors made back then. Now... tons. And razor prices are going to the insane, in both vintage and modern. Now, common vintage razors like techs and superspeeds all see to be selling for about the same as they were back then, but some of the more rare razors, like the fatboy, and even more rare like the Darwin are going for crazy amounts. And most of the modern artisan razors are in the $100+ range, which is a change from back then, where only a couple were that high.

All in all, the wetshaving community is much large in numbers, but the conversation, camaraderie, questions, PIFs, and all the things you come to a Forum for are all the same. The increase in numbers of wet shavers and products has finally caught the attention of the mainstream and we are starting to see products in more and more places, which is good. It's a great time to be a Traditional Wet Shaver.
 
Too many folks trying to reinvent the wheel. Many of the new and expensive SE razors look more like a Bic disposable than a proper "old school" razor.
Entrepreneurs trying to cash in on what should be a simple and inexpensive daily task.
Excessive overanalysis of every tiny part of shaving.
We need to get back to the basic @#*& shower and shave with a good vintage razor.

Did your grandpappy have a "shave den"?

.
Dont forget about $200+ all-stainless razors. Are the beautiful, well-crafted razors? Yup. Do they shave any better than the vintage Gillettes or a $20 Parker, Merkur or EJ. Nope.
All joking aside, Id say its gone from being a something that you needed to do every day to being a hobby that we obsess over. Back in the old days, your grandpappy didnt have 5 or 6 razors, blades, brushes, soaps and aftershaves in his rotation. He didnt have a rotation.
 
Dont forget about $200+ all-stainless razors. Are the beautiful, well-crafted razors? Yup. Do they shave any better than the vintage Gillettes or a $20 Parker, Merkur or EJ. Nope.

:thumbsup:

Can't wait for this to spread to toothbrushes. $400 stainless toothbrushes, artisan toothpastes, folks having toothbrush holders on their bathroom counter with 37 custom gold plated toothbrushes on display. Carbon fiber floss! Veg mouthwash!!!
 
Too many folks trying to reinvent the wheel. Many of the new and expensive SE razors look more like a Bic disposable than a proper "old school" razor.
Entrepreneurs trying to cash in on what should be a simple and inexpensive daily task.
Excessive overanalysis of every tiny part of shaving.
We need to get back to the basic @#*& shower and shave with a good vintage razor.

Did your grandpappy have a "shave den"?

.
I agree Toby, however I am thankful for some of the soapmakers. All we had when I started shaving daily in 1981 was Colgate, and Williams. And no my grandpa's didn't have shavedens, lol. They both had soap and white milk glass mugs, and Eveready Boar brushes. My dad's father used a straight razor, and my mom's dad used a Gillette Superspeed. I'm not sure where those razors ended up.

Clayton

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
 
:thumbsup:

Can't wait for this to spread to toothbrushes. $400 stainless toothbrushes, artisan toothpastes, folks having toothbrush holders on their bathroom counter with 37 custom gold plated toothbrushes on display. Carbon fiber floss! Veg mouthwash!!!
Oh my. Have you seen some of the fancy cart razor handles that you can buy? Muhle and EJ sell them and theyre really nice but theyre also over $100.
 
I'm just guessing, but after a lot of reading, 2 things seemed to have changed.

Brush size and density. Fashion or desire seems to favor larger, denser brushes. 24mm is mid range these days. Some manufacturers offer nothing smaller. I personally like 21-22mm.

Razor weight. Heavy stainless, or just heavy seems to be the fashion. Rockwell 6s is close to 4oz. I don't think I have a vintage that weighs half that. My 1950's Feather razor, aluminum, probably weighs .5-.75oz.

What's in style drives the market, just hope we don't lose some of the older style in the process. There's a lot to be said for a semi floppy 18mm brush and a 1oz razor.
 
I agree Toby, however I am thankful for some of the soapmakers. All we had when I started shaving daily in 1981 was Colgate, and Williams. And no my grandpa's didn't have shavedens, lol. They both had soap and white milk glass mugs, and Eveready Boar brushes. My dad's father used a straight razor, and my mom's dad used a Gillette Superspeed. I'm not sure where those razors ended up.

Clayton

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

There were a few other soaps around, I know Old Spice made refills until '91. But '81 was a lull in product availability for sure. So it's good that soapmakers have jumped in to fill this need. In many cases today though, I'm not willing to pay what some of these fellas are asking for a couple of ounces of shave soap! :ohmy:
 
Top Bottom