Why do people want more aggressive razors than the 40s to 60s Gillettes?

[Twelvefret]

I think it is interesting how many people that don't use aggressive razors think they know why people use aggressive razor, when this thread has responses as to why people use aggressive razors from people that use aggressive razors.

I have come to understand that when people rank razor aggression, they mean the razor that performs best with multiple days growth. Even in the shave offs, the razors are judged on multiple days growth. This has helped me understand why I don't see any difference in razors.

It's funny to me that members craving aggression don't just get a shavette.

 

[THall]

I have come to understand that when people rank razor aggression, they mean the razor that performs best with multiple days growth. Even in the shave offs, the razors are judged on multiple days growth. This has helped me understand why I don't see any difference in razors.

It's funny to me that members craving aggression don't just get a shavette.

+1

 

[Clay S]

I have come to understand that when people rank razor aggression, they mean the razor that performs best with multiple days growth. Even in the shave offs, the razors are judged on multiple days growth. This has helped me understand why I don't see any difference in razors.

It's funny to me that members craving aggression don't just get a shavette.

I know that is why I like OCs. They mow through weeks of growth easily. Plus they work well for cross-hatching when they leave lather behind.

 

[Somnos]

BTW there is nothing wrong with machismo and competitiveness among men. Blow on your pumpkin soy latte before sipping, might be too hot still.

Now that was funny...

 

[Twelvefret]

I know that is why I like OCs. They mow through weeks of growth easily. Plus they work well for cross-hatching when they leave lather behind.

If I ever grow a beard again and need to shave it off, I will use a shavette or straight. Let's get real. And no, I will not be using creams and balms and oils.

 

[Cracker]

Guys like us are a minority. Most men don't bother much about shaving, nor esp. about a clean shave, as did the guys in the 1950s and 1960s. They shaved when and if they had to, and they used what they had (one cheap razor bought mostly by dad when it was time to start shaving).

In the US that might have been mostly a Gillette Super Speed, in Germany it was (as far as I had noticed it) mostly a deadcheap but quite aggressive aluminium razor (in my memory something like the Turkish Yuma razor).

Most guys hated them and also the blades (which were quite tuggy, as my father had told me), and they (thankfully) changed to the GII (Track II) when it came out in the 1970s.

So, it wasn't so much a question about aggressivness or closeness of a shave but all about convenience.

 

[Twelvefret]

Guys like us are a minority. Most men don't bother much about shaving, nor esp. about a clean shave, as did the guys in the 1950s and 1960s. They shaved when and if they had to, and they used what they had (one cheap razor bought mostly by dad when it was time to start shaving).

In the US that might have been mostly a Gillette Super Speed, in Germany it was (as far as I had noticed it) mostly a deadcheap but quite aggressive aluminium razor (in my memory something like the Turkish Yuma razor).

Most guys hated them and also the blades (which were quite tuggy, as my father had told me), and they (thankfully) changed to the GII (Track II) when it came out in the 1970s.

So, it wasn't so much a question about aggressivness or closeness of a shave but all about convenience.

So, I grew up during those decades. All the men I encountered shaved everyday and it was important. There was not an obsession as it is here, but men did care. Men with stubble were suspect. In the 1920's men with facial hair were thought to be hiding something.

 

[juno]

If I ever grow a beard again and need to shave it off, I will use a shavette or straight. Let's get real. And no, I will not be using creams and balms and oils.

I trim my beard down with a beard trimmer then shave it off if I decide to go clean cut. I don't care for soy lattes though. I generally trim my beard once a week to keep it looking tidy. I love that device! It's a Wahl stainless model. The previous one I had absolutely sucked. I think it was a Norelco. The guard design was flawed and ruined my beard.

 

[Twelvefret]

I trim my beard down with a beard trimmer then shave it off if I decide to go clean cut. I don't care for soy lattes though. I generally trim my beard once a week to keep it looking tidy. I love that device! It's a Wahl stainless model. The previous one I had absolutely sucked. I think it was a Norelco. The guard design was flawed and ruined my beard.

Used to have one of those trimmers. They don't last.

 

[jFrode]

I don't even know if they thought there was an option. Not to shave would be like wearing a stained shirt, trousers with holes in them (before it became a thing) or some other signs that you either did't care about your appearance or was in an unfortunate situation where it was not possible or feasible. It was just a thing that was implied. When I did my military service back in the eighties, you would get some kind of punishment like added chores or your spare time taken away from you. Just like you would if you did not where you uniform properly, showing up late for inspection, not cleaning your shared room. Getting rust on your weapon. Thing is, for those 12 months I probably shaved every day, but I cannot remember shaving even one single time. I can however remember having to clean the canteen with some other guys because we had skipped shaving.

 

[juno]

I don't even know if they thought there was an option. Not to shave would be like wearing a stained shirt, trousers with holes in them (before it became a thing) or some other signs that you either did't care about your appearance or was in an unfortunate situation where it was not possible or feasible. It was just a thing that was implied. When I did my military service back in the eighties, you would get some kind of punishment like added chores or your spare time taken away from you. Just like you would if you did not where you uniform properly, showing up late for inspection, not cleaning your shared room. Getting rust on your weapon. Thing is, for those 12 months I probably shaved every day, but I cannot remember shaving even one single time. I can however remember having to clean the canteen with some other guys because we had skipped shaving.

God! I am suddenly remembering those horrible basic training shaves. 2 minutes with the issued crappy disposable bic, whether you needed to shave or not. That coupled with that horrid camo stick shortly after shaving caused me to break out all through basic. AIT was a little better. Ft Sill 1987. Fun times

 

[Clay S]

God! I am suddenly remembering those horrible basic training shaves. 2 minutes with the issued crappy disposable bic, whether you needed to shave or not. That coupled with that horrid camo stick shortly after shaving caused me to break out all through basic. AIT was a little better. Ft Sill 1987. Fun times

I went through OUST(One Unit Station Training) for 13B1O at Fort Sill in 1983. Went to 4th/4th for a year and a half afterwards there as well.

 

[Schnitzel52]

I was thinking about why there is a fad today for ever newer and generally more aggressive or mid aggressive razors. Yet the big sellers of the 1940s and 1950s when almost all men shaved with DEs tended to be mild Super Speeds or Tech equivalents. Many now find even the Fatboy and Slim insufficiently aggressive at the top numbers.

My best guess for this is that today men are less likely to want or need to shave everyday. They are more likely to alternate between carrying heavy growths or beards and then shaving. And for some there is less practice doing regular shaving with mild razors. They want efficiency and the ability to deal with rough, heavy beards. In contrast men in the 40s and 50s not only would shave everyday but do an evening shave or risk looking indecent at an evening public event if five o'clock shadow was too severe. Today's socially acceptable shave -- usually visible stubble -- would have gotten you kicked out of most good houses.

People also point to the earlier Gillettes as having more blade gap. But I think the older blades didn't cut as well or got dull more quickly. Certainly that's what an older professor who passed away in his nineties told me. He claimed that in the 30s the blades would dull too easily and all were amazed at how much sharper the Wilkinsons and Gillette stainless steels of the 1960s were. So on average the two systems cut equivalently. In contrast, today many like the most aggressive early razors with some of the best of today's blades like the Feather and GSB.

This is all just shooting the breeze. So any opinions welcome.

How could younger shavers have that knowledge or frame of reference?
Those razors are over 60 years old.
When I started, about seven months ago, blade gap was not a primary consideration.
Not going to work wearing the dreaded "Mark of Zorro" was an important motivation.
That's why I purchased a 34 HD.

 

[Sharp&Shiny]

I was thinking about why there is a fad today for ever newer and generally more aggressive or mid aggressive razors. Yet the big sellers of the 1940s and 1950s when almost all men shaved with DEs tended to be mild Super Speeds or Tech equivalents. Many now find even the Fatboy and Slim insufficiently aggressive at the top numbers.

My best guess for this is that today men are less likely to want or need to shave everyday. They are more likely to alternate between carrying heavy growths or beards and then shaving. And for some there is less practice doing regular shaving with mild razors. They want efficiency and the ability to deal with rough, heavy beards. In contrast men in the 40s and 50s not only would shave everyday but do an evening shave or risk looking indecent at an evening public event if five o'clock shadow was too severe. Today's socially acceptable shave -- usually visible stubble -- would have gotten you kicked out of most good houses.

People also point to the earlier Gillettes as having more blade gap. But I think the older blades didn't cut as well or got dull more quickly. Certainly that's what an older professor who passed away in his nineties told me. He claimed that in the 30s the blades would dull too easily and all were amazed at how much sharper the Wilkinsons and Gillette stainless steels of the 1960s were. So on average the two systems cut equivalently. In contrast, today many like the most aggressive early razors with some of the best of today's blades like the Feather and GSB.

This is all just shooting the breeze. So any opinions welcome.

In my honest opinion from what I have seen in forums lately is that people prefer aggressive and efficient razors because they require skill to use. For most people in that are in shaving forums consistently, shaving is a hobby and agressive razors are simply more fun to use for them.

 

[juno]

In my honest opinion from what I have seen in forums lately is that people prefer aggressive and efficient razors because they require skill to use. For most people in that are in shaving forums consistently, shaving is a hobby and agressive razors are simply more fun to use for them.

I actually thought about that last night before I went to sleep.
That maybe it is a personal challenge or test of skill.
This was after shaving with a Feather AS-D2 and that made me think of the challenge aspect because the Feather is a wonderfully brainless razor to use. Its almost like there is no fun in it. However, I love it for those very reasons.

 

[Twelvefret]

In my honest opinion from what I have seen in forums lately is that people prefer aggressive and efficient razors because they require skill to use. For most people in that are in shaving forums consistently, shaving is a hobby and agressive razors are simply more fun to use for them.

Perhaps if it’s the challenge they seek, a shavette would be a consideration.

 

[Sharp&Shiny]

I actually thought about that last night before I went to sleep.
That maybe it is a personal challenge or test of skill.
This was after shaving with a Feather AS-D2 and that made me think of the challenge aspect because the Feather is a wonderfully brainless razor to use. Its almost like there is no fun in it. However, I love it for those very reasons.

It’s true though. The feeling of achievement is greater when you actually learn to shave with a razors that previously kicked your butt. Lol

I personally prefer mild and efficient razors for the easy reliable shaves.

 

[OldSkoolMillennial]

In my honest opinion from what I have seen in forums lately is that people prefer aggressive and efficient razors because they require skill to use. For most people in that are in shaving forums consistently, shaving is a hobby and agressive razors are simply more fun to use for them.

I thought aggressive and efficient razors were easier to use because of the wider cutting angle?

 

[Sharp&Shiny]

I thought aggressive and efficient razors were easier to use because of the wider cutting angle?

Easier to get a close shave but harder to avoid weepers and irritation if your technique is lacking.

 

[juno]

It’s true though. The feeling of achievement is greater when you actually learn to shave with a razors that previously kicked your butt. Lol

I personally prefer mild and efficient razors for the easy reliable shaves.

Me too, brother!