The King C. Gillette DE

[Avi]

Personally I think Gillette arrived too late to the game. The large majority of men think that shaving is a chore and they will stick to carts and canned foam. A DE razor is not cool enough for them, because is old-tech, grandpa stuff. And a single cutting edge can't be better than 5 tiny blades, right?

The others are men like us, here. We're here because we love shaving and there's no need to be convinced to buy DE razors. We all have more razors than we really need, so it's less likely to rush to buy this. Some of us, here and there, will buy it, just for the sake of it. It's not a mass-market product and the last thing Gillette wants is their customers switching from carts to DE shaving. Luckily for Gillette this razor won't be a game-changer in the business. It didn't happened before with the Wilkinson Classic (in black plastic) and latter with the Wilkinson TTO. These razors have been bought by people who already have many other DE razors.

I don't know .. for the last 5 (maybe more) years or all the kids all look like extras from Red Dead Redemption 2 .. Is there a more opportune time to market to the lumbersexuals of the world? So futuristic your great grandpappy used to use them! (the kids will eat them up, twirling their moostaches)

Regards
Avi

 

[lurchbrian]

Luckily for Gillette this razor won't be a game-changer in the business. It didn't happened before with the Wilkinson Classic (in black plastic) and latter with the Wilkinson TTO. These razors have been bought by people who already have many other DE razors.

sorry but I disagree about the classic black plastic razor ask how many bought it as there first razor and how many will still say its in their den or rotation and you may be surprised .

 

[Flying Dutchman]

Reading all those threads about the king C Gillette razor I'm curious about one thing....

Does Gillette get an chance to reach new customers or did you all clear out the complete inventory before anybody else gets the chance?

 

[zenex]

Reading all those threads about the king C Gillette razor I'm curious about one thing....

Does Gillette get an chance to reach new customers or did you all clear out the complete inventory before anybody else gets the chance?

As I said, for Gillette the money comes from the carts. Who in his right minds (at P&G headquarters) would want to change that?? To determine shavers to abandon their super-profitable carts in favor of generic DE blades? The monopoly tendencies are deeply engraved in Gillette's DNA.

 

[Rusty Blade]

Any word on when this razor will be released in Canada?

 

[Invicta]

Any word on when this razor will be released in Canada?

In the next two months I would guess. They have very recently been selling on the UK website so I expect Canada will follow shortly. It all depends how quick they can satisfy orders to the USA and UK. Aside from manufacturing, air freight is very restricted at the moment.
Hopefully a few more reviews will be posted by those who have received them.

 

[THall]

sorry but I disagree about the classic black plastic razor ask how many bought it as there first razor and how many will still say its in their den or rotation and you may be surprised .

I am pretty sure the classic black was also for around 15 years wasn’t it? If I’m not mistaken, it was also available in different brand names. When discussion of it comes up on B&B, a lot of people chime up.

 

[THall]

As I said, for Gillette the money comes from the carts. Who in his right minds (at P&G headquarters) would want to change that?? To determine shavers to abandon their super-profitable carts in favor of generic DE blades? The monopoly tendencies are deeply engraved in Gillette's DNA.

They stopped selling DE to make much more money from carts and would not replace carts for DE, correct. Decades later and being hounded about plastic disposables in landfills, the reintroduction of DE is perfect to eliminate the disposable line and they would make more money doing that with DE as a replacement. They look more green and make a buck, carts aren’t going anywhere but I suspect if DE sells, the disposable line would. They have never marketed their disposables as better than the cartridges as they wouldn’t do this with DE either. They don’t have to admit being wrong about anything.

This is an experiment they started on Amazon, it kept selling out and in 6 months they have another in brick and mortar stores, 2 different releases of DE in months when they hadn’t released any in the US since 1988. That is big.

 

[RigelDust]

I really like this razor. I use it every now and then, about four times now.
The handle is different for me. Not as slippery as I thought it would be. It is the longest handle I have and will probably always be. lol I hope it does well for others. I still need to try the blades thou.

 

[MyOldKentuckyHome]

Does Gillette get an chance to reach new customers or did you all clear out the complete inventory before anybody else gets the chance?

Too true.

Says the guy whose wife is hopefully going to buy one of the few in stock locally tomorrow for our anniversary despite him already owning 20 razors.

 

[Spang037]

I know this seems to be a theme but I indeed picked up the last one my Walgreens had. Took the pic before I snatched it up.

 

[Invicta]

I know this seems to be a theme but I indeed picked up the last one my Walgreens had. Took the pic before I snatched it up.

I am curious now; there is only one of every product in the picture. Could be they only had one of each to start with.

 

[Badgerstate36]

I just checked the Gillette website on this razor, just out of curiosity. Interestingly, they are not actually marketing this to people who shave their faces. They are specifically marketing it to men with beards.

It is on a page with a bunch of other beard products such as trimmers, beard oil, etc., etc. They say that this razor makes it easier to get a clean edge on your beard. I guess they have realized that trying to line up a 5-blade monstrosity to make a straight line is easier said than done.

Anyway, just thought you guys might want to know what Gillette is thinking. They are realizing that more and more men are opting for beards, and they want a piece of that pie.

Who cares? I dont care why Gillette is making a modern DE, as long as they are making it. I dont think its the only reason they are making it because you can always line up your beard with the trimmer blade on the back of a Fusion.
I still believe that the Heritage was a test bed and it did so well that they decided to try selling them at Walgreens.

 

[Badgerstate36]

I really like this razor. I use it every now and then, about four times now.
The handle is different for me. Not as slippery as I thought it would be. It is the longest handle I have and will probably always be. lol I hope it does well for others. I still need to try the blades thou.

I mean, its just a Muhle R89 with a different handle, so theres no reason why it shouldnt be a great razor. The blades are Russian Gillette blades, which are some of the best blades on the market, so theres no reason why those shouldnt be great either.

 

[MyOldKentuckyHome]

I mean, its just a Muhle R89 with a different handle, so theres no reason why it shouldnt be a great razor. The blades are Russian Gillette blades, which are some of the best blades on the market, so theres no reason why those shouldnt be great either.

This is one of the reasons I actually want it (though I was hoping to get the Heritage, mainly because I LOVE cool cases and shorter handles). But I don't own a 89 style razor and have good things about them.

I do like the etching of the logo on this one too.

 

[RigelDust]

I mean, its just a Muhle R89 with a different handle, so theres no reason why it shouldnt be a great razor. The blades are Russian Gillette blades, which are some of the best blades on the market, so theres no reason why those shouldnt be great either.

Well.... great!
It’s great to have a great razor and great blades to add to the great collection.

 

[Invicta]

This is one of the reasons I actually want it (though I was hoping to get the Heritage, mainly because I LOVE cool cases and shorter handles). But I don't own a 89 style razor and have good things about them.

I do like the etching of the logo on this one too.

Get both.
The heritage inspired razor has a R89 base plate and clone common bar handle and the latest King C Gillette razor, {"...for men who appreciate a touch of heritage..."} notice the theme, has a Merkur clone baseplate and bevel type handle with a bit of etched furrows half up the handle.

 

[MyOldKentuckyHome]

Get both.
The heritage inspired razor has a R89 base plate and clone common bar handle and the latest King C Gillette razor, {"...for men who appreciate a touch of heritage..."} notice the theme, has a Merkur clone baseplate and bevel type handle with a bit of etched furrows half up the handle.

amazon went from pushing the in stock date back to listing it as unavailable. I’ll keep an eye out but for now

 

[Flying Dutchman]

Too true.

Says the guy whose wife is hopefully going to buy one of the few in stock locally tomorrow for our anniversary despite him already owning 20 razors.

Oh no. They are all yours. I'm in to the vintage models and don't feel any love or desire for these. I can stretch it maybe another 40 years (if all goes well) before I move on but even that won't be enough the be an sought-after vintage to me.

 

[dan86]

Mine arrived today.

I’ll test it out tomorrow. It’s got a good weight to it as others have noted and it’s all in the handle. Feels more substantial than the new Wilkinson Sword Classic, which I paid roughly the same for.

I actually don’t think the handle will feel much longer when holding it during a shave compared to my other DEs to be honest.