Dirt cheap wet shaving

[Great white]

My current setup (CAD dollars):

59 fatboy - 25 bucks from ebay + shipping (although I do have razors I've paid less for on ebay)
Astra Sp blade (100 pack) - 10 bucks (shipped) from ebay seller
Speick cream - two 25ml tubes - 20 bucks shipped from ebay seller
Hammered copper bowl - 8 bucks shipped
PIF badger brush from a fellow BnB member (although I have a few more that I've bought of ebay for 5-10 bucks a pop)
Alum block (x2) - 5 bucks shipped (ebay)

So, that's 68 bucks total and just about enough for a full year of shaving. I actually have a little more than that in my total purchases as I grabbed a couple slims and Super-speeds since I didn't know if the fatboy would work for me when I ordered it. But I'm still under about 150 bucks for every little piece of shaving gear I own.

Second year will be even less as it's only replacing consumables like blades and creams. So, second year around 30 bucks for a year of shaving.

Comparing that 30 bucks to 20 bucks for just a package of cartridges for my mach 3 (I typically use somewhere between 5-10 packages a year), that's a freaking steal!

Facing early retirement due to injuries is why I got into the DE shaving. It's all about economics for me.....cheaper the better.

 

[Bengal Tiger]

Brush: Omega Pro boar
Razor: Razorock quick change or similar in the $10 category. Weishi, or vintage Gillette superspeed
Soap: Kilo brick of Cella bought from Europe and shipped, or case of Arko sticks
Aftershave: Thayer's witch hazel or Every Man Jack balm
Bowl: Any ceramic latte mug or bowl of suitable size to soak brush and build lather

Low Cost Upgrades:
Brush: get a brush made for you by any of our B&B members like Whipped Dog or Rudy Vey
Straight Razor: Whipped Dog sight unseen razor and poor man strop kit

 

[Razorcan]

ASinaud ($8 for a bottle that lasts 4 months of daily use)
Razor:Merkur 34c (I bought it 14 years ago for $30 so I think that it has been completely amortized a LONG time ago )
Creamroraso red shaving foam ($3/CAN that lasts for 9 months of daily shaving)
Blade:SHARK SS ($7 for 100 blades w/ free shipping this equals $3,5 per year for blades)



I am cheap and I like it!

 

[wihi]

Prep: Noxzema Purple - 4USD
Brush: Nada
Cream: Nivea Sensitive -3USD
Razor: Wieshi - 10USD
Blade: Astra SP - .10 or less USD
AS: Barbasol PR - 3USD

 

[DerStadtschutz]

View attachment 698901

Razor: Weishi 9306/1965 Gillette Slim Adjustable on ebay: $20/$35
Soap: Arko Shave Stick/Van Der Hagen puck/Cremo Original tube from Wal Mart: $2/$4/$6
Brush: no-name boar brush from Turkey/Omega S-Brush: $3/$9
Blades: Astra Superior Platinum: $8.50 for 100 of them from Turkey(not sure what they go for stateside)

Total cost to get started: $35.50
minor "upgrades": $50

Total cost all together over the course of 4 years: ~$125 considering the few other blades I've tried and shipping costs.

Oh yeah, I spent about $5 on a razor stand on amazon and then $1.50 on a plastic "salsa" bowl and $2 on Afta aftershave lotion from wal mart.

 

[bobskins]

my dirt cheap assembly is:
Gillette slim adj razor-$25 on ebay
antique open mouth scuttle-$12 on ebay
Feather blades about $8 for 10 on ebay
TOBS sandalwood puck for the scuttle about $7
Clubman AS about $9

however, i realized that once i got into the , frugality isn't my motive, fun is.

there's always a plan B.

 

[seattleshaver]

Gillette Slim adjustable $25 EBAY
Van Der Hagen boar brush/bowl/puck $12
Astra SP 100 blades $10 delivered
Van Der Hagen 12 pack deluxe shaving soap $22 delivered
Witch Hazel $2

 

[TheDudeAb1des]

Razor: ​Rockwell 6s - Free/gift
Blade: Astra SP - $10 (part of a sampler pack)
Brush: VDH $6 (found the starter set on clearance - got the brush, apothecary mug, soap, brush)
Pre-Shave: none
Soap: VDH luxury
Aftershave: none

Just using the VDH soap & brush till I can get some Silver Fox soap made up.. the wife does bath soap/lip balm as a hobby so I have a basic understanding of making it. Still want to try a Plissoft synthetic brush to see the difference between the shedding VDH boar and the shedding VDH badger. Yeah, I know that both of them suck, but I got the badger for free when I sent VDH an email complaining about the boar shedding more than a dozen hairs with every use.

 

[Marco]

I desire to resurrect this nice and once popular thread.

Today's superb dirt cheap wet shave was:

Brush: Simpson Trafalgar Synthetic €15.50

Soap: Ach. Brito Mogno €4.25

Razor: Merkur 42C 1904 €26.80

Blade: Israeli Red Personna €0.25

Aftershave: Allume di Rocca €1.99
Proraso Green splash €4.99

The shave was an easy, magnificent BBS and I used some of the cheapest and most effective items in my den!

Do you desire to participate? Just post your superb inexpensive wet shaving items!

 

[rbscebu]

Ming Shi 2000S (Futur clone) > $10
Ming Shi blade (included)
Chinese guaranteed genuine badger hair synthetic brush $2
Bar bath soap $1
Filipino rum AS $3 per litre (real rum)

All together give a DFS for less than $16 setup.

 

[Lee93]

Brush: Razorock Plissoft Synthetic €14
Pre-shave: Proraso Green €2.70
Soap: Proraso Green cream €1.70
Razor: King C. Gillette €15
Blade: Wilkinson Sword €0.30
Aftershave: TFS Witch Hazel €5.00
Proraso Green splash €5.20

Except for the brush, which arrived today, this is my setup since August.

 

[Quaznoid]

Wet shaving can be almost free: 1949 Tech, found in drawer (free)(or the SuperSpeed I bought for $1.99 in 1974); Lord Plat (3 cents); VDH boar brush ($4); soap scraps from soap dish (free); discarded yogurt container lathering bowl (free); Old Spice ($5). Enjoyable BBS everytime

 

[Tanuki]

Back in the day:
Old Type, free, grandad's old razor
Grocery store DE blades, about 1.6¢ per shave
Williams Mug, about 69¢ per puck
Coffee cup, 10¢ at Goodwill
Drugstore banded boar, about $2, cheap quality

Equivalent shave, now:
vintage Old Type, $10 or less in the wild, an antique
100 Russian blades, less than 1¢ per shave
Williams Mug, $1.89 per puck
Dollar store bowl, $1 new, Goodwill wants $1.50 used
Omega 10066 boar, $10, a well made brush

After 40 years of inflation, I say that I could shave for just a couple more pennies per shave, thanks to the reduced cost of bulk Russian blades. The plastic dollar store bowl (unbreakable) and the Omega boar will far outlast the breakable coffee cup and the flimsy hollow plastic brush, especially if I don't just leave the Omega unrinsed in the lather bowl.

My youngest son:
New Merkur 23, $20 on sale
Russian blades, 0¢ per shave, dad overstock
Speick stick, free, dad didn't like it, son mainly uses bath soap
Face latherer, shower shaver, so no bowl
Maggard badger, Xmas pricing, $10

 

[Atlantic59]

Fatip Piccolo Mk2 - $19
Omega 49 brush - $6.50
Speick Stick - $6.00
Silver Star blade - $0.08
Dickinson's witch hazel - $4.00

 

[JCarr]

Brush: Jequil & Corenveo Tuxedo Synthetic (Night Sky) $10

Soap: Cella Almond (red container) - $11.95

Razor: Parker Semi-Slant - $30

Blade: Derby Usta - 10 cents

Aftershave: Lustray Spice - $10.95 for 14 ounces.

$63 total expenditure...but that setup I could shave with for a year to a year and a half before needing more blades, soap and aftershave.

 

[samhain666]

I firmly believe there are 2 cheapest kits

1 - cheapest
2 - cheapest usable kit (I reckon this is a bit more pricey)

 

[andromeda673]

Gillette Super Speed - Free
Omega Boar Brush $14.99
Blades-Gillete Nacet 10 blades .59 cents
Soap Proraso Green $9.99
Aftershave-Razor Rock What the Puck Blue $7.99

I'd like to think I'm into wet shaving for next to nothing

 

[NPK]

Wilkinson Sword Classic (5 blades incl)- $8
Barbasol shaving foam -$3

Thats how much it cost to figure out if I liked DE shaving or not.

 

[DougK]

The cheapest I can come up with that will still provide a quality shave: Gillette Super Blue razor for less than $3.00 on Aliexpress; 100 Gillette Super Blue blades for about $22, also on Aliexpress; and Gillette Pure cream for about $7.00, depending on where you get it. Brush optional, but you could pick up a RazoRock synthetic for less than $15.00 if you want to use a brush. Less than $50 out the door for a great setup.

I also like @NPK 's suggestion for the black Wilkinson Sword Classic and Barbasol for a quick and easy intro kit.

 

[Rustyshackelford]

The cheapest setup I can run is as follows:

Gillette Tech post war - $3.00
Astra Green Superior Platinum - $0.06 per blade bought in 100pk qty
Wilkinson Sword blue tub soap - $3.00
NOS Surrey Boar brush - $1.00
Nivea Sensitive aftershave balm - $4.50
Total: $11.56

Today’s economical shave consisted of:
Gillette black beauty - $11.00
Bic Chrome Platinum (well over 20 shaves and going strong) - $0.11
Razorock Green soap - $3.50
Zenith boar B03-A26 - $11.75
Razorock Green A/S splash - $7.00
Total for a pretty darn nice wet shaving experience: $33.36 and these products last and last to really stretch the value.