I gotta disagree, Although it is without a doubt a hobby now... it wasn't for many, many years...

I started in 1981 with a finishing stone $105
two razors $50
one #805 Illinois strop $20
I had a Burma shave brush, and a puck of Williams, or Old spice can't remember

I still have the stone, the strop, and the brush... I dropped the two razors by 1999 or I would still have them...
So it does not have to be expensive at all, it can just be shaving...

I could careless about close either, for me it is about comfort...