16 Apr
2013
16 Apr
'13
1:08 p.m.
On Apr 16, 2013, at 3:16 PM, Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote:
On 04/16/2013 11:02 AM, David Riley wrote:
Gillette definitely still does that. They sent me a Mach 3 right around
the time I turned 18 (not as long ago as some on this list :-). It was
actually a little creepy, since I hadn't had any business with them
before, but I guess they Just Know?
In any case, it worked, because I still use the same razor more than 10
years later. Schick sent me a coupon for a free razor a few months ago
and I figured I'd try it out, but their strategy backfired; it gave me
the opportunity to discover that their razors are absolute garbage that
literally fall apart and leave junk (the "moisturizing strip") on your
face.
I'm tempted to try double-bladed razors, since the blades are quite a
bit cheaper than the Mach 3 ones, but so far I've been too lazy. I did
find a local purveyor of proper cakes of shaving soap, but that's what
comes of living around hipsters. :-)
And they're an especially poor solution for
text, given how expensive
inkjet ink is compared to toner or (easily-refillable) ribbon ink.
King Camp Gillette's "give them the razor, but sell them the blades"
philosophy at work, although he certainly didn't invent it. Indeed, I've seen
inkjet printers selling for less than the cost of a replacement cartridge. Modern laser
printers are likewise often sold with a half-full (or less) toner cartridge.
Of course, now we trade in wholly-disposable razors, complete with blade. I use the
double-edged safety razor that I used when I started shaving. Thank heavens one can still
find double-edged blades for sale. Grandpa used a straight razor and strop, but I
haven't the courage to go that route, bleary-eyed as I am in the morning...
I'm just worried my 18-month-old daughter would find it and we'd have a
reenactment of Sweeney Todd.
- Dave