Thread: Stop saying we gonna save money!

Originally Posted by U2Bono269

I've saved a TON of money doing this, but only if you consider that the 2 most expensive items (Norton hone, Boker razor) were gifts. Otherwise, I've spent the equivalent of 5 months worth of cartridges. I'm 8 months into this, so I'm playing with house money.

I don't consider myself typical, though. I don't have the space to store or use a bunch of hones. I don't have the money for more razors, unless I pick one up for under $10 on ebay and rehab it myself. I don't have the money for fancy creams, so the only cream I buy for myself is real shaving co at $4 a tube. Any other creams I have I found under the christmas tree.

Would I have a bunch of different stuff had I the money? Probably. But I think at worst I'd be breaking even compared to the cartridges and foams.

You are not alone I have saved tons of money as well. My two razors, 12k hone, brush and strop is all i feel I need. the cream i would be using would be used reguardless.

"I'm going to save money with straight razors" is the lie wrapped in the skin of an excuse we give our wives or girlfriends when we know we're going to go crazy like we have on every other hobby we've ever undertaken!!! I even tried to fool myself. LOL.

Regards,

Howard

Originally Posted by Maxi

...In fact, when I'm in the chat I'm a bit of an enabler...

Sweeeeet! I've been looking for a scapegoat.

I used to spend about $500 a year on razor blades for the multibladed monsters. I could only use a blade for about three days before I had to switch. If I didn't, I'd have razor burn worse than I did every day.

Before that I bought an electric that was $400 that I had to change the three blades every six months and those were not cheap.

Now, I spend between $350-400 a year and I enjoy it. My wife has switched to a de so she's saving money as she uses my blades and doesn't have the AD's I have, only one DE is good for her.

I think I'm doing ok.

Some of use are saving large sums considering the hobby we once spent all our free time enjoying.

What I believe that everyone is saying is that like any hobby it's as expensive as you want it to be. I went cheap, you went expensive. Each have their virtue and their faults. I didn't want to spend a lot but it created more work for me and my equipment may not be as nice as yours. You spent a lot your equipment is probably better and so you're shaves might be better than mine and you won't have to replace your things as soon as I will. I'll spend the money just not yet.

ll save a looooottt of money!!
When i dont buy somtimes a nice razor of soap or other shaving stuff, my wife spent all the money on shoes and clothes and books. Se had plenty of those tinks.
You can spent money only ones, and let it be me to do that. Enyoy and buy.

You can save money switching to either DE's or Straights, I did for many years but you have to view them in the same way you view a disposable razor, as a tool to remove hair.

My first razor was a '59 Gillette Fatboy given to me by my father along with a boar hair brush and for almost 10 years it was all I used. I brought a new pack of 10 blades once every couple of months for less than £5 and a cheap tube of soap every 3 or 4 months for a couple of quid and that was my total outgoings for shaving. Even with the cost of buying a straight, strop and hone you'll recoup the money within a year.

The problem is, in my opinion, that if you are a member of this forum you no longer view your razor as a tool for removing hair but instead as a hobby and as such you should view it as a hobby. Sadly hobbies are never cheap.

In the end it comes down to your discipline, you can choose to save money or you can choose to enjoy collecting, restoring and so on.

Well it might be more correct to say that straight shaving has the potential to save you money. My first straight razor came is a local auction lot, 5 vintage straight razors for $25 with a vintage strop. Add a $45 hone, a $5 drug store brush and a puck of Williams for $2 and I was straight shaving. If I would have stopped there I would have been set for life. That was a few years ago. The extra cost comes in when we try to improve on a good thing. More brushes, more razors, more strops and top it off with different shave soaps/creams and aftershaves/colognes and, well the buying can go on forever. If you regard your shaving gear's importance to you as you did when using the disposables you will save money, no doubt. I do doubt that there are many of us on SRP that would fall into that category. I know I am not one of them.

Originally Posted by Joed

Well it might be more correct to say that straight shaving has the potential to save you money. My first straight razor came is a local auction lot, 5 vintage straight razors for $25 with a vintage strop. Add a $45 hone, a $5 drug store brush and a puck of Williams for $2 and I was straight shaving. If I would have stopped there I would have been set for life. That was a few years ago. The extra cost comes in when we try to improve on a good thing. More brushes, more razors, more strops and top it off with different shave soaps/creams and aftershaves/colognes and, well the buying can go on forever. If you regard your shaving gear's importance to you as you did when using the disposables you will save money, no doubt. I do doubt that there are many of us on SRP that would fall into that category. I know I am not one of them.

Agreed, it's cheap as long as you keep it cheap. Like you I'm always buying and trying new bits and bobs but then I'm not trying to save money, this is my hobby and I don't mind spending my hard earned cash on something I enjoy. Let's be honest, if you really wanted to save money you'd grow a beard