How much money have you spent since you started DE/Straight shaving?

[Chubbywolf]

Man....only been doing this a couple of months, and I am several hundred bucks in.

 

[Daner]

Probably about $600. But I have 5 straight razors, 4 safety razors, 4 brushes and a whole load of software. If I don't buy more razors, what I have could last me a lifetime and soap/de blades/honing would still be cheaper overall than mach 3's.

 

[MrLara]

You should also take into account how long an individual has been shaving. For me, I have been a tradtional shaver for more than 50 years so $1000 is not that much.

I was hoping people would post how long they've been shaving the traditional way.

And yes, it's not much at all.

 

[graysonhenryrussell]

I am 67 & been doing this since I started shaving but I didn't start spending a ton of money until I started reading this forum two years ago.

 

[Prof. Moriarty]

I kept a spreadsheet early on, as I was interested in where I obtained my razors and how much I paid for them.

Same here

 

[PomfretSteve]

3 years in and I would guess somewhere just north of $4,000. This past year was the worst, I averaged around $150 a month... I blame it on the straights and an awful case of SSAD.

 

[ackvil]

I am 67 & been doing this since I started shaving but I didn't start spending a ton of money until I started reading this forum two years ago.

Ain't that the truth. I am 71 and until I joined B&B I had only three razors that I used, two brushes, and one soap and one cream which were replaced when used up. That sure has changed since I joined!

 

[jamesspo]

This is a very good point. Of course the op was only asking about what was spent, but the bigger picture indeed is that a lot of what is spent in hardware acquisition (and even some software) does not reduce your net worth, if carefully purchased. Sure, some of the cheaper new razors probably don't fall into this investment category, but anything of limited supply - low quantity runs, vintage, those are all going to keep value or possibly gain. This is very much in line with my broader financial philosophy of only buying things of "long term enduring value" whenever possible. My egg never really gets smaller, and I get the benefits of the use of these items, essentially for no cost.

I still propose that almost everything we bought before had little to no resale value. Who would buy mach3 cartridges from some guy on the internet for almost what they cost in the store? More than they cost in the store?

Wetshaving with quality tools means that we do save money. People sell used soaps, creams, razors, blade-packs, hones on bst and ebay all the time. Heck I've seen people sell the bowl their soap came in for decent cash. If you get into vintage razors you can clean and sharpen and restore stuff to increase it's value, and because it's antique it's not being made any more, but it is still constantly being broken and thrown away. So the price is constantly going up.

I have invested around 500 into my shaving habit... But I also recently researched my collection on ebay and bst and offers on parts of my collection. It would liquidate to around 1200 dollars. I used up some creams and soaps, the tax and shipping and stuff gets subtracted... basically I would end up with 1000 in my hand... meaning that I invested 500 into wetshaving, but I paid -500 (I'm 500 richer)... Is there a negative option?

 

[Terp61]

I paid about $1,300 for a single razor. As for the total, it'd be tens of thousands of dollars.

I don't own a straight, but when I see something as gorgeous as this fine razor I have to muster up some restraint and remind myself not to even dare getting into straight razor shaving. I remind myself the shaves I get with my DE are wonderful shaves, the best I've ever had. Maybe someday, but the strops, stones, etc would certainly blow the budget out of the water. Sir, that is a very nice razor!

 

[mikelz777]

I've been at it about 15 months and I've kept my spending under $200. I'm not counting razors I've purchased and subsequently sold because I've pretty much broke even with them. I have included items I've purchased and traded or PIF'd. There are 1 or 2 razors out there that I'd like to try but I'm not actively looking for them. I don't see my total spending changing very dramatically for years.

 

[lindyhop66]

I've been traditional wet-shaving for two years come January First. I started out buying cheap DE's and SE's and cheap brushes. Then I had to buy every shave soap or cream I read about. What really put me into the red was using straight razors. I bought well over a 100 razors, many high priced vintage NOS items. Then I had to have better brushes.

So it has to be somewhere between $4000-5000. I'm afraid to really pull out the paperwork and total it up. I've sold maybe $1500 of straights, DEs and brushes and find fewer items I think I have to have now.

I had to try everthing out, put some things aside, tried others and then later realized I liked the things I put aside. From small straights to large straights to traditional kamisori and back again. Now I've sold a few friends straights and they seem to had the addiction worse than I do.

 

[Lather]

Glad to see I am in the majority.

 

[Bman437]

I just started on 22 Dec and I am in for over $150 already with a massive list of things I would like to try.

 

[Corsair66]

I chose $400-$500, but it's only a guess based on a quick glance through the den. I don't track shaving-related expenses in any detail. Costs are trivial, but my enjoyment has been through the proverbial roof. An entirely worthwhile obsession...

 

[binoy]

I'm in around $300. I have enough soap in rotation (4 different soaps) and enough blades (100 or so) Personna Med Prep's, 2 pure badger brushes and enough witch hazel to last all of 2014! I started mid-November and my face really loves the attention.

 

[Luecke2326]

I think some of us need to join the 2014 shaving sabbatical! Not that we will be able to stick to it...

 

[djtshaver]

As a guess I'd say $1,000 but now that I'm transitioning to a straight razor and since joining the forum, the amount will quickly rise. Too much cool stuff that I must have in my collection.

 

[Corsair66]

I think some of us need to join the 2014 shaving sabbatical! Not that we will be able to stick to it...

Eveything in moderation - even moderation! Honestly, I don't even try anymore. If something catches my eye, I just get it.

 

[weizemanner]

This is a very good point. Of course the op was only asking about what was spent, but the bigger picture indeed is that a lot of what is spent in hardware acquisition (and even some software) does not reduce your net worth, if carefully purchased. Sure, some of the cheaper new razors probably don't fall into this investment category, but anything of limited supply - low quantity runs, vintage, those are all going to keep value or possibly gain. This is very much in line with my broader financial philosophy of only buying things of "long term enduring value" whenever possible. My egg never really gets smaller, and I get the benefits of the use of these items, essentially for no cost.

I get it, it's a good question, how much have you spent, and it's good to keep excess spending in check. But it's my way of helping BnB enable people's ADs. Don't think of it as spending, think of it as investing. Like a badass shark on wall street making bills on investments wearing a sharp suit and a well shaved face. LOL.

 

[mfgorilla]

I couldn't even guess at this point, really. I'd guess about $200 since I switched to using a DE this past spring but I had switched to traditional cream and a brush well before that.