Thread: Straight razor popularity vs being a small elite group, poll

Originally Posted by JimR

Well, there have always been, and always will be, people who take up a difficult task and set it down quickly. The more people who try it will mean the more people who stick to it--so let the frat boys and hipsters give it a try! Maybe they'll turn out to be the next Max or Glen!

Yay open membership!

Sorry Jim but the molds were broken for these two!

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Personally I think there has always been a suprising number who have always used straights but who have no interest in joining any forum and they have found ways of obtaining what they need through the years.

This was me for years. In fact I knew of The original yahoo group in 2002 or there abouts but could never bring myself to join or even read the posts. I occasionally glanced at the home page to look at the razor pictures. I was content do go it alone as I had done for many years up to that point. What got me to join was a question I had and for the life of me couldn't figure out. I had a couple of eschers that I have owned for over 20 years but could not get consistent results with it. I joined and asked my question thinking I would be on my merry way once I got my answer but here I am. still here more than 2 years later.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Personally I think there has always been a suprising number who have always used straights but who have no interest in joining any forum and they have found ways of obtaining what they need through the years.

+1.

I once met a Belgian forum member who started out here at the same time I did. We went to a honing course together (In the shaving shop in Antwerp. Long story). anyway he had 2 razors, and bought a coticule and pasted strop to maintain them. Sometime later he quit this site because he knew enough to get decent shaves.

For many people, shaving, even with a straight, is just shaving. To many people, shaving is no more 'interesting' than brushing teeth, and they use a straight for environmental / economical / dermatological reasons.

People who stay are a) computer literate b) obsessed by one aspect or other of straight shaving c) prepared to spend a good part of their free time online.

There are many times more people using a straight than we have members. Dovo and TI can't keep up with demand. Even if the straight scene grows dramatically, only a fraction of the users will come to this place, and I am quite sure that many people think that we are just a bunch of elitists like the audiophiles.

Growth will be self-limiting mainly because there are much easier ways to shave. More than ever these days people prefer the simple option. It's going the same way with cars, millions of drivers, but for 98% of them just a means of getting from A to B. Vinyl records are making a comeback with afficionados, but I don't see them overtaking the I-Pod.

Originally Posted by ChrisL

Yes, they'd be unsuspecting lackeys combing the globe for the extremely finite number of vintage blades still in existence. I have no problem with that.

Given our fast track culture, IMO straight razor shaving, by design has a cap on potential widespread interest. There is no way the majority of men and women would adopt this shaving method. Certainly we could see an increase, but not a runaway explosion of new users.

Either way is really OK with me. IF there were a runaway explosion of an exponential number of interested straight razor users across the planet, many of us experienced users would be able to quit our day jobs, open online web stores to sell razors, supplies, honing, etc and have PUH-LENTY of customers to draw from for all of us to be happy. Oh yeah.

This shows how much I daydream about razor stuff (way way way too much):

From one addict to another, you don't daydream too much. I have pictures of my razors on my screen saver and my students regularly ask me "What is that?"

Most of my friends think I'm crazy, or that they would have to be crazy, or that their beard is too tough for a straight, or they are just too lazy to shave. Even a (rather nutsy) guy I know who never has less than 12 inches of blade on him at any given time (usually in 3-6 inch increments) and is required to shave daily (in the Army) has absolutely no interest in straight razors. I don't get why he doesn't get it, but I can't change it.

I don't think it will ever be much more than a niche market, unless all the Bic and Gillette and Schick factories get destroyed by freak accidents all at the same time. (Earthquakes, lightning, ???)
J.

Originally Posted by jfreaksho

I don't think it will ever be much more than a niche market, unless all the Bic and Gillette and Schick factories get destroyed by freak accidents all at the same time. (Earthquakes, lightning, ???)
J.

"Accident" you say?

Keep in mind that fads, and especially hipster-adopted fads, really don't last long. Even if SR shaving, those people who do it cause its cool will eventually become frustrated with the learning curve and maintenance. Some will keep with it, but most will eventually become frustrated and/or move to a different fad. So don't worry too much about fads. Just keep doing it for your own reasons, and don't sweat the hipsters too much.

Well, as a new shaver, i am a product of this incredible growth.
Im for the growth, but good well developed growth. This community is and i hope continues to be the leaders of that.

Mac

Originally Posted by McWolf1969

Well, as a new shaver, i am a product of this incredible growth.
Im for the growth, but good well developed growth. This community is and i hope continues to be the leaders of that.

Mac

here here. whatever makes Americans happier, cuts down on garbage, and quits giving gillette and schick etc money. I'm a product too, but I didn't just hear of this new invention called an open bladed razor.I've had the hots for SR since I was a boy. If we even flirt with any notion of 'us and them' it would insult those, who's work took all of us to this point. Obama says spread the wealth, and so do I. Happy shaves guys- J