Come Join FRUGAL FRIDAY!!!

[geneaut]

Not the stingiest shave, but still frugalish. I actually forgot so I have one major slip up here that I'll make sure to correct next Friday ( used the brush sitting on the counter instead of a frugal alternative ).

Razor: Gillette Slim Adjustable ( $15 eBay 10 years ago )
Blade: Gillette Sharpedge ( $11 for 100 so 11 cents per blade )
Soap : Klar Kabinett ( $15 for 500 grams of soap ... I'm still using the first quarter chunk from the block I purchased 10 years ago )
Brush: I planned to use my $9 Omega 49, but slipped up and grabbed my Vulfix ( $40 )that was sitting on the counter from yesterday. I'll do better.

So having forgotten it's not what I was planning for today, but with the exception of the brush it would have been economical. I know the soap isn't the cheapest, but the sheer volume that I got for what it cost is insane ( it was a little over a pound of soap when new and I've used a quarter of that in 10'ish years ). If you compare the per gram cost of the Klar to Arko they are roughly the same.

I'll do better next week.

 

[LJBraaten]

And here is my setup, mentioned earlier: $6 Tech razor, 46 shaved on blade, free soaking cup, free brush, free (discarded) soap, repurposed scuttle, and free water heater (scavenged) and free salvaged water server.

 

[Roedeer]

I forgot to try it on Friday, but Pears Green translucent bar soap makes a very creamy lather here, in soft water.

I think it would bowl-lather as good as a shaving soap, given a chance. It's non-irritant to wash my face with (YMMV of course), so ought to be fine for a shave.

Will experiment, and report back. Can't be any worse than blue bowl Wilkinson.

PS, I didn't notice your suggestion,

and even lather up a bar of Pears soap

✓ wouldn't be at all surprised if it's good.

 

[Big_T]

Frugal Friday Shave, July 15, 2022

Lord L6 with Astra SP blade, Dollar Tree b-pure soap, Amazon bowl, Omega S brush, Witch Hazel.

 

[geneaut]

OK. I remembered today so got some inexpensive ( but effective ) products together. Yaqi Flipside razor head from AliExpress, RR Black Label soap, Super Max Blue Diamond Titanium razor blade, Omega 49 boar brush, and I finished with Skin Bracer AS. The most expensive piece in this was the $10 brush. The entire lineup was under $30. I'll round up a different playlist next Friday.

BTW - it was an excellent shave. The Super Max blades have always treated me well and I loaded up when Connaught was getting them out of their inventory. I think I paid 5 cents a blade when I bought them in bulk. The Black Label ( and the other RR soaps in that same family Blue, Gold, Green ) punches far above it's purchase cost of $4 when I got it on sale. The Omega 49 is a well known workhorse of a brush at a great price point, and I never feel like I'm comprimising anything when I am using it especially when I'm lathering hard soaps. Finally the little Yaqi razor head just provides an easy smooth shave that is so simple it is almost boring. I do need a tad more buffing since it is fairly mild, but it's minimal. Skin Bracer matches well with the barbershop scent of the soap, and the menthol kick is nice in July.

TLDR : Great combo of inexpensive products that resulted in a close and comfy shave!

 

[StewB]

My Frugal Friday for July 15, 2022:

Baili BR179 razor with a 7 O'Clock SharpEdge blade, Hempz shave gel, and Every Man Jack mint post-shave lotion. No brush. Good quality budget shave!

 

[Ron R]

SE SOTD, Friday, July 15th 2022, It is hard to give exact pricing of this gear but I will give my best estimate, razor can be bought of live Yaqi sale at good prices any where from $10 complete to $3 for just the head, blade works out for me about $.15 per shave(6 shaves per blade), brush $5-10 on yaqi live sale, $10 or .20 per shave for Clubman aftershave $8-10 per bottle.
When averaged all out I would think it will be around $1 <US per shave for some really nice reasonable shaving gear. A De razor would be a cheaper alternative because blades are cheaper and a good DE razor can be purchased for $10 US also. I have been budget minded for many years because that is the way I have mostly lived & survived!

Razor : Yaqi Excalibur AC 50mm- Mfg 2021> tame mid range, good design for clamping, small head parts, I seem to get great shaves from this razor consistently. Good daily driver for some folks.
Blade : Schick Proline p30 50mm injector(2), sharp & smooth with reasonable longevity.
Soap : Speick, nice mild spicy scent, with excellent lather qualities. Completed 1st stick of soap.
Brush : Yaqi Tailcoat 24mm synthetic, excellent lather generator, cloud like soft tips, great scrubber, excellent lather painter.
Pre shave : (Dedicated Cashmere synthetic)Brush wash whole face with CeraVe hand bar cleanser with a dollop of clear Aloe Vera on the cleaned beard area.
Prep : Cold water rinse after each pass of 2 + pickups. WTG + ATG + pickups.
Post shave : Pinaud Clubman AS + a dollop of CeraVe moisturizing lotion(scentless).
Results :9.5/10CCS,DFS,BBS + no irritation + no weepers=Excellent shave with my Yaqi Excalibur with a Schick p30 50mm blade.

Have some great shaves!

 

[Hair Scraper]

I usually shave every other day, so I didn't shave today. But, yesterday I used my $13.50 antique mall '49 Executive, (up 35% from when it first came out ,) put a 6th use on an 11 cent Personna blue label blade, used my homemade roasted walnut oil pre-shave, (who needs essential oils when you can smell like a burning walnut grove?) and Van Der Hagen Shave Butter. (I know, I spoil myself.)

It was a BBS shave.

 

[LJBraaten]

I used a Gillette early postwar tech that I got in a $15 lot of three razors. My Feather blade has been used for 43 shaves. My B & M soap was a discard from a friend. My brush soaking cup was left behind by the last resident. My scuttle is a repurposed plastic Philadelphia Cream Cheese container. I heated my prewash and shaving water in containers placed in the sun on our deck. The most expensive item was my reknoted Ever-Ready 200 brush, purchased for around $25 on eBay 2 years ago.

Same gear, every day is Frugal Friday for me! (And Tech Tuesday, exceptin Mondays) Only difference is my blade now has 10 more shaves on it.

 

[geneaut]

I'm going to try not to duplicate major pieces of today's kit next week. I have two razors from Amazon that were both less than $10 ( and actually came with decent blades including some Gillettes ). I have at least 3 brushes I paid less than $10 each for. For years I wouldn't spend much on soap so I have lots of inexpensive shave soaps to toss into the ring before I even start working down the list of bath soaps I successfully shave with LOL.

I did shave with the Dollar Tree b-pure shave soap earlier in the week, and I see @Big_T did today as well. That's really a nice little product for $1.25. It may be a while before I can work myself back up to using their $1.25 TTO razor again

 

[geneaut]

SE SOTD, Friday, July 15th 2022, It is hard to give exact pricing of this gear but I will give my best estimate, razor can be bought of live Yaqi sale at good prices any where from $10 complete to $3 for just the head, blade works out for me about $.15 per shave(6 shaves per blade), brush $5-10 on yaqi live sale, $10 or .20 per shave for Clubman aftershave $8-10 per bottle.
When averaged all out I would think it will be around $1 <US per shave for some really nice reasonable shaving gear. A De razor would be a cheaper alternative because blades are cheaper and a good DE razor can be purchased for $10 US also. I have been budget minded for many years because that is the way I have mostly lived & survived!

Razor : Yaqi Excalibur AC 50mm- Mfg 2021> tame mid range, good design for clamping, small head parts, I seem to get great shaves from this razor consistently. Good daily driver for some folks.
Blade : Schick Proline p30 50mm injector(2), sharp & smooth with reasonable longevity.
Soap : Speick, nice mild spicy scent, with excellent lather qualities. Completed 1st stick of soap.
Brush : Yaqi Tailcoat 24mm synthetic, excellent lather generator, cloud like soft tips, great scrubber, excellent lather painter.
Pre shave : (Dedicated Cashmere synthetic)Brush wash whole face with CeraVe hand bar cleanser with a dollop of clear Aloe Vera on the cleaned beard area.
Prep : Cold water rinse after each pass of 2 + pickups. WTG + ATG + pickups.
Post shave : Pinaud Clubman AS + a dollop of CeraVe moisturizing lotion(scentless).
Results :9.5/10CCS,DFS,BBS + no irritation + no weepers=Excellent shave with my Yaqi Excalibur with a Schick p30 50mm blade.

Have some great shaves!

Speick is a jewel. Herby lavender yumminess!

 

[Roedeer]

Frugal Friday 15th July.

Preshave: Hot washcloth
Soap: Pears Green Bar Soap
Brush: Yaqi 24mm synthetic cashmere
Razor: GC.68 SB, Al Handle, Astra SP #1
Bowl: Turkish copper
Post-shave: Nivea Balm.

Pears glycerine soap lathers up very slickly, but is it good enough to shave with? I improvised a puck out of an almost used-up bar, bowl-lathered it, and gave it a try.

It lathered up easily in the dimpled bowl (£7, ebay). The scent is supposed to be lemon blossom, but is hardly noticeable. I used the mild Game Changer, in case the soap was deficient in performance, but it was surprisingly good for a non-shaving product. The post-shave felt "dried-up" compared to MWF or SV, but not to the point of discomfort. Nivea Balm (~ £2, B&M) restored a moisturised feeling. I'd call it a DFS.

It won't be replacing SV, but I've had worse results with "real" shaving soaps that disagreed with my skin.

 

[Big_T]

Frugal Friday, July 22, 2022

Weishi 9306, Perma-Sharp (4), homemade shave oil, Witch Hazel.

Pretty good shave, I'd rate it 8.9 out of 10. When using just oil for the shave, remember to keep the face moist with water for every pass after thoroughly massaging the oil into the whiskers.

My recipe for shave oil -

2 tablespoons jojoba oil
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons castor oil
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil

 

[StewB]

@Big_T - You inspired my Frugal Friday for today...

The razor is a vintage 1971 flare tip and blade is a Personna Platinum Chrome. No shaving cream or soap - just 5 drops of Shave Secret oil. The result was a solid performance: Very close to a 9 out of 10. Good quality shave for very little effort.

 

[Ron R]

SE SOTD, Friday, July 22nd/ 2022, Frugal Friday, this gear averages about under $1 per shave today and got a stellar shave with great gear. I just buy on big discount sales and it can make shaving affordable. I also trim my own hair and that really saved me some big money over the last 5 years, all my shave gear is paid for now mostly and I have enough gear for 4-8 years depending on consumables I like and will buy again.
Trimming my own hair and I stopped buying Gillette cartridge blades and Gillette gel is about $440 a year Savings.

Razor : Yaqi V2 Excalibur AC 50mm($13US on sale,100 shaves= $.13 per shave)- Mfg 2021>, Excellent tame mid range, interesting simple design for clamping a blade, small head parts so I assemble under wash cloth. One of the best shaves I get consistently from this razor. Affordable also.
Blade : Schick Proline p30($.17 per shave)(3) sharp & smooth with reasonable longevity.
Soap : Razorock XXX($.16 per shave), nice fresh scent with excellent lather qualities.
Brush : Yaqi Ferrari 24mm boar bristle($10 US on sale, 100 shaves= $.10 per shave), Excellent lather generator, heavenly soft split end bristle hair, nice scrubber + excellent painter. Nicely broke boar brush.
Pre shave : (Dedicated Cashmere synthetic $10 US 800 shaves=$.0125 per shave)Brush wash whole face with CeraVe hand bar cleanser($.03 per shave) with a dollop of clear Aloe Vera($.06 per shave) on the cleaned beard area.
Prep : Cold water rinse after each pass of 2 + pickups. WTG + ATG + pickups.
Post shave : Razorock XXX($.10 per shave) with witch hazel($.06 per shave) + a dollop of CeraVe moisturizing lotion(scentless ($.12 per shave).
Results :CCS,DFS,BBs + no irritation + no weepers= Excellent shave with my Yaqi V2 Excalibur 50mm with a Schick proline p30 50mm blade. Total $.94 US per shave! Never really broke this down before and so $1.00 a shave is reasonable.

Have some great shaves!

 

[Big_T]

Frugal Friday, July 29, 2022

Pre: Face wash with Pears soap (Dollar Tree $1.25)
Razor: Snmirn adjustable (Amazon $9.99)
Blade: Perma-Sharp (Amazon $.08)
Soap: Stirling Lime (free sample from a Pasteurs order)
Brush: Echolly Synthetic ($6.99 Amazon)
Post: Witch Hazel ($2.49 Walmart)

Rating: 8.9

 

[geneaut]

It's Shark Week so it's hard to be much more frugal than the 6 cent beauty of a Shark Super Chrome blade. The Gillette Pure shaving cream I think was $5 or $6 bucks when I grabbed it from a Walgreens when it was on sale. To make it even more fun it was actually a very good shave. I made sure I hydrated my whiskers in the shower, and made a nice thick and wet lather from the Pure and then took it nice and easy with the Yaqi razor with the Shark blade. I ended up with a fairly effortless ( maybe a touch of extra buffing ) BBS. The Shark was well behaved in the Yaqi head.

 

[MovingToMars]

Frugal Friday, September 9th. I really like this thread for ideas, it’s part of the fun for me as a beginner without an extensive collection. Here's today's shave.

Pre-shave: Dove Deeply Nourishing (€2.19* on sale, Albert Heijn supermarket)
Razor: King C Gillette (€11.24, Amazon)
Blade: Was planning on changing to a Gillette Platinum (€0.14 or €0.71 for a packet of 5, Drogist NL) but decided to use a King C blade that was still in the razor for a 3rd round instead.
Shaving cream: Palmolive Classic (€1.- at Jumbo supermarket)
Brush: Old Powder Brush from Bottom of Drawer (probably 3 bucks 15 years ago, Etos)
Bowl: Empty yogurt container
Clean-up: De Vergulde Hand alum block (€2.24 Voordeeldrogisterij)
Post-Shave: Extra virgin coconut oil (€3.14, Albert Heijn supermarket)
(*Current exchange rate: EUR 1 = USD 1.01)

Satisfying CCS+. Could have been a DFS, but the King C blade had probably lost a little too much sharpness. Straight from the pack, it sliced through the jungle like a knife through butter on a hot day, but it looks like it doesn’t get sharper with subsequent uses like some other coated blades do. Seems like longevity isn't great for me (so, not very frugal) but I'll test again.

The brush was a trial for fun, but it tangled up pretty quickly. I found a hilarious post here on B&B from user Loric, who was left with nothing to do in the cosmetics aisle at Walmart for too long and he ended up buying a big make-up brush. It worked very well for shaving, according to him, so I thought I'd test a make-up brush with the Palmolive. It whipped up the cream well and I liked the long handle for efficiency, but this brush clearly wasn’t designed for wet applications so I can maybe squeeze two more uses out of it. A regular paint brush from the hardware store would probably perform better. I do have a real shaving brush (boar) from Kruidvat Originals (drugstore) but it's small and harsh, despite breaking it in. Exfoliation level: sandpaper. It also started to lose hairs almost immediately. (I see now that the brush has terrible reviews online, but I bought it in-store, so I didn’t know that at the time.) So it was either a terrible shaving brush or a terrible make-up brush today. Still a great shave. Happy Friday everyone!

 

[Quaznoid]

Everyday is Frugal Friday for me

 

[geneaut]

I didn't frugal today, but I did last week since I was traveling. Here's what I used then:

I usually have a Feather Popular in my travel kit but I grabbed the "camping" ditty bag instead of my regular ditty so I had to make do with a disposable razor. Mea Culpa. That Omega brush has some kind of strange nylon bristles but somehow it creates decent lather, and the CO Bigelow is just a rockstar considering I think I paid about $5 for it when you could still get it at Bath and Bodyworks.

I'll try to be more intentional next week.