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Acquisition disorder and why it happens

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@dieselfuel79
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I can collect anything so I have to be really careful and self-disciplined.

I knew I was getting too much stuff when I couldn't pick the soap up it was so heavy and needed a new chest of drawers just for razers and blades lol.
Enough is Enough.

I have got loads of shaving tackle but I would just like to spend a bit more (£1K-£2K) on big normal (1 KG-2 KG) handmade soap loaves, a couple of vintage pre-war Gillettes and mostly Middle Eastern alcohol-free Halal Qadeem Oud frags and then I'll be content.

I've got a shopping list and I'm sticking to it; I mean it.

I weaned myself off sleeper/road-illegal rally cars (1000hp/ton) lol, Vintage British Cafe Racer motorcycles, Esoteric active tri-monoblock class "A" stereos, Artisan Japanese Carbon kitchen knives and handmade carbon scissors ; just part of the process haha!

It was over £1K a month since joining B&B in early October which is mad considering I only spent a couple of hundred in 40+ years of shaving using a handful of antique carbon straights - 4 coticules and a flattening stone.

In Egypt I just used toothpaste on a leather belt to hone; no choice at first.

Then, eventually, after a six months struggling finding decent sharpening stones I copied the locals and just got a Lord cheapie L5/L6 and the matching blades which was a godsend in Alexandria with the humidity and the brown brackish water with live baby shrimps coming out of the taps.
The bath was alive and the pet lizard was on the wall lol
 
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I bought this many in one day which is total overkill.
I can't do anything by halves - but very recently I've had to temper my buying impulses because I've run out of room and spent £20K-£30K on sharpies in 3-4 years which is bad but not as bad as cars and stereos which I could afford with a good job - now I'm retired I have to learn some sense and restraint.
 
I have been through phases of RAD since I started wetshaving. It started off as 3 razors for comparative sake (DE vs. Adjustable vs Slant) and has progressed to well over 50 razors through the years. I sell or PIF them over the years.

I have resigned myself that I can shave with any razor efficiently given enough practice. I don't need to purchase another razor. I have some lovely GEMS, DE, AC, and Shavettes that I have accumulated.

I never did find an injector razor that I liked. I keep telling myself to sell what I don't use in rotation and downsize.
 
I can't do anything by halves - but very recently I've had to temper my buying impulses because I've run out of room and spent £20K-£30K on sharpies in 3-4 years which is bad but not as bad as cars and stereos which I could afford with a good job - now I'm retired I have to learn some sense and restraint.
SHARPIES GALORE 2.jpg

Good job I stopped buying kitchen knives and scissors because it got ridiculous - this is about a quarter of my sharpies to fit in a 12' x 9' kitchen - totally mad.
 

Lockback

Dull yet interesting
…now that my wife isn’t reading this over my shoulder anymore, Is 200 blades enough?
How would I know? I have 900. :lol1:
Over 20 soaps/shave creams.
Five brushes.
Sixteen razors.

I'm fine. I don't need any more.
Really.
I swear it.
I ... I'll never buy another blade or razor or anything. Pinky swear. TOTALLY! No kidding. I can guarantee it ...

... kind of.


Maybe.
 
How would I know? I have 900. :lol1:
Over 20 soaps/shave creams.
Five brushes.
Sixteen razors.

I'm fine. I don't need any more.
Really.
I swear it.
I ... I'll never buy another blade or razor or anything. Pinky swear. TOTALLY! No kidding. I can guarantee it ...

... kind of.


Maybe.
At least you can count your stash and I can only guess at how much I spent on shaving tackle just since October - not a clue lol !

I looked at one bank statement - it was $1200 in nine days and then I gave up - haha!
 
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Your "disorder" looks like peanuts, compared to mine: 40 soaps, etc. But I broke through. I finally came across the absolutely best shave combo yet, so I am contented. I'll list it here:
--Fatboy
--GSB blades
--Vintage Floris badger brush
--Utilemud lather bowl
--Martin de Candre Rose soap
--4711 Cologne as an AS splash
--Geo. Trumper Coral Skin Food

You're so lucky you nipped it in the bud Vespasian - I got dozens of types I hoarded in 4 months - I'm daft because I don't think my collection is quite complete yet - it'll be complete when the table collapses with the strain haha!
 
In the grand scheme of things we are so lucky because in Africa I saw 4 guys having a serious fight over one bottle of water and a family with six men sharing one antique DE razor and a handful of old dull blades they had to sharpen on jeans - it put things in perspective for me coming from a relatively rich first World Country..
 
Yeah, I thought I needed to try everything and it wasn't until I got 27 soaps, 15 razors, 14 brushes and near 60 types of blades in that I finally realised that maybe I was overdoing it a little. I found that no new razor beat the shave and feeling I got using my Rocca and I knew I just had to stop.
I've been in recovery nearly 2 years, I haven't bought anything since valentine's day 2023 and I'm gradually reducing the den to a manageable size, although it would probably be easier if people would stop giving me aftershave as I only managed to kill one this year.
Really it is about coming to the realisation that if they stop making your favourite soap, or blade or whatever the world won't come to an end (unless nuclear war is the reason they stopped making your favourite product) and you can always find a replacement. Just learn to be happy with what you have, I found the hoard rather stressful as I could never decide what to use and it took up too much of my time thinking about it. Now I feel better every time a product leaves the den for the last time. Don't get me wrong I don't ever see myself as a true minimalist with just one of everything, but knowing I don't have to try everything is a relief.
You're so right Mike M ; you can have too much choice and then you get the paralysis of analysis etc.

I'm long in the tooth and travelled a bit so I can get indistinguishable results from a $3 razor and a $150 razor in roughly the same time but with slightly more effort and concentration using the cheapie shaving tackle.

To be honest I was happy decades ago with just one Antique carbon straight, a couple of coticules, a flattening stone, any soap that was going, a regular leather belt and toothpaste for stropping and usually just using frags at the weekend and on special occasions.
 
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