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“Rotations” ? Totally Unnecessary.

You need but one good razor, brush, maybe a couple different pucks of soap just to mix it up. I switch off Tabac and Mitchells Wool Fat, and need nothing else. I bought a Merkur razor , and a set which includes a brush, a stand, and a soap dish. They are all going strong and are all 13 years old, and no expiration date is on the horizon for any of them. I do not fret or lay awake at night at the thought of losing another badger bristle from a 200.00 custom brush. My gear has done yeoman’s duty, and has accompanied me to Iraq and Afghanistan and back home. I feel no need to spend recurring sums of money for things which won’t perform better than what my current gear does. I’ll wager you that my morning shave is as close, comfortable, and satisfying as yours. I buy a different bottle of Penhaligons each 8-10 months, I simply tell my wife what she got me for my birthday or Christmas.

Better is the enemy of good enough, I cannot remember who said that, but it is often true. A pack of 100 blades lasts me two years. Look, if you want to feel pampered, I suggest a spa day with your wife and daughter. I cannot tell you what my dad (b.1921) or my grandfather (b.1901) might say if they read through some parts of B&B, but I am sure that at the least there would be amused smiles and some head-shaking.

If you want to have a connection to a manly past, then keep it simple. It’s all you need, and you’ll have a fatter wallet
My grandad was a bearded man, so is my father to this day.

My wife doesn't like spas.

I don't have a daughter (to my best knowledge at least).

Clearly, your post makes no sense.
 
My grandad was a bearded man, so is my father to this day.

My wife doesn't like spas.

I don't have a daughter (to my best knowledge at least).

Clearly, your post makes no sense.



Even though I do have a daughter, my wife does like spas, and both my grandfather and father were clean shaven: :thumbup1:

And the OP has got it all wrong again if he imagines that I fret or lay awake at night at the thought of losing another badger bristle from a 200.00 custom brush. I know a few things that I much rather do in bed at night. But I digress…

Unlike the OP’s, my shaving gear may not have done duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, but it went with me to Ghana, Kenya, the Central African Republic, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Africa, Morocco, Tunesia, and (for the sake of brevity) all over Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America - and (I almost forgot) once with me straight over the North Pole (I have a picture to prove), and a few times across the equator.
I am not sure what that might prove with respect to his (minimalist) or my (not quite so minimalist) shaving gear, except giving their respective owners bragging rights :hips: that they have been there and back.
Does anyone know of some sort of a medal that I could possibly claim for my shaving gear?
Or am I the one who gets the medal if I can prove that I did it with a single razor, brush and not more than two bars of soap? :pipe:




B.
 
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JCinPA

The Lather Maestro
^^^^^^^ Correct

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ERS4

My exploding razor knows secrets
From a purely functional standpoint, everyone does not even need more than two pairs of pants. I have pants that occupy half a drawer. I am guilty.

Fortunately, my razors are much smaller. Thank you Heavenly Father for forgiving me.
 
Even though I do have a daughter, my wife does like spas, and both my grandfather and father were clean shaven: :thumbup1:

And the OP has got it all wrong again if he imagines that I fret or lay awake at night at the thought of losing another badger bristle from a 200.00 custom brush. I know a few things that I much rather do in bed at night. But I digress…

Unlike the OP’s, my shaving gear may not have done duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, but it went with me to Ghana, Kenya, the Central African Republic, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Africa, Morocco, Tunesia, and (for the sake of brevity) all over Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America - and (I almost forgot) once with me straight over the North Pole (I have a picture to prove), and a few times across the equator.
I am not sure what that might prove with respect to his (minimalist) or my (not quite so minimalist) shaving gear, except giving their respective owners bragging rights :hips: that they have been there and back.
Does anyone know of some sort of a medal that I could possibly claim for my shaving gear?
Or am I the one who gets the medal if I can prove that I did it with a single razor, brush and not more than two bars of soap? :pipe:




B.
Brother @Brutus,

I proudly award you the shaver-globetrotter medal, if you so accept 😊😊

P.s.: my post above was a failed attempt at being humorous, as you seem to have taken it seriously. Put simply, the OPs original post above is nothing but a self-righteous rant, I happen not to agree with. I generally despise when others try to prescribe what should be a desired or "model" behavior for someone else. Live and f...in' let live.
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
If you want to have a connection to a manly past, then keep it simple. It’s all you need, and you’ll have a fatter wallet

True

Yeh but we're all a bit not right in the head.🤪

Even more true-er

You need but one good razor, brush, maybe a couple different pucks of soap just to mix it up.

I almost agree.

IMHO one ought to have "enough" brushes so that each one dries fully before being re-used. That will depend on brush size, density, and other factors ... probably your ambient humidity being the biggest variable. I have four brushes on rotation, and as long as I stick to "ABCDABCD" there are no problems.
 
IMHO one ought to have "enough" brushes so that each one dries fully before being re-used. That will depend on brush size, density, and other factors ... probably your ambient humidity being the biggest variable. I have four brushes on rotation, and as long as I stick to "ABCDABCD" there are no problems.

This is one solid point that hasn’t been mentioned in this super duper entertaining thread.

Even if I went full minimalist, I would always have a high quality synthetic brush in my travel DOPP kit and two (preferably 3) high quality badgers to rotate at home. 3 brushes minimum.

Badger, boar and horse hair brushes NEED to dry properly IME. 24 hours minimum but I prefer 960 hours to be safe. This is why I rotate 40 brushes. 🤪
 
This is one solid point that hasn’t been mentioned in this super duper entertaining thread.

Even if I went full minimalist, I would always have a high quality synthetic brush in my travel DOPP kit and two (preferably 3) high quality badgers to rotate at home. 3 brushes minimum.

Badger, boar and horse hair brushes NEED to dry properly IME. 24 hours minimum but I prefer 960 hours to be safe. This is why I rotate 40 brushes. 🤪

Not that I'm advocating for this, but theoretically you could get by with just a single quality synthetic brush and still shave daily.
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
I often use one of my badgers daily for a month (or more). All my brushes are in great condition. :001_tt2:

"Back in the day" I suppose most guys had one brush and used it daily until it gave out. It worked pretty well for them on the whole. And sometimes, "good enough" really still is good enough.

But I think we can tweak things a bit for our hobby without getting crazy ...

1632344687772.png
 
"Back in the day" I suppose most guys had one brush and used it daily until it gave out. It worked pretty well for them on the whole. And sometimes, "good enough" really still is good enough.

But I think we can tweak things a bit for our hobby without getting crazy ...

View attachment 1332615
I have the same number of brushes (50-ish)…. But I‘m not crazy enough to keep them in one place! I can’t afford a divorce. 😜

Are you single? Don’t you have dresser drawers you can hide stuff in? No golf bag or hockey bag? Toolbox? 😜
 
You need but one good razor, brush, maybe a couple different pucks of soap just to mix it up. I switch off Tabac and Mitchells Wool Fat, and need nothing else. I bought a Merkur razor , and a set which includes a brush, a stand, and a soap dish. They are all going strong and are all 13 years old, and no expiration date is on the horizon for any of them. I do not fret or lay awake at night at the thought of losing another badger bristle from a 200.00 custom brush. My gear has done yeoman’s duty, and has accompanied me to Iraq and Afghanistan and back home. I feel no need to spend recurring sums of money for things which won’t perform better than what my current gear does. I’ll wager you that my morning shave is as close, comfortable, and satisfying as yours. I buy a different bottle of Penhaligons each 8-10 months, I simply tell my wife what she got me for my birthday or Christmas.

Better is the enemy of good enough, I cannot remember who said that, but it is often true. A pack of 100 blades lasts me two years. Look, if you want to feel pampered, I suggest a spa day with your wife and daughter. I cannot tell you what my dad (b.1921) or my grandfather (b.1901) might say if they read through some parts of B&B, but I am sure that at the least there would be amused smiles and some head-shaking.

If you want to have a connection to a manly past, then keep it simple. It’s all you need, and you’ll have a fatter wallet
This attitude is the enemy of "you cannot take it with you". If that is true then why not use as much of it as you can while you are here.
 
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