Gillette's New Heritage DE Razor:

For the first time in well over 30 years, Gillette North America has decided to release a brand new DE safety razor. The razor will be called the Gillette Heritage DE safety razor. This is huge in my humble opinion. The last DE razor Gillette ever produced was the Black Beauty back in the late 70's. When they stopped producing that razor is unknown to me. I'm sure Matt over at Razor Emporium would have a lot more detailed information. The only thing that I know about the Black Beauty was the fact that in 1977 (which is my birth year razor) was the very last year that you can get the Black Beauty with a metal bottom plate before going to 100% hard plastic or Bakelite. That is really all I know and after that, we've not seen a single DE razor made or released by Gillette North America since that time. Gillette stayed away and decided to make shaving more convenient rather than taking comfort into consideration. This is not a joke ladies and gentlemen. In fact, here's the link where you can pre order it on Amazon right now as we speak: 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XPRRV9Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_viiQDb3RFZQF5 :

This is going to be a 3 piece razor which is a very good thing because the twist to open style razors tend to require oiling to keep the internal mechanisms from rusting shut like my very first DE I purchased nearly 6 years ago come the first week of February 2020. I already know about the Gillette Platinum DE blades which are currently made in Russia and they are fantastic blades especially in my Fine Accoutrement's Marvel DE safety razor. The blade gap looks to be similar if not equal to an Edwin Jagger DE89 which is efficient but super comfortable once you find the correct blade for it. I only wish that they would bring back the Brazilian made Gillette Platinum Plus DE blades. I use to be able to get those at a local Kmart store which is now permanently closed. Those were perfect in the DE89 and it almost felt like there was no blade in that specific razor. Right now, the only place I can get the Gillette Platinum Plus is EBay. However, if this razor takes off the way I think it's going to, it will be really cool to just be able to walk into a big box store and get some Gillette branded DE blades right off the shelf:

The case looks fantastic, but knowing Gillette North America like I do, I can just about guarantee you that only this specific razor will fit into the case. That and I don't think they are going to be a permanent thing either. I'm certain that they will continue to produce these razors but they will more than likely be packaged differently. I first heard about this from my friend, Ken Surfs over on YouTube. He uploaded a video about it and it shocked me. I also personally think that Gillette may have waited too late to do this. If they had done this about 4 or 5 years ago, there's no telling what would have happened. The reason I say this is because 5 years ago, there was not a lot of DE safety razor manufacturers back then like there is today. You had Merkur which is now made by Dovo and you also had Edwin Jagger and their line of razors and that was just about it without having to go and find a Vintage over on EBay. Those were the ONLY mainstream mass produced DE safety razors that were available nearly 6 years ago when I first started:

^ The specs that they have listed on Amazon makes me think that it will be on the light side which I don't like because I personally need a heavier razor to be able to plow through my thick beard but for someone who has a light beard growth, the weight might be ideal. The size also makes me think that there will a good chance that the razor head will have some blade overhang on the sides so do be careful when shaving next to your ear lobes and other sensitive areas. The blade gap looks very similar to the Edwin Jagger DE89 which means that there's a really good chance that it will be a comfortable razor especially for someone whom has been using one for a while and has their technique down pat. Here's a photo of the upcoming release date:

^ The release date is only a couple of weeks away and I know someone is going to ask me the following question. "Will I be pre ordering this razor or buying one later on in the future?" My answer to that specific question is NO and it's not for the reasons you might think either. I've got a ton of DE safety razors sitting in a dop bag and hardly none of them get any use. The reason is because, I like what I've been using for a while now and I have only 4 DE razors that I will be using on a frequent basis. The Leaf which is my top razor of choice out of my entire collection. The Rockwell 6C White Chrome with the #4 base plate and I prefer to use the Israeli Personna Red Platinum blades in both of those razors. The Fine Accoutrement's Marvel DE safety razor which I prefer to use the Gillette Platinum blades that are included with this specific razor that I'm writing about. And last but certainly not least, the original Phoenix Artisan Accoutrement's double open comb razor. My RazoRock Eco can also be easily included in that list as well but I use that one to trim my moustache with more than anything else.

The price seems fair if you get all of this in one package. If they decide to keep producing the razor and discontinue the case, I think they can get away with a $30 U.S. Dollars price tag. They could still turn a profit easily with these razors. Now what happens after they release this razor is any ones guess. As I stated earlier, they may be a tiny bit too late but you will never know for sure until afterward. I'm also sure that these razors have been outsourced from overseas. Gillette would have to retool their factory which they did not too long ago with their new sensitive skin razor known as the Gillette SkinGuard which uses the dual lubrication strips and only 2 blades with a plastic spacer between them. I'm thinking that they are tired of seeing their razors sit on the shelves of many big box stores and seeing DE blades out selling them at every turn. If they had done this nearly 6 years ago, chances are this blog would have not been changed from an automotive/ home distilling blog to a wet shaving blog. I probably would have never discovered Artisan shave soaps or shave creams like Proraso and Taylor of Old Bond Street. I'd probably be using this razor and Barbasol shave foam. I'm glad that they did not because these artisan soaps have really helped in terms of getting a really close and comfortable shave. This could also be a one time limited edition release. Only time will tell and we the general public will find out as things happen.