Roots of the DE movement

[kenxxxxxx]

I know that some people never stopped using DEs, but many people are switching from Fusion/M3/Quattros. I was wondering about people's opinions about when this started happening (surely the Today Show segment helped) and how people see the momentum going. Is the DE movement still picking up speed or has the rate peaked in your opinion?

Don't get me wrong, I do not think this is a fad like clothing trends, and I am not trying to "go with the flow." I actually think that this movement will continue to gain more mainstream momentum and would like to know in my mind when and where it started, as best we can determine.

I consider this movement to be just starting, like the premium coffee/espresso movement before everyone was drinking Starbucks. Who knows, maybe it will someday attract the attention of P&G and they will bring back a modern Super Speed? Not that I'd switch. I imagine that would go over about as well as the new version of the Pontiac GTO did.

 

[Steelforge]

I tried the new Fusion razor for a week when it was launched, along with the Fusion branded shave gel. I was pretty unimpressed with the quality of shave I got, especially considering the price.

I started searching the net for information on shaving, i was actually just planning to start using a proper brush/soap and stick with a Mach3 - but when I stumbled across this site I was amazed to find that DE razors were still alive and kicking. My father and grandfather stopped using them when cartridge razors came out, so I assumed that DE was history.

Once I started with a DE, I really started to enjoy my shaves and treat it as an enjoyabke relaxing hobby rather than a chore.

 

[MasonM]

I think it has a lot to do with people getting tired of paying a fortune for inferior products combined with wanting to get in touch with what they perceive as 'simpler times".

 

[Steelforge]

I think it has a lot to do with people getting tired of paying a fortune for inferior products combined with wanting to get in touch with what they perceive as 'simpler times".

Definately, there comes a point where you start to realise that change for changes sake is not always for the better. I am a fan of cutting edge stuff if it does the job better/nicer/cheaper etc, but not just because it's "cutting edge".

 

[Kyle Stoner]

Here's what I think:

I can only state what happened for me personally, and that it might be a part of a larger pattern.

I had been shaving pretty much using the mianstream system, trying to treat myself well using 'cleansing' aerosols . My father never taught me to shave - we were kind of distant during that time period. I remember sneaking into his bathroom cabinet and finding the disposable 2-blade fixed head Bics, and scraping them across my mug without so much as a drop of water.

Fast forward about 6 years, I shave using a Mach3 and the afforementioned 'cleansing' edge shave gel. I wanted to 'learn' to shave the 'real' correct way, as I was never taught and I love learning. So not expecting to find advice along the lines of "throw out that crap you are using now", I typed into Google phrases such as 'how to shave' and 'how to get the perfect shave'.



Fast Forward about 5 months. In between I switched to a 3-bladed Sensor razor blade, and somewhere along the line, took a jump into the Burma-Shave brush and Williams Mug cake from WallyWorld for about $5.

FINALLY stumbled upon the wetshaving community (although I had read the infamous Liesureguy blog already) and set my sights on acquiring a DE razor on eBay.

That's how I was saved! I reckon that generationally, the same sort of thing has been happening - focus on careers, money, and fast cars in America, Europe, and the 'civilized' community of our society probably lost the focus on wetshaving in the 70s. It stopped being passed on and many of us never got proper instruction to begin with. Our parents didn't know! Umm, ok well seeing as how there is such a wide variety of age groups here, I should say for younguns like me, our parents didn't know.

That's how I see it.


Edit:
I have further opinions on the energy and motivation behind the larger picture - switch to the new-old system. It may seem a little out there but my feeling is that this switch is part of each individual learning to take personal responsibility for thier life and well being, creating thier lives from a more conscious and empowered place, as opposed to taking in the media's instructions and living like zombie robots on auto play. I believe this is a part of a bigger change worldwide that will see the advent of a new kind of life in our society and our world. The wetshaving return, as far as I am concerned, is a manifestation of the larger process of becoming more conscious and aware of the choices we make as a whole throughout humanity.



If that doesn't make your daily shave seem positively epic then I don't know what will!!

Well, I'm off to save the world by empowering the free minds of mankind! I mean, uh, shave!
/edit

 

[_C_]

IMHO, the DE will never come back to mainstream (at least not in Western society).

I agree that people are looking for alternatives to the expensive M3 system... And that there are others that are looking to obtain some connection with an older time... however I do beleive that the Western Society, on a whole, places a lot of emphasis on time and simplicity.

DE/Straight shaving does nothing for either of those values. It takes time, thought and is more complex that using an M3 or an electric. (Think of all the steps you take to build lather compared to the other systems. Now think of all the different angles, strokes and pressure levels involved compared to the other systems.)

I am definitly not saying that valuing your time and looking for the simplist possible method for acheiving a specific goal is wrong. (In fact, my work would not be feasible without these values.) I'm merely saying that its a different (and fairly common) way of thinking. One that prevents (IMHO) the majority of people from switching back to a DE.

 

[cooncatbob]

I think that those of us who are old enought to remember the transition to cartridge razors, we could except that 2 blades might shave better then one. Then when pivoting razor came out that seemed like an improvement. But 3, 4 and then 5 blades and the corresponding increase in price, the premise is just BS "Spreading out the pressure among 5 blades means less irritation. At $3 a cartridge I'm plenty irritated. I pulled 2 of the blades from a M3 cartridge and it shaves the same, even clogged less.
I like the simplicity and the quality of the shave, I don't save any money cause I spend it on Badger brushes, shaving creams and my razor collection. I have a collection of vintage Oddball razors mounted on the living room wall. Who'd want to look at a collection of cartridge razors. There's a M3 Turbo and a Sensor Excell.
Doesn't hurt that my late father used a DE his whole life and using one make me feel connected.

 

[MasonM]

It may seem a little out there but my feeling is that this switch is part of each individual learning to take personal responsibility for thier life and well being, creating thier lives from a more conscious and empowered place, as opposed to taking in the media's instructions and living like zombie robots on auto play.

Actually that's very insightful and I agree.

 

[Kyle Stoner]

Actually that's very insightful and I agree.

Thank you! Fighting the good fight, one whisker at a time!

 

[rikrdo]

Heres a view...
WARNING!!

"We're Doing Five Blades"

By James M. Kilts
CEO and President,
The Gillette Company
February 18, 2004
"Five blades, two strips, and make the second one lather. You heard me—the second strip lathers. It's a whole new way to think about shaving"


May not be suitable for those with elevated sensitivities.
Enjoy.


http://www.theonion.com/content/node/33930

 

[Kyle Stoner]

Heheheh The Onion

 

[GoTeeGuy]

My motives for switching were quite simple. I was annoyed at the ever increasing cost of cartridge razors and was looking to save money. I had been using a brush and Williams Mug Soap for about a decade while pondering whether or not I should try to chase down a DE. Now, ever since taking the plunge, I have been extremely pleased with my 'new' system.

Now that I'm using / collecting vintage DE's, I also enjoy learning about the history of shaving with these marvelous machines and appreciate the history of each razor I use. My father passed away when I was only 3 (leaving me to learn how to shave from my older brothers), now I feel like I should be teaching them!

As for the future of this movement, I believe the pages of that book have yet to be written. If people in forums such as this continue to speak up, share our stories with family and friends, continue to purchase wetshaving supplies -- I believe the movement will continue to grow. However, if we idly sit back and keep our stories to ourselves, who would ever be the wiser.

Continue to fight the good fight!

Cheers,

 

[PalmettoB]

Heres a view...
WARNING!!

"We're Doing Five Blades"

By James M. Kilts
CEO and President,
The Gillette Company
February 18, 2004
"Five blades, two strips, and make the second one lather. You heard me—the second strip lathers. It's a whole new way to think about shaving"


May not be suitable for those with elevated sensitivities.
Enjoy.


http://www.theonion.com/content/node/33930

The best satire has a ring of truth to it. You can just hear them saying that.

 

[Kyle Stoner]

Notice the article came out about 2 1/2 years ago!!

 

[1 st class mail]

When I started out 16 months ago I was looking for a nice handle for a Mach 3. I had just got a new computer and started to use the internet. I found that you could find out about just about everything you wanted to know in a few clicks of a mouse. When I shearched razors I came up with Lee's Razors so Often I finaly called him and ordered and HD. So I learned about wet shaving by hating the cheap looking and felling Mach 3. I think mast people are in such a hurry and believe most things should be easy that wetshaving might get more popular but never mainsteam. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[AlanL]

A few years later on in this thread now, the much larger B&B community can't just be increased access for people already into wet shaving. Something's catching on, but I don't think that means it will become common.

 

[jlanger]

I was looking for inexpensive Mach 3's and came upon the AOS and West Coast shaving websites, saw the merkurs and DE blades and other good things and decided I wanted to do that someday, asked for it for xmas and a few xmas's later I got some. From there it was a nice short step to RAD. I was on the site for some time mostly in the non shaving sections, after I discovered it in my search for better/cheaper shaving products.
I agree I really don't save much money especially with a healthy dose of RAD, but it's fun, I think/hope it's better for the environment, and collecting the old razors, helps me appreciate old build quality that's lacking in many things these days.

 

[Voomie]

This is similar to the home brewing craze the has popped up the last few years. Some people will realize that there is a way to get a better end product if you are willing to put time and effort into it. This being said, there will be an increase to the number of people wet shaving. It could be someone who is fed up with cost and quality, or someone who had fond memories of their dad/grandpa shaving like this or even the young twenty something who pines for the vintage/retro style. Will this be enough to make it to the mainstream? No because what is mainstream is what is quick and easy regardless of quality and sometimes price. That is why libraries have drive-throughs. My late grandfather was a wood worker and he made pieces of such detail and quality that could not find that in any store. If you gave a youngin a choice of buy this cheaply made table that will only last five years or craft one that will last a lifetime, they would choose the piece of junk. Things have shifted to a disposable society. When things break rather than repair to working order just throw it out and buy new. It is sad things have gone this route but if the movement stays strong then it might be enough to fend off the shavepocalypse.

 

[Eaglestroker]

I always thought this summed up modern razors pretty well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F7TMlrDXtw&p=5BF5D03A0F906FEA&playnext=1&index=39

I like DE shaving for a lot of reasons, but mainly the quality in every aspect of it. The razor, cream, shave, all superb! I prefer to grab the bull buy the horns and it's kind of like a never ending challenge every morning with it.

 

[jansob]

FINALLY stumbled upon the wetshaving community (although I had read the infamous Liesureguy blog already) and set my sights on acquiring a DE razor on eBay.

The Art Of Manliness article led me to both B&B and his blog/book, both of which gave me the bug to improve my shave.

Most expensive article I've read in a while.