Its Quiet Out There....Too Quiet?

I am relatively new to traditional wet shaving (coming up on 2 years) and still enjoy purchasing new hardware...but will definitely slow down in the next year. In my first 18 months I purchased way too many soaps and creams. I estimated that I have enough soap to last me 5 or more years. Therefore, I restrained myself during the summer and through the 2018 holiday discount period...and I purchased zero soaps and creams. I plan to continue this restraint, until I have used up most of my supply (it will eventually go bad if I do not use it). Hardware does not go bad and can always be sold or pif'd, plus I really do enjoy rotating through my treasures. I agree with the previous posts...that most of us reach a peak in our RAD and BAD and finally slowdown our purchases. I truly hope that somehow we (and the vendors) can promote the virtues of the traditional wet shave to young people and keep the pipeline going. Many of us are getting older, and without a pipeline, this niche shaving business will decline over time. Has anyone done an age demographic of the traditional wet shaving community?

I am relatively new to traditional wet shaving (coming up on 2 years) and still enjoy purchasing new hardware...but will definitely slow down in the next year.  In my first 18 months I purchased way too many soaps and creams.  I estimated that I have enough soap to last me 5 or more years.  Therefore, I restrained myself during the summer and through the 2018 holiday discount period...and I purchased zero soaps and creams.  I plan to continue this restraint, until I have used up most of my supply (it will eventually go bad if I do not use it).  Hardware does not go bad and can always be sold or pif'd, plus I really do enjoy rotating through my treasures.  I agree with the previous posts...that most of us reach a peak in our RAD and BAD and finally slowdown our purchases.  I truly hope that somehow we (and the vendors) can promote the virtues of the traditional wet shave to young people and keep the pipeline going.  Many of us are getting older, and without a pipeline, this niche shaving business will decline over time.  Has anyone done an age demographic of the traditional wet shaving community?

The only way I think we can get some real figures is probably from vendors and artisans. I always wondered how many were in the wet shaving community. Age demographics would certainly be another key factor. I've heard people make estimates, but dont think any real market analysis has ever been done. Im sure maybe gillette has done something, however they have never been involved in this community.

Hey Marko , remember this thread?

https://damnfineshave.com/thread-i-am-ta...the-dragon

I think some people maybe going through this same realization, without knowing it. When a perfumer, acting as a soaper, is trying to recreate the scent profile of an oil used by Julius Caesar and uses moon dust for glide, it becomes redundant.

With mid-tier soapers making fantastic products year after year that are repeatable, reliable, and consistent, it's easier to just let the hoarders and resellers buy up the ever present and repetitive new releases. They sit on them like Facebook or Apple stocks only to be resold at a later date.

Same with new production razors. How many different ways can you clamp a DE blade, Gem blade, or injector blade that hasn't been tried since 1960?

I rotate 8 soaps from 3 different makers using a different (vintage) razor each night. And this only depends on the season. Spring/summer will bring a different rotation of soaps from those same 3 makers.

Choice is nice but so it repeatability and consistence. Newer isn't always better than the old.

...Has anyone done an age demographic of the traditional wet shaving community?

...Same with new production razors. How many different ways can you clamp a DE blade, Gem blade, or injector blade that hasn't been tried since 1960?...

Which is why I use either a Gillette Tech or some form of old Schick injector razor.

I think modern razors are making huge strides. Vintage are great, but you cant ignore the modern ones. In my opinion the modern razors that are aggressive are far more forgiving than aggressive vintage razors. I think anyone can learn to get a good shave from most razors. However it doesn't make them the best razors.

Who knows for sure? Maybe there’s less BST activity because people are reading and learning more ahead of making a purchase so when they actually get their paws on an item it was very close if not exactly what they were looking for so no need to resell. Product quality and price has evolved very quickly... but don’t underestimate how we as a consumer are much more educated than we were only a few years ago too. We are a better informed consumer making better (but maybe fewer) purchases. Speaking more in hypotheticals but I know for myself some of it rings true.

I think modern razors are making huge strides. Vintage are great,  but you cant ignore the modern ones.  In my opinion the modern razors that are aggressive are far more forgiving than aggressive vintage razors. I think anyone can learn to get a good shave from most razors. However it doesn't make them the best razors.

The only thing different with modern artisan razors is the material(s) they are made of. There is no such thing as a "forgiving" or "efficient" razor and/or blade. The razor either cuts to the height you feel is right for you or it doesn't and the blade is essentially "trapped" within the razor to that set dimension. Gap & exposure are the keys as well as the hone angle of the blade (determined by the manuf.). Nothing else matters as regards the actual razor except pure aesthetics. We cannot turn what is essentially a "lawnmower" into an animate & sentient being.

I think modern razors are making huge strides. Vintage are great,  but you cant ignore the modern ones.  In my opinion the modern razors that are aggressive are far more forgiving than aggressive vintage razors. I think anyone can learn to get a good shave from most razors. However it doesn't make them the best razors.

The only thing different with modern artisan razors is the material(s) they are made of. There is no such thing as a "forgiving" or "efficient" razor and/or blade. The razor either cuts to the height you feel is right for you or it doesn't and the blade is essentially "trapped" within the razor to that set dimension. Gap & exposure are the keys as well as the hone angle of the blade (determined by the manuf.). Nothing else matters as regards the actual razor except pure aesthetics. We cannot turn what is essentially a "lawnmower" into an animate & sentient being.

I believe head geometry determines the way a razor shaves as well. You may not like the term forgiving, allow me to explain myself. I like aggressive razors. Modern razors for me that are aggressive tend not to bite me as much. Maybe they have larger gaps with different exposures. Yes there are slight differences that have been made by razor makers than can make a razor shave better. Experimenting with different angles, gaps and exposures. It's just not material. I suggest reading about a modern razor like charcoal goods. The software he uses is so precise, and slight adjustments can make a razor shave completely different. Is it reinventing the wheel, of course not. Just because you can shave with a razor made 60 years ago, doesn't mean that every razor made after cannot be improved upon, or be better than that. All of this is subjective, I have collected vintage razors and modern machined razors. For me the moderns just shave better. It's not a landslide, but in my opinion they are just better. If you are going to make a claim that modern razors are just pure aesthetics, then im going to assume you have very little experience with modern machined razors.

I think modern razors are making huge strides. Vintage are great,  but you cant ignore the modern ones.  In my opinion the modern razors that are aggressive are far more forgiving than aggressive vintage razors. I think anyone can learn to get a good shave from most razors. However it doesn't make them the best razors.

The only thing different with modern artisan razors is the material(s) they are made of. There is no such thing as a "forgiving" or "efficient" razor and/or blade. The razor either cuts to the height you feel is right for you or it doesn't and the blade is essentially "trapped" within the razor to that set dimension. Gap & exposure are the keys as well as the hone angle of the blade (determined by the manuf.). Nothing else matters as regards the actual razor except pure aesthetics. We cannot turn what is essentially a "lawnmower" into an animate & sentient being.

I have to respectfully disagree with regard to forgiving and efficient razors. I agree that all razors cut the hairs but the manner in which the blade is presented to the skin makes a big difference. You said gap and exposure are key but that is precisely what makes the difference in terms of efficiency, aggressiveness, forgiving, etc. I shave with a Feather AS-D2 with a Feather blade every day and have been for over two years. That razor and blade combination provides me with a very efficient shave and I consider it to be very forgiving. I had a lot of bloody shaves the first couple years of wet-shaving while trying to find the best razor and blade combo for my skin and beard type. There were a few that worked pretty well but none that compared to the AS-D2, although the PAA DOC is a close second.

I think modern razors are making huge strides. Vintage are great,  but you cant ignore the modern ones.  In my opinion the modern razors that are aggressive are far more forgiving than aggressive vintage razors. I think anyone can learn to get a good shave from most razors. However it doesn't make them the best razors.

The only thing different with modern artisan razors is the material(s) they are made of. There is no such thing as a "forgiving" or "efficient" razor and/or blade. The razor either cuts to the height you feel is right for you or it doesn't and the blade is essentially "trapped" within the razor to that set dimension. Gap & exposure are the keys as well as the hone angle of the blade (determined by the manuf.). Nothing else matters as regards the actual razor except pure aesthetics. We cannot turn what is essentially a "lawnmower" into an animate & sentient being.

I have to respectfully disagree with regard to forgiving and efficient razors. I agree that all razors cut the hairs but the manner in which the blade is presented to the skin makes a big difference. You said gap and exposure are key but that is precisely what makes the difference in terms of efficiency, aggressiveness, forgiving, etc. I shave with a Feather AS-D2 with a Feather blade every day and have been for over two years. That razor and blade combination provides me with a very efficient shave and I consider it to be very forgiving. I had a lot of bloody shaves the first couple years of wet-shaving while trying to find the best razor and blade combo for my skin and beard type. There were a few that worked pretty well but none that compared to the AS-D2, although the PAA DOC is a close second.

The timeless .95 is a perfect example. It has a huge blade gap. Yet is a very smooth razor. I find it very difficult to cut myself with that razor. It has in my mind a great blade gap and blade exposure combination. I totally agree with you, certain razors are prone to giving me cuts, while other are more forgiving.