So...............

[Benson2777]

I have read how a shave with a SR can be one of pure bliss - closer & more comfortable than with a modern day razor. Surely, with all the forums being full of guys who swear of the close and comfy a SR can bring, i unfortunately am not one of them. The SR bliss i so often read about is proving quite elusive.

So i ask myself, if SR shaving is so great why did modern razors emerge???

i guess its the logic of if it wasn't ever broke why was it fixed??

 

[silverlifter]

Modern life started to accelerate, people became busier, and products emerged that catered/drove this: instant meals, zippers instead of buttons, a myriad of different "shortcuts" and timesavers courtesy of progress. Shaving was no different: soaps were replaced by cans of goop that you just sprayed on, and straights were replaced by safety razors that required no maintenance, you just threw out the old blade and put in a new one...

Also, back in the day, shaving was a chore, not a hobby or pastime the way it is viewed now. My grandfather and father were strictly one pass shavers (my grandfather would do touchups on a Sunday before church with his straight). None of this lingering in the bathroom with a scuttle waiting for your lather to peak... Most men, like my dad, were thrilled with new tech that made the job simpler, faster, and less likely to scar.

 

[Ravenonrock]

Things evolve. True for shaving and the straight razor. Manufacturing, materials, cost, innovation, tastes and lifestyle changes are factors. Modern straight razors continue to be made today by skilled craftsmen. They certainly aren’t for everybody and do require a certain commitment and investment which I have found pays off exponentially. In todays faced paced ready made world we sometimes want instant results. I say shave the way you like and use what works best and is most convenient. Different strokes for different folks. But if you’re willing to put in the time…

 

[NorthernSoul]

Convenience and saving time. I think the military had a lot to do with the adoption of safety razors. Servicemen got issued safety razors and were expected to be clean-shaven.

 

[Legion]

The SR wasn't replaced with something better, but by something easier. Even back in the day, most Average Joes were not able to maintain a razors edge to a level we would be happy with here. So they were either giving themselves sub-par shaves, or paying someone else to shave them. When the safety razor came along, it removed the need to be able to hone well from the equation.

WW1 was also a great marketing ploy which Gillette came up with. Have the government pay to put your product in the hands of hundreds of thousands of potential customers for a free trial. Genius.

 

[Gamma]

Paper plates were not invented because china, ceramic or glass plates didn't work well.

 

[Frank Shaves]

I own two of the same car. One is brand new with an automatic transmission and a Cray supercomputer inside (if you are old enough to remember what one of those is ). The other is 16 years old with a manual transmission and not much of a computer inside. You can put the 16-year old car into gear immediately after starting the car and the transmission is way more responsive. Pretty much the same with razors. Go figure!

 

[Wid]

A large part was the war, easier to use and carry around a "Gillette" than a traditional straight razor

 

[Steve56]

Who honed your edges?

 

[Matt O]

A large part was the war, easier to use and carry around a "Gillette" than a traditional straight razor

In WWI they were fighting trench warfare in putrid conditions where a nick or cut from a straight razor could quickly turn into a very serious condition. I heard that was what sparked the need for mass produced safety razors.

I also suppose being clean shaven helped folks get a better seal on gas masks since the use of mustard gas was common back then as well?

Damned if I know though…I am a parrot!

 

[Wid]

In WWI they were fighting trench warfare in putrid conditions where a nick or cut from a straight razor could quickly turn into a very serious condition. I heard that was what sparked the need for mass produced safety razors.

I also suppose being clean shaven helped folks get a better seal on gas masks since the use of mustard gas was common back then as well?

Damned if I know though…I am a parrot!

Being clean shaven was essential to a soldier back then. They had to be able to get a good seal on their mask or risk the gas getting into their lungs.

We even had to be clean shaven for the most part for the same reason.

 

[oscar11]

Effort, people don't want to spend it. It's easier to spend money than effort.

 

[RumpleBearskin]

One could easily compare using a high quality fountain pen and writing paper vs. a dime store Bic and a Post-it note. "Better" is relative to what you are trying to achieve.

For me, one is an act of respect, devotion, and mindfulness. The other is best described as "minimally functional". (Straights and fountain pens for me, please.)

 

[razorboi]

One might ask the same question about fountain pens, pocket/wrist-watches, shoe-laces, incandescent bulbs, ear-trumpets...
Okay, ear-trumpets are gone, but not the other things.
It's not that they were "so great," but straights were the only device for shaving in the Gilded Age...until safety razors emerged.
Initially, safeties were just short straights enclosed in a contraption to prevent one cutting one's self. The wedge blade still had to be maintained. Then Gillette came along with a disposable-blade safety-razor and the rest has simply been a history of refining the disposable blade concept.
Straights had gone nearly extinct by the 1970's with a few notable hold-outs such a Germany and Japan.
They have really only returned (like fountain pens), as a niche market for enthusiasts. They are not common to-day by any means.
And they're arguably not better [pause for vicious, unbridled retorts]. They're still inherently dangerous, harder to learn to use, and have much higher (and skilled) maintenance requirements, but perhaps they give their owners a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment; the pride of owning a fine instrument, and a degree of dignity that a disposable safety razor could never impart.

 

[Brutus]

So i ask myself, if SR shaving is so great why did modern razors emerge???

Same like instant coffee - people who don’t know any better accept inferior quality because it saves time.


B.

 

[luvmysuper]

The world is filled with inventions that decreased the amount of physical labor that people have to do.
It's a good thing, because now there is time to go to the gym so we can increase our level of physical labor.

 

[RayClem]

Our society is filled with things to make our lives more convenient, but not necessarily better. Here are a few examples:

1. Instant coffee and tea- far less flavorful than fresh brewed. I cannot drink the stuff.
2. Keurig coffee makers- wasteful packaging
3. Microwave ovens- quick, but you lose the flavor of frying, baking, and broiling
4. Prepackaged bags of salad greens at the grocery store- greens are one of the most recalled grocery products due to contamination.
5. Frozen TV dinners - They have gotten better over the years, but still do not compare to home cooking.
6. Canned shaving gels and foams- wasteful packaging, not eco-friendly, poor performance
7. Multiblade cartridge razors- they get the job done quickly, but not necessarily with comfort

Admittedly, I do own a Keurig coffee make as my wife and I never drink more than one cup and I do not like the coffee my wife drinks. I do own a microwave, but prefer using a toaster oven or the stove. We usually make our salads from scratch. We do like some of the newer frozen dinners, but you have to chose brands and foods carefully. \

I do have a can of Barbasol foam in my closet, but I cannot remeber the last time I used it. I much prefer making my lather from a tub of shaving soap.

I do keep a multiblade cartridge razor in the shower for shaving the back of my neck, but use either straight razors or safety razors for my face shaves. An electric trimmer is useful for trimming my sideburns, mustache, eyebrows, and ear hairs.

Obviously, technology has made our lives better in many ways. I am glad I have high-speed Internet rather than having to use a 9800 baud dial-up modem.

 

[Jakebullet]

Straight shaving as we know is more than just having a morning shave.
The razor needs regular maintenance with a skilled touch.
It takes time and effort to learn to use one, and it takes time to do a nice shave.
A razor is potentially a very dangerous tool, not to be rushed.
I’m guessing that maybe a majority of people in the razor era would’ve gone to the barber for a shave and left the shaving and edge maintenance to him.
So you can see how a quick and easy maintainable free option might prove attractive for many. Cartridge razors and cans of gel take this to a new level of ease.
But anyone who’s taken the trouble to learn, and had a great shave from a straight will attest to the unmatched smoothness and comfort and closeness of a shave from a real razor.
There’s no comparison.
How could cheap, mass produced, throw away steel blades compare to a quality razor? What you gain in ease you lose in quality and you pay through the nose for it.
£12.50 for 4 Gillette cartridge blades which at most will give you 2 months of scraping shaves. I haven’t bought a blade in years.
I use a razor every day.
I keep it sharp myself.
I enjoy the time it takes to do it.
My razor shaves take no longer now than my DE shaves used to and the difference in comfort and feel is huge.
I like a whisky before bed, I have it in a nice crystal tumbler.
Never would I pay extra so I could drink it from a paper cup just to save on the inconvenience of daily washing my dishes.
They got the straight razor right first time around. No better way has come along since.

 

[Steve56]

+1 @Jakebullet !

All razors of any and every type are consumable, it just takes longer to consume a straight vs a DE/SE, injector, etc. If you don’t believe me, go look at eBay and you will see many straight razors suffering from various amounts of ‘consumption’.

Disposable blades and electric razors fulfill a need, they’re fast. If I’d had to get up 30 minutes early over my working career, I probably wouldn’t have used a straight, it’s not the ‘weapon of choice’ for someone who is 20 years old and 20 minutes late. And I had a straight during most of those years. I wouldn’t have chosen modern Williams either for the same reason, too much time to lather it. During my working days, a Bic Metal disposable and a Redken Amino Pon bar got the job done, but agree, not that well by B&B standards. I never used canned foam but don’t really know why. I had most of the electrics, mostly as Christmas or birthday gifts, but they were the worst of the lot as far as shave quality went.

There are 3 straight razor learning curves, shaving, stropping, and honing, if you hone your own. They’re not hard to master but they take time that modern people don’t want to invest.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

Conveniences are just that, convenient. Unfortunately they aren't always as enjoyable as the process that they improved on. I love making my own breads and pasta, but I don't always have time for it. There a lot of ways to take hair off your face...I happen to enjoy the process of maintaining and shaving with straights.