Thread: Wet shaving magazine

Originally Posted by dkell

There was a fellow who was starting up one. I actually have a copy of his one and only edition. It looked promising but seems to have floundered. Hmmm...I should drop him a line and see where he's at with this.

Circulationmust be a formidable obstacle. Unless you have a lot of $$ I imagine getting the word out would be a problem. Also the costs must have gone up considerably. Hard to believe that I used to buy a comic book for a dime when I was a kid and an issue of Time magazine cost thirty five cents.

This is the wet shaving magazine, each of us contribute, edit, publish and read this constantly updated publication. Enjoy!

Jimmy I can't believe you left out hones from your vision of a wet shave magazine. Or would that be a sister publication .

I think that they would run out of new material very quickly.
Aside from soap, cologne, and the products of two straight razor manufacturers who can't keep up with demand, most of the items straight razor and vintage DE aficionados use went out of production decades ago. There there would be little to be gained by any potential advertisers.
This website is the best information resource for shaving. As straight razor wet-shavers we are a minority of a minority.

Originally Posted by wdwrx

I think the internet is killing the old fashioned print companies...
IIRC, the total subscription to the two largest wet-shaving sites barely total 50,000, and how many are registered to both? Every man-jack of us would have to buy a subscription and even then would that be enough?

25,000 x $20/ year for subscription.

The copy of the magazine I have was a PDF that was distributed by email. He was going to sell advertisement as a means to keep the thing going. I know there was a flap on another board about this.

Yeah, that would be great but for me, SRP is enough. New informatioin daily, immediate feedback, interaction with other readers. Could a paper magazine really beat that? And it comes without those annoying cards that fall out.

Gentlemen:

Everyone makes excellent points on this subject: that having a wet-shaving publication would be welcome, but that also we have realities to face.

Such a publication — of quality, of course — will need a good editor. Good writers. Focus and point of view. Good photography. Substantial advertising. The list goes on. All that requires a budget.

It also requires readership. Will it have enough? I think not, especially in a world that considers a vibrating razor with five blades to be man's greatest creation, and that all you need with that to experience the world's greatest shave is a can of shave cream — and a couple minutes of you precious time time daily.

Bang, bang, bang — it's done and over with.

And so it goes sometimes with reality. Stay well, gentlemen.

Regards,
Obie

Originally Posted by Obie

Such a publication — of quality, of course — will need a good editor. Good writers. Focus and point of view. Good photography. Substantial advertising. The list goes on. All that requires a budget.

We could use the existing material in the SOTD for a long time

Originally Posted by Obie

It also requires readership. Will it have enough?

Sure it will. No barber, beauty salon, or doctor's office will be complete without a membership!

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

We could use the existing material in the SOTD for a long time
Sure it will. No barber, beauty salon, or doctor's office will be complete without a membership!

Hello, Hoglahoo:

Thank you for your note.

Assuming this to be a monthly magazine, you really don't think the material in the SOTD is enough for such a publication? If that is the case, perhaps you and I are looking at two different magazines.

What I envision is a slick and professionally run, edited, written and photographed magazine. Putting all finances aside, including a small sales staff, this is what I would require were I the publisher:

1. Editor: who in addition to being responsible for the article's proper content and focus, would check for style consistency, spelling, grammar and syntax.

2. Writers: a staff of at least one professional and a stable of freelancers. I don't believe the magazine would run out of things to publish. Throw it open to a good editor and some professional writers and they will come up with all types of ideas. I don't see that as a problem at all. At the same time, what's being written must go to the editor in the best shape possible. An editor has no time to spend an enormous amount of energy correcting spelling and other shortcomings of an article. From my experience, most editors reject outright poorly written material.

3. Photographers: Since the subject of wet shaving covers a vast amount of material, from razors to soaps and creams, good photography for a slick magazine is must. Here freelance photographers can create wonders — and directed by the editor.

4. Fees: since very few editors, writers and photographers work free these days.

And I can go on and on. All this is a moot point, since I don't see a professionally run, edited and written wet shaving magazine on the horizon. It would be nice.

Regards,
Obie