New Gillette DE

I keep hearing about a release from Gillette on a new DE? Fill me in. I've been off the grid for a bit.

 

Rumors have been floating around for several months about AoS selling a Gillette razor based on the class Fat Handle Tech. Current versions of the rumor place the release in the Fall timeframe based on various conversations with AoS store managers and bolstered by the fact that what appears to be a Fat Handle Tech has appeared in several AoS images on Instagram.

Rumor says there will be two versions- a limited-edition commemorative model and a general production model. Supposedly, it is the first in a series with the next being based on the classic Adjustable razors.

 

Will they be made in the Western World or cheap slave labor China/SE Asia?

 

Sadly, if it's Art of Shaving that is selling it it'll be ridiculously priced.

I'd be way cheaper for the same product if Gillette sold it under theirown name.

 

I can't find it now, but there's a lengthy thread here on TSD about this.

 

Ohio, reportedly.

 

AoS is Gillette

 

They are both owned my proctor and gamble. But if the razor is branded under aos it'll be very expensive. Just like everything else in that store.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

Gillette will likely hit a home run in the marketing department but IMV will come up short with the product. They can no more replecate their past glory as Chevy can now make a 57.

 

I agree, though it's the part of the story that I don't understand.

We live in an era where it should be possible to take a pre-war Fat Handle tech, 3-D scan it, and produce a duplicate to within sub-millimeter tolerances. The rumors, however, say that the product was delayed because Gillette wasn't happy with the results and had to "redesign" it.

This is where I get lost. I assume the redesign part comes from one of two things:
1) The initial manufacturing process produced poor yields and it had to be redesigned either to improve yields or for a different process.
2) A perception and/or test results that showed shavers wouldn't be happy with "just" a remade Tech.

Based on the experiences of both Rockwell and SUPPLY, I'll assume the first case.

In a way, I feel bad for Gillette in trying to copy the classic Tech. The Tech is a favorite among vintage razor users, but a lot of people have their own ideas about what is the best one. The AoS Tech, if it ever comes to market, will probably be one of the most reviewed Wet Shaving products and will likely generate very mixed reviews as people chime in on why it is or isn't better than their favorite Tech.

The only saving grace would be if, by some labor of love or blind luck, Gillette managed to take everything they've learned over the past 30 years and actually made an improved Tech. I think they have the resources to do it... I just don't know if it's worth their wile to do it.