Thread: Why did we as a society leave SR's in the first place?

Originally Posted by DustySuds

For the same reason McDonalds is making us fat, convenience. We as a society have given up quality just to save a little time. Same reason as why the microwave is now the most used appliance in the kitchen and the oven has become just a decorative item.

Same reason as no one makes homemade bread, Mashed potatoes from scratch is only for the Holidays, GMOs are good for us and the list goes on, To go fast, we got dumbed down, Now that we are hitting the bottom only then do we ask why. Convenience is code for not up to standards for the most part.

The answer is for most men shaving is not a hobby. It is a just hygiene habit where the less to do and take care of the better. Different strokes different folks.

Well the big draw for cartridge razors would certainly be the convenience factor, but I like t think that most straight razor users including myself are quite practical minded individuals and enjoy the challenge that this Art form brings, including all the honing maintenance plus the paraphernalia that comes with it and we all know how much Man enjoys collecting things goes without saying, do I think straight razors will catch on and make a comeback absolutely not but I personally didn't take up using a straight razor because it was cool or because it was seen as the next big thing, I was firstly taken in by how wonderful those beautiful sharp razors looked then the fact that this was a fairly difficult thing to master made it all the more attractive to me.

Why do we shave to begin with? I believe most people don't like to shave but feel they have to. Anything to possibly shorten that undesirable task will be used.

Why do we use an automatic washing machine? An automatic dryer? Power tools instead of manual ones?Automatic trannys in cars instead of manual ones?

Answer those questions and you will have the answer as to why straight shaving declined.

Straight shaving was a hated ritual for most back in the day. The DE was a godsend to most.

Imagine for a moment if you were a horse fancier and lived in the country and used a horse for transportation and didn't own a car. You hated cars and made fun of them.

Change it to razors and that's who we are.

All great points, there is however a culture shift that helps the change.
(and this is the "Readers Digest" version)

As a frame of reference let's use WWI as a point.
Prior to that time frame the majority of the US population (and I suspect the same for what is now the EU) lived on the farm or in a rural setting.
Daily shaving was not on most peoples agenda. You might shave once or twice a week, you might visit a barber or do it yourself.

WWI brings about some dramatic changes in the US.
By the end of the War the majority of the US population is now in Cities and Suburbs.
They go to work in an environment where being clean shaven every day has come to be an expected part of daily hygiene.
If you don't shave with a Straight (note the timeframe of many of the "how to shave with a straight" pamphlets that we still refer to) you go to a Barber every day.
Talk about time consuming. A DE is going to look pretty cheap compared to having a barber shave you every day even if it is $0.10.

The time period of the late 1800s to the early 1900 sees shaving change dramatically.
Not only King Gillett in 1904, but the Single Edge, Rolls, 7 Day sets like the Wilkinson and others try to take the place of the Straight because of the time saving - not only the prep but also the maintenance (or going to the barber)

Gillett breaks out when they get a contract to supply over 1 Million 3 piece DE kits to the US Army.
What do the British do? they call for donations of Straight Razors and recruit barbers...you can still see these razors with the unit ID branded in to the horn scales from time to time.
The War ends and over one million US service men return with their Gillett DE's, the Army tells them to keep them...they come home and guess what? Blades are waiting for them at the store...

So our "world" changed and the DE and its variants showed up to answer the challenge.
You probably do not want to go back to hand-cranking your car or life without antibiotics or modern dentistry, so that change thing is not all bad.

There was an article in the WSJ recently regarding the newest Gillett razor-ball gizmos. One of the comments was: " what will be really disruptive would be a single blade..."
We are just ahead of our time, or tilting at windmills...

For most of us I suspect that this is a Hobby that has benefits. I don't see "taking a shower" or "flossing and brushing my teeth" ever becoming a Hobby.
The fact that we can turn basic grooming in to a Hobby with great daily benefits is a beautiful thing.

And if I was to thin down my shave den to a basic kit (2-3 Razors, Boar & Spare, 4/8/12, Strop) and all I buy is a Kg of Cella every other year and pint of Clubman at the Barber supply once and a while this would be not only great shaves but save some real money...

The other day the SWMBO was talking at lunch with co-workers and one of the guys was telling the group (mostly women) that this weekend he was going to get a Barbershop Straight Razor shave as a treat, explaining that process at length. When they came around to the SWMBO she calmly stated "my husband shaves himself with a straight razor every day - and the results are amazing"
She said they looked at her like she just said: "my husband eats live frogs for breakfast" - But when I show up at the Christmas Party they all want to ask questions.

So what do we do?
We continue to help anyone who wants to join us...

Smooth Shaving...

I would guess that the convenience of a safety razor would draw people, and the shaves are pretty good. Whenever your razor needed a touch up you would either have to pop down to the barber's or hone it yourself if you had the equipment, with a safety you just remove the (very inexpensive) blade and put a new one in, and for the really thrifty you could even buy sharpeners for them. Also you wouldn't need to strop etc so much time saved.
Then comes the disposable razor, not much more cost than a safety razor blade but no clean up, just use it and bin it, perfect ( if we ignore the environmental consequences of such waste)
Then a few decades later out comes the cartridge razor, i am not sure what the draw would have been to be honest as i have no idea what early ones were like, but later ones with safety wires and multiple blades would have been attractive as a further time saving, plus the flexible joint that holds the head really means you can shave with no skill whatsoever in even less time.
I am not sure which way round disposables and cartridges were first made, but i would guess disposables would have been first.

I read an article one time (sorry I can't cite you whoever you are as I don't recall where I read it) that argued that WW1 was a huge influence. When people enlisted they had their straights taken off them and were issued safety razors, on the logic that guys under pressure in close quarters were likely to cut each other up in fights.

I was never too sure about this account, given that I imagine enlisted men would probably have fairly easy access to various things to hurt each other with if they were so inclined.

Originally Posted by BobH

Forget cartridge razors and go back to what really killed SRs, the Gillette DE. My guess is that men were tired of having to strop and other wise maintain their straights. Just quicker and easier with a DE. I know some of the old open comb Gillette DEs will give a straight a run for it's money in achieving a close shave. They are actually not a bad alternative to a straight razor, neither is a modern Muhle R41. If you have only used cartridge razors you got in on the tail end of the gradual degradation of the early Gillette DEs to the sad modern version cartridge razor represent. Add to that if you have only used canned crap for lather then you have a recipe for bad shaves.

Bob

I am the farthest thing from an expert but here is some of the history as I learned MANY years ago.... Gillette was traveling on a train on his way to a business meeting and was trying to shave with a straight razor. He did not get a "close" shave as he wanted for his business meeting and several nasty cuts to boot. He sat back and thought about how business travelers could get a close shave when traveling so that they could arrive for business looking all ready to go. He developed the safety razor with disposable blades.
The further history as I was taught, during WWII men were sent overseas to war, eliminating a HUGE population of buyers. Another Gillette marketing campaign started to encourage women to shave. Many women did not want to use their husbands razor's since they were too "manly" so some wiz-kid started to work on a "female" razor with "female colors.
I have no idea how right/true this is, it was what I learned in a history of business class I once took. We studied how different "small" events shaped and changed "modern" society. I will admit (with my head hung down low) that I am only recently seeing the light and returning to my roots and gladly waving good bye to plastic.

You know, there are those who collect paper clips. I also have no doubt if you had a mind to, flossing your teeth could be turned into a hobby. You could have custom made flossers made of all kinds of exptic materials with the floss being held at various angles and you could argue the proper angles and pressure to use. You could create your own flossing materials and talk endlessly about the advantages of all these variables.

To tell you the truth do we know some flossing forum doesn't already exist on the internet? Maybe they make fun of us.