Thread: at the risk of being tarred and feathered out of here

This begs the question, why is there no tarred and feathered smiley?

Although having a humerous smiley for every situation might be overkill....

Originally Posted by jehan60188

the two big reasons i'm switching to straight razor is cost, and environmental impact, actually!

To save money shaving with a cutthroat you will need an iron will. I've probably spent more on shaving tackle in the last 12 months than I did in the preceding 40yrs. I had one bottle of aftershave received as a Christmas present, now my bathroom shelf resembles a shop display. I'm not sure that using a cutthroat razor will contribute much to saving the planet. However, it is a great way to shave.
On your original question, you should find a world of difference between aerosol gel and traditional shaving soap. If you don't, well you could stick to using gel.

When compared to a brush and a good shaving cream there is no comparison with what comes out of a can.

I use a five dollar brush I bought at the drug store it works fine for me but I wouldn't know the difference.

Only thing that I can add to the present discussion is that the canned goop does not lather and as a consequence you need to apply it with your hands and as a consequence its a lott more messy then the traditional tubed creams are.

Dip your brush in hot water, then in the soap mug to get lather, then to the face with the warm soapy lather. And, that might be one of the bigger advantages I've noticed to a shave mug/soap: the heat that is continually applied to the beard to keep it soft. This is not the case with shave gel or foam, which aren't hot when applied and seem to instantly cool and stiffen the beard.

Here's my suggestion. Buy the VDH shave set from Walmart, Walgreens, Right Aid, etc. The Bowl in the set is worth twice as much as the set, so its definitely worth it. The brush is okay for a starter I used it for 4 months. Not as good as the Badger Vulfix I have now, but I think its a matter of luxury more than anything. I can lather just fine with the VDH, it just takes more effort, more learning, doesn't feel as good, etc. but at the end of the process the lather is fine. The soap works quite well for $2/being included in the set. This set costs $10 for brush bowl and soap. Doesn't get any cheaper or better value unless you buy something REALLY crappy that won't work.

My other suggestion is to buy the Tweezerman badger brush (Tweezerman = JA Henckels) or the Muehle brand brushes (one is reviewed in the review section) both are badgers less than $20 that get the job done. The knot size is not HUGE, the bristles are not ultra plush, but I imagine its a big step up from boar. Then get CO Bigelow shave cream (repackaged Proraso). I have been using this lately, and while I'm still a soap guy, the chemistry in this cream is great (feels amazing, lathers easily, smells fresh, plus its VERY VERY cheap) and use your own bowl.

There you go. A $10 budget route, and a <$30 entry package.

So, I got a new brush today. A Rooney Heritage...man am I going to save me some money now. Maybe some more eau de toilet with the money I'm saving; a Mastro Livi might be nice.......stones...................

I also want to add, that for the 3 or 4 months I used the VDH set, my costs were:
$10 for the set, plus $2 plus $2 for 2 pucks of soap. Total of $14 for 3 or 4 months. I was only using one razor, an ebay special that was honed for free (+$15). My strop was off of ebay too, and not the best but it gets me by(+$15). I touched up on newspaper, and from time to time levi's. For the first month I stropped exclusively on my oldest most broken in pair of levi's. Not great, but serviceable. So by my calculation, the first month was $25, and overall for 3 months I ran up a bill of $44. From then on it would have been $2 a month. Lets say you use a cartirdge every 2 weeks, and a can of goo every 3 or 4 weeks, lets say a month. After three months thats 6 cartridges, and 3 cans. A razor is lets say $10 and includes one or two cartirdges. Cartridge refill pack, $10-$20. Can of goo @$4 x3= $12, for a total of $32-$42, with more costs of cartidges and goo for the rest of your life.