THE KING'S BLOG

It's bad enough when you can't buy the house you want to, nor borrow the money you need to, because the US 'sub-prime' crisis has enveloped the world of lending, leading to the 'Credit Crunch'.

But when you see the Crunch-o-meter has five segments, just like a Gillette Fusion and you see how expensive it is (£2.50 a replacment blade anyone?) then perhaps Fusion should come with a 'Blade-o-Meter' warning - a sort of Calorie counting device, which lets you know just how much it's going to damage your wealth...!

Note: the Blade-o-Meter is pointing to fairer shaving, where of course 'King of Blades' will be!

King of Blades. My Pledge is Coming.
(Crunchometer courtesy 'The Times' newspaper, Thursday May 1st 2008)

For the past two years, John Terry - Chelsea's 'never say die' Captain has worked with us at King of Shaves (a 'Vauxhall Conference League' brand compared with billion dollar Gillette) to bring stature to our brand, lead our 'Young Blades' sporting bursary and a lot more

John's had a torrid year - as England captain, he was injured when they were knocked out of the Euro 2008 and then suffered an extremely bad injury that sidelined him for crucial fixtures over Christmas and early 2008.

Whether you support Chelsea or not, many had written them off with the departure of 'The Chosen One', however, they have fought like lions, and find themselves capable of being not just the best in the UK, but the best in Europe too, after their stunning win over Liverpool last night.

JT - whom I've had the pleasure of meeting quite a few times now - leads them, and hopefully his finest hour beckons. The tantalising glimpse of lifting not just the Premiership trophy (for the third time) but also being Champions of Europe.

Winning is a team effort, but winning also needs inspiring leadership. So, JT, you certainly have my best wishes and fingers crossed for the final games of this season - remember...

"Be the first to say we can, when others say we can't...be one step ahead...be the best you can be...be a King - and Win!

I'm was at my parents this weekend with my son and Dad often has a little gift or something for Cameron or me that's caught his eye.

This time, he gave me a model of a Piper Tomahawk (which he has been flying for the past year and a half, out of Beccles Airfield near Lowestoft - he's 76, and learned to fly a couple of years ago). It's in the 'King of Shaves' colours - King Air perhaps!!!

For those in the know, especially the guys at NetNewsAsia, I have had a website WKoHamat 08 up for most of the year, which they correctly deduced was an anagram for Tomahawk, the project codename for our launch.

So, as reported by the Mail on Sunday here a few weeks ago, the King of Blades is coming! Sign up to know more here. And for even more 'early bird detail, become a King of Shaves fan on Facebook here.

PS - the card behind it was produced in 1993, for the Whitbread Round The World Race, where King of Shaves oil was taken by Matt Humphries, skipper of the Whitbread 60 'Reebok/Dolphin & Youth' round the world. And the message then is the same as it is now - King of Shaves is "Essential Shaving Around The World". But there's another story there, another time...!

I've blogged about this before, but as it's been picked up on again by Gizmodo, I couldn't resist revisiting it one more time! Last time. I promise Click here to read about why you need a headlight to get a close shave. Or, rather why you don't. Where King of Blades is concerned, we associate lightbulbs with clever, innovative, creative, imaginative designers and engineers. Not with headlamps for razors. Those are for people who need their brains testing! King of Blades PS - check out the comments people have posted too ;-)

I've always voted Labour (both my parents are teachers which might partially explain it, and I certainly didn't like what happened to Britain's core manufacturing base in the 1980's) but I'm a bit stunned by their recent decision to remove the 10p in the Pound lower rate of income tax band. Make poorer people pay more? Oh yes, that's a vote winner for sure. Now, don't think I'm going for Brand Cameron yet (even though he shares his Christian name with my son) but goodness me, do Labour need some 'real world advice'.

And on this advice note, later this summer, I'll be out and about with my Megaphone exposing other cunning 'Stealth' taxes that you might not want to pay, when you find out the rich get richer, at your expense.

King of Blades. The Future of Shaving will be Fairer.

My friend 'Thingfish' at NetNewsAsia has been following progress on our upcoming launch. Here's his latest posting:
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16 Hybrid Synergy System Raz?
Written by thingfish, on 08-05-2008 17:39
If Microsoft made razors, there's no question they'd be making the Gilette Fusion Power - ugly, bloated with unwanted features, uses far more power than necessary and the only option available.

One request though - if you're aiming to produce the shaving equivalent of an iMac, don't start off with the first generation in bubble gum colours.
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'Thingfish' - trust me, bubble gum colours ain't where we're at. Gillette's about the colour of money. We're about shaving simplicity, as black and white as that.

Have you ever wondered what happens to the hundreds of millions, literally billions, of disposable razors that are chucked away after one or two simply awful shaves? Well, watch this space, because we're going to be taking a close look at the absurdity of the disposable razor in the 21st century.

And if you think you're shaving money in using a disposable, then think of your face....and think again. Have a quick read of one person's opinion here.

Disposable? No! Reusable & Renewable? Forever, Yes! King of Blades.

Interesting article on Page 12 in today's Sunday Times, about profit margins on packaged consumer goods. And what tops the list? Yes, you guessed it - Gillette Fusion razor blades. Seems it's not just me who notices these things, but journalists Jon Ungoed-Thomas and Georgina Warren too! King of Blades is coming!

I have quite a bit of time for Nivea, they've done well with the introduction of their 'Nivea for Men' range, and I probably regard them as our 'best' competitor.

However, with this awful piece of direct mail I might have to reconsider! Check out how much 'unnecessary secondary' was used around this 30ml 'Extreme Comfort' balm. And they 'hope to hear from us soon'.

They'll probably have Greenpolice on their case! Come on Nivea, 'Less is Mor'.

here
King of Blades

Since 1993, we've been "tough on stubble, and the causes of stubble"

Now it's time to turn our attention to harder problems...

The future of (fairer) shaving is nearly here..."things can only get better!"

WK. PL, TKoSP

Over fifteen years ago (April 13th, to be exact) we launched the first King of Shaves Original Shaving Oil. In doing so, we created a brand new category that has continually improved what a good shaving preparation should be all about. Our original oil (now called AlphaOil) is still one of our best sellers, and has been joined by hi-tec silicone based oils (such as Kinexium in 1998) and more recently, our Ultra-Hybrid oils & serums.

All of these products retail between £2.99 to £4.99 - important in these days of the 'Credit Crunch'. We won't charge you a King's ransom for the King of Shaves!

So, you might be amazed to check out what Mankind (the high-end online men's grooming eretailer) have by the way of shaving oils, all around the £20 mark! Don't believe me? Click here. Trust me, all you're paying for here is the name, and it's not even the King, let alone the original.

As they say, you pay your money, you make your choice. But there is only one King of Shaves shaving oil. And soon to be only one King of Blades. Here's to the future of shaving!

But look closer through the layers of this over-packaged overbladed razor. Once you've got the handle, they've got you - with replacement blades at £2 a time, Gillette Fusion will damage your wealth as Stealthily as smoking damages your health.

There is an alternative. The new King of Shaves hybrid synergy system razor. The King of Blades is coming, soon. Prepare to shave closer, longer, for less. Now, doesn't that take the sting out of shaving?

Product shot taken in Asda High Wycombe, Saturday 17th May 2008. (It 'asda be worth waiting for the KoB surely?)

Get ready to pair the world's best shaving software with the world's best shaving hardware. Click here to know more.

To see and hear me launch our Manifesto at Speaker's Corner, London, please click here. To read the manifesto, please visit us here.

In advance of our upcoming King of Shaves razor launch, this blog posting caught my eye. Seems more for more's sake is destined to go the way DEC went in mainframe computing in the late 1980's. Fat, bloated, monopolistic, unheeding, they served up more and more data storage (read blades) whether customers wanted it or not, for more and more money (which customers didn't want to pay). And eventually didn't, hence the bust bit.

Remind you of anyone?

The King of Shaves 'Hybrid Synergy' system razor is coming. We're going to be the 'King of Blades'.
PS - And I do realise More is conventionally spelt with an 'e'. But it still sounds the same.

This is another blog entry I came across that interested me.

If King of Shaves collected vintage sportscars, this would be on my list!
King of Blades = Less is Mor