I bought one of the "old" 4-blade razors last year. Over the following month or so, I tortured myself with some of the worst shaving experiences I've ever had. The head is too large to get in tight spots, and the blades clog very quickly. Every stroke left me swishing through the water trying to unclog the blades. It took much longer to shave, and the experience was extremely annoying.

Why do I need 4 blades? The shave is worse, and costs more. What's wrong with 2 blades? They work fine. I did eventually throw my fancy 4-blade razor out and replace it with an old skool 2-blade razor.

So now Gillette is spending $6 million (!) on two Super Bowl ads to build hype for a new, 5-blade razor called "Fusion" (Gillette's New Edge). What a crock! The only reason razor manufacturers keep releasing new stuff every few years is that their rights expire and generic models flood the market. So we get lower prices with more choice. Good for the consumer, bad for Gillette.

The only way that Gillette (and Schick, etc.) can keep us buying their brand exclusively is to offer a product that isn't available elsewhere. With each new product, Gillette will hold exclusive rights to it for a period of years. Then they spend millions on fancy ad campaigns, hoping they can convince a bunch of men that they've been wasting their time with 1, 2, 3, or even 4-blade shaving razors. You need FIVE blades! See?!

Morgan Stanley predicts the new Fusion razor will grab 15% of the U.S. market this year. That is absolutely depressing.