Why SE won the battle but lost the war to DE

[acooperw]

Before the rise of the internet shave nerd, no-one cared about the 'experience' of shaving. Gillette just muscled the competition out of the market, plain and simple.

I would disagree re: nobody caring about the experience, but agree wholeheartedly that Gillette drove the competition out.

And a +1 for Internet Shave Nerd!

 

[nEver-Ready]

This is my personal opinion only, having used both styles over the past three months. The end result in my case for either SE or DE is a pretty smooth shave. If I am candid, on average the SE delivers a slightly smoother shave each time. The Gem 1912 and the Junior are personal favorites of mine.

Here is how DE won the war: it is not only about the end result, it is about the experience.

Having been reasonably active here on the forum it seems that many of us do the wet shave for how it feels as well as what it delivers. It sure isn't to save time, nor is it to save money! The experience and process are what we value. Note how many of us enjoy a variety of aftershaves, talcs, pre-shave oils, brushes, shave lotions and on and on. When we are done we have had an enjoyable time pampering ourselves each morning and have a terrific shave unavailable from the old cartridge and Can 'O Goup we used to endure before The Light came into our life.

So if we value the experience then I believe a DE wins out and does so on two fronts. First I find the added weight of the head compared to an SE to be an advantage in holding it against the beard as well as retaining heat. There is something about being a guy and having a razor with a nice balance and a bit of heft to it - it is somehow more masculine than a lightweight razor. To have the heat of a warmed razor against the cheek is a pleasant sensation any morning.

Secondly, the DE is audibly more pleasant. It would be easy to discount this but truly, any SE (and I have tried at least six) has a "raspy" sound to it as you shave, somewhat like 80 grit sandpaper. A DE razor (I have the TTO in mind), in contrast, muffles the beard as it is shorn simply due to the design of the head. It is quieter and somehow more reassuring to hear. It purrs as it works. The final nail in the coffin surely was the adjustable DE as I am not aware of an SE that was adjustable.

So that's my take on the matter, your thoughts?

I LOVE that raspy sound and dislike quiet razors with no feedback. I do agree that the weight of hefty DEs v. typical SEs is a DE plus for me, but when I want the full Monty, I just pull out my fabulous Ever Ready Streamline...

View attachment $Big streamline.JPG

 

[nEver-Ready]

As far as I'm concerned there is no need for more choice of SE blades.

Right, you only need one blade - the one that works well for you.

 

[Salty O'Rourke]

There are just so many more fine DE blades available to choose from and so few SE and injector blades to choose from that that I choose to go with DE razors.

I see this as one of DE shavings biggest DISadvantages. Wading through all those different blades, 99.9% of which have to be mail-ordered, in a desperate attempt to find one that yields more than 2-3 decent shaves per blade, is a frustrating turn-off.

 

[drews50]

I see this as one of DE shavings biggest DISadvantages. Wading through all those different blades, 99.9% of which have to be mail-ordered, in a desperate attempt to find one that yields more than 2-3 decent shaves per blade, is a frustrating turn-off.

+1

I don't miss having to choose from fifty different DE blade brands. I am fine with my Walgreens/CVS blades. Instead of three variables I'm down to just the razor and my technique.

 

[drews50]

I LOVE that raspy sound and dislike quiet razors with no feedback. I do agree that the weight of hefty DEs v. typical SEs is a DE plus for me, but when I want the full Monty, I just pull out my fabulous Ever Ready Streamline...

View attachment 152995

What a nice looking razor. One day mine might arrive by Royal Mail, 19 days and counting.

 

[Pjotr]

What a nice looking razor. One day mine might arrive by Royal Mail, 19 days and counting.

Still hasn't arrived! Yep, the Streamline is a WMD.

 

[Pjotr]

I see this as one of DE shavings biggest DISadvantages. Wading through all those different blades, 99.9% of which have to be mail-ordered, in a desperate attempt to find one that yields more than 2-3 decent shaves per blade, is a frustrating turn-off.

And quite honestly I couldn't really tell the difference between any of them. It's basically Feather and then there's the rest. Has anybody ever done blind testing of DE blades?

 

[goby]

I see this as one of DE shavings biggest DISadvantages. Wading through all those different blades, 99.9% of which have to be mail-ordered, in a desperate attempt to find one that yields more than 2-3 decent shaves per blade, is a frustrating turn-off.

Wow, that's a depressing way to look at it.

BTW, I was excited when the mailman came with more blades. There is really nothing desperate about it. To me it was a lot of fun. I got me a sampler pack, and found a great blade. I also believe that as your technique improves almost every blade shaves great.

I use Dorcos, Derbys, and Red IPs as my everyday blade. I have a few left other blades that I've been PIFed or purchased, and they pretty much all work great.

 

[nEver-Ready]

What a nice looking razor. One day mine might arrive by Royal Mail, 19 days and counting.

It will be worth the wait...

 

[MajorBurnz]

I LOVE that raspy sound and dislike quiet razors with no feedback. I do agree that the weight of hefty DEs v. typical SEs is a DE plus for me, but when I want the full Monty, I just pull out my fabulous Ever Ready Streamline...

View attachment 152995

I love my Streamline too.....for the same reasons. I just got a bullet-tip MM, and I love that too. To me, SE's beat DE's on the quality of the shave, but I keep both types around - mostly for variety.

It's the spice of life, and all.

 

[OkieStubble]

That Streamline is cool, where do I find one?

 

[Viseguy]

... when I want the full Monty, I just pull out my fabulous Ever Ready Streamline...

View attachment 152995

View attachment 152995

 

[Viseguy]

I have been getting better and better shaves with the SE - two weeks with the 1912 Damaskeene and three days with the MMCP.

But I still am not getting a satisfactory shave with two passes. I'm still at three complete passes, with full-face touch ups that should probably count as a fourth pass.

Had shave #3 with the 1912 + GEM SS last night. This time I did three passes plus touch-up, and it left me feeling a little raw on one side. Two passes + touch-up seems to be the right balance for me.

And still not satisfied with the upper lip - am treading very lightly there, especially on the S - N up stroke.

No can do here. South to North? No way. Not with DE, not with SE: weepers galore. Best I can do is NW-SE/NE-SW, but to tell the truth, a couple of N-S passes is plenty good enough here.

But make no mistake -- the SE is here to stay.

A big +1 on that!

 

[willyb]

the day a $100 gillette and feather blade can shave me as well as a $10GEM EVER READY OR STAR............ NEVER MIND IT WONT HAPPEN

 

[Pjotr]

What a nice looking razor. One day mine might arrive by Royal Mail, 19 days and counting.

Don't want to p... you off drews50, but I just got something delivered this morning via Royal Mail that was posted on Saturday 19th. Three and a half days days to Australia! Having said that, with all your beautiful razors I'm more than happy to return a bit of envy!

 

[Pjotr]

Wow, that's a depressing way to look at it.

BTW, I was excited when the mailman came with more blades. There is really nothing desperate about it. To me it was a lot of fun. I got me a sampler pack, and found a great blade. I also believe that as your technique improves almost every blade shaves great.

I use Dorcos, Derbys, and Red IPs as my everyday blade. I have a few left other blades that I've been PIFed or purchased, and they pretty much all work great.

The comment was made to counter the argument that DE shaving is somehow more attractive because of all the different blades you can use. Personally I'm glad because it's one AD (aside from buying thousands of the same blade) that you're not exposed to if you shave with SEs. Obviously you're very happy with that particular AD! I agree that as you improve the difference between blades becomes very unclear and I've never understood why newbies get advised to try another blade or get a sampler pack if they're cutting themselves stupid. Sorry I digress.

 

[highball]

I believe Gillette won out because millions of men had Gillettes after the war. They already had the razor and there were myriad razor blade manufacturers.

That being said, there is at least one adjustable SE safety razor known to exist that accepts modern SE blades. It was made by the Superman Safety Razor Co. I can't remember where I got these pics so if they are yours...I apologize for not giving credit where credit is due.
View attachment 152651

View attachment 152650

That would be one of my razors. http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=151985&highlight=adjustable

 

[Marine Dad]

That Streamline is cool, where do I find one?

That is also something I want to know !

 

[nEver-Ready]

That is also something I want to know !

They pop up occasionally on the BST, or the essentially equivalent Gem Jewels do. I got mine on UK eBay.