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...

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.

Originally Posted by feltspanky

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

I prefer the term "sheople". Blindly following, one behind the other as they fall off the cliff because they can't think as individuals anymore. I've been to more than one outdoor concert where you literally feel like a herd in the dust.... but we all started moowing like cows. The older I get, the odder the human critter is!