Okay, so, I saw this gift set on eBay and decided on a lark to order it. It arrived today. I do like getting shave gear that's no longer in production, but of course, this gift set is a cheat because it's actually not accurate to the original Burma Shave line. The original company started in the early 20th century and its promotional gimmicks included putting up road signs advertising the products, often using rhyming, humorous wording. It also sold shave CREAM, not shave SOAP, dismissing the soap and brush method as "Grandpa's" stuff. But as the company declined, it was bought up, only to decline again. Still, in the late 1990s one more attempt was made to capitalize on the Burma Shave brand, hence this holiday shave set. The brush bristles are supposedly natural, according to the package, but I'm not convinced. It was also clearly cut wrong, because despite being a fan knot, it is noticeably crooked. The soap puck is basic white and unscented (to my nose, anyway), and the mug seems better used for coffee than for holding soap. Still, I do like that even as safety razors were basically out of circulation except through the collectors' market, efforts were still made to keep the vintage soap-and-brush method alive. It's a cheap effort, to be sure, the last gasp of a company trying to milk a few sales out of an all-but-dead product. Nevertheless, it does bring to mind the thought: Now that traditional wet shaving is back and becoming mainstream again, such that big box stores now carry safety razors on their shelves, could we see another Burma Shave line revival, but done right? What do you think?
I'd like to ask for the same thing, but involving Rise. Regarding Burma Shave, I have two coffee/shave mugs and had the brush once.
Bought a unbranded Burma Shave brush back in 1979 and still have it. In fact I used it today. Not sure if they have another run in them but would be cool. I also have some squished (elongated) pennies with Burma Shave slogans on them.
Could Burma shave make a come back? I think VDH has the drug store/brick and mortar wet shave thing pretty much wrapped up now, and they do a pretty good job of it as well. Tedoloh
It certainly possible, especially if someone bought the rights to the name and spent the money to bring it back. Id say its a long shot though, most people who used Burma Shave back in the day are either gone or well into their golden years. Im 40 and only know of Burma Shave because of M*A*S*H.
