At work the other day I was discussing my recent conversion to a DE with a friend of mine who is interested in trying it out as well. After discussing all the great aspects of safety razors we started wondering why there was a transition from safety razors to cartridges. Cartridges have been the norm since I started shaving so if anyone here ever went from a safety razor to a cartridge, what lured you to them?
Rise of the cartridge
- Thread starter econjoe
- Start date
It seemed to be the new thing, so I transitioned, and was seduced by how much faster it was. Also far more forgivign of poor technicque. Finally - and most importantly - it began to become impossible to find double edged razors at big drugstores.
Yep. The marketing machine presented it as newer, faster, better technology.
Just speculation on my part:
They came from the idea that if blade angle is so important, why not make a set up with the blade angle is held perfectly by a plastic surface that rides against the face? It would seem easier to new shavers and would hook them in.
Also, DE razors last approximately 1,000 years. So it was getting hard to make money by selling them.
And it was a small step from there -- we could sell the refills and they would have to buy our brand of refills, and we'll make more off them.
The more evil part came when they developed cartridges that cost 2.00. There's really no excuse for that.
They came from the idea that if blade angle is so important, why not make a set up with the blade angle is held perfectly by a plastic surface that rides against the face? It would seem easier to new shavers and would hook them in.
Also, DE razors last approximately 1,000 years. So it was getting hard to make money by selling them.
And it was a small step from there -- we could sell the refills and they would have to buy our brand of refills, and we'll make more off them.
The more evil part came when they developed cartridges that cost 2.00. There's really no excuse for that.
Gillette's patent expired, and so the company had to come up with an alternative to maintain its market dominance. The first linked article below doesn't extend that far in history, but there's more about it on the web (including the parody of multi-blade shaving on the first Saturday Night Live show). Along the same lines, you may want to read about the Gillette Guard razor.
http://blogs.hbr.org/2010/09/gillettes-strange-history-with/
http://disc.yourwebapps.com/discussion.cgi?disc=159729;article=99952
Gillette Guard
http://goo.gl/Pkavo8
http://blogs.hbr.org/2010/09/gillettes-strange-history-with/
http://disc.yourwebapps.com/discussion.cgi?disc=159729;article=99952
Gillette Guard
http://goo.gl/Pkavo8
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I am sure it was marketing
Yep. Just like King Gillette did with DE razors versus straight razors. And it worked for them a second time.
Fixed blade angle, and reduced risk to cut yourself. And of course, for the manufacturers, cartridge were much more interesting than DE blades.
Wilkinson introduced the first cartridge system (single blade), and it was widely acclaimed for the gentle shave. However, they lost the marketing race from Gillette.
Wilkinson introduced the first cartridge system (single blade), and it was widely acclaimed for the gentle shave. However, they lost the marketing race from Gillette.
You have to remember that back in 1971 there wasn't the shave-geekery that exists today. Men wanted to have a comfortable shave without much effort. By the way, that was the impetus behind the original Gillette safety razor. Read the old add copy. Anyhow, the Trac II offered what men wanted: a good shave without much effort. The Trac II was and still is a good razor. (I use one quite regularly.) Men were dumping their DE's, not because they drank the magic cool-aide, but because the Trac II actually worked.
The Trac II was a big gamble for Gillette. They spent a lot of money developing the razor and bringing it to market. If people hadn't bought it, it wouldn't have been a success. As much as the original Gillette safety razors were a genuine advance in shaving tools, I think the Trac II was one as well. I really think all of Gillette's twin blade razors have their merits. It think things got out of hand when they only thing they could do make something new was to add more and more blades to the razors.
The Trac II was a big gamble for Gillette. They spent a lot of money developing the razor and bringing it to market. If people hadn't bought it, it wouldn't have been a success. As much as the original Gillette safety razors were a genuine advance in shaving tools, I think the Trac II was one as well. I really think all of Gillette's twin blade razors have their merits. It think things got out of hand when they only thing they could do make something new was to add more and more blades to the razors.
I still use the Trac and Atra razors regularly, with vintage blades. Well, at least the blades that were around when those razors were still available in the shops.
That combination gives me a DFS in a single pass. A WTG pass with a Trac / Atra plus an ATG pass with a DE gives me a BBS shave, even on the most difficult parts of my face.
That combination gives me a DFS in a single pass. A WTG pass with a Trac / Atra plus an ATG pass with a DE gives me a BBS shave, even on the most difficult parts of my face.
Carts don't take as much time and care as DEs, which was a big thing in the days before shaving was thought of as something which could actually be enjoyable.
A proprietary design locks in the customer so that they must purchase replacements from your product line. DE's design was too open and allowed for competition from other blade manufacturers.
I think the transition from DEs (and injectors-- don't forget Schick and Pal) to cartridge razors was driven by the forces mentioned by both James and Foyle.
Once Wilkinson Sword patented the stainless steel blade, the end was near for Gillette and DE razors. Wilkinson Sword further paved the way with the introduction of the Wilkinson Bonded cartridge razor.
It's a shame too, because the coated stainless steel DE blades being made at the time were the best ever made, imo.
It's a shame too, because the coated stainless steel DE blades being made at the time were the best ever made, imo.
- Thread starter
- #15
Thank you all for the great insight into the transition that took place! I really enjoy the opportunity to learn about the history of safety razors as well as how to use them. This site makes both of those pursuits a pleasure.
Disassemble an early cartridge (carefully!) and you'll see it contains a real blade as well.
The thin metal strips only came when the Sensor was introduced. Earlier carts had real (single edge) blades.
FWIW, Wilkinson advertized that you could apply differents amounts of pressure with their "bonded" cartridge, without cutting yourself. So I guess that would appeal to hamfisted DE shavers who consistently cut themselves, because they had never learned the "no pressure" routine, and used canned foam without adequate protection.
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Rise of the cartridge (and the fall of civilized shaving).
Remember the times.
1971 - Introduction of the Trac II
Man had just landed on the moon two years prior. How could he still be using a product every day that was invented in the early days of the 20th century and was virtually unchanged 70 years later?
Gillette offered design, marketing and advertising genius. Trac II razors were introduced with a persuasive animation to show "Lift and Cut". You could actually see the "progress" with your own eyes! And as Foyle stated above, the Trac II offered a good shave (it was a nightmare to clean the gap between the blades though).
If you didn't upgrade to the new technology and succumb to the long overdue "progress" in shaving, you risked early; no, immediate entry into the Old Fogies Club. Hell NO, I wouldn't go!
Yes, I resisted for a time, but I was only 18 and had just graduated from high school that very year. No way I wasn't going to embrace progress in shaving or risk the possibility of being relegated to Old Fogie status ahead of my time. Life held so much promise then. Eventually I was worn down like most everyone else and I finally joined the thundering herd stampeding into the future. After all, once I accepted that 2 blades weren't just a gimmick designed to separate a fool from his money (I'd seen the "lift & cut" animation hundreds of times by then), I had to move forward. Progress was undeniable.
How was I to know that the unintended consequence of the Trac II would be the hunger of man for continuous shaving improvement in what Gillette cleverly suggested was the drudge of daily shaving with old technology. Oh, I guess one could have predicted 3 or possibly even 4 blades at some point in the far distant future. After all it took 70 years to advance from 1 cutting edge to 2, but I don't think even the most prescient among us recognized the real threat the cartridge system foretold.
Yes gents, the Trac II was the forerunner to the ultimate downfall of civilized shaving for the masses and the beginning of the end of civilized shaving as we know it ...
The Pivot Head.
Yes, the ubiquitous pivot head!
For the seductive promise of safety and comfort, many men of my generation or older (including me) willingly agreed to give up control of the blade angle for the first time in history, doing more damage to the gentlemanly art of shaving than was ever done by a competent gent wielding a straight or DE razor, or even a Trac II with fixed head and a sharp blade.
What did we get in return? Tugging and pulling on the beard, increased pressure to compensate for the poor angle of the blade(s), poor shaves, raw skin and ingrown hairs.
Many might say that a man that is willing to sacrifice blade control for safety and comfort deserves neither.
Of course those that never left straight or DE shaving or those like me that strayed and found their way to B&B to be rescued from the cult of the cartridge know better. Every man deserves a close, comfortable and safe shave.
For those like the OP that never knew of anything other than a cartridge shave when starting out, don't hold it against us. You had to be there to understand, but I am sorry for my part in the tragedy of cartridge shaving.
To the rest of the gents out there that are unaware or have forgotten what a decent shave is ... we, the B&B community owe it to them to make them aware that there is still a better way.
Remember the times.
1971 - Introduction of the Trac II
Man had just landed on the moon two years prior. How could he still be using a product every day that was invented in the early days of the 20th century and was virtually unchanged 70 years later?
Gillette offered design, marketing and advertising genius. Trac II razors were introduced with a persuasive animation to show "Lift and Cut". You could actually see the "progress" with your own eyes! And as Foyle stated above, the Trac II offered a good shave (it was a nightmare to clean the gap between the blades though).
If you didn't upgrade to the new technology and succumb to the long overdue "progress" in shaving, you risked early; no, immediate entry into the Old Fogies Club. Hell NO, I wouldn't go!
Yes, I resisted for a time, but I was only 18 and had just graduated from high school that very year. No way I wasn't going to embrace progress in shaving or risk the possibility of being relegated to Old Fogie status ahead of my time. Life held so much promise then. Eventually I was worn down like most everyone else and I finally joined the thundering herd stampeding into the future. After all, once I accepted that 2 blades weren't just a gimmick designed to separate a fool from his money (I'd seen the "lift & cut" animation hundreds of times by then), I had to move forward. Progress was undeniable.
How was I to know that the unintended consequence of the Trac II would be the hunger of man for continuous shaving improvement in what Gillette cleverly suggested was the drudge of daily shaving with old technology. Oh, I guess one could have predicted 3 or possibly even 4 blades at some point in the far distant future. After all it took 70 years to advance from 1 cutting edge to 2, but I don't think even the most prescient among us recognized the real threat the cartridge system foretold.
Yes gents, the Trac II was the forerunner to the ultimate downfall of civilized shaving for the masses and the beginning of the end of civilized shaving as we know it ...
The Pivot Head.
Yes, the ubiquitous pivot head!
For the seductive promise of safety and comfort, many men of my generation or older (including me) willingly agreed to give up control of the blade angle for the first time in history, doing more damage to the gentlemanly art of shaving than was ever done by a competent gent wielding a straight or DE razor, or even a Trac II with fixed head and a sharp blade.
What did we get in return? Tugging and pulling on the beard, increased pressure to compensate for the poor angle of the blade(s), poor shaves, raw skin and ingrown hairs.
Many might say that a man that is willing to sacrifice blade control for safety and comfort deserves neither.
Of course those that never left straight or DE shaving or those like me that strayed and found their way to B&B to be rescued from the cult of the cartridge know better. Every man deserves a close, comfortable and safe shave.
For those like the OP that never knew of anything other than a cartridge shave when starting out, don't hold it against us. You had to be there to understand, but I am sorry for my part in the tragedy of cartridge shaving.
To the rest of the gents out there that are unaware or have forgotten what a decent shave is ... we, the B&B community owe it to them to make them aware that there is still a better way.
I'm curious as to what's next, after all the current line up from Gillette and Shick are going on 4 years old this coming spring.
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