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“Rotations” ? Totally Unnecessary.

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
My Behmor is on it's way to me as we speak,and I believe I'll be happy with it,with one caveat:How DO you do a darker roast with it?My daughter and I do enjoy the darker roasts.My friend,who already has a Behmor insists I'll really come to enjoy tasting the full flavor of the beans that is really only discernible in the lighter roasts.Still I'm skeptical.Steve.

I'm presuming dad and grandpa wouldn't shake their head in amusement at a $400 Behmor coffee bean roaster.
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
I'm presuming dad and grandpa wouldn't shake their head in amusement at a $400 Behmor coffee bean roaster.
No, I'm pretty sure his Dad would be like mine, he was born in the roaring twenties as well.

I can't use the exact words (Dad was where I learned the colorful language I can't use on B&B or in front of the War Department) but he'd let me know what an idiot I was for not drinking Maxwell House!

I do drink a coffee I think Dad would love though. Perked in a vintage Electric Percolator!

We all like to burn our own money in our own ways, lol. Plus, that post IS from 2008?

I'd hate to have my 2008 words used against me! ........shoot, I didn't even vote a straight party ticket back then I don't think!
 
I'm presuming dad and grandpa wouldn't shake their head in amusement at a $400 Behmor coffee bean roaster.
My grandfather was a barber for almost 60 years. All kidding aside, if he saw my collection of soaps and brushes, he would very likely slap me upside the head. 🤪

Maybe he would be proud of me for having so many nice Simpsons though. He loved his Simpson brushes. Sorry, Simpson BRUSH to be replaced only when it was unuseable! LOL
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
No, I'm pretty sure his Dad would be like mine, he was born in the roaring twenties as well.

I can't use the exact words (Dad was where I learned the colorful language I can't use on B&B or in front of the War Department) but he'd let me know what an idiot I was for not drinking Maxwell House!

I do drink a coffee I think Dad would love though. Perked in a vintage Electric Percolator!

We all like to burn our own money in our own ways, lol. Plus, that post IS from 2008?

I'd hate to have my 2008 words used against me! ........shoot, I didn't even vote a straight party ticket back then I don't think!

No doubt. I've said some pretty dumb things, and much more recently than 2008, but these days I try my best not to make people mad enough to go looking for them!
The point is that no one has a life that in every respect is invincible to criticism.
Each and every one of us has something we do in our lives that someone else could look down upon and ridicule.
The great thing about B&B is that for the most part, we don't.
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
No doubt. I've said some pretty dumb things, and much more recently than 2008, but these days I try my best not to make people mad enough to go looking for them!
The point is that no one has a life that in every respect is invincible to criticism.
Each and every one of us has something we do in our lives that someone else could look down upon and ridicule.
The great thing about B&B is that for the most part, we don't.
This is why I never ran for US President.



That, and I haven't yet had my own TV show!

But I'm still relatively young. I might yet get famous for being famous!
 
Some regard shaving as a chore and some of us like to elevate shaving to a “me” experience where it becomes our small bit of the day where we can enjoy the process of grooming and taking care of ourselves. All the extra razors, brushes, soaps etc. aren’t necessary but if it brings enjoyment to you I won’t criticize. If your happy with a minimalist approach I won’t criticize either. Everyone finds happiness differently.
 

never-stop-learning

Demoted To Moderator
Staff member
Some regard shaving as a chore and some of us like to elevate shaving to a “me” experience where it becomes our small bit of the day where we can enjoy the process of grooming and taking care of ourselves. All the extra razors, brushes, soaps etc. aren’t necessary but if it brings enjoyment to you I won’t criticize. If your happy with a minimalist approach I won’t criticize either. Everyone finds happiness differently.

Very nicely stated! :thumbsup:
 
I get you, and I'm completely in the one razor camp. But I totally get the hobbyist collectors who went down the rabbit hole too. On a shaving FB group I asked someone who has quite a few razors, "If you could only have one, what would it be" He answered and I thought it would be really practical to be 'the best that he could be' with that one razor. Why accept a lesser shave? The other side of the coin is that one Razor should be something you absolutely love and not a 'settle for' deal. Whatever it is, super close, comfortable, easy to use and something that almost never ever bites back. It's a personal choice. Some like consistency, some like variety more.
 
I honestly pray my wife outlives me.

She is the ONLY reason I'm not on that "Hoarder's" show....

Soon as I'm gone she'll have them "Picker's" fellas stopping by...
Unfortunately I outlived my wife by what if I live as long as my father did will be about 34 years.

My shaving collection grew with nobody to keep me honest until I heard her standard line of reasoning for any purchase “Do you really need it or will it make you happy?” Questions to live by provided the purchases will not cause financial distress.

My A4 Red Tip Superspeed from her birth quarter makes me happy, as do certain other razors with memorable date codes or styles. I use my Blackland Tradere SB for about 90% of my daily shaves (it does not travel when I do), but that does not mean there can be no enjoyment from razors I like less.

I currently rotate between 7 different blades because I want to but don’t need to.

I have two different travel brushes but based on the way the Simpson Major shed on the last two trips, I may soon be down to one.

Brushes are a luxury that I enjoy in a limited sense as there are 8 brushes in my rotation and each gets used for 1/8 of my home shaves. I’m not fooling myself that it takes 8 days to dry, but do believe a 2 or 3 brush rotation is sound policy and the other 5 or 6 are for enjoyment.

There are currently 5 soaps (plus a few backups for when they run out) in my rotation but I rarely use anything other than my MdC Original when home.

Without B&B and some other forums, I would only use a Merkur 34c (almost never used anymore), a Parker silvertip brush (given away), Proraso soap (bought on Amazon and too drying for me so it was given away), Personna reds (the only item from my original setup that I still use regularly). My original setup worked and could be called adequate or better but not nearly as enjoyable as what I use now.

I currently have little desire to add new products but that could change in the future.

The forums allowed me to find Blackland, Timeless, Rudy Vey, and MdC among others. None available locally or on Amazon.

Yes daily shaving for me is necessary grooming, a fun hobby and most importantly a time to relax and ground myself every day. The grounding and zen like experience became apparent during the 18 months of my wife’s terminal illness.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but to denigrate my hobby and a source of joy in a safe forum comprised mostly of gentleman that comport themselves as gentlemen is insulting. But in reality, I feel sorry for the OP who has such disdain for many of us but still chooses to associate with us by being a member of and posting on this forum.
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
Each and every one of us has something we do in our lives that someone else could look down upon and ridicule.
The great thing about B&B is that for the most part, we don't.

That's not what you said in 2009.

I tried to be a minimalist. Once.

Well, the key to minimalism is reducing the number of your stuff as close to "one" as possible, so ... I guess reducing the number of times you tried minimalism to "once" is ... success?
 
... Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but to denigrate my hobby and a source of joy in a safe forum comprised mostly of gentleman that comport themselves as gentlemen is insulting. But in reality, I feel sorry for the OP who has such disdain for many of us but still chooses to associate with us by being a member of and posting on this forum.
These sentiments have garnered my total, and enthusiastic, support.
 
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
OP, you said, " I do not fret or lay awake at night at the thought of losing another badger bristle from a 200.00 custom brush."

My take: B&B members that invest hundreds of dollars in shave gear do not lay awake at night concerned about a bristle in an expensive brush. Chances if it sheds to the point that it is a bother that brush hits BST and they buy another expensive brush and enjoy the search and anticipate its arrival. The same with blades, soaps, and razors. There is nothing wrong with your standards but there is nothing wrong with enjoying the hobby at any $ level.
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
That's not what you said in 2009.



Well, the key to minimalism is reducing the number of your stuff as close to "one" as possible, so ... I guess reducing the number of times you tried minimalism to "once" is ... success?
YES! I am a success!

But, if I keep piling up successes, does that make me a maximalist again?!?

I give up. I'm gonna go back to winning more PIFs....
 
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