Let's Get Nuts: Gillette Unvails the Fusion.

Well, I suppose we should have seen this coming. The arms race that is the international men's shaving market now escalates with Gillette's introduction of their five-bladed machete known as the Fusion. In my last razor entry I quickly dismissed Schick's Quattro four-blader as a nonsensical piece of machinery that we need not pay any attention to. I still stand by that, basically because they hired that guy from Survivor to pimp their brand, but obviously I stand corrected with respect to the notion of a more-than-three-blade razor concept. I see Gillette as the standard bearer for all things shaving. Maybe it's their products or their commercials or that confident fellow they've got doing the voice over for their commercials, but for me they're the industry leader. I don't know why. Actually, I do know why: it's because they were the first ones to go multiple blade. The Sensor. Ah what a razor that was. The good ol' days, when razors came in either one or two blades, and gas was $1.50 a gallon. Anyway, back to the present. Five blades. According to CNN the Fusion won't be out until early next year, which gives us plenty of time to lube up our faces with axel grease in preparation for this chainsaw that Gillette's going to try and sell us. Five blades? How will the public react? What is the pain and believe-ability threshold when it comes to these products? Perusing the Fusion's website, we see that one of the main selling points is a new handle that's got some rubber ridges on it so as to facilitate a "comfortable and safe shave." Are we really that gullible? Are men all over America going to see their ad on TV and think "oh a new handle, that's nice; that's what I've been missing. Better add that to this week's grocery list." Maybe so. With five razorblades touching my face at the same time, I'm going to need to have a reliable grip.

Anyway, joke all you want about the ridiculous brinksmanship going on with these two companies, but certainly Gillette isn't kidding with this latest offering- last year they sold 10 billion dollars worth of razors worldwide.