Thread: newb Question

Originally Posted by greyrider1865

Welcome. I'm a newbi to the forum and have been straight shaving for almost two years. My motivation in switching from cartridges to a straight was purely cost containment. I was spending about 25usd per month for cartridges, which worked out to 250usd per year in costs. For less than 200 dollars, I was able to purchase a quality basic set that included the razor, strop, soap, and a mug. It will take 6 months or so to learn to shave properly with a straight, but the reward is worth the time and effort. I myself do a three pass shave: WTG, ATG, and XTG. I really enjoy the feel of my face after the shave and I believe you will also.

Do you shave everyday and have only one razor? If so have you ever had to hone it or send it out to be honed? What I am getting at here is that there is no mention of the cost of those maintenance tasks. There should be some consideration of that too.

Bob

You raise some good points. I shave every other day and currently own 4 straights which I rotate. Also, at some point, the razor will need to be honed. I learned to hone my own razors so that I don't need to send them out to be done. I use a Norton 4/8k water stone which will set you back about 75 dollars. In my own experience, I found that the initial outlay to start was the highest. And while I buy good quality razors, I don't spend 400 dollars a piece on them.

Originally Posted by greyrider1865

You raise some good points. I shave every other day and currently own 4 straights which I rotate. Also, at some point, the razor will need to be honed. I learned to hone my own razors so that I don't need to send them out to be done. I use a Norton 4/8k water stone which will set you back about 75 dollars. In my own experience, I found that the initial outlay to start was the highest. And while I buy good quality razors, I don't spend 400 dollars a piece on them.

See, there are quite a few variables involved in trying to sort out the economics of the thing. For sure if you can stick to owning 2 razors, only buy 1 decent strop, only buy 1 shave brush, can get by on one hone and be willing to learn to hone it won't take long to come ahead on the deal. OTH with a DE you have a much lower initial investment and if you decide it is not for you much less of a loss. Not arguing for or against one or the other, only saying look at all the options and consider "all" the costs with either.

Bob

What you say is certainly very true. It may be more prudent to begin with a lower cost DE and decide whether or not to progress to a straight razor. As you pointed out, should you decided that this method of shaving isn't for you, then you shan't have invested a lot of money.

First thing that comes to Mind for you is a DE a boar brush and a puck a glycerin soap of ur choice. Total investment is approx $50-75 blades can be bought for 20c to 75c each. That should elevate your cost, and improve ur shave

For the most part, I've been using a $60 Dovo, $60 strop, and a $10 barber hone for the last decade. You can save money in the looooong run, if you really try. But, the learning curve is steep. I really don't recommend you try and switch. Nor do I recommend that you try to "become" a straight shaver. I think it is best to slowly morph into one over time. Some key progress points for me were: getting past every hone, razor, strop addiction, buying a new whatever to get a sharper edge, learning how to hone, learning to never drop or tip on the faucet, a good edge, learning to strop, learning to build good lathers, planning ahead to have adequate time to shave, and learning to anticipate a dulling razor and intervene appropriately.

These are all tasks that take time. Now straight shaving is mundane. I use a straight now because it's the easiest, quickest, and safest shave. I go WTG and it's closer than any DE can pull off. I can't use a cartridge or DE anymore, the shave is too inferior. Doing all that with a single razor has been part luck, part skill, and part patience through gathering the best razor, strop, and hone. The only balance point is patience. If you can be patient you can learn to get things set up right you can use very minimal stuff.

The second you start thinking that another blade, hone, or strop will improve your shave faster than skill, your wrong and doomed at the same moment.