The Flood of New SE’s and the Coming Safety Razor Renaissance

I have to say, thinking that in just the past couple of years, we have had 3 new SE razors released (Cobra, Mongoose, OneBlade), when literally nothing new has been put out for decades! And there looks like there will be even more new SE offerings in 2016 (even a modern injector   )! (And this is not even mentioning the explosion occurring in the DE world!)

Something is in the air... I sense that wet shaving is on the cusp of a renaissance, the likes of which most of us have not seen in our lifetimes! Safety razors are making a comeback, with a focus on quality and innovation (see the highest quality stainless steel, pivots on SE razors, sapphire blades, and all new heirloom quality razors built to last). There clearly is a market for all these razors… what, with new ones coming out all the time, and many of them continually sold out, and waiting months just to be put on a waiting list!

This renaissance is just beginning to spread beyond the niche world of collectors, hobbyists, and enthusiasts... and is just now reaching into the mainstream.

What is next? Who knows... but in the coming years I expect many more razors to be released (some will be not so great, but others truly innovative and industry changing, technologically speaking).

But the tell-tale sign that things have been forever changed, and the new era has been fully reached, will be when Gillette and Schick start making their own heirloom versions of the OneBlade's and Mongoose's, and they can be conveniently found in your local Walmart.  (And I do not mean Art of Shaving remakes of old razors, but new 21st century designs). I also think a $40 - $50 entry price point key to mass/mainstream entry into into the modern safety razor world, and if anyone could make this happen with ease, it would be Gillette or Schick.

End of prophesy...

I agree that we are in a truly incredible time for wet shaving. However, I don't think Schick or Gillette will ever produce another safety razor.

Well, who needs Schick or Gillette? I won't go further; but I want to.

I agree Len. I think what's coming will be interesting to say the least.

I agree that we are in a truly incredible time for wet shaving. However, I don't think Schick or Gillette will ever produce another safety razor.

Well, Gillette is still making a DE razor in their plants in India and China.


Sent from my iPhone. Sorry.

Len, I think you're right. The internet has facilitated this phenomenon. Its like the invention of the printing press on steroids. Information spins around the world in an instant and so do products. Its the perfect storm for men especially, I don't know about you but I don't enjoy shopping. A trip to the mall makes me cringe. If I must go I will do research and phone ahead to ensure that the item I want is waiting for me at the counter of the shop. Then I will rappel in from a helicopter and grab it and go..kidding but if I could I would. I plan to park near the entrance closest to the sHop I need to get to and get in and out in as little time as possible. Of course this can all go down the drain if my wife decides to come along. So online I can shop for the item I want, compare prices, read reviews, even communicate with the artisans and merchants and when I decide to buy it, click and it shows up at my door in a few days. Ideal male buying experience. This has contributed in part to the explosion of traditional wet shaving products. That and the prospect of turning a daily drudgery into a pleasant and occasionally transformative experience. The market is at least half of the global adult population, more if you count women shaving legs, armpits etc. People in less affluent countries shave too and wet shaving offers them a cheaper, better alternative. And the really, really cool part about it is that shaving the old fashioned way is actually better on every level! Better shave, better experience, can be cheaper, better for the environment and the incredible range of products and fragrances means that there truly is something for everybody. Even if I want to buy the most expensive products on the market its not like the price of a Ferrari. It is a wonderful time to be alive. Oh happy day,
Mark

Fair point, DB. I mean I don't think they'll produce one for the western market. They're definitely capable, I just don't think it's worth the cost for them. I could be wrong.

I agree that we are in a truly incredible time for wet shaving. However, I don't think Schick or Gillette will ever produce another safety razor.

I don't think they will either, at least not in the US. That would be competing with their highly profitable (4,000% mark up I read) cartridge razors.

Of course Gillette and Schick have no desire to go back into the safety razor business, as they absolutely do not want their cash cow empire of cartridges threatened in any way... but...

Look at vintage razors. Getting harder to find in some cases (even rarer now in antique shops), and certainly marked up in price many, many times from just a few years ago. More and more people buying them up is why.

And again, look at the flood of new razor makers, one even commenting on this thread the same day it was created!

Now, which one of these new, or yet to be formed, razor makers, will put together a universally loved razor, and then, most importantly figure out mass production, distribution, and marketing into the CVS/Walmart stores for under $40? All it takes is one brilliant entrepreneur, among the dozens of new creators out there to figure out these logistical issues, and poof.... Gillette and Schick market share will be seriously threatened, and that enterprising new razor maker will be a millionaire! At that point Gillette and Schick will be forced to take action to force out the young upstart, or at the very least protect their dwindling market share being hit at from the rear.

The only question is, will Gillette and Schick be the first to put a new safety razor in Walmart to preempt the online threat, or will one of the young guns strike the first blow?

I'm liking it. It's good to see that SE razors are FINALLY seeing some modern love...

I just wish more of the modern iterations of SE razors would be compatible with GEM blades without having to be altered, as Brian (SharpSpine) has done by removing the spine of a PTFE blade to accommodate his OneBlade razor.