We killed the golden goose (aka DE shaving is a hipster fad)

[Ivo4u2]

Fad maybe lol but is surely trending overhere.

now could we influence those hipsters to evolve sly’s three sea shells technique for shaving.... hmmm might be not vegan enough

 

[JayFromBrooklyn]

I love kielbasa and I'm sad to hear the delis have closed.

Which part of my original post confused you? Let me know and I'll walk you through it.

believe me, there's no shortage of kielbasa or salami in brooklyn, LOL. we just have a much more interesting variety of new stores to choose from now besides just deli meats and pizza.

Hope this doesn't come off as confrontational in text,.... i'm not complaining, just explaining....as Ringo would say - this all comes from a place of Peace & Love...Peace & Love

the confusing part was your focus on just DE shaving when there are so many other aspects of the whole "wet shaving" or "traditional shaving" experience. There are guys using straights, shavettes, single edges, double edges,... even carts/disposables can be used along with a soap/cream & brush for a great shave....and within all those categories you can either choose to go vintage or brand new because there are so many different companies currently making new products....

which leads to the further confusion at the end of your original post saying that the Gillette Heritage razor signals the "shark jumping" "nail in the coffin" to DE shaving. That razor was just a limited run available only on amazon. When it came out between Halloween and Christmas 2019 there were barely half-a-dozen threads about it here, and we barely ever heard about it again after new year's. On this forum with over 450,000 total threads over the years, and like a hundred new threads every single day... the Heritage was such a small insignificant blip on the shaving radar, it seemed to have had no effect whatsoever on the world of DE shaving.

If you don't like that particular razor that's alright, you'll find others in those half-dozen threads that agree with you on that, the threads were split about 50/50 with people that thought it was cool and people that thought it was just a dumb gimmick with a nice box, and that's totally fine. But I just don't think it was correct to say it's bringing on the downfall of all of DE shaving when it really didn't appear to have any impact at all.

One of the previous posters summed it up much easier and more concise than me...by saying that old-timey traditional shaving is a "niche" hobby,... i just think that's a much nicer way of describing it than calling it a "fad".

 

[TechClone]

the confusing part was your focus on just DE shaving when there are so many other aspects of the whole "wet shaving" or "traditional shaving" experience. There are guys using straights, shavettes, single edges, double edges,... even carts/disposables can be used along with a soap/cream & brush for a great shave....and within all those categories you can either choose to go vintage or brand new because there are so many different companies currently making new products....;

Ha, well, I'm just using 'DE shaving' as a substitute for 'wet shaving' really.

which leads to the further confusion at the end of your original post saying that the Gillette Heritage razor signals the "shark jumping" "nail in the coffin" to DE shaving.

I'm not saying that it's a nail in the coffin for DE shaving at all. Quite the contrary really. I'm saying that that if Gillette is interested then DE shaving must be getting popular, and I'm positing that it might become (or already is) a fad.

 

[JayFromBrooklyn]

original post -

But you’d have to say the the final nail in the coffin to this DE shark-jump was Gillette’s ‘retro’ Heritage offering.

most recent post-

I'm not saying that it's a nail in the coffin for DE shaving at all. Quite the contrary really.

soooooooooo, have to say i'm still confused LOL

I think maybe I should stop posting after midnight haha

 

[JayFromBrooklyn]

ooohhh wait, hold on a minute, ....so maybe you meant that DE shaving/wet shaving was about to jump the shark (go downhill) but then the gillette heritage swooped in, saved it, and started a fad. So it was the nail in the coffin to the shark-jumping and not the nail in the coffin to DE/traditional shaving.

.

i think hardly anyone that replied thru the 5 pages of this thread understood that correctly until now.

 

[Ivo4u2]

Nah do not think a second that the Gillette heritage saved anything except gillettes bank balance just a little bit. Pretty sure Gillette will make more money by simply adding 3cents to every de blade sold

 

[TechClone]

ooohhh wait, hold on a minute, ....so maybe you meant that DE shaving/wet shaving was about to jump the shark (go downhill) but then the gillette heritage swooped in, saved it, and started a fad. So it was the nail in the coffin to the shark-jumping and not the nail in the coffin to DE/traditional shaving.

All this talk is seriously starting to derail this thread so I'm adding the below.

Let's look at the definition of 'nail in the coffin'. It means:

an event that causes the failure of something that had already started to fail

The failure here is the transformation of wet shaving into a fad, and the 'final nail' I refer to here is Gillette deciding to release the Heritage razor in order to cash in on the fad.

A shark-jump is an entirely negative process that has come to generally mean 'gone downhill' or 'go into decline.' I'm saying that with DE shaving starting to become a fad, it has jumped the shark.

So, DE shaving has (a) jumped the shark and (b) the final nail to the shark jump is the Heritage.

That's the last word on this side-track.

 

[CJB3]

All this talk is seriously starting to derail this thread so I'm adding the below.

Let's look at the definition of 'nail in the coffin'. It means:

an event that causes the failure of something that had already started to fail

The failure here is the transformation of wet shaving into a fad, and the 'final nail' I refer to here is Gillette deciding to release the Heritage razor in order to cash in on the fad.

A shark-jump is an entirely negative process that has come to generally mean 'gone downhill' or 'go into decline.' I'm saying that with DE shaving starting to become a fad, it has jumped the shark.

So, DE shaving has (a) jumped the shark and (b) the final nail to the shark jump is the Heritage.

That's the last word on this side-track.

Mixing metaphors is generally confusing.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

That’s right folks, DE shaving has become a fad. And we only have ourselves to blame.

Not me. Nothing's changed here. I moved to DE from twin blade carts almost 30 years ago, and have had much improved and much cheaper shaves ever since.

 

[rockviper]

 

[Badgerstate36]

It wasn't my contention that Gillette has led this fad, if it is a fad. I'm saying the fact that Gillette came out with the Heritage is solid evidence that we are in or on the cusp of a fad. Gillette wouldn't do something just for the die-hards - the are a huge multinational motivated by profit. Only a couple of years ago Gillette would have never thought to bring a razor out like this, because there would have been zero profit in it. Clearly, they have sensed a market opportunity. And why is there a market opportunity? Because of the rapidly growing interest (aka, fad).

I still say nah because they werent availabl in stores. They were only on Amazon and even then, they were a pretty limited run. If it were truly a fad, as you have said, they would have been in stores and you would be able to go to any store in the US and buy Gillette DE blades.
By the very definition, it isnt a fad because in the grand scheme of things, DE shaving is still a very small, niche market. If say, even 1/4 of the market had become DE razors, maybe youd have an arguement but its still just a small fraction of a percent of the market, so no, its not a fad.

 

[Badgerstate36]

If you don't like that particular razor that's alright, you'll find others in those half-dozen threads that agree with you on that, the threads were split about 50/50 with people that thought it was cool and people that thought it was just a dumb gimmick with a nice box, and that's totally fine. But I just don't think it was correct to say it's bringing on the downfall of all of DE shaving when it really didn't appear to have any impact at all.

One of the previous posters summed it up much easier and more concise than me...by saying that old-timey traditional shaving is a "niche" hobby,... i just think that's a much nicer way of describing it than calling it a "fad".

IMO, its nothing more than just the continued rhetoric of how P&G and Gillette are trying to ruin everything. Its just like how people always want to make the case that P&G Old Spice isnt as good as the original Shulton version was.
I'll admit that I was someone who hated on the Heritage at first too but my wife bought me one for Xmas and I love it. Its a great shaver and the case it came with is pretty cool.
At the end of the day, I look at it this way: I own various vintage Gillettes and they still shave as good today as the day they were made and the Heritage is the first DE that Gillette brought to market in the last 40 years. Is it a real Gillette razor like the old ones were, that were made by Gillette in one of their factories? Probably not but who cares? Honestly, for me it would have been worth it for the case alone and for the collectability of it.

 

[Doorcube]

I still say nah because they werent availabl in stores. They were only on Amazon and even then, they were a pretty limited run. If it were truly a fad, as you have said, they would have been in stores and you would be able to go to any store in the US and buy Gillette DE blades.
By the very definition, it isnt a fad because in the grand scheme of things, DE shaving is still a very small, niche market. If say, even 1/4 of the market had become DE razors, maybe youd have an arguement but its still just a small fraction of a percent of the market, so no, its not a fad.

+1

 

[Fawkes007]

View attachment 1065454

They forgot the bacon and the cra

They were in the 80's/90's. I think the hipsters are re-claiming them in the 21st century

They all stole the look from Neil Young.

 

[slim6596]

It's a nice thought piece but DE shaving is not a fad. You rarely hear the words "practical" and "fad" together. DE shaving is practical. It can be extremely inexpensive or it can be comparable to electrics / Gillette carts. The difference? It's OUR choice. Some time ago, the shaving-industrial complex decided to improve their revenue streams by offering us overpriced, environmentally-unfriendly products while discontinuing their classic product lines. While they were ripping us off, they transformed the shaving experience into an unpleasant chore. When my last electric razor died, I started seeking alternatives. To use a computer analogy, blades and soap are the "operating system". Our corporate overlords failed to eliminate our access to an open-source operating system. Blades and soap, readily available from all over the world at a competitive price. Within this system, we can order a $1 razor from Alibaba or a $300 razor from an artisan. That's not a fad. And the DE shaving ritual is an enjoyable experience.

P.S. - I drink pour-over coffee using a hario V60 dripper and filters. Cheaper and BETTER coffee, more variety and not locked in to the Keurigocrats. And no k-cups going into the landfill.

..........mmmmmmm, coffee.

Sorry. What were we talking about?

 

[Levue]

I turned to DE after finding my grandpa 's old razor.
At first I wanted to sell it, so I just browsed various forum looking for how much it could be worth.
Then I started using it and a new journey began..

 

[Esox]

Then I started using it and a new journey began..

A couple months before I joined here I didnt even know that DE blades were still available. I still had my fathers made in England Gillette Flare Tip Rocket, that I learned to shave with and, well, the rest is in the pages of this forum lol.

I like to think of the new Gillette razor offering as a market test. I also like to think that Gillette will see a segment of the market they havent been active in and return to it. Who among us wouldnt like to see a new, perhaps even stainless steel, Gillette Double Ring offered by them as a true return to making DE razors again. I sure would!

 

[Ivo4u2]

Now if and I say if Gillette made a kind of revival version of the Fatboy (with optional long handle like a bb) under a 100 I am sure it would sell to lots of enthusiasts.

but also sure that if Gillette would make its own broman like razor it would sell very well due to Gillette’s marketing power.

 

[RigelDust]

Mixing metaphors is generally confusing.

And fun

 

[deadcruiser]

All this talk is seriously starting to derail this thread so I'm adding the below.

Let's look at the definition of 'nail in the coffin'. It means:

an event that causes the failure of something that had already started to fail

The failure here is the transformation of wet shaving into a fad, and the 'final nail' I refer to here is Gillette deciding to release the Heritage razor in order to cash in on the fad.

A shark-jump is an entirely negative process that has come to generally mean 'gone downhill' or 'go into decline.' I'm saying that with DE shaving starting to become a fad, it has jumped the shark.

So, DE shaving has (a) jumped the shark and (b) the final nail to the shark jump is the Heritage.

That's the last word on this side-track.

I understand, but I disagree. I don't see DE shaving failing nor do I see Gillette's decision to release the Heritage to be any indicator that it is going to fail whatsoever. I think your view is cynical in the extreme, and sounds a lot like gatekeeping to me. You sound upset that DE shaving has garnered a little popularity (gone mainstream) and that people who you feel are not "good enough" have latched on to your pet hobby and it is making you feel less special. Let people like what they like. It doesn't effect you whatsoever. And if they stop liking it in a few months, who cares? I am more than happy to buy up their unloved collections. Things naturally wax and wane, but wet shaving has been around for way longer than any of us and will persist in one form or another long after we are gone. Don't let what other people are going to do impact your enjoyment.