Quote Originally Posted by mparker762
I suspect it was mostly the war. King Gillette went bankrupt several times because nobody was interested in his new safety razor. Many men did not shave back then, and even those that did probably didn't shave every day. But in the trenches it was necessary for every man to maintain a close shave at all times so the gas mask would fit tightly; in such an environment (little-to-no hot water, iffy availability of mirrors and strops and hones etc) the DE was a major improvement over the straight. So a generation of men (a) got used to being clean-shaven and (b) used the DE to do it. When they got back they remained clean shaven, and started buying their familiar safety razors en masse.
I think that's probably right, yes. And after millions of converts came home, everyone had to try Mr. King Gilette's safety razor. I wonder if there was a concommitant decline in barber shop shaves during that time as well?

Bill has a point as well, though I think those of earlier generations took a more pragmatic view of safety. Look at the aforementioned barber shop. I'm sure that in the old days, lots of people got shaved with the same razor and maybe brush (though if you were a regular, you had your own shaving mug). I don't think there was an epidemic of people dying as a result of going to barber shops. Similarly, you can cut yourself with a straight razor, but has anyone here ever done any serious damage to themselves? Anything that would do more than /maybe/ leave a scar?

So, maybe we've all just become so milquetoast as a result of modern culture?