When did you realize that wet shaving became a hobby? What triggered it? With me I use to wet shave only some of the time. Then one day while I was on Amazon.com looking around their site, at the bottom of the page one of the items they suggested was an Edwin Jagger shave mug. So I decided I would buy a new mug to stimulate my interest in wet shaving. Well 2 more mugs, 5 brushes, and 9 razors later. I guess I accomplished my goal to stimulate my interest. That started in Nov. 2011. I'm far from done buying.
When did wet shaving become a hobby?
- Thread starter shave/brush
- Start date
About a month before I joined the B&B, I decided I wanted to be a classier type of man. One of my co-workers went to Europe to look at battlefields from the first and second world wars and came back with a really nice straight razor. I decided to look into it and picked a set with a Merkur in it. Since then I've picked up some razors and cream, I'm waiting on the B&B brush, an Old Spice mug, and a Gillette from 1953 that was issued in the Canadian Army. It is also a more relaxing shave now that I have to put a bit more time and effort into it than the M3 and can process.
once I started doing it for pleasure, not just a work obligation. previously, I would not shave on a day I wasn't going to work. period. now I do.
For me, shaving was a chore, and I used to grow a beard for a couple of months at a time and then shave it all off. Of course, shaving off a fuller beard was harder work then just a couple of days' stubble - but a harder chore every couple of months was better than a less-hard chore every couple of says.
Then I got to wondering about something better to shave off my 2-months growths, and I found and bought a Merkur open-comb razor. And with that, it was a dream - it really was pleasurable to see the way it just sloughed off all that beard with no effort.
That got me shaving more regularly, and then later I went on to buy a Merkur safety bar razor, and I started to enjoy the shaving process enough to keep myself clean shaven. And that was the start... vintage razors, different soaps, all kinds of brushes, aftershaves, different blades...
Then I got to wondering about something better to shave off my 2-months growths, and I found and bought a Merkur open-comb razor. And with that, it was a dream - it really was pleasurable to see the way it just sloughed off all that beard with no effort.
That got me shaving more regularly, and then later I went on to buy a Merkur safety bar razor, and I started to enjoy the shaving process enough to keep myself clean shaven. And that was the start... vintage razors, different soaps, all kinds of brushes, aftershaves, different blades...
I always enjoyed a wet shave if I could do it in my free time (in the military we had to shave twice a day and that was not so much fun). When I retired a few years ago I had plenty of time and started collecting razors and trying out different shave related items.
Great thread. I started wet shaving a few years ago and gave up pretty quickly because I wasn't getting good results. Over the summer, I found an article on one of my RSS feeds touting the benefits of wet shaving. Turns out I was doing it wrong the whole time! Until I found B&B, I had no idea how misguided I was. I didn't know all of these tools existed. What was a chore quickly turned into an art form.
Last edited:
This right here: when it became enjoyable, end of discussion. Thank you gentlemen, don't forget to tip your waitresses!
About a year ago for me, as soon as I got my first DE razor, a Merkur 38C. Decades of shaves with electric and cartridge razors were nothing but a chore. Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, shaving became a passion...
The first time I loaded a tech with an Astra and had my first wet shave - and enjoyed it!
It seems the story is the same for many of us, had been using disposable razors and can'd stuff for many years and didn't exactly enjoy shaving with resulting growth for 2 or 3 days between shaves. I think it was when i stumbled upon the art of manliness website that it all came together, when i also got a sniff from the tabac shave soap and that brought back memories of grandpa i was hooked. 
My wife asked me a similar question last night. Specifically, she wanted to know how I came to be so interested in all sorts of "old stuff." It started with the mirror in our bathroom. We bought a 100-year-old house with the original medicine cabinet still in place. I started thinking about how the original owner might have shaved with an old time DE razor. That led me to want to try one and an eBay purchase of a gold ball end Tech and a flare tip SS. The seller didn't know what they were, so I googled around for matching pics. Guess which website had the best photos and reviews. That led to the forums and several RADs, from which I have not yet escaped. Then it all somehow morphed so that I'm now wearing an old style pork pie hat and suspenders (aka, braces).
all of the above except mine was a futur with a derby
I don't think of it as a hobby; it's more of a calling. 
nailed it.
I used to even skip work days and more than once my district manager would give me crap about my stubble/beard. "are you going for the Miami Vice look?" "hey, Don Johnson" "either grow it or shave it"
honestly i think i got to the point where i done it just to irritate him. but still hated shaving.
Then cartridges started to became way to much money for me and my meager salary and I moved to disposables. I hated shaving even more then. I think I always knew of the safety razor but was always brainwashed by cartridges. I did a lot of research on cost and jumped in with 50pk of astras, 34C razor, vdh boar and Bigelow creme.
as far as the hobby goes....not until i joined here did i consider it a hobby and had the desire to try new things and collect. But now i'm glad i did!
Cartridges are expensive and I've always gotten a crappy shave from them. Even with a quick 3 pass shave and not even attempting a BBS shave yesterday, I got an acceptable shave and still enjoyed doing it. I used to shave 1-2 times a week. The only time I'd shave twice a week would be because I didn't want it to be so hard to shave if I only were doing it once a week. Now, I'd probably shave every day if I could. Schedule does not always permit.
When I ended up with enough razors to shave with one then not see it again for a full month as I used the others I have 
Exactly the moment I began reading things in B&B.
I was hooked by the variety of stuff available in traditional shaving and got a few nice things to start. I picked up a few vintage items on ebay but I don't have them organized or displayed yet, and I'm not systematic about it, so I wouldn't call the collecting part of it a hobby...yet.
Shaving itself became a hobby when I got my first straight from Whippeddog. It requires time, effort and focus to acquire new knowledge and skills; it involves beautiful things that need an inordinate amount of attention; it gives a huge amount of personal satisfaction; and people think you are somewhat eccentric for pursuing it.
What more can you ask from a hobby?
Shaving itself became a hobby when I got my first straight from Whippeddog. It requires time, effort and focus to acquire new knowledge and skills; it involves beautiful things that need an inordinate amount of attention; it gives a huge amount of personal satisfaction; and people think you are somewhat eccentric for pursuing it.
What more can you ask from a hobby?
Last edited:
i find it a pleasurable requirment and not a hobby, per se. Since i was doing it with an electric, i thought to myself, why not finally enjoy it for once. Got my first DE in October 2011, then i was hooked.
When I got my first DE, a Merkur 34C. Like some others it was Art of Manliness that turned me onto the idea.
I have used carts since I started shaving about 20y ago. I've also had a few electrics but never got on with them.
I decided to take the plunge and SWMBO wanted to know what I wanted for Christmas so I suggested a set with the Merkur, badger brush, pot of T&H sandalwood and a blade sampler.
I fell in love with my 1st shave, it's like I had opened my eyes for the 1st time in 20 years
I have used carts since I started shaving about 20y ago. I've also had a few electrics but never got on with them.
I decided to take the plunge and SWMBO wanted to know what I wanted for Christmas so I suggested a set with the Merkur, badger brush, pot of T&H sandalwood and a blade sampler.
I fell in love with my 1st shave, it's like I had opened my eyes for the 1st time in 20 years
Similar threads
