I'm probably more the 'common' guy. Though I have, over the years, enjoyed a few high priced, fancy blades, DEs, soaps, creams, scents. But I would never consistently pay top dollar for niche products. I enjoy less expensive things too much. I have long boasted here at B&B that I can get incredible shaves with the simplest tools and products, by applying well honed techniques. I stand by that. But the niche products are still fun.
Are you a common man shaver or a niche shaver?
- Thread starter naughtilus
- Start date
This is somewhat amusing to me, as all I really know about shaving I learned from my Dad, who had a hot-lather machine and a butterfly razor, plus what I'm learning here, although I should have realized there is a high-end for everything.
I actually received today a tube of Proraso green shave cream to go with my Green pre-shave (both ordered from across the pond to the ConUS.) I appreciate quality (who doesn't) but being income constrained my logic dominated personality has to rationalize long-term cost of ownership. You buy a tool once and keep it for the rest of your life, whether it's a razor or a torque wrench.
Since I was feeling pretty self-satisfied with my new tube of Proraso to go with my pre-shave, Feather blades, old Merkur 23, Omega 49 boar-bristle and a ceramic bowl with a hairline crack in it that I swiped from the kitchen cabinet, I would say I'm decidedly a common man who tries to purchase wisely.
Dave in the Midwest.
p.s. appears I did the quote wrong, sorry.
I actually received today a tube of Proraso green shave cream to go with my Green pre-shave (both ordered from across the pond to the ConUS.) I appreciate quality (who doesn't) but being income constrained my logic dominated personality has to rationalize long-term cost of ownership. You buy a tool once and keep it for the rest of your life, whether it's a razor or a torque wrench.
Since I was feeling pretty self-satisfied with my new tube of Proraso to go with my pre-shave, Feather blades, old Merkur 23, Omega 49 boar-bristle and a ceramic bowl with a hairline crack in it that I swiped from the kitchen cabinet, I would say I'm decidedly a common man who tries to purchase wisely.
Dave in the Midwest.
p.s. appears I did the quote wrong, sorry.
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I've learned to appreciate the practical, common man mindset.
In my pretentious youth (which wasn't that long ago since I'm not old), my appetite was champagne even though my budget was beer.
Over the years, I very deliberately have worked to let the snobbishness go in all things and find I'm happier for it. I still appreciate the occasional luxury for it's own sake, but prefer function over pretense. So, I'll seek out the balance of quality, enjoyment of use, and price. I don't like being wasteful. That goes for spending unnecessarily for 'fluff' or choosing the cheap option that will break or fail only to need to buy it again (and hate using it).
Though, sometimes I love the 'cheap and cheerful' option. Like using a salsa bowl for lathering. It works brilliantly and it cost less than even a cheap cup of coffee. I even appreciate the fact that in the context of using it for shaving, it has a somewhat whimsical aesthetic.
Pragmatism wins for me 99% of the time.
Now, that still may not answer the 'niche' aspect since you can be pragmatic and find enjoyment in the uniqueness of things. Niche is not all about expense. I actually really like finding the option that has a common man cost but is not common.
Anyway, enough rambling.
In my pretentious youth (which wasn't that long ago since I'm not old), my appetite was champagne even though my budget was beer.
Over the years, I very deliberately have worked to let the snobbishness go in all things and find I'm happier for it. I still appreciate the occasional luxury for it's own sake, but prefer function over pretense. So, I'll seek out the balance of quality, enjoyment of use, and price. I don't like being wasteful. That goes for spending unnecessarily for 'fluff' or choosing the cheap option that will break or fail only to need to buy it again (and hate using it).
Though, sometimes I love the 'cheap and cheerful' option. Like using a salsa bowl for lathering. It works brilliantly and it cost less than even a cheap cup of coffee. I even appreciate the fact that in the context of using it for shaving, it has a somewhat whimsical aesthetic.
Pragmatism wins for me 99% of the time.
Now, that still may not answer the 'niche' aspect since you can be pragmatic and find enjoyment in the uniqueness of things. Niche is not all about expense. I actually really like finding the option that has a common man cost but is not common.
Anyway, enough rambling.
Well said, I couldn't agree with you more.
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
I'm at the simpler end of the spectrum.
Edwin Jagger DE3D14, cheap soaps pressed into a simple ramekin (fave being Mitchell's), cheap boar brush, Nivea sensitive balm, and a cheap EdT.
I've tried samples of "luxury" soaps, only to be disappointed. I don't fancy repeating that exercise on brushes and blade holders (razors).
Edwin Jagger DE3D14, cheap soaps pressed into a simple ramekin (fave being Mitchell's), cheap boar brush, Nivea sensitive balm, and a cheap EdT.
I've tried samples of "luxury" soaps, only to be disappointed. I don't fancy repeating that exercise on brushes and blade holders (razors).
Enjoying this thread @naughtilus 
I think @greydog makes a great point here...
Is it just that most wet-shavers are looking for *quality* in their products, at whatever price point??
Yes.
All the kit and products I own help to provide a really satisfying experience. As it happens most of these are pretty cheap price-wise: case in point, my favourite brush is an inexpensive boar. But in terms of investment as a whole, I've put a lot of time & effort not to mention a degree of risk and sacrifice, into learning how to use this stuff! I think that process, that investment is what distinguishes us as wet-shavers, from guys who are happy using canned cream and shaving with a cartridge. End of the day we're all running the same risks and hopefully deriving the same high level of satisfaction (smugness??!)...
I think @greydog makes a great point here...
Is it just that most wet-shavers are looking for *quality* in their products, at whatever price point??
Yes.
All the kit and products I own help to provide a really satisfying experience. As it happens most of these are pretty cheap price-wise: case in point, my favourite brush is an inexpensive boar. But in terms of investment as a whole, I've put a lot of time & effort not to mention a degree of risk and sacrifice, into learning how to use this stuff! I think that process, that investment is what distinguishes us as wet-shavers, from guys who are happy using canned cream and shaving with a cartridge. End of the day we're all running the same risks and hopefully deriving the same high level of satisfaction (smugness??!)...
- Thread starter
- #108
Among the regular shavers out there you also have those that reach for the cheapest shaving kit to do the job and those that want the top of the line Gillette NASA mumbo jumbo, special canned stuff with skin care, or special amazing LED touch screen alien technology electric razors.
One of the greatest things about traditional wet shaving for me is the saving of money. The new products, the blades and shavers, and other shaving items are a pure RIP OFF! Especially the blades and shavers!
Now, if you want to spend 200 bucks on a bottle of cologne I say, more power to you. Its a matter of taste, like Scotch, or buying a painting or enjoying a song.
But 25 bucks for 8 blades?! Pure theft.
I bought a couple of big boxes of blades about 15 years ago and I haven't had to replenish my stocks yet.
Now, if you want to spend 200 bucks on a bottle of cologne I say, more power to you. Its a matter of taste, like Scotch, or buying a painting or enjoying a song.
But 25 bucks for 8 blades?! Pure theft.
I bought a couple of big boxes of blades about 15 years ago and I haven't had to replenish my stocks yet.
there is something very satisfying when you stretch 10 blades that cost $1.99 three months.......and you shave 5 days a week.
I gravitate towards minimalism. Years ago I tried more high end products but honestly much of it seems like Anglophile affectations. English shave soap was just "OK"- you can get so many decent products for much less money.
I like classic American shave gear and "good enough" 2 pass shaves (or less), and it seems the online wet shaving community isn't always oriented towards that sort of thing.
The one "high-end" item I do use, I suppose, is shave oil. They can be pricey but I think it's worth it. I do tend to make alot of my own stuff, however, especially when it comes to aftershave and hair tonic (I prefer unscented generally).
I like classic American shave gear and "good enough" 2 pass shaves (or less), and it seems the online wet shaving community isn't always oriented towards that sort of thing.
The one "high-end" item I do use, I suppose, is shave oil. They can be pricey but I think it's worth it. I do tend to make alot of my own stuff, however, especially when it comes to aftershave and hair tonic (I prefer unscented generally).
First question - Is this a hobby or a daily task or a combination of both?
Second question - Is there a product or method that will give me joy or happiness?
Third question - Will this product give me a perception/reality of better results and/or quality?
Fourth question - Can I afford the benefits to be gained?
For me:
- This is a daily task that became a hobby. It was also a short respite from the pain of my wife’s 18 month struggle with a terminal illness and subsequent death.
- I enjoy quality and history. My birth quarter C4 Tech is special because of the date. My Old Type approximates my father’s age. My New LC was from my late mother’s birth year. My Timeless Titanium exudes quality and performance for me. My on-order Janus will hopefully give a sense of history by its design and also perform at the highest level built from perhaps higher quality components than the original Toggle.
- Yes to perception for sure and yes to quality, although the quality of my near mint birth year C1 Tech provides longevity and quality (probably never intended) at a modest price.
- At this stage of my life, this is indeed an inexpensive hobby. My children are grown and their educations paid for long ago. When it was necessary to squeeze nickels we did, but my financial obligations have all been satisfied and this small indulgence afforded with no adverse consequence.
I’m proud to share this nonjudgmental hobby with so many of you.
YMMV truly applies.
garyg
B&B membership has its percs
What I really like about this thread is that it forces one to think, and to read through all the posts to make sure you weren't looking stupid for saying the same thing again .. oh, wait, isn't that good forum behavior?
Ok, I'm common
Ok, I'm common
Hello Steve. That's a wonderful connection to family members, one intriguing enough to draw me in.
When I was a kid, Gramma had 7 brothers and sisters. One of them had 12 kids. Our family reunions had 200-300 people, easy. Now I struggle to hold on to connections to people no one else remembers.
You've given me a whole new way of looking at this hobby, a few pieces with meaning. Thank you.
Dave in the Midwest.
I'm a minimalist and not particularly Anglophile. So I prefer inexpensive but decent shave gear. I do shave with Williams occasionally (it was my go-to soap a few years ago) and I'm trying to keep my rotation small.
The most important things in a shave don't cost anything but time.
The most important things in a shave don't cost anything but time.
I was going to write a reply to the OP but I fell asleep.
Enjoy the connections and the history.
Great post. Really sorry to hear about your wife's illness and passing. That must've been extremely difficult.
Congratulations on getting your kids reared and educated and still having enough coin left to buy a Simpson's brush!
I like cheap, cheap omega synth brush, a bunch of Gillette techs and a razorock teck II, haslinger soaps a puck of MWF and a razorock soap from the missus, blades are a mix of derby and polsilver (bulk buys) and the odd free tuck picked up from eBay tech purchases and a Turkish shave bowl that came with some sharks.
AS goodfellas smile sea citrus and a bottle of Hugo boss (I think is the most expensive thing I have and a wife gift)
They all do the job, wife is happy when I shave and I often smell good
AS goodfellas smile sea citrus and a bottle of Hugo boss (I think is the most expensive thing I have and a wife gift)
They all do the job, wife is happy when I shave and I often smell good
I'm in the niche of common man shavers. Nothing in the definitions of these words implies they are opposites.
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