For how many more years will we be able to shave like this?

I've only been shaving with a DE for a matter of weeks, but a thought occurred to me yesterday. For how much longer will we be able to shave like this? I walked into the local supermarket and pharmacy the other day and I couldn't see any DE or straight shaving related products - apart from one wilkinson sword shaving brush which I know for a fact is dismal (This was in the UK by the way - not sure how the shelves look in the states). It seems most proper shaving gear is only available from online retailers and some only from specialists.

I personally have not yet encountered anyone else I interact with regularly (job, casual etc.) who also uses a DE or straight - with the vast majority using fusion or mach 3.

Do companies (Feather, Gillette, etc.) still actively produce DE blades and other products or are we simply using up remaining stock? It seems to me Gillette especially dominate store shelves with multi bladed carts. And for how many years will the good old blade continue to be produced? Who knows, it'd sure be a shame to see it all go.

 

Many have stocked up several centuries of soaps, blades, etc. in order to be ready the the shave-apocalypse.

Get a str8. They'll last forever.

 

As soon as I settle on a blade i'll definitely be stocking up.

Once I master the DE its then time to master the straight too.

 

It's actually starting to get a little more accessible here, albeit only the beginner-level stuff. The VDH kits are now on the shelves at most walmarts, fry's food stores, and targets.

 

For a couple of years at least.

That is not so bad, is it? Connaught Shaving is a viable option in terms of price, shipping times and cost, and especially product selection and customer service. That holds true even for customers in thousands of miles away in the US. Traditional wetshaving products are not available in most supermarkets, at least not where I live (Northern California). CVS, a large drugstore chain, does have Van Der Hagen shaving soap and shaving kits, and they also have some good quality shaving creams. Aftershave and shaving balm is sold there, too. There are some specialty stores, such as L'Occitane, Art of Shaving, and Crabtree & Evelyn that sell shaving soap and cream, aftershave balm and brushes. Of the three, only Art of Shaving sells razors and blades, and AoS is very expensive. Cutlery stores often sell straight razors, and many also sell safety razors.

Have you considered scouting out stores that sell wetshaving products in your area? You could post the list online and let others add to it, thus creating a guide to brick-and-mortar retailers for the shaving public.

Traditional wetshavers are still in the minority, at least in the industrialized countries. Wetshaving is growing rapidly, however. Many people discover this alternative when doing an Internet search for online cartridge sellers. They are hoping to save some money by purchasing online and end up using a safety razor and double edge blades.

They still make double edge blades, and will continue doing so for the foreseeable future. There are still vast numbers of people who use a safety razor, especially in developing countries. Their numbers dwarf those of traditional wetshavers in the West, and are the primary customer base for Gillette and its competitors. There are also older gents who started shaving with a safety razor and continue doing so to this day.

There used to be quite a few rather concerned posts on the forums about the "shavepocalypse" - a fictional end to traditional shaving product availability. Quite the opposite turned out to be true, with product availability greater than ever. You have nothing to worry about.

 

As long as there's an internet, I think we'll be OK.

 

I have found very few people that I interact with that actually use either of these methods of shaving. As you ay, they use the fusion or mach 3, and many are joining the dollar shave club. I do have one friend that goes to The Art of Shaving store in our area for a traditional shave on occasion, he still uses the throw away products at home.

Dan

 

That's good to know - I'm glad they are still produced, I hadn't really considered developing countries but it makes sense now, with the reduced costs and all. Although i've had a ropey start, I can see myself sticking to proper shaving for life once i've mastered it.
I might do as you suggest and see if I can find any local shaving shops, I did walk past the taylor of old bond street shop in london last time I went around christmas - I can remember thinking how wonderfully vintage it looked.

If and when blade manufacture does die out, we must collectively purchase and run the machinery for the greater good.

 

I'm working on my stash right now.

 

I've only been DE shaving since last May and have enough razors to last my great great grand children a lifetime. At that point they will sell my collection, for a king's ransom, and retire with a portrait of me hinging over the fireplace at the main estate. They will then honor me yearly, for my wisdom and their good fortune, with a grand party. I digress. I also have many tubs of shave creams and soap to last me many years. With my current collection of brushes I'm also covered. Between Amazon and Ebay I have collected everything that I have for wet shaving, and if anything the vendors are growing. So no worries here. The wealth of Vintage razors, brushes, and othe shave related items that keep showing up on the bay should also keep our appetite satisfied for many generations.

 

lasers will be the norm when I use up the stuff I've collected along the way

 

Lasers? I saw that on Buck Rogers!

 

Traditional shaving is making a comeback, everything that is old is new again.

 

If you are worried about it, pick up a pack of 10,000 blades. Using them for 2 days each, that's about 54 years worth. It will cost you about $650.

 

In my area, Walmart has the best variety for shave cream/post shave,etc, Target sucks all around, and Fred Meyer (Kroger) is getting better. I did see that Fred's has DE blades in store packaging(made in Israel on the back) and now have GEM SE blades that they didn't have a week ago.

 

so I watched a youtube video last night and it was a wet shavers paradise....this guy in New York went to this pharmacy in manhattan and it had everything you could ever imagine in there....go to youtube and search "the shave of a lifetime" by briarwood138....you will be salivating over this place.

 

That's what eBay is for. Order blades from Russia. That's what I do

 

I own way more stuff than I need, and not as much as I want! We are all enablers...............

 

I've stocked up on enough blades to outlast my statistical shelf life. My secret? Buy old stuff for cheap that no other wetshaver (or very few) would ever use.