It's all relative. You enjoy it and can afford it why not. Nice shave and thank you for sharing.
The $1,000 Dollar Shave
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Congratulations!!
LOTH here says, “Traditional wet shaving is the least expensive hobby you have ever had!”
She is absolutely correct! Compared to custom fly rods, sports cars, stereo equipment, etc., etc., I am saving $!!
Boy is that the truth. I am into high-end audio, cars, watches, and airplanes and wet shaving is pleasurably inexpensive by comparison. I am not uber-wealthy by any stretch and I have decided on calming down on the wet-shaving purchases for a while (haha let's see how long that lasts) but I do like trying the high-end things I am into.
Still cheaper than most bad habits. Have fun; you made it to the top 1% of shavers.
Congratulations! I'm glad you are enjoying your tools and software related to our hobby. One of the great things about wet shaving is that each of us can tailor his or her experience to our personal preferences via a wide multitude of ways.
The $3.00 shave. 
Can I count the price of the stones and strops used to finish the razor?
My opinion is, if you can do it, do it!
Life's short and you worked (flew) for it!
Pilot's inside joke!!, Lol!!!
Enjoy that beautiful setup!
Now I'd love to know the difference between a Rocnel and a Wolfman?
How they differ in the shave?
Life's short and you worked (flew) for it!
Pilot's inside joke!!, Lol!!!
Enjoy that beautiful setup!
Now I'd love to know the difference between a Rocnel and a Wolfman?
How they differ in the shave?
Love and let live. Enjoy your shaves!
When I see what some of my colleague smoke and **** in a week, I did not felt bad about spending $100 at pasteur pharmacy the last time I ordered and to top it off I do not smell like **** .... glad you had a hell of a shave and more to come ...
Rhody
I'm a Lumberjack.
I’ll say congrats
And I’ll join the rationalization
Just blame it on inflation
And I’ll join the rationalization
Just blame it on inflation
I wonder how high the price tag on a shave could go? I have an expensive razor, but I've never spent big on brushes or soaps.
Congrats on the nice equipment. I've gradually come around to contentment with what I'd consider to be nice quality stuff. Though not real expensive, it's probably more than the average person would spend. Still, I doubt my equipment cost for a typical shave would top $75. I could be fairly happy with a Canadian Pre-War Tech, Personna Med Preps, Golddachs soap, an ash wood handle Omega boar brush, Dickinson's witch hazel and Stephan Bay Rum.
Now, you've got me wondering what "****" was in the original language. Let's see, words with four letters...
Well ... I am sure you can figure it out ... that being said there was 2 words and no I did put the star myself, apparently there is word that should not be used on the forum ... oh well I am sure this make me a black sheep now
Not possible!
The photo that you have on your profile I always thought was you, and I thought, "man! That is one one Cool Cat!"
I must admit, I was a little disappointed that you you just TOOK that awesome photo, and it wasn't you.
That's why for years I spent so much money on photo gear, so I had an excuse for being behind the camera! Oh my! The money I spent on film! Kids have it easy today. I used to do weddings, senior pictures.... I performed the ceremony when my only begotten got married and I was blown away by the price, and they have the luxury of not needing to know anything about f-stops, etc.....just point shoot, and edit.....no storing negatives..... My son learned all of the old ways, thankfully! But he has never shot any film, he just learned it to be able to override the preset features.
Now that I'm older I am happy with my incredibly handsome face! I've earned my looks, lol.
Yes…photo equipment can be expensive…especially if you choose(as I did) to replace lots of film cameras and lenses with lots of digital cameras and lenses.
So as not to hijack the thread, I can’t get more than halfway to $1000 on a shave. That’s ok though.
It's all really relative and if you think about usage $1,000 for quality equipment you will use for many years is down right cheap. I have been wet shaving for 10 years. I'm only 37 but what I have found to be the best method in life is spend the money on quality vs quantity. There are people who own 100 $50 shaving brushes yet can't imagine spending $500 on one very well made top tier one. I also take into consideration how often will this be used, quality of it and lastly the cost.
I wish I looked at life and things this way a few years ago. I find that using this method I get very high end quality things that I enjoy and will enjoy for many years. Recently (this last month) I decided to see what a mid range badger brush was all about. Was a synthetic and boar guy. Bought a Paladin for $180 and man have I been missing out! 2 weeks later I have two Paladin dark holler jacks, B14, B9a, and a Varlet. On the way I have a B15, B11, Voigt & COP Smash VC01. It's a lot of brushes in a short time. But I did my research and these all seemed to be quality brushes that others raved about. So far I now get the hype with the higher end equipment. Even had to add a Tatara Masamune for shaving as all my razors are vintage Gillette. Night and day experience mind you my old experience was not bad but wow have I been missing out. I face and head shave everyday so I get a lot of use of of this equipment.
Another aspect I am learning very quickly is when you buy quality you also get better held value. DG brushes are $405 brand new. Yet I see them still going used for nearly that much money years later. I just saw a guy sell a Semper Fi Fund Varlet for $1,275 and it sold in less than an hour of him posting it. I know because I was in the race to get it as a Marine that brush hit home so to speak. But I did not pounce fast enough.
Thank you for this post as I really enjoy seeing people who enjoy their equipment.
I wish I looked at life and things this way a few years ago. I find that using this method I get very high end quality things that I enjoy and will enjoy for many years. Recently (this last month) I decided to see what a mid range badger brush was all about. Was a synthetic and boar guy. Bought a Paladin for $180 and man have I been missing out! 2 weeks later I have two Paladin dark holler jacks, B14, B9a, and a Varlet. On the way I have a B15, B11, Voigt & COP Smash VC01. It's a lot of brushes in a short time. But I did my research and these all seemed to be quality brushes that others raved about. So far I now get the hype with the higher end equipment. Even had to add a Tatara Masamune for shaving as all my razors are vintage Gillette. Night and day experience mind you my old experience was not bad but wow have I been missing out. I face and head shave everyday so I get a lot of use of of this equipment.
Another aspect I am learning very quickly is when you buy quality you also get better held value. DG brushes are $405 brand new. Yet I see them still going used for nearly that much money years later. I just saw a guy sell a Semper Fi Fund Varlet for $1,275 and it sold in less than an hour of him posting it. I know because I was in the race to get it as a Marine that brush hit home so to speak. But I did not pounce fast enough.
Thank you for this post as I really enjoy seeing people who enjoy their equipment.
Hi Dave, Your point about focusing on quality vs quantity is reasonable though I'm not sure we should ever consider a $1,000 wet shaving equipment set as cheap. Given that DE/SE wet shaving has morphed into a hobby for many there is an additional factor beyond quality that drives pricing of the highest end equipment. That is the collectable element of the hobby for brushes and razors. Up to a certain point hardware purchased from reputable sellers generally increases in quality along with price. At a certain pricing range the prices become more driven by the collectable element of what are sometimes scarce limited production items. You referred to this in your post when noting "better held value"
Shaving brushes are a great example of this. Somewhere in roughly the $100-$250 range (per each shavers YMMV and also varies by manufacture hence the wide range) the quality tends to top out with diminishing returns in actual quality. Beyond that most of the delta in price is driven by the scarcity/collectability of the brushes. Recall a recent B&Ber post regarding one brush brand that explained how, because of resellers quickly flipping brushes for over twice the former retail selling prices, the manufacturer took prices up from the $200's to $400-500's range.
An additional implication of your post is that tools at $50 and under price points are poor quality and not very well made. That is simply not the case. We've lots of B&Ber's who own tools in this price range that are of great quality, including myself. Our synthetic and boar brushes, Weishi, King C. Gillette, Parker and Merkur razors work well and do so for years. That is great quality and excellent value. The Gillette black beauty adjustable, my first razor and considered by most to be excellent, retailed for under $5 when I purchased it or roughly under $30 in today's dollars. Have seen your recent posts regarding perfect 10/10 shaves with your Omega 10666 boar. That is a great quality $10-15 brush.
My overall take is that we have a great hobby where shavers can enjoy great shaves with a wide range of qualitytools from $10 to above the $1000s noted in the shave post that started this thread. Even at close to the entry level we have access to great quality razors and brushes in the $10-$20 range. These are chromed zamac razors and boar or synthetic brushes that, while they may not become family heirlooms, easily deliver great shaves for roughly a 5 -10+ year lifespan. This is supported by the many B&Ber posts lauding the performance of these tools.
To your point it is true that as the prices increase there are further quality enhancements as manufactures deliver tools with better materials such as brass or stainless razors, enhanced synthetic and badger knots combined with custom designed handles for brushes. This wide range of quality tools is great for our hobby as it makes it easy to get into and allows each of us to evolve as our preferences change over time. I understand and respect those who enjoy the collectable aspect of our hobby.
Congratulations on your recent epiphany regarding shaving brush preferences. It's enjoyable to read about your excitement regarding the new shaving experience these brushes provide and I hope we hear more. That said those of us who love our quality synthetic and boar brush shaves are having just as much fun on our DE shaving journeys.
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