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But it's not necessary to turn shaving into a hobby with toys and status symbols (look at all the conspicious brand-name-dropping going on in these comments). H

But it's not necessary to turn shaving into a hobby with toys and status symbols (look at all the conspicious brand-name-dropping going on in these comments). However, the anti-Gillette marketing zeitgeist makes you think that that is THE alternative. Looking for information about safety/straight razor usage will undoubtedly suck someone into SEO-friendly shaving "enthusiast" traps unless they avoid it. People should be aware that there is a cheap, simple, boring, utilitarian alternative, but the "alternative shaving culture" will try to mislead them, even if from innocent enthusiasm.

bscphil 4y ago
> the anti-Gillette marketing zeitgeist Which is why it might as well be the pro-Gillette marketing zeitgeist. Too easy to turn away from something under the assumption you'll just get sucked into it and waste a lot of money. Another good example of this is the fountain pen community. As a total outsider, I was actually under the impression that a fountain pen cost well over $100 and was difficult to maintain and write with. I happened to randomly look into it one day only to discover that some very well regarded pens are only $30 or so, write well on almost everything, and will last for years of high quality writing.
- bonoboTP 4y ago
  Yeah, it's pretty much the same effect. Hobbies can cost as much as most hobbyists are willing to pay. Then you get elitism, you get sneers that some beginners are using "too good" equipment that they haven't earned yet (e.g. complaints that beginner photo hobbyists using "too good" cameras) etc. It's just human behavior. As a beginner or casual hobbyist, you need to find a beginner-friendly and mature (ie non-childish) community that understands different levels of involvement, understands there is life outside the hobby as well, understands budgets etc.
bonoboTP 4y ago
Or just buy a safety razor (mine is a simple one made of plastic and some metal weight in the handle) and a bunch of double edge blades and call it a day. If some people want to turn it into a hobby where they obsess over badger hair brushes and so on, that's also fine. Nobody is ever forced to buy that sort of stuff. All marketing tries to mislead people to spend money on "unnecessary" stuff. That's what people mostly spend their disposable income on. And Americans have tons and tons of disposable income, so they are good targets for marketing. I don't see the same thing in Germany for example as people are generally more careful with their money and don't have ginormous amounts of it like Americans (look up the disposable incomes). For example, you're (assuming you're American) also getting screwed by the mattress industry.

bscphil 4y ago

> the anti-Gillette marketing zeitgeist Which is why it might as well be the pro-Gillette marketing zeitgeist. Too easy to turn away from something under the assumption you'll just get sucked into it and waste a lot of money. Another good example of this is the fountain pen community. As a total outsider, I was actually under the impression that a fountain pen cost well over $100 and was difficult to maintain and write with. I happened to randomly look into it one day only to discover that some very well regarded pens are only $30 or so, write well on almost everything, and will last for years of high quality writing.

bonoboTP 4y ago
Yeah, it's pretty much the same effect. Hobbies can cost as much as most hobbyists are willing to pay. Then you get elitism, you get sneers that some beginners are using "too good" equipment that they haven't earned yet (e.g. complaints that beginner photo hobbyists using "too good" cameras) etc. It's just human behavior. As a beginner or casual hobbyist, you need to find a beginner-friendly and mature (ie non-childish) community that understands different levels of involvement, understands there is life outside the hobby as well, understands budgets etc.

bonoboTP 4y ago

Or just buy a safety razor (mine is a simple one made of plastic and some metal weight in the handle) and a bunch of double edge blades and call it a day. If some people want to turn it into a hobby where they obsess over badger hair brushes and so on, that's also fine. Nobody is ever forced to buy that sort of stuff. All marketing tries to mislead people to spend money on "unnecessary" stuff. That's what people mostly spend their disposable income on. And Americans have tons and tons of disposable income, so they are good targets for marketing. I don't see the same thing in Germany for example as people are generally more careful with their money and don't have ginormous amounts of it like Americans (look up the disposable incomes). For example, you're (assuming you're American) also getting screwed by the mattress industry.