Wet Shaving Forum Comparison

The Wet Shaving Forum Scorecard

An interactive comparison of the three most enduring English-language wet shaving communities — rated across five categories that matter to your shave.

The Contenders

Three Forums, Five Categories

Largest

Badger & Blade

Est. 2004 511K threads 12.3M posts 101K members
badgerandblade.com →
Technical Accuracy4
Newbie Friendliness3
Gear News Speed5
Historical Depth5
Vendor Influence5

Pros

  • Largest community — 100K+ members and 12M+ posts across every shaving topic
  • ShaveWiki with 11,000+ pages of community-curated knowledge
  • 20+ dedicated vendor storefronts for direct product announcements
  • Active marketplace, deals section, and annual charity auction
  • Dedicated Straight Razor Shave Clinic and Newbie Check-In subforums

Cons

  • Community critics report vendor favoritism — the paid vendor program may shape recommendations (source)
  • Reddit users allege authoritarian moderation, including bans for linking to other forums (source)
  • Some community members describe an elitist reputation
  • High volume means variable advice quality
  • Critics report that key industry figures have been banned, though this is disputed
Oldest

Shavemyface

Est. 2004 ~43K threads ~637K posts phpBB
forum.shavemyface.com →
Technical Accuracy5
Newbie Friendliness4
Gear News Speed2
Historical Depth4
Vendor Influence3

Pros

  • Oldest English-language wet shaving forum — deep roots from 2004
  • Concentrated expertise with very low noise-to-signal ratio
  • Hosts a detailed straight razor guide PDF
  • ShaveMyFace University (SMFU) dedicated to beginners
  • No formal vendor program — less commercial pressure

Cons

  • Much smaller and less active — slower responses to questions
  • Limited gear news and new product announcements
  • phpBB interface feels dated compared to modern platforms
  • Straight razor subforum is small (762 threads)
  • Less structured organization than B&B
Closing

The Shave Den

Est. 2007 ~50K threads ~1.3M posts Closed end of 2025
theshaveden.com →
Technical Accuracy4
Newbie Friendliness5
Gear News Speed3
Historical Depth4
Vendor Influence3

Pros

  • Most welcoming community for beginners — warm, patient tone
  • Dedicated Shave School, Tutorials, and Welcome Center
  • Detailed beginner guides like the "30 Day Rule" focus thread
  • Articles section with original editorial content
  • Known for community closeness and mentorship

Cons

  • Forum announced closure for end of 2025 — now likely offline; content accessibility uncertain
  • Smaller archive than Badger & Blade
  • Lower activity and slower gear news
  • No formal vendor program
  • Members are dispersing to other forums (Shave & Chat, etc.)

Side by Side

The Full Comparison

Category Badger & Blade Shavemyface The Shave Den
Technical Accuracy of Advice 4 5 4
Friendliness to New Shavers 3 4 5
Speed of Gear News 5 2 3
Depth of Historical Threads 5 4 4
Level of Vendor Influence 5 3 3
★ Best in category (higher is better) ▲ Highest vendor influence (not necessarily positive) Scale: 1 (weak) — 5 (strongest signal)

Decision Guide

Which Forum for Your Shave?

Safety Razor Enthusiast

Badger & Blade

80K DE razor threads, 2M+ messages, dedicated blade discussion subforums, and active vendor storefronts for every major razor maker.

Straight Razor Shaving

Shavemyface or B&B

SMF hosts a detailed straight razor PDF guide and has concentrated honing expertise. B&B has 40K+ straight razor threads with a dedicated Shave Clinic and honing subforum.

Artisan Soap Collecting

Badger & Blade

27K soap threads, 845K messages, the SMAUG (Soap Makers And Users Group) club, and vendor storefronts for artisan soap makers.

Complete Beginner

The Shave Den (archived) or Shavemyface

TSD's Welcome Center, Shave School, and "30 Day Rule" focus threads were designed for newcomers. SMF's University section offers structured ABCs of wet shaving.

Gear News & Reviews

Badger & Blade

Most active forum with daily posts. Vendor storefronts provide direct product announcements. Shopping & Deals subforum surfaces discounts and new releases.

Historical Research

Badger & Blade

20+ years of archives, 511K threads, a ShaveWiki with 11K+ pages, Hall of Fame, and Journals & Diaries with 1.8M messages of long-form shaving history.

Low Vendor Influence

Shavemyface

No formal vendor program or paid storefronts. The Shopping subforum allows business promotion openly, but there's no structural incentive to favor specific vendors.

Buying & Selling Used Gear

Badger & Blade

Active Marketplace with 16K+ threads, Shopping & Deals section, and a large membership base means faster transactions and wider selection.

How We Rated

Methodology & Caveats

Rating Approach

Ratings are qualitative assessments based on publicly visible forum signals collected in July 2025. They reflect the relative strength of each forum compared to the other two — not an absolute standard. Each score uses a 1–5 scale where 5 represents the strongest public signal among the three forums. Note: The Shave Den announced closure for the end of 2025 and is now likely offline; its ratings reflect its active period and archived content.

  • Technical Accuracy — Signal-to-noise ratio, presence of expert members, curated guides/tutorials, and the quality of sticky/beginner content. SMF scored highest for its concentrated expertise and low-volume, high-quality threads.
  • Newbie Friendliness — Presence of dedicated beginner areas, tone of welcome threads, quality of beginner guides. TSD scored highest for its Welcome Center, Shave School, and "30 Day Rule" focus methodology.
  • Gear News Speed — Forum activity level, frequency of new product announcements, presence of vendor storefronts. B&B scored highest as the most active forum with 20+ vendor subforums.
  • Historical Depth — Age of forum, total thread/message count, presence of wiki or archive. B&B scored highest with 511K threads, 12M+ messages, and an 11K+ page ShaveWiki.
  • Vendor Influence — Formal vendor programs, paid storefronts, and community-reported vendor favoritism or blacklisting. B&B scored highest (5 = most vendor influence) due to its formal Vendor Program with 20+ paid storefronts. This may be a positive or negative depending on your perspective.

Important Notes

  • The Shave Den announced its closure on November 15, 2025 (source), with the forum set to shut down at the end of 2025. As of July 2026, the forum is likely offline. Its ratings reflect its active period and archived content. Members have begun migrating to Shave & Chat and other communities.
  • Badger & Blade celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2025, confirming its founding in 2004–2005.
  • Shavemyface is widely cited as the oldest English-language wet shaving forum, founded in 2004. B&B's founder was originally an SMF member.
  • Vendor influence ratings reflect structural vendor programs, not individual vendor quality. A high score means vendors have more formal presence and sway.
  • Thread and post counts are approximate, sourced from each forum's public index page in July 2025.

Sources