How close of a shave do we really need?

Over the years I have seen men’s handheld razors go from a single blade  that my father used to two blades, then three blades, to four blades, and now to the current product hype of five blades. The last few days I have been trying out a free sample of Schick’s five blade razor to see what it is like shaving with five sharp objects against my jugular instead of three.

Each successive increase in blades is marketed as the latest and greatest cutting-edge design meant to get the closest shave possible. Do people actually lose sleep at night over this stuff? To me, it just seems like another way to empty your wallet. But, we have got to keep those product designers employed.

How far does this silliness go? How close of a shave do we really need? Ten years from now will I need to buy a 62 blade handheld razor? Sounds like a recipe for shaving induced carpel-tunnel syndrome to me.

Come on! At some point enough has to be enough. It is already tricky shaving around my nose with five blades. Why not just market the all new “guillotine razor” absolutely guaranteed to leave no razor stubble (or anything else) behind. Instead of spending dollars on razor research, how about something useful like inventing a dog food that masks those delightfully putrid odors emanating from doggy poop? Or better yet, that magically dissolves it from my shoes when I step in it. Now those would be useful inventions that I would heartily invest in – especially every time I have to bag one of my dog’s lawn maintenance deposits when trying not to breath or have to pry the gooey yuck from the bottom of my shoes with a stick.