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

I'm just sort of curious on others takes on this. I assume it had to be just the lure of new technology? It still doesn't make a whole lot of sense though to me. I just started SR shaving this year in October. I'm 41 y.o. And even my first couple of totally noob shaves were better than the shaves I was getting with my cartridges. Although I guess the whole "time"'factor would have played into it as well. Now that I have a couple of months into it I am getting crazy BBS smooth shaves now. I used to shave every day but when I get a really great shave I easily go every other day shaves simply because with how close a shave I get it takes that much more time for it to grow out to be noticed. Now that I really can't see myself ever going to another shaving method I really wonder? Why did we ever get away from SR.?

Convenience. Everybody falls for the ads that tell you this is better than that. Look at how far we have come. We think we need to spend all this money on looking better, feeling better, and saving time. When the fact is we are all broke from buying all this crap and have to work twice as hard to get what we really don't need. I think we are slowly getting over that,little bits at a time. Using a straight and the amount of guys switching back , proves that to me.

The allure of marketing, pretty women, catchy jingles, less time spent in front of the bathroom mirror. We are a nation of sheep.

Marketing spin at its finest. I dont find anything "safe" about a safety razor. You still have to change blades. But it happens all day long. People upgrade their phones because the new phone camera is like 1 mega pixel more.

Great marketing by Gillette!

Mike

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

All of the above more or less.
Especially honing and maintenance of straights had people jump on easier and quicker solutions out there.

Yup - I started with the Gillette safety razors, my Dad got me started, he actually used a puck and brush, Old Spice was quick and convenient. I'll never forget finding this thing you plugged into a wall, dropped a can of shaving foam in it, and it heated it up. Now I think the canned shaving soap was much better then, but that sold my Dad, gone was the brush and mug, he loved that thing. Hot lather on a winter morning, he was amazed and thought it was the bee's knee's.

But the DE was the way to go, and then as mentioned here, you went to the store, there was the new "cartridge razor", was new and sexy, so you tried it and thus it began...

Circa 1905, King Gillette ........... Nuff said ..........

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.