Thread: Avoiding bad buying decisions and wasted money

Originally Posted by puketui41

The problem with sites such as this (and I'm sure all the others have similar rules) is that criticism of vendors is prohibited."

It's a delicate problem. To play the devil's advocate, many manufacturers (I don't care about vendors) don't speak the language, let alone have time to busy themselves with fora. They could get badmouthed without even knowing. And it's happened before, elsewhere more than here. I personally appreciate the fact that SRP staff are protecting manufacturers. This comes at a price, of course. But a well written negative review on Google reaches a far wider audience than one here. Many people underestimate the power of Google reviews...

Originally Posted by markbignosekelly

When I first started with a straight razor I never knew about SRP but quickly found it and spent hours pouring over the library. With all the information available I thought what's the point in a forum? All the information I will ever need is there in black and white. After a while I began to love SRP and enjoy evreyones thoughts on this hobby (if it wasn't a hobby we wouldn't be here.)

When we built the Wiki, the idea of the team building it was to screen the existing content, ie analyse and assess it, then have the results peer reviewed. It took months to build, and some parts are still lacking. But overall, I'd say that it's the single most objective source of information available, not least because up to 25 experienced users reviewed each page.

There are some grey areas, though, most notably honing. To take an extreme position, pasted strops and maybe a natural hone have served European shavers forever. While experiments with high grit hones gather a lot of attention here, they are laughed about in the German, French, or Spanish fora. These fora, of course, have their pet subjects, too. Such as pasted strops But the Wiki has all the basics firmly covered. I always advise beginners to peruse the Wiki, then take an informed buying decision, then learn to shave, and only then use the forum proper. There is such a thing as too much information, and separating the wheat from the chaff takes a fairly high amount of experience. Also, withstanding several of the biases mentioned above takes a lot of experience. XYZ razors aren't the holy grail. There is no holy grail. There are hardly any bad soaps, and the best usually aren't. And so on.

It's not rocket science. Rocket science is just complicated, and almost everyone can learn complicated things. Shaving is complex, and mastering complex subjects takes lateral thinking, keeping an open mind, and a very, very liberal dose of Ockham's razor.

Another thing I learned is Lovely, beautiful, and “minty” are in the eyes of the beholder.

Originally Posted by RobinK

It's not rocket science. Rocket science is just complicated, and almost everyone can learn complicated things. Shaving is complex, and mastering complex subjects takes lateral thinking, keeping an open mind, and a very, very liberal dose of Ockham's razor.

Only on an internet shaving forum can one read that mastering shaving is a more creative and complex process than building spacecraft

Originally Posted by gugi

Only on an internet shaving forum can one read that mastering shaving is a more creative and complex process than building spacecraft

Yes, that is a common misconception, Ivan. But understanding the difference is quite important. Because some people here are making things look complicated when if fact they aren't. Anything that has to do with straight razors is extremely uncomplicated. But shaving is a comparatively complex process - if you go beyond "sharpened edge glides across lubricated skin and removes facial hair."

“ … the main difference between complicated and complex systems is that with the former, one can usually predict outcomes by knowing the starting conditions. In a complex system, the same starting conditions can produce different outcomes, depending on interactions of the elements in the system.”

For example, building a highway is complicated, but managing urban traffic congestion is complex. Likewise, building a state-of-the-art air traffic control center is a complicated challenge in executing a project, while directing air traffic is complex, involving in-the-moment problem-solving. [Source]

While there is a difference between complex and complicated, I think you're probably not very familiar with 'rocket science' otherwise you would've chosen a better example.

It is both complicated and complex and I would argue that the level of complexity far exceeds that of shaving. Provided that you measure their complexity by the same standard, of course.

I am very new at this much loved and new hobbie. I listen to the people on here who actually use and tell the truth about products. There are going to be some who slant or make things more complicated than they need to be.....hey welcome to the real world. It is like being at work some times. You have to know who to avoid for advise and who to listen too.

Most who post on this site are good people and most are helpful.....forgive me for sounding like a suck up

Buyer beware is true in all of life, not just at SRP. I appreciate the lengths that the Mods and Mentors go to to maintain a gentlemanly and usually friendly place where we all can grow together. Bashing vendors is just unseemly.

If a person spends enough time reading instead of typing (listening instead of talking) it is not so difficult to make good purchasing decisions in our sport. YMMV cannot be overstated. Products that many gents appreciate have not satisfied me. No one mislead me, it was just a case YMMV.

Be thoughtful, respectful and willing to learn and SRP will serve you well, whether you are new to wet shaving, a grumpy old timer or a vendor.

Great write in the post
A must read for any beginner on the road to understanding our sport
Thanks for the link

I'd caution any beginner also that the same thing happens right here on the beloved SRP....not false reviews for profit....just expression of opinions by MANY members of widely varying knowledge, and insight. I myself have been guilty of saying, soap xxxxxxx is great, only to gain more experience with other products that I then know are better.

I'd suggest that the old "opinions are like (name a body part), everybody has one" is true, and particularly new folks should take advice only after weighing the experience (# of posts) or balance of advice of the person they are inclined to listen to. YMMV is largely true, and one man's gold, may be another's trash.

So keep your eyes (and mind) open, as my dad used to say.

Originally Posted by RezDog

It reminds me that I have bought a lot of stuff because of hype. I'm not talking strictly shaving either. I'm quite certain there are many fishing lures that are made to catch fishermen not fish. Shaving gear is not much different.

I think we all drank from that same well. It's the after taste that gets ya.