@Cesare- Your journey so far is like that of many here. And, you've learned the prime commandment- YMMV. Keep going Padawan, the force and all of us are with you.
Penny Wise Pound Foolish Conundrum
- Thread starter Cesare
- Start date
Beautifully written, Cesare. I'm not sure that part of the journey is avoidable. We all have favorites - now, but how would you know until you tried a bunch of stuff?
My son is still using the first brush he purchased, and the same cream. So there are those people who either are easily satisfied, got really lucky the first time around, or lack all curiosity when it comes to trying other products.
I have the same journey with brushes, and a handful of synthetics purchased before I got the EVO. But I don't know that anyone could have convinced me to spend $65 on a synthetic right out of the gate.
I think we also tend to look at the short run when it comes to price. It took me quite a while (and many glowing reviews on B&B) before I purchased MdC. But I didn't know it would last 13 months of daily 3 pass shaves and end up to be cheaper than my $25 soaps that last 4 months.
While I think we've both arrived at similar places, many others take a different journey. Lots of products out there, we might as well enjoy the trip.
My son is still using the first brush he purchased, and the same cream. So there are those people who either are easily satisfied, got really lucky the first time around, or lack all curiosity when it comes to trying other products.
I have the same journey with brushes, and a handful of synthetics purchased before I got the EVO. But I don't know that anyone could have convinced me to spend $65 on a synthetic right out of the gate.
I think we also tend to look at the short run when it comes to price. It took me quite a while (and many glowing reviews on B&B) before I purchased MdC. But I didn't know it would last 13 months of daily 3 pass shaves and end up to be cheaper than my $25 soaps that last 4 months.
While I think we've both arrived at similar places, many others take a different journey. Lots of products out there, we might as well enjoy the trip.
Brushes:
I'm good here, but yes should I need to buy a new brush, then I'm under the $30 price point as well. If I do buy a new brush, it's strictly cause I'm bored with my current selection, or I just want to have something of a different color etc.
Soaps:
I only have a few, 6 total, and that's about my limit, I don't need so many soaps, I have a great selection of scents so I have the ability to mix it up. When it comes to price......nothing more then $15, that doesn't include shipping.
Aftershaves:
I have a few here 5 in total, I have a scent for each style/variety, then a balm for those days that I just want to do something different. I won't spend more then $25 on a aftershave, that doesn't include shipping
Razors:
I own two safety razors one was given to me, a Gillette Super Speed mid 40's, and then I was gifted a brand new Gillette Heritage from my wife for Christmas, I'm super happy with them both, I do want to add a new open comb razor to my rotation, I want something classic and time proven, so it will be a Fatip.
Blades:
I buy a 60 pack variety bundle online for $19.99 with free shipping, once a year, I use a blade 3 to 5 times and bin it. I'd like to think that I'm a true frugalist when it comes to this hobby, this is all about saving money for me.
I'm good here, but yes should I need to buy a new brush, then I'm under the $30 price point as well. If I do buy a new brush, it's strictly cause I'm bored with my current selection, or I just want to have something of a different color etc.
Soaps:
I only have a few, 6 total, and that's about my limit, I don't need so many soaps, I have a great selection of scents so I have the ability to mix it up. When it comes to price......nothing more then $15, that doesn't include shipping.
Aftershaves:
I have a few here 5 in total, I have a scent for each style/variety, then a balm for those days that I just want to do something different. I won't spend more then $25 on a aftershave, that doesn't include shipping
Razors:
I own two safety razors one was given to me, a Gillette Super Speed mid 40's, and then I was gifted a brand new Gillette Heritage from my wife for Christmas, I'm super happy with them both, I do want to add a new open comb razor to my rotation, I want something classic and time proven, so it will be a Fatip.
Blades:
I buy a 60 pack variety bundle online for $19.99 with free shipping, once a year, I use a blade 3 to 5 times and bin it. I'd like to think that I'm a true frugalist when it comes to this hobby, this is all about saving money for me.
Great thread!
The problem is that I need to try a variety of options myself to find what makes me happy.
B&B helps tremendously! Reviews, folks’ advice and experience shortens my journey because I zero in on hardware and software that is most likely to work well!
The problem is that I need to try a variety of options myself to find what makes me happy.
B&B helps tremendously! Reviews, folks’ advice and experience shortens my journey because I zero in on hardware and software that is most likely to work well!
Well, yes, but...there's also the fads and fashions for stuff of every kind. For instance, expensive stainless steel razors of the month that everyone says is the best thing ever until the next razor of the month comes out. Then, last month's hot new razor is quietly forgotten!...B&B helps tremendously! Reviews, folks’ advice and experience shortens my journey because I zero in on hardware and software that is most likely to work well!
You must have the rare, discontinued blades that cost three times as much as they should, when they are actually no better than some of the cheaper blades you can easily get.
You must have some artisan soap that cost $25 and lasts for 40 shaves instead of a proven hard milled soap that cost $12 and lasts for 200 shaves. Oh, and don't forget to throw in the matching ridiculously overpriced aftershave so you have the set!
Etc, etc...
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- Thread starter
- #26
Great thread!
The problem is that I need to try a variety of options myself to find what makes me happy.
B&B helps tremendously! Reviews, folks’ advice and experience shortens my journey because I zero in on hardware and software that is most likely to work well!
@BigJ, I'm not naming names, but there are some enviable members here that I call the "free spirited" ones...
Great point! I tend more toward ‘classic‘ products that have been around. But to each his own!
Everything is relative, and sometimes you have to spend money to figure things out.
I started off buying a few hundred bucks worth of nice boar brushes. Then I got a single Simpsons badger that cost a full 1/4 of the money I spent on boars, while this brush killed the rest. So at this time I was bummed, I wasted time and money I lamented.
Then after spending a few hundred on several nice badgers, and loving them all, I started using canned goo one day because I had substandard and insufficient lather by chance one day. I then had a great shave regardless and liked not having to lather up with a brush.
For roughly 2 months now I have not used a brush. I have spent a lot of money on brushes, but I don’t care. It’s a great lesson learned and I regret none of it because if I never went down that road I probably would’ve never got to where I wanted to go. And that $400 on brushes was spread out over roughly 30 months of time, which averages to roughly $14 a month.
My dental insurance premium is $17 a month, and doesn't give me as much pleasure as those brushes ever did.
Everything is relative.
I started off buying a few hundred bucks worth of nice boar brushes. Then I got a single Simpsons badger that cost a full 1/4 of the money I spent on boars, while this brush killed the rest. So at this time I was bummed, I wasted time and money I lamented.
Then after spending a few hundred on several nice badgers, and loving them all, I started using canned goo one day because I had substandard and insufficient lather by chance one day. I then had a great shave regardless and liked not having to lather up with a brush.
For roughly 2 months now I have not used a brush. I have spent a lot of money on brushes, but I don’t care. It’s a great lesson learned and I regret none of it because if I never went down that road I probably would’ve never got to where I wanted to go. And that $400 on brushes was spread out over roughly 30 months of time, which averages to roughly $14 a month.
My dental insurance premium is $17 a month, and doesn't give me as much pleasure as those brushes ever did.
Everything is relative.
I think most of us have experienced what you have Cesare. The problem is, we are all different and what one shaver likes may not be your cup of tea. The only way to Know what works best for you is trial and error. My favorite brushes all cost less than $20 and I have spent much more on some that I didn't like as much. My favorite razor cost more than $200 and I have tried six. I have tried many many blades (but certainly not all) and narrowed it down to two favorites. Soaps are something that I am still working on. As my lather making skills progress and I try different techniques, I am liking some soaps a lot that I previously thought merely ok. I have learned in my life that it is often best to pay more for quality as I am less likely to regret the money spent but it doesn't always hold true.
This shows the problem and joy of this hobby:
Yuma and Aristocrat, price ratio 1:100 = equally good shaves for me
Yuma and Aristocrat, price ratio 1:100 = equally good shaves for me
My aftershave journey is a good example:
At one point I had over 20 AS plus around 8 samples,
always reading up and trying new things, all in only one year.
Now after cutting down on everything to have a simple setup and concentrate
on few good things I ended up keeping the first and second aftershave i ever bought,
both cheap (proraso green and clubman) and the cheapest AS of them all
that is actually ready available in drugstores all over this country (CHH Tobacco).
Feels like a waste of money but I guess the journey was part of finding peace of mind.
At one point I had over 20 AS plus around 8 samples,
always reading up and trying new things, all in only one year.
Now after cutting down on everything to have a simple setup and concentrate
on few good things I ended up keeping the first and second aftershave i ever bought,
both cheap (proraso green and clubman) and the cheapest AS of them all
that is actually ready available in drugstores all over this country (CHH Tobacco).
Feels like a waste of money but I guess the journey was part of finding peace of mind.
- Thread starter
- #32
Funny how the interests/focal points change during the journey and how the paths develop. Mine certainly have so far.
Finding peace of mind is great. And - hopefully - also part of the journey. My only "regret" (so to speak) is not giving myself a little more leeway and being less cautious. Some day, maybe, I'll learn from the "free spirited" members!
As Marie Kondo always says, "Does it spark joy?"
My wife has been threatening me with seeing if MY "treasures" spark any joy for HER! So it looks like a PIF or three will be happening here in Mudville. She even said SHE'LL pay the postage to thin my gear out!
Procrastinating has saved me a LOT of money over the years!
The avatar is finally right, talk to the hand.
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
I don't buy high end kit. My razors typically cost me less than £35, and my brushes less than £20. Why spend £100 on a razor or brush, when I could get 3 or 5 different ones for the same price?
A few days ago, I ordered 6 cheap hats. For the same money, I could have bought one low end fur felt hat, but then I'd only have one hat instead of six, and these six will cover more seasons and types of weather than that one would, not to mention more occasions or clothing choices. I'd have been far more disappointed if that one didn't fit well, than one of the six. I'd feel much worse when (not if) I lose it or damage it. If it got soaked, I wouldn't have anything else to wear till it dried out. I don't care if my young nephews and nieces maul these cheap hats with jam or icecream on their fingers. If the wind robs me of a cheap hat, and throws it under a passing bus, so be it. If it survives kids in the family and the wind doesn't steal it, yet it still only lasts me three years before I have to buy another, I don't care. I'll probably still feel like I got my money's worth.
Razors, brushes, clothing, pocket knives, torches, crockery, cookware, furniture, tobacco pipes, pens and pencils, tools. Whatever it is, I buy "good enough", not "best". I have bought "best" in the past, and not felt like I got good value for how much I paid out. With humble outlay, and humble expectations for that outlay, I am seldom disappointed, and often rather impressed.
A few days ago, I ordered 6 cheap hats. For the same money, I could have bought one low end fur felt hat, but then I'd only have one hat instead of six, and these six will cover more seasons and types of weather than that one would, not to mention more occasions or clothing choices. I'd have been far more disappointed if that one didn't fit well, than one of the six. I'd feel much worse when (not if) I lose it or damage it. If it got soaked, I wouldn't have anything else to wear till it dried out. I don't care if my young nephews and nieces maul these cheap hats with jam or icecream on their fingers. If the wind robs me of a cheap hat, and throws it under a passing bus, so be it. If it survives kids in the family and the wind doesn't steal it, yet it still only lasts me three years before I have to buy another, I don't care. I'll probably still feel like I got my money's worth.
Razors, brushes, clothing, pocket knives, torches, crockery, cookware, furniture, tobacco pipes, pens and pencils, tools. Whatever it is, I buy "good enough", not "best". I have bought "best" in the past, and not felt like I got good value for how much I paid out. With humble outlay, and humble expectations for that outlay, I am seldom disappointed, and often rather impressed.
I had a similar problem with soaps. Purchased quite a few that i really enjoyed using a different one each shave...then i got Tabac and i stopped using the other soaps that i loved. I'm not quite sure that i'm done buying soaps, but i'll be far more conservative buying them in the future.
Luckily i didn't get too far sucked into the razor rabbit hole. I started shaving with a R41, then i bought a Karve, and now settled on the Blackbird that i really love. I may treat myself to something else in the future but right now i'm pretty happy using the BB every single shave. I haven't used my R41 or Karve in months but i'll probably keep them anyway.
I think there is an initial money dump in this hobby that seems to wane eventually because there are a lot of great products out there.
Luckily i didn't get too far sucked into the razor rabbit hole. I started shaving with a R41, then i bought a Karve, and now settled on the Blackbird that i really love. I may treat myself to something else in the future but right now i'm pretty happy using the BB every single shave. I haven't used my R41 or Karve in months but i'll probably keep them anyway.
I think there is an initial money dump in this hobby that seems to wane eventually because there are a lot of great products out there.
- Thread starter
- #38
Great post, Al. And a different perspective.
But the truth is I'd be willing to give wet shaving up and adopt an electric razor if I could buy hats and have as many as you (seem to) have. My head is big and oval and it's very, very hard to find a hat that fits me well. The idea of walking into a shop, picking up any hat and, bang!, having it fit perfectly... I'd give a Wolfman, a Gillette RFB, a Manchurian on a @Graydog handle and a lifetime supply of MdC for that!
Great post!
But a bargain when you compare the enjoyment you get vs. the chance of winning at the casino!
Definitely, I’m not a gambling man but I enjoy finely crafted tools very much.Great post!
But a bargain when you compare the enjoyment you get vs. the chance of winning at the casino!
The Yuma is not such a tool by a wide margin but it just plainly works for me.
The Aristocrat yet has both the looks and the performance!
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