Like most men and women these days, I use a multi-blade razor. Several months ago, sticker shock over the price of replacement brand-name blades drove me to generic store-brand blades, which were a lot cheaper. The trouble with the generics, though, was that I couldn’t rinse the whiskers out from between the blades, which became clogged long before they became dull.
I finally used up the last of my generic blades and went to the store for more. Somewhat to my surprise, I found myself at the register with a new pack of Gillette Mach 3s. This was the brand that had given me sticker shock in the first place. They are now, of course, more expensive than they were then, but I bought them anyway. “At least I can rinse the blades clean after I use them,” I thought, “and I still have my old Mach 3 razor.”
I woke up in the middle of the night thinking what a sucker I’d been. So what if the space between the generic blades got clogged with old whiskers? They still shaved okay, and they were cheap. Am I just responding to constant advertising? Am I really that weak?
So I took a stand. This morning, when I got up, I didn’t shave at all. I feel better now . . . but I’m looking forward to a good shave with my new blades tomorrow.
The Onion had it right with this article: Fuck Everything, We’re Doing Five Blades. What makes it even funnier is that Gillette actually came out with a five-blade razor right after the Onion ran that article.
In my own defense, at least I didn’t get succumb to the allure of those ridiculous five-bladers. I’ll hold out for six.