July 23, 2006

When will it end?

I know, I haven't blogged for ages. Two reasons,

  1. I didn't feel like it.
  2. Nothing really to say, my life consists of going to work and coming home again.

Anyway, onto the topic at hand ;-)

I currently shave using a well-known 3-blade razor. These have been getting more gimmicky lately, including a model that is battery powered and sends small vibrations to the head to "allow you to get a closer shave." How true this is I have no idea, I didn't fall for the hype. Geez, I only changed from a trusty 2-blade about 18 months ago!

There are now 4-blade razors on the market and I thought it couldn't get much more ridiculous.

I was wrong!

A friend forwarded me this webpage thinking I may be interested. I was, but only because this is a 5-blade razor with a blade at the back of the cartridge for trimming up. 5 BLADES

Where is it going to end? Are we going to end up with 10-blade razors the size of our heads with battery-powered handles to get 'the ultimate shaving comfort sensation'?

Stop the madness I say!

Still, I've asked them to send me one - I expect the cartridges to be incredibly expensive though. We'll see what it's like.

Hopefully I'll get one and I can post back as to whether it really is an improvement over 3 blades or it's just the load of marketing bull I expect it to be...

Posted by Garry at July 23, 2006 11:34 AM
Comments

Hey Garry, great to see you blogging again! You're right, it is all total advertising hype. Surely 5 blades = 5 opportunities to cut yourself? Wasn't there a Billy Connolly sketch about the number of blades on a razor a few years ago?

Seriously, the difference between the cut of the 5 blades must be less than thousandths of a millimetre. Not being au fait with dragging a blade across my chin every morning, surely that can't make the difference between being a social pariah and having a million women throwing themselves at your feet?

Surely it must be as much to do with the shave lubricant you use rather than the blade itself given the tolerances involved. Let me know what you think so I can pass on your findings to the relevant party in the Whiteside household :)

Posted by: Ann at July 27, 2006 12:31 AM

This is utterly daft. In my former job we used to ship razor blades. After alcohol they were one of the worst things to move anywhere because they have such a high value, are easy to steal, and can be resold on the black market so easily to any relevent party who might need them (and I don't mean someone who needs a good shave if you know what I mean). Adding more blades to the equation is going to make them nigh on impossible to ship and insure when moving them - we even had hauliers who were not prepared to haul them for us because they knew if they got stolen they'd get screwed for so much money.

I'll maybe tell you a story about the blades one day (outside of the public eye).

I use Gillette Mach 3, but have found that the shaving cream used has as much to do with it as anything else, and also the amount of time since my last shave. If I shaved every day my face would look like pizza...I shave once a week when I can as my ideal, and find I get a much better shave as a result.

I doubt very much an extra two blades is going to have a difference to me.

Posted by: Gabby at August 3, 2006 6:12 PM