Saving money

[Doc Dan]

Save money by Wet Shaving with a DE safety razor, they said. Not on this planet! By the time a person experiments with different razors he or she is already in a lot of money. Then, there are blades to discover (I have a box of tucks of blades I will never use again!) and that costs more money. We must learn not to come to this forum! Then, we discover soaps. We go through dozens of soaps to find those we like the best and that runs up the overall bill. We are not finished yet, however. Then, we discover brushes, and brushes ain't cheap! We end up with half a doze to a dozen brushes to find two that we want to use all of the time. After that, we find after shaves and pre-shaves to try. There are alum blocks from different makers, also. By now, we are probably into this hobby for over a thousand dollars, and for many, it is much more. So, where's the savings?

 

[silverlifter]

So, where's the savings?

Well, it's less expensive than sports cars, or dirt bikes, or guitars, or <insert hobby here> So that is a saving!

 

[dmshaver]

Shaving was a necessary evil until I discovered wet shaving. I chose to make this a hobby, & am very happy I did. There are some (not many, though) that are on B & B while managing a minimalist approach to shaving. To each their own!

 

[timetofly]

After starting traditional wet shaving, roughly 11 years ago, I am well ahead of the " money game".
But then again, I am not one to spend $30/tub on soap. I don't need $150+ razors. I don't need $100 + brushes.
And I certainly don't need $50+ aftershaves.
If one can refrain from falling for the hype, which there is plenty, yeah you can save money with DE shaving.

 

[JaggardJ]

If the currency of measure is money than maybe not. But if you measure enjoyment or satisfaction then you will probably be ahead.

 

[Phoenixkh]

I shaved a fortune not getting into Straight Razor shaving. I spent that money on shaving brushes. <Eg>

 

[Mantis Toboggan]

I have managed to keep things pretty minimal; one brush, one soap at a time, one alum block, not too carried away on razors, but I have been getting the itch lately. I do have a ton of blades, but I am done for a long time. I probably have enough for the next 20 years.

 

[timetofly]

I shaved a fortune

Love it!!!!

 

[Chef455]

I hear what you are saying @Doc Dan , but for me I do believe that I'll wind up saving money in the long run... in large part because of this here dang forum.

I am almost 3 years into switching from carts and canned foam to DEs, shavettes, brushes, soaps, creams, etc. I absolutely dived into some rabbit holes. But my progress was apparent, as were my discoveries of tools that were effective.

So my acquisition of razors from my first Van der Hagen tto to, a Slim Aristocrat, to my Timeless and everything in-between helped me find my favorite tools. Those that weren't suitable (EJ 3one6) or stepping stones (Merkur 34c or Rockwell 6c) went up on the BST to help fund my next step, which was frequently purchased from the BST as well helping to save a few bucks.

Brushes were in a similar vein, the VdH badger was meh, so I picked up a yaqi synthetic, then a couple boars, eventually a Simpson's, then enough was enough.

Soaps and creams I acquired enough to last me a decade at least... they're all in rotation. I may purchase another here or there, I may not.

I imagine my alum stick will last me the rest of my days. I lucked into Lucky Tiger for $3 at Burlington, that 1st bottle is finally down to 3-5 more shaves worth. I have a healthy rotation of aftershave, but don't use any daily and was never my AD.

The whole time I had a Tech, a stick of Arko, a $20 Tuxedo knot brush and a tuck or 3 of Feather blades with which I could seldom do wrong.

Over the past year or more I've found myself participating in the Monthly G.R.U.M.E. almost every month. Not out of need for support, but because I do believe that I have found what works best for me and seldom have any desire to chase down "the next best thing". I've managed to PIF a few items over the years and I've also benefitted from other members' generosity occasionally.

So it was indeed a bit on the expensive side the first 18 months or so. But not crazy or stupid expensive. I'm ballparking $45 a month. And, I think, I have a decent den to show for it. Enough to give me some variety. I'm sitting on about 10 razors, 5 brushes, 25 soaps/creams, a dozen aftershaves and enough blades to get me through a couple years. Way more than I "need" but still money I feel was well spent. I've moved from a get my hands on everything mentality to a replace when needed happy place.

At a quick glance I see figures on cartridge/gel or foam users needing to shell out $100 to $250 a year. That used to be me and I HATED to shave. Now it's still every bit, if not more, satisfying as that 1st go at making a lather and drawing first blood that October in 2019. And I have you lot to keep me company as an added bonus. And I'm on easy street from here on out.

As always YMMV.

 

[Babou]

For me the shaving is a passion, I like to buy and test new blades.

 

[Mike M]

When I originally got into this yes it was about saving money. Now I see it for what it really is, a form of therapy. It scratches my itch for collecting, but more than that for 20 mins a day I have calm and peace whilst I indulge in the ritual of shaving and that makes it priceless.

 

[Possum092]

Nope; zero money saved, shaves aren’t any closer or less irritating than cartridge shaves, and canned goo works great. However, I love SR and DE shaving so money well spent.

 

[Jim99]

I haven’t saved a penny, but I’ve gotten a ton of enjoyment out of this hobby. I’ve lost the ADs for the most part and have sold off the bulk of the razors from my collection over the last year. However, I know the razors I like and will retain them for what will hopefully be years of continued enjoyment.

 

[bjm]

I think it would be easy to save money with traditional wet-shaving if one were to make purchases in the same way as using cartridges and canned foam.

If the shaving kit were limited to one razor, one soap, one brush, and one 100-pack of blades then the savings would be apparent. And of course additional purchases would only occur to replace depleted or damaged items.

But that's not how most of us approach this hobby, is it?

 

[BigJ]

Compared to the price of carts, etc. I have saved $ over the long run!!

But, the biggest bonus is that now I enjoy my shaves and my skin is better to boot!!

 

[Ravenonrock]

Not saving money over here.

 

[romsitsa]

There are several ways to save money. For eg. buy for less than the current or future market value of a given product.

 

[DEgeezer]

If you really wanted to save money you could use an electric razor, which after the initial investment would basically cost nothing.
But then shaving would become a chore, rather than an enjoyable experience.
And not to mention the irritation, and relatively poor shave.

 

[StewB]

The initial purchase of an electric is not its only cost because the blades need to be replaced when they get dull. Hopefully the manufacturer of the shaver keeps making them or you're stuck with buying a whole new unit.

 

[Ckmaui]

I got into it more cause I heard its more comfy and OH YEAH
I never ever thought I could feel this good and have such fun shaving

I do say that opening line of get into DE shaving to save money is the best entrance enabler ever though

some great online friends that relate also

2 wolfman 3 timeless a rex and a half dozen others 3 brushes not sure how many soaps and growing working on cutting down but have to try !!!

and then I see some folks brush collection alone and just smile and laugh and do some quick math and think YEAH WOW fun hobby for sure and even then as said cheaper than many things

when I think how much I spend on a new kitchen appliance I am OK with it for how much joy it brings and my skin and face feeling better than ever and getting up and looking forward to shaving something I never thought would happen