Why call it a Hobby?

[tater_salad]

Maybe this is me just nit-picking
Why is DE shaving often refered to here as a Hobby?
Would you consider cartridge / Electric shaving a hobby?

I consider it shaving which is pretty much a necessity if you like a smooth face. It's a different method of shaving. Driving a stick shfit vs automatic isn't a hobby, why is DE / Straight Shaving?

I just see calling it a hobby belittling DE shaving a little. Hobby makes it sound like it's something that can be stopped / started on a whim..


RAD / Collecting is a hobby, but using.. it's a necessity.

 

[The National Razor]

I agree, using is a chore. But I think it becomes a hobby at the point where you post on a message board to plot getting a lot of new products you don't need, because you want to try them out.

So if you're one of the rare few who has 1 razor, 1 blade type, 1 soap/cream, 1 aftershave--I don't think it's really a hobby for you. But if you're like most here, and have 10+ of everything, that you got yourself a goofy hobby that will make your wife roll her eyes and laugh good-naturedly at you.

 

[Monkeydad]

While I agree it's not really a hobby to shave...choosing to put more effort into it can be considered a hobby. For me personally, it's just fun to try new blades, brushes and techniques.

Exercising, running and lifting weights are also hobbies to me. While you can argue it's necessary, look around. Just as there are people wit beards, there are people who obviously do not exercise.

I'd compare shaving THE RIGHT WAY to competitive eating! It's beyond eating out of necessity and survival, but clearly optional and for the fun of it...and not for everyone.

 

[Antique Hoosier]

It basically becomes a hobby. I refer to it as a hobby as a way to avoid calling it an obsession. I will admit that it is less an obsession for me that it once was due to finding what I truly like best and using it on a daily basis. I remember well the days when a can of Colgate/Barbasol/Edge accompanied by plastic throwaway Schick Teal colored razors signaled my morning dreaded ritual of shaving which I hated. Now approaching 3 years later I have truly experienced so many wonderful items that have enhanced my life in a very positive way. (Not to mention the online relationships with fine gentlemen the world over.) So....it remains a hobby for me.

 

[michiganlover]

Things you NEED to shave:

1 Razor
1 Brush
1 Soap/ Cream
1 Aftershave
1 Brand of Blades

If you possess more than one of any of the items above, you have acquired them as a source of amusement to yourself, and thus it has become a hobby.

There is great joy in collecting, and trying out out new products, that makes it more of a hobby, and no longer a chore.

Most of us have turned the quest for the perfect shave into an obsession; obsessions are generally frowned upon as unhealthy, so it easier to call our obsession a hobby.

 

[tater_salad]

See.. I see using different brushes / blades etc as testing to make sure you can get the best shave possible.. Maybe it's just my rationalization so the wife doesn't kill me

I maybe it's both, it's a hobcessity?

 

[silentorpheus]

I think it all depends on how you personally view it and prioritize it. Shaving with a mach3 and canned cream was a chore and a necessity. I still shave out of necessity, but once I started spending lots of time on this and other forums learning about it and researching it, started getting and trying out multiple razors, brushes, and creams/soaps, I started viewing it as more than just that thing I do before work.

And to use your own car example, switching from automatic to stick shift is indeed just a change in your personal car paradigm. But if by switching you then realize what cars and driving can really be like, start to spend more time learning about how the cars work, why driving a stick is better and more fun than automatic, research and learn about different makes of cars and which ones are great - both new and vintage - and get more than one so that you can try out the difference - then I think you just turned something that was necessary into something more. If you just want to get the job done, you buy a little automatic Hyundai to get you to and from work. That's absolutely fine and nothing wrong with that for most people. Even if you get one good quality car (or DE razor) and decide to do what's necessary in style, that's cool too. But once you re-prioritize it, and spend time/money/effort into doing the auxiliary things that relate to it - for reasons other than necessity - then I think it becomes a hobby.

Again, YMMV. I have to shave almost every day. I don't have to have a SS and a Tech, two brushes, 3 creams and 2 soaps, a handmade lather bowl, three vintage straights, a vintage strop, and spend 75% of my free time floating around on here to learn and just hang out. I'm far from a collector, but it's definitely progressed to the hobby stage for me.

 

[grump]

So if you're one of the rare few who has 1 razor, 1 blade type, 1 soap/cream, 1 aftershave--I don't think it's really a hobby for you. But if you're like most here, and have 10+ of everything, that you got yourself a goofy hobby that will make your wife roll her eyes and laugh good-naturedly at you.

+1 I agree and had to laugh!

Shaving is no longer a necessity I dread, I now look forward to it with excitement.
So whatever you want to call it, a necessity, a hobby, or an obsession(I think the all apply) Have Fun !

 

[kingfisher]

Things you NEED to shave:

1 Razor
1 Brush
1 Soap/ Cream
1 Aftershave
1 Brand of Blades

.

Correction to the above.

You don't need a brush to shave. You don't need an aftershave to shave. You don't need "razor blades" per se to shave. I'd argue that even if you only have what you listed above you've ventured into "hobby" territory.

The average guy uses canned foam or gel and either a M3 with replacement cartridges or uses disposable multiblade cartridges. Most don't use aftershave, either.

 

[gone down south]

Driving a stick shfit vs automatic isn't a hobby, why is DE / Straight Shaving?

A better analogy would be:

Test driving and buying one car = usage.

Adding custom kits and mods to your car = hobby.

Reading websites to help you choose the right car for you = usage.

Reading websites dedicated to performance tuning of your engine = hobby.

 

[vitaman]

hobby n. 1. an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation.

 

[Bertilak]

It's a hobby when done as a source of amusement.

Driving a stick shift instead of an automatic may not be a hobby in itself, but owning a car with a stick shift may be an indicator of a real hobby -- cars.

For me right now my car is an appliance that I am no more attached to than my refrigerator. But at one point in my life owning a Volkswagen Karmann Ghia was a hobby. I had two of them (one at a time). It was my poor-man's version of a Porsche 356C! Of course it was a stick shift (or "standard" as they were called back in the day) and was a huge amount of fun to drive.

Here are two hobby cars -- a rich man's and a poor man's. Well I guess as vintage cars both of those are a bit pricey nowadays. I had a red Ghia just like that right off the showroom floor. They were practically giving them away in 1967!

 

[huntmol]

I say it's a hobby because it's so much fun!
I never thought I could enjoy shaving and shaving products this much!

 

[Confuzius]

Shaving is the activity.
Accuiring goods and discussing shaving is the hobby associated with the activity.

 

[Lo'Tek]

I have always hated shaving, however my lifestyle does not permit me to grow a beard. When I discovered Str8 shaving (YES - I - discovered it everybody. . .Ha, ha) it became fun to do this normally mundane chore. Then, (and I believe I speak for many persons here) you quickly find yourself coveting all things razor, DE/SE & or Str8. Now, as one person aptly put it, you are short of or outright obsessing.

That said, anybody who collects things they don't need, like coins, or old stamps, or razor paraphernalia , or attaches them self to an activity, like riding a bike, or taking the chore of driving a vehicle beyond the daily commute and into a favorite pastime for personal enjoyment, they are now a hobbyist. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobby

I'm quite sure that if some members here could make their facial hair grow quicker they would shave two or three times a day.

 

[Scotchd]

It's not a hobby when you run out of shave cream (say, Gillette) before you have more on hand, and have to borrow your wife's canned goo for a few days before you can make it to target to get more shave gell (along with a few cartridges).

It's a hobby when you choose a cream from your "rotation" for that day, and buy more creams and blades even when your current supply of cream/soap and blades will last until you start taking 401k distributions.

 

[strat1117]

Maybe this is me just nit-picking
Why is DE shaving often refered to here as a Hobby?
Would you consider cartridge / Electric shaving a hobby?

I consider it shaving which is pretty much a necessity if you like a smooth face. It's a different method of shaving. Driving a stick shfit vs automatic isn't a hobby, why is DE / Straight Shaving?

I just see calling it a hobby belittling DE shaving a little. Hobby makes it sound like it's something that can be stopped / started on a whim..


RAD / Collecting is a hobby, but using.. it's a necessity.

You answered your own question.

Shaving is a necessity. Perfectionist (or Serious, or whatever you want to call it) Shaving, together with all of the acoutrements thereof, are the hobby.

 

[Bertilak]

It's a hobby when you choose a cream from your "rotation" for that day, and buy more creams and blades even when your current supply of cream/soap and blades will last until you start taking 401k distributions.

I hope my supply lasts longer than that as I am already taking the occasional 401k distribution. Not sure but if I stopped buying so much shaving equipment I might not have needed the last one!

Hmm -- have we struck on a new definition of hobby?

 

[Scotchd]

I hope my supply lasts longer than that as I am already taking the occasional 401k distribution. Not sure but if I stopped buying so much shaving equipment I might not have needed the last one!

Hmm -- have we struck on a new definition of hobby?

Indeed - I should not exclude anyone over 65 (who might be already taking distributions) from our hobby. I've seen AD from all age ranges.

 

[Bertilak]

Indeed - I should not exclude anyone over 65 (who might be already taking distributions) from our hobby. I've seen AD from all age ranges.

Just need to be 59 and a half. Not quite at 65 yet!