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Is This the Golden Age of Wet Shaving?

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
I agree cartridges are a total rip off and do suck. However they get you through TSA check point quite easily!
Fortunately I’m retired now and no longer have to fly. If I were still traveling, I would just pack a shavette and pick up blades on arrival or most likely check my bag. Carry on is a real PITA.
 
I would posit that it is.

Yes, we descended into the dark ages of multi-blade cartridges (not to mention electrics, so I won't) for a few decades, but we eventually emerged, and look where we find ourselves today. I see it as a renaissance for wet shaving.

On the safety razor front, I would argue that today there are more and better razors available than ever before. Literally, dozens, if not hundreds, of different choices, and most of them are at least pretty darn good; many are truly superb. At the high end, historically there has never been anything in the market to even approach the craftsmanship and quality of today's artisan CNC razors. Heck, we even have folks producing excellent new injector and Gem-style razors with a precision that in some cases surpasses the originals.

As for software, the global economy and the internet has made a practically limitless array of the highest quality soaps, creams, and after shaves accessible to us all. You want a fine European soap or AS? It's only a click away. High quality artisan soaps and balms from local, small-batch producers? At your fingertips.

In brushes, more of the same: Over the years, I have been lucky enough to have come across a few vintage brushes in pristine condition. They are very cool, and I enjoy nostalgia of using them, but you know what? For performance, those old knots don't hold a candle to what the market is delivering today.

I love the great and fascinating history of wet shaving. But when I find myself pining for the "good old days" I try to take stock and realize that, really, we've never had it so good. This is the Golden Age of wet shaving.
There are a lot of quality products available now
 
There is more variety than there has ever been. This means there is money being made. We live in a renaissance. What's shelf space in a store?
That variety means that it is a highly fragmented market. If a store were to provide shelf space, which of the hundreds of products would they stock? The advantage of cans and carts is a significantly larger market with fewer products so more $/ft of shelf space.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
It must be some kind of Golden age for shaving when you can order products from almost any country via internet, custom made razors, custom made brushes with great Synthetics and animal hair if you like vintage way. Artisan made soaps from almost any place in the world with great scents & lather properties. If you do not like the modern razors there is a larger selection of Vintage razors to be had via internet from all over the world. And you have Shave forums that did not exist not that long ago to B.S and see the latest greatest products.
You have 3d printed products like lather bowls, razors, razor handles..........
If this is not being Golden age it must be the Rhodium or platinum age of shaving, never been so spoiled from the great selection of shave products available.
Have some great shaves!
 

Raven Koenes

My precious!
fewer products so more $/ft of shelf space.
That's why stores are so passe . It's a losing model like Block Buster compared to Netflix. Remember shopping malls? For stores to remain viable they have to become distribution centers. This means more variety not less. You can order EJ and Proraso on line from Walmart.
 
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I agree with your viewpoint Ron R - ive been away form the forums for some years but do remember similar questions about 4 or 5 years ago.
Pehraps, more than signifcant advances in the concept itself, the current age allows for almost unlimited options which allows for a secondary awakening - more people trying it, current users expanding their preferences and finding something new and who knows how many are newly inspired by it all.
As someone outside the US and Europe - the recent times have definitely made it easier for shipping and sourcing products, if only we could solve the aftershave shipping!
 
Thanks to everyone for weighing in on this topic. It's a great discussion about an interesting time to be a traditional shaving enthusiast.
 
It's a shame that many do not know about it and still choose cartridges. Or to rock a beard. I myself still use a cartridge to shave my head but for my face nothing comes close to a DE. I won't use a cartridge on my face again. For almost 4 years I have enjoyed very good shaves or even dream shaves.
Wish more knew about this hobby.


why not use a DE on the head? imo its more enjoyable than face shaving. so much more surface area to work with.
 

Whilliam

First Class Citizen
I was referring to the earlier carbon models since i’ve heard many glowing reviews about the blades you mentioned. I should've been a little more specific. Either way my point was more that the volume of choice was decidedly small then compared even to say, supermarket cart selection now. And not just blades but soaps, brushes, etc. If you didn’t like the handful of soap and blade options you were pretty much going to electric or growing a beard. Now, there are so many choices it’s staggering. I think the era in question is more nostalgic than golden; due in large part to the fact that DE was the primary method of shaving and the fact that Gillette razors were so excellent. I liken it to the muscle car era vs the modern day. Cars were undeniably cool back then and there’s a definite nostalgia for big v8’s and zero electronic interference; but when a top trim toyota Camry will outhandle, out brake and out hustle 75% of the old american muscle, you have to be aware that sometimes it’s more a matter of rose tinted memory. Not saying i’m right about that being the case but if you ask me whether i’d want to be driving a 69 mustang and shaving with a Personna 74 or driving a 2019 mustang and shaving with a top blade i’ve chosen among hundreds of brands, i’ll take the modern era. The upside (and part of the point) being that in the modern era, i can still drive a 69 stang and shave with Personna 74’s if i so choose.
Agreed. I'm old enough to have started shaving with blues . . . right up until the first Wilkinson Sword stainless steel blades debuted. Ain't looked back since.
 
why not use a DE on the head? imo its more enjoyable than face shaving. so much more surface area to work with.
Got used to the Mach 3 and shaving gel to such a degree it's hard to switch. And the skin on the head is more resilient and can handle cartridge shaving without issue.
 
I'm firmly of the opinion that, both back when everyone shaved with a DE and now, most men got a lousy shave and paid out the nose for it. Gillette has been doing the "razor and blades" model ever since they were founded, so blades were always overpriced, and no description I've seen of shaving back in the day seems to suggest anything but most men doing a single DE pass with terrible technique. Those guys weren't beard mapping and mastering blade angle...they were doing what men nowadays do, which is what they learned from their dads and from razor ads. I think the reason cartridges caught on so much when they were introduced is that carts essentially engineer in decent blade angle and multiple passes, giving people with design what they lacked in technique.

So what I mean to say is that I think DE shaving then and DE shaving now are qualitatively different beasts, even if they use the same tools. DE shaving now is about mastering technique and finding out what works best for your own face...DE shaving back then was just the same mass-produced shave that carts provide now. Are we in a DE golden age now? In terms of marketshare, no, of course not. In terms of choice and customizability for the niche of people who're interested in pursuing it? Yes, very much so.
 

Chandu

I Waxed The Badger.
I'm firmly of the opinion that, both back when everyone shaved with a DE and now, most men got a lousy shave and paid out the nose for it. Gillette has been doing the "razor and blades" model ever since they were founded, so blades were always overpriced, and no description I've seen of shaving back in the day seems to suggest anything but most men doing a single DE pass with terrible technique. Those guys weren't beard mapping and mastering blade angle...they were doing what men nowadays do, which is what they learned from their dads and from razor ads. I think the reason cartridges caught on so much when they were introduced is that carts essentially engineer in decent blade angle and multiple passes, giving people with design what they lacked in technique.

So what I mean to say is that I think DE shaving then and DE shaving now are qualitatively different beasts, even if they use the same tools. DE shaving now is about mastering technique and finding out what works best for your own face...DE shaving back then was just the same mass-produced shave that carts provide now. Are we in a DE golden age now? In terms of marketshare, no, of course not. In terms of choice and customizability for the niche of people who're interested in pursuing it? Yes, very much so.
Nailed it, you did.
 
I'm firmly of the opinion that, both back when everyone shaved with a DE and now, most men got a lousy shave and paid out the nose for it. Gillette has been doing the "razor and blades" model ever since they were founded, so blades were always overpriced, and no description I've seen of shaving back in the day seems to suggest anything but most men doing a single DE pass with terrible technique. Those guys weren't beard mapping and mastering blade angle...they were doing what men nowadays do, which is what they learned from their dads and from razor ads. I think the reason cartridges caught on so much when they were introduced is that carts essentially engineer in decent blade angle and multiple passes, giving people with design what they lacked in technique.

So what I mean to say is that I think DE shaving then and DE shaving now are qualitatively different beasts, even if they use the same tools. DE shaving now is about mastering technique and finding out what works best for your own face...DE shaving back then was just the same mass-produced shave that carts provide now. Are we in a DE golden age now? In terms of marketshare, no, of course not. In terms of choice and customizability for the niche of people who're interested in pursuing it? Yes, very much so.

Can’t argue with that.


AoM; B.O.S.S.;Knight of the Veg Table;WISE;CoA;4yr/10yr Sabbatical
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Thank to the internet, there's never been more choice for the consumer. Still very much a niche market though, so not the greatest era for sellers or manufacturers. However, my DE shaves haven't changed much since my late teens in the early 90's... except my beard is thicker now, and I leave a bit still attached.
 
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