Cheap shaver thread.

[Lee93]

My current setup is quite cheap.

Razor: Muhle R89 30€
Blades: Gillette Platinum 0.15€
Brush: Omega S-Brush PRO 5€
Bowl: Timeless 8€
Preshave: Proraso red 3€
Soap: Candy Cotton Goodfellas' Smile 6€
Aftershave: Proraso Red 5€

 

[razorhead63]

I’m all for it. I like the idea of cheap shaving, trying to use up soaps I have and stick to just a couple. Heck, I get some of my best shaves with a Tech I paid 5 dollars for, a 10 cent Astra blade and a can of Barbasol! You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a close shave.

 

[Demolition]

I started the Zero Dollar Shaving Society about a year ago, but it didn't get much interest.

 

[lurchbrian]

And then...I found Badger and Blade.

and a friendly bank manager ..

 

[Chevyguy]

I’m all for it. I like the idea of cheap shaving, trying to use up soaps I have and stick to just a couple. Heck, I get some of my best shaves with a Tech I paid 5 dollars for, a 10 cent Astra blade and a can of Barbasol! You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a close shave.

I agree, it's all about learning and using what works the best for you. You can't do that swapping shaving items everyday. And your shaving gear doesn't have to be expensive.

Sent from my SM-A705U using Tapatalk

 

[Tirvine]

But, to get to this working combination I had to go through several razors, blades and cream tubes.

THIS seems to me to be a key point. I believe it is likely that if you started wet shaving using a Wolfman, Polsilvers, MdC, and a Chubby or BK8 you would still save money in the long run over Fusion blades and canned foam, but if you try a whole lot of other stuff out before settling on that combination, the amortized cost gets uglier. The choices available are so varied that if a wet shaver (one who already liked their razor, blades, soap, and brush) happened upon Badger & Blade, I would think it highly unlikely that they would not eventually try something else, at a minimum blades. In a few short months I have added about $260 in costs to amortize!

 

[Contact_vs_Feedback]

THIS seems to me to be a key point. I believe it is likely that if you started wet shaving using a Wolfman, Polsilvers, MdC, and a Chubby or BK8 you would still save money in the long run over Fusion blades and canned foam, but if you try a whole lot of other stuff out before settling on that combination, the amortized cost gets uglier.

In a few short months I have added about $260 in costs to amortize!

This is so true, but in a perfect world we would be able to not only get correct information on the variety and benefits of products before we start spending on trial and errors.
There would still be some adjustments for each shaver, but for me :

I wouldn't have to purchase many dirt cheap shave tubes that I won't ever use again, I wouldn't have to purchase 3 extra razors who doesn't satisfies my need, I wouldn't have to purchase 100 counts of those blades which gives me irritation everytime and mainly I won't have to suffer mediocre shaves (at best) for a decade before finding out how it's actually done.

I also incurred hundreds of dollars in expenses, but thankfully, most of these were mostly spent on " correct " products.

I do wish sometimes that someone should have introduced me properly to the wet shaving, given how integral part of life it is, and also, how easy it is to get a good start of the day with it.

I purchased a Stainless Steel CNC milled razor and I'm somewhat settled (happily) in the quality of shaves, so yes it'll save money in the long run.

The caveat in all the discussion about saving money is that - saving money with the best possible combinations of shaving items for you, without compromise on quality and pleasure of shaving.

 

[Quaznoid]

Thanks for the input. I don’t know about you but I have no interest in reading about $500 razors, mucho pricey brushes or soaps. I’m more interested in learning about gear south of $20 (of which there is a lot, and a lot of it works very well) and trading tips and ideas. Is there a place in B&B for us?

 

[rockviper]

Rephrasing my answer from post-2 .....

In every subforum on B&B, you will find threads about expensive kit. You will also find threads about super cheap things (e.g. Arko and Williams in soaps, Gillette techs in DEs). You can also start your own threads in these sections, but I think that having the forums groups by item-type is much more functional for most folks than having them grouped by price range.

As mentioned before, you can also start a group in the CLUBS & BROTHERHOOD section if you want a discussion thread solely about shaving on the cheap.

 

[Contact_vs_Feedback]

Thanks for the input. I don’t know about you but I have no interest in reading about $500 razors, mucho pricey brushes or soaps. I’m more interested in learning about gear south of $20 (of which there is a lot, and a lot of it works very well) and trading tips and ideas. Is there a place in B&B for us?

When you find/ make a group solely based on getting great shaves with gears costing South of $ 20 or $ 30, I'll join in at the earliest.

I've mostly met people who can get great shaves with low budget gears " by choice " on Arko, La Toja and William's soap discussion, maybe ask any of those seasoned shavers if they can help this idea get traction.

I'm definitely not interested in purchasing or browsing $$$ razors or brushes, but as I'm new to wet shaving, I'll keep my opinion on the high ends items to myself.

 

[CuzteR]

I would love a section on cheap shaving. As a newbie I can't really distinguish between a group and a subforum, but whatever you guys decide, I'm in.

My current problem with cheap shaving is that I cant get the stuff you guys talk about without paying $30.00 in shipping fees + VATs and whatever.

To reduce the impact of shipping and taxes I need to order larger quantities.

However, as a beginner I have no idea what I like / dislike and I find the idea of buying 3 years worth of "urinal soap" (yes some people literally label Arko this way) kinda scary.

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

I have one razor that I spent $90 on, 1 brush that was $60 and one soap that was $35. My favorite brush was $25, my scuttle was $25 and I spent $23 on TOBS Jermyn Street. Everything else is under the $20 mark and I don’t plan on spending anything near $20 for future soaps, and I’m done buying hardware.

 

[Schnitzel52]

Suggestion:
Fat Handle Tech
Omega Pro brush
Blade of choice
Haslinger’s soaps

 

[member 119848]

I´m in.
The problem for me is that it´s already too late. The money has already been spent.
The only thing I can do live frugality is to restrain myself buying gear.
As far as software goes, I can live with Proraso products and be more than satisfied.

 

[BigJ]

My ‘travel’ kit is definitely frugal (Amazon prices today):
Lord L6 razor ($6)
Mail a few blades to the hotel (Astra SP, for example, $9.25 per 100 plus postage)
La Toja stick ($7.50)
Simpsons Wee Scot brush in a pill bottle from my pharmacy ($38)
Small plastic bottle of AS (say Pinaud Clubman at $8 for 6 oz)
Total cost: less than $70. Plus, I could substitute a boar or synthetic for my ‘luxury’ badger brush!

Now, my home kit is something else! (Still, much less than the cost of a sports car or a new wife!!)

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

My ‘travel’ kit is definitely frugal (Amazon prices today):
Lord L6 razor ($6)
Mail a few blades to the hotel (Astra SP, for example, $9.25 per 100 plus postage)
La Toja stick ($7.50)
Simpsons Wee Scot brush in a pill bottle from my pharmacy ($38)
Small plastic bottle of AS (say Pinaud Clubman at $8 for 6 oz)
Total cost: less than $70. Plus, I could substitute a boar or synthetic for my ‘luxury’ badger brush!

Now, my home kit is something else! (Still, much less than the cost of a sports car or a new wife!!)

I hear new wives are very expensive.

 

[aldomarino]

Hobbies will always have high priced items that function great, but the law of diminishing returns always applies. Like your example of audio equipment, this applies to my other hobby of guitar playing. I love my $2,000+ dollar Fender Stratocaster with vintage 50s specs, but I'd take my old Mexican made Strat from when I was a kid over it any day. One may be "better", but my old beat up Mexican Strat has the mojo and the bumps, chips, and dings all have a story. Both play music fine, but the price difference is unbelievable.

It's always fun to splurge, but when it comes to "getting the job done", it can be done without breaking the bank. I'll take a good deal over anything, no matter how broke or rich I am.

One of the fellows I pick tunes with is an incredible guitar player, a professional.

The guy makes it a POINT to show up with a beat-up $69 Starcaster.

 

[Tirvine]

I have one razor that I spent $90 on, 1 brush that was $60 and one soap that was $35. My favorite brush was $25, my scuttle was $25 and I spent $23 on TOBS Jermyn Street. Everything else is under the $20 mark and I don’t plan on spending anything near $20 for future soaps, and I’m done buying hardware.

I think we net out at close to the same place. I spent more on my razor ($175 for an AS-D2), less for my second brush (Simpson T2 synthetic for around $20. Wish I had known how good synthetics could be before I bought the Kent BK4, but I have to admit it is wonderful with MdC.), skipped the scuttle, and spend less on blades ($12 for 100 Crystals. I recall you are a Feathers guy.). I just spent more on soap for some MdC fougere, but it is huge and looks as if its life will be measured in years. I am confident on a per shave basis it will meet or beat my others. I also buy my aftershave in 800 ml jugs for under $40. A single one lasts about a year. So as I stand now the things I do not use regularly are limited to my EJ DE89, two soaps I am about halfway through (TOBS sandalwood and PdP), and about fifty more PIR blades. Eventually I'll use them all up except for the DE89.

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

I think we net out at close to the same place. I spent more on my razor ($175 for an AS-D2), less for my second brush (Simpson T2 synthetic for around $20. Wish I had known how good synthetics could be before I bought the Kent BK4, but I have to admit it is wonderful with MdC.), skipped the scuttle, and spend less on blades ($12 for 100 Crystals. I recall you are a Feathers guy.). I just spent more on soap for some MdC fougere, but it is huge and looks as if its life will be measured in years. I am confident on a per shave basis it will meet or beat my others. I also buy my aftershave in 800 ml jugs for under $40. A single one lasts about a year. So as I stand now the things I do not use regularly are limited to my EJ DE89, two soaps I am about halfway through (TOBS sandalwood and PdP), and about fifty more PIR blades. Eventually I'll use them all up except for the DE89.

I am a Feather guy, but I only spent $25 per hundred for my 300 blades. I’m currently using Mitchell’s Wool Fat ($14) but I’m thinking of trying A&E Kaizan ($21). Not exactly cheap, but I’m told it is slicker than The Fat. I may also try the Proraso Single Blade cream ($23), but it’s a huge tube. So I’m still being frugal.

 

[Quaznoid]

So how do we set up a Cheapshaver forum?