Its Quiet Out There....Too Quiet?

The forum ‘slowdown’ has been observed and mentioned on several forums, but I don’t think that’s indicative of wet shaving overall. Many folks have moved to social media groups for a variety of reasons. I never liked social media and prefer the good ol’ forums like this one.

Go to somewhere like Maggards and look at the number of artisan soapmakers - there must be a thousand products. High end straights are still holding their price points, the SR artisans all have waiting lists, and ditto for the more desirable artisan DE razors.

If forums are slowing down the owners need to take a look at their business model. I got tired of forums where I had to keep track of who paid who, be careful what I linked to, etc. That’s why I’m here and FB groups are strong. They’re tired of the nonsense.

social media is good for quick and live conversations but it's absolutely terrible for organizing and archiving data, at least in my opinion.

Amen! I tried a couple of social media shaving groups and frankly it was too "Wild West" for me. Trolls were rampant. Seemed that adversarial posts were common. Not my bag although they were lively. And as Andrew states, DFS has archives that are fun to dust off.

The forum ‘slowdown’ has been observed and mentioned on several forums, but I don’t think that’s indicative of wet shaving overall. Many folks have moved to social media groups for a variety of reasons. I never liked social media and prefer the good ol’ forums like this one.

Go to somewhere like Maggards and look at the number of artisan soapmakers - there must be a thousand products. High end straights are still holding their price points, the SR artisans all have waiting lists, and ditto for the more desirable artisan DE razors.

If forums are slowing down the owners need to take a look at their business model. I got tired of forums where I had to keep track of who paid who, be careful what I linked to, etc. That’s why I’m here and FB groups are strong. They’re tired of the nonsense.

social media is good for quick and live conversations but it's absolutely terrible for organizing and archiving data, at least in my opinion.

Absolutely. It’s also terrible at encouraging diverse opinions and thought.

Cheers, Steve

I also think that efforts to woo new (especially young) shavers to the “old school “ DE method suffers from concerns about safety.

To many potential converts, a cartridge razor is, I think, peddled as being a less risky means of removing whiskers, and, as the blades are smaller (despite being more numerous), they are perceived as less likely to cut the user.

A larger DE blade connotes a greater hazard—AND—a learning curve younger shavers may be less willing to work through.

One key to inducing that willingness may be the promotion of the higher-quality accouterments we like (with fewer toxic chemicals), also made by smaller (often family-oriented) businesses.

Ultimately, they may ALSO want to try the razor and shaving method we like TOO...

Emphasizing the “eco” AND economic benefit to adopting a more traditional shaving approach might also be useful to promote a tryout. No one needs an expensive “den” to enjoy wet shaving the DE way, especially if the prospect is young, and money is tight...

You only toss a recyclable stainless blade (eventually). NOT empty cans of chemicals and used plastic razor cartridges.

Your quality gear is YOURS...and you can keep and enjoy it for a lifetime

Years ago I converted a few to DE wet shaving, but then I gave up as I decided that most just stared at me as if I were explaining to them how to load a musket.    


"What? There's no App for that??!!"  

On the concerns of Safety of safety razor:

I remember the fear and trepidation I had the first time I held a double edged safety razor to my face for that first stroke. I was tense and white knuckling both the Merkur 34C and the counter top!

But now after over 1,200 shaves (over 3 years for the non-trackers of shaves!), I can honestly say I have had more bad "common" cuts with a cartridge than with my DE razor. This is due to the 3 to 5 blades in a cart, which when I got careless or distracted could yield a cut that looked like fish gills! And those can take time to heal up, meaning I usually skipped that area. A nick with a cart usually resulted in at least two parallel nicks, whereas with the DE it has been smaller and only one cut. However, DE can give a gouge-like cut if the angle is right (or wrong!).

My point is that with one nephew I pointed this single vs multi cut/nick and that helped him get over the hurdle. He loved the DE shaves, but I don't know if he is still "in" with us!

Even though Wet Shaving may have slowed down a little bit, I think the fans of it are still as strong as ever. In 2019, we are planning a whole bunch of different new fragrance releases and bringing more awesome products to wet shavers all around the world.

Even though Wet Shaving may have slowed down a little bit, I think the fans of it are still as strong as ever. In 2019, we are planning a whole bunch of different new fragrance releases and bringing more awesome products to wet shavers all around the world.

Glad to hear it. I love my Formula T soaps. Keep up the great work!

I agree with Lipripper. I was very active during my first year or two seeking new products and trying just about everything out there. Now I'm settled into 6-8 vendors that I love and I don't plan to buy too much more other than an occasional new soap. Attached is a photo of my modest den. Glad for the conversation.

There's plenty of room for growth.  Someone has to find a way to reach the masses, though.  The hobby shavers are an unsustainable market.  One million wetshavers who each own one soap,  one brush,  and one aftershave are far better than 10,000 crazies who each own 100 soaps.  

There are two critical events (in my opinion) that can take place that will decide the future of wetshaving.  The positive would be that while we are still experiencing the boom and excitement,  an artisan or company finds the channel and funding to reach a market that dwarfs the current market.  At that point,  King Gillette has no choice but to stand up re-enter the wetshaving  market in an attempt to win back lost customers, bringing even more marketing power with them. They will get their market share back in the end,  even if it means buying a few more senators,  but they'll make a few other folks in the wetshaving world wealthy in the process.

The negative option is that no one in the current wetshaving market risks it all for a chance at greatness.  We continue the current trend for a few more years,  maybe a decade even.  New artisans and companies pop up. Those who can't keep up fold. Hobbyist artisans grow tired of the process and go back to their normal work and find something else to do with their free time.  Whale customers who buy everything become fewer and farther in between.  Less excitement and chatter from current wetshavers leads to less new wetshavers who were persuaded to try it based solely on word of mouth from an acquaintance. We reach the event horizon where it doesn't matter what anyone does,  the market declines.  Wetshaving slowly returns to pre-2010 levels and I'm forced to go find a job that doesn't allow me to work in flip flops and shorts,  binging on coffee and Netflix while I make soap.

I'm to the point that I want to force option one, even if it fails miserably and I end up back at square one.  Mandy and I are in our eighth year doing this.  While we've continued to grow,  we just never seem to be able to get over the hump to where we feel comfortable and secure.  Part of it is frustration over how much time and effort we've expended recently having to figure out how to properly sign up and start collecting and paying taxes in 18 new states thanks to the Supreme Court decision on internet taxes.  Part of it is readying for another round of USPS, FEDEX,  and UPS raising rates again. Part of it is thinking that we were finally about to move the business off our property and move into a legitimate business location only to find out we have to replace the roof on the building we bought. Part of it is that I'm just tired, I suppose.

Either way, in the next year or so, it's time to poop or get off the pot.  If it turns out I can't defecate Tiffany cufflinks, I'll find another pot to sit on. I'm really hoping to turn around and find Tiffany cufflinks though. As frustrated as I get sometimes, I do enjoy doing this and would love to build it into something I can pass onto my sons.

There's plenty of room for growth.  Someone has to find a way to reach the masses, though.  The hobby shavers are an unsustainable market.  One million wetshavers who each own one soap,  one brush,  and one aftershave are far better than 10,000 crazies who each own 100 soaps.  

There are two critical events (in my opinion) that can take place that will decide the future of wetshaving.  The positive would be that while we are still experiencing the boom and excitement,  an artisan or company finds the channel and funding to reach a market that dwarfs the current market.  At that point,  King Gillette has no choice but to stand up re-enter the wetshaving  market in an attempt to win back lost customers, bringing even more marketing power with them. They will get their market share back in the end,  even if it means buying a few more senators,  but they'll make a few other folks in the wetshaving world wealthy in the process.

The negative option is that no one in the current wetshaving market risks it all for a chance at greatness.  We continue the current trend for a few more years,  maybe a decade even.  New artisans and companies pop up. Those who can't keep up fold. Hobbyist artisans grow tired of the process and go back to their normal work and find something else to do with their free time.  Whale customers who buy everything become fewer and farther in between.  Less excitement and chatter from current wetshavers leads to less new wetshavers who were persuaded to try it based solely on word of mouth from an acquaintance. We reach the event horizon where it doesn't matter what anyone does,  the market declines.  Wetshaving slowly returns to pre-2010 levels and I'm forced to go find a job that doesn't allow me to work in flip flops and shorts,  binging on coffee and Netflix while I make soap.

I'm to the point that I want to force option one, even if it fails miserably and I end up back at square one.  Mandy and I are in our eighth year doing this.  While we've continued to grow,  we just never seem to be able to get over the hump to where we feel comfortable and secure.  Part of it is frustration over how much time and effort we've expended recently having to figure out how to properly sign up and start collecting and paying taxes in 18 new states thanks to the Supreme Court decision on internet taxes.  Part of it is readying for another round of USPS, FEDEX,  and UPS raising rates again. Part of it is thinking that we were finally about to move the business off our property and move into a legitimate business location only to find out we have to replace the roof on the building we bought. Part of it is that I'm just tired, I suppose.

Either way, in the next year or so, it's time to poop or get off the pot.  If it turns out I can't defecate Tiffany cufflinks, I'll find another pot to sit on. I'm really hoping to turn around and find Tiffany cufflinks though. As frustrated as I get sometimes, I do enjoy doing this and would love to build it into something I can pass onto my sons.

Thank you so much for that intimate and professionally informed insider peek. As a recent and very satisfied first time direct buyer, I hope things come together for you and Mandy.