Vibrating toys - revisited

Well, as the razor experiment continues, I'm beginning to think that my initial idea was right - the vibratin grazor *is* nothing but a gimmick. In fact, I think I'd go as far as to say it doesn't shave as well as the non-vibrating version.

Why is this? My idea, is that the vibration of the razor makes it move away from the skin, so that you don't get quite as close a shave. I may be biased, especially since I have a problem with the ridiculous way razor manufacturers (Gilette in particular) are constantly bringing out new products. I find it unlikely that five years ago, or ten years ago, men wandered around in some kind of semi-shaven state, unable to interest women because of the rough feel of their skin.

The best razor I ever used was a Wilkinson Sword one. I can't remember what it was called, I think it may have been a "Diamond". It had two blades, the lubrication strip, etc, and worked beautifully, giving me a fantastically clean shave even after using it several times.

When the "Razor Wars" started in earnest, Wilkinson Sword brought out a new razor, called a "Protector". It was just the same as the one I had, except that it had thin wires laying across the blades at right angles to them - the idea was that they would stop you from cutting yourself. In practice, though, they stopped the blades from getting quite as close to the skin, so it didn't shave you as well as the old model. They stopped making the old blades in the end, too.

All this just made me wonder (Sex And The City Moment here) are we now more interested in marketing gimmicks than in whether the product works well? The blades on my "Diamond" worked well, and that's what the razor should be about, not whether or not it seems "cool".

So if anyone would like a very small, battery-operated vibrating thing, for whatever purpose, let me know - I don't think I'll be shaving with it any more.