I just saw a video post (link below) that reminded me of the reason why I, and nearly all of my fellow Marines, started using Gillette multi-bladed razors: they were issued to us.
That’s right; in recruit training the Mach-3 was issued to each and every Marine, and was the only razor we had access to for 13 weeks of training. It performed well, as most of us continued to use it for the remainder of our service and, in many cases, well into our civilian life.
Gillette had one hell of a deal being the sole provider of razors to each and every Marine. As a result, they amassed an army of loyal customers for years to come. In fact, until the arrival of my straight razor earlier today, I had been using a Gillette multi-bladed razor since my very first day in the Marine Corps back in 2000. That’s nearly eleven years of Gillette! Don’t get me wrong, safely razors do have their place, especially in the military. For example, imagine trying to perform a 30 second straight razor shave in the field with only a canteen of cold water and a small mirror that is typically found on the inside of a camouflage face paint compact.
As a civilian, I now have the time to truly enjoy shaving and learn the art of straight razor shaving. That being said, I had my first straight razor (partial) shave today. Now that I have been initiated, I hope to be a master straight razor shaver in the near future.
By the way, I live in the Northern Virginia/DC metro area, so if anyone knows of any local retailers that sell quality shaving gear, please spread the light.
Gillette shaving video:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/videos/63485-funny-gillette-video.html
