The Next Big Breakthrough?

With all the artisans focusing on soaps, pre/post shave creams/splashes, razors and brushes, I would love to see some love given to the blades themselves. Barring all prohibitive manufacturing and production cost variables, I would love to see a thicker, sharper/smoother and longer lasting DE blade. Some dabbling in different blade materials wouldn't be a bad thing either.

Artisan blades huh? You might be onto something...

Artisan blades huh? You might be onto something...

Well, I know Rockwell has a line of blades. Not sure if they are a re-brand or not, but obviously there is a way. Honestly, I think it's a good time to be in wet-shaving in terms of the availability of high quality razors and brushes, but we've made zero headway in regards to blades. Sure we've adapted to existing blades (the Feather ACs and the GEMS), which is a positive, but If we could have a double edge blade thick enough to handle different edge grinds (a variation on the the hollow grind maybe) and/or different metals and coatings, I think it could be revolutionary.

I may be showing my age but here goes. I remember when there were phones with cords attached to the wall, no answering machines and no stored numbers with speed dialing. And, we all got along well. My wife and I had a conversation the other day, the topic, what if our parents were still alive? How would they accept our current technology today. Such as cell phones and everything else that makes our lives easier than in the past; or does it? Yesterday I was in a store checking out and I used my Apple Watch to pay for my products with Apple Pay. A woman asked me if I were “Dick Tracy” to which I said no but I am old enough to know who he is. In my life time we have gone from A to Z. What is next??

What am I trying to say? I stopped using a can of chemicals and NEW technology razors that contain two blades, three blades, six blades or maybe some day a dozen blades. White strips that tell us “hey dummy” buy a new package of blades that will someday cost $20 for three cartridges. New shaped handles, gel strips, etc, etc, etc. So, I decide to go back to the past and buy a double edge safety razor, a brush and a puck of shaving soap. And I truly enjoyed it. Then I started reading shaving blogs and I like all of you fell into the dark hole. Instead of owning one razor, one type of blade and one or two soaps. I only use one brand of razor today, but I own others. I currently have at least 90 soaps and creams and at least 7 brands of blades and have tried at least 5 others and of course 18 brushes. Why? Because that is the thing to do. I actually have a list of at least 10 other soaps I want to purchase. I then looked at my wife’s cosmetics baskets and draws and holy crap she has a couple of hundred lotions, potions, eye makeup, lipsticks and it gos on and on. I do not want to own hundreds of shaving products. Frankly, I could care less about the next “big breakthrough”, I am happy with what I currently have. The next “Big Breakthrough” is a marketing term that means spend more money and buy me. Before long wet shaving will become as technical as what I left. Why do we acquire some much of what we don’t need. Several years ago I went through a mid life crises and bought a Harley Davidson; I now own 4 why? Within this new year there will be dozens of new products. I looked at the man in the mirror and decided enough is enough, new break through or not.

I may be showing my age but here goes.  I remember when there were phones with cords attached to the wall, no answering machines and no stored numbers with speed dialing.  And, we all got along well.  My wife and I had a conversation the other day, the topic, what if our parents were still alive?  How would they accept our current technology today.  Such as cell phones and everything else that makes our lives easier than in the past; or does it?  Yesterday I was in a store checking out and I used my Apple Watch to pay for my products with Apple Pay.  A woman asked me if I were “Dick Tracy” to which I said no but I am old enough to know who he is.  In my life time we have gone from A to Z.  What is next??

What am I trying to say?  I stopped using a can of chemicals and NEW technology razors that contain two blades, three blades, six blades or maybe some day a dozen blades.  White strips that tell us “hey dummy” buy a new package of blades that will someday cost $20 for three cartridges.  New shaped handles, gel strips, etc, etc, etc.  So, I decide to go back to the past and buy a double edge safety razor, a brush and a puck of shaving soap.  And I truly enjoyed it.  Then I started reading shaving blogs and I like all of you fell into the dark hole.  Instead of owning one razor, one type of blade and one or two soaps.  I only use one brand of razor today, but I own others.  I currently have at least 90 soaps and creams and at least 7 brands of blades and have tried at least 5 others and of course 18 brushes.  Why?  Because that is the thing to do.  I actually have a list of at least 10 other soaps I want to purchase.  I then looked at my wife’s cosmetics baskets and draws and holy crap she has a couple of hundred lotions, potions, eye makeup, lipsticks and it gos on and on.  I do not want to own hundreds of shaving products.  Frankly, I could care less about the next “big breakthrough”, I am happy with what I currently have.  The next “Big Breakthrough” is a marketing term that means spend more money and buy me.  Before long wet shaving will become as technical as what I left.  Why do we acquire some much of what we don’t need.  Several years ago I went through a mid life crises and bought a Harley Davidson;  I now own 4 why?    Within this new year there will be dozens of new products.  I looked at the man in the mirror and decided enough is enough, new break through or not.

Tidepoolmy dad is alive, he's 88 and he thinks much of whats going on is hooey. Heck, I'm alive and I agree with him. Humanity has seen more change in the last 100 years than we've seen in the 100,000 before that. Our kids look at us aghast when we tell them we didn't have personal computers, smartphones or even electronic calculators when we were children. There was a time when the world was so stable that generations upon generations of people could reasonably expect to live exactly as their parents, grandparents, great grandparents.......had and they did. Stability, not a lot of stress at least not from rapid change, maybe from the threat of disease or other early, violent death but it was expected. I have one of those watches and its pretty cool, I got some air pods for Christmas (thanks Santa) so I can listen to music wirelessly from my watch. Its like magic. Heck, I thought vinyl records were like magic. 8-track tapes were black magic I also hear what you're saying about all the stuff - man its got to stop. After the next big thing!

Tidepool an Marko,

Phew! It is comforting to know that I am not alone.
Don't tell anyone but I still remember party lines and ice boxes and clutch pedals and Lorne Green, the CBC radio's trusted Voice of Doom, not the cowboy.

I will concede that 10 cents per slide, which made me a far better photographer than I am today which is 10 slides per 1/10 of a cent , will not be missed..

Returning to the original poster's comments regarding blade technology advances (e.g., diamond blades and such) lasting years at peak sharpness, agreed that well and truly would be advantageous on a variety of merging fronts: commercially, economically and environmentally.

One would necessarily presume Gillette and other legacy manufacturers would price the new diamond blades at the appropriate multiple representing the equivalent number of legacy blades required to achieve the designed life of the new diamond blade but save substantially in facility size, workers, machinery, packaging, distribution and other costs associated with the vastly reduced production volumes.  The only questions to be determined are whether the new process can be facilitated within the price constraints of the aforementioned multiple and what the market would accommodate.

Economically it would free up steel and rare metal consumption at a time when it will be sorely needed for the change over to new energy schemes, transportation systems and ownership models.  Although a believer in zero sum economics, when there is abundance there is opportunity for the mature economies to nourish (or at least share) resources with those developing without incurring the social unrest typically accompanying a reequilibrium.

Environmentally it eliminates the incredible inefficiency of disposing of tonnes of perfectly good metal (and plastic in the case of cartridges) along with the packaging being discarded (primarily because most consumers see no advantage recycling their waste thoroughly).

All these are contributors to a virtuousl synergistic cycle when a healthy system exists enabling sustainability but also a vicious synergistic cycle as exists in the current state of affairs.  Indeed that would be a revolutionary breakthrough for all mankind.

Of course it might entail all alternatives to one shave system disappearing (save straight edges) due to the economics not supporting the plethora of shaving systems coexisting currently....

Returning to the original poster's comments regarding blade technology advances (e.g., diamond blades and such) lasting years at peak sharpness, agreed that well and truly would be advantageous on a variety of merging fronts: commercially, economically and environmentally.

One would necessarily presume Gillette and other legacy manufacturers would price the new diamond blades at the appropriate multiple representing the equivalent number of legacy blades required to achieve the designed life of the new diamond blade but save substantially in facility size, workers, machinery, packaging, distribution and other costs associated with the vastly reduced production volumes. The only questions to be determined are whether the new process can be facilitated within the price constraints of the aforementioned multiple and what the market would accommodate.

Economically it would free up steel and rare metal consumption at a time when it will be sorely needed for the change over to new energy schemes, transportation systems and ownership models. Although a believer in zero sum economics, when there is abundance there is opportunity for the mature economies to nourish (or at least share) resources with those developing without incurring the social unrest typically accompanying a reequilibrium.

Environmentally it eliminates the incredible inefficiency of disposing of tonnes of perfectly good metal (and plastic in the case of cartridges) along with the packaging being discarded (primarily because most consumers see no advantage recycling their waste thoroughly).

All these are contributors to a virtual synergistic cycle when a healthy system exists enabling sustainability but also a vicious synergistic cycle as exists in the current state of affairs. Indeed that would be a revolutionary breakthrough for all mankind.

Of course it might entail all alternatives to one shave system disappearing (save straight edges) due to the economics not supporting the plethora of shaving systems coexisting currently....

That's going awfully deep for a discussion about shaving, IMO. New shaving technologies aren't going to impact the world that much, if at all.

Returning to the original poster's comments regarding blade technology advances (e.g., diamond blades and such) lasting years at peak sharpness, agreed that well and truly would be advantageous on a variety of merging fronts: commercially, economically and environmentally.

One would necessarily presume Gillette and other legacy manufacturers would price the new diamond blades at the appropriate multiple representing the equivalent number of legacy blades required to achieve the designed life of the new diamond blade but save substantially in facility size, workers, machinery, packaging, distribution and other costs associated with the vastly reduced production volumes.  The only questions to be determined are whether the new process can be facilitated within the price constraints of the aforementioned multiple and what the market would accommodate.

Economically it would free up steel and rare metal consumption at a time when it will be sorely needed for the change over to new energy schemes, transportation systems and ownership models.  Although a believer in zero sum economics, when there is abundance there is opportunity for the mature economies to nourish (or at least share) resources with those developing without incurring the social unrest typically accompanying a reequilibrium.

Environmentally it eliminates the incredible inefficiency of disposing of tonnes of perfectly good metal (and plastic in the case of cartridges) along with the packaging being discarded (primarily because most consumers see no advantage recycling their waste thoroughly).

All these are contributors to a virtual synergistic cycle when a healthy system exists enabling sustainability but also a vicious synergistic cycle as exists in the current state of affairs.  Indeed that would be a revolutionary breakthrough for all mankind.

Of course it might entail all alternatives to one shave system disappearing (save straight edges) due to the economics not supporting the plethora of shaving systems coexisting currently....

Who are you and what have you done with KAV?

Who are you and what have you done with KAV?

For him to be KAV, he would have to insult at least 3 person and 4 groups of people. (which he didn't).

So DanLaw != KAV

Realize failed to state it clearly but it is something of importance taken in the parochial perspective of shaving to audience members of a shaving forum but also something much more catholic if expanded to all consumer goods.  

Not being a tree hugger but presume everybody is alarmed with the overflow of garbage culminating in such atrocities as the continent sized island of floating plastic refuse in the Pacific let alone the pure economic waste of an otherwise valuable resource.