Thread: save money and conserve?

I heard the argument that classic wet shaving with a straight or DE razor will save money and conserve resources. I'm not sure if it conserves resources but we would have to get a whole lot of figures and statistics to figure that one out and I'm not quite up to it as of now. I was curious about how much money one would save though so I thought I'd make some comparisons (these figures are guaranteed to be all messed up because there are so many variables but I figured I'd give it a shot and you can feel free to make whatever comments you feel like making).

Now before I start I want to make one thing absolutely clear! I am not even almost considering going back to one of those multiple bladed monstrosities and I don't recommend that anybody else does either. I just felt that this particular argument wasn't all that accurate. I enjoyed shaving about as much as a trip to the dentist before I started this and now not only do I enjoy it but I'm frickin obsessed! I just think that people actually do this more as a hobby and because it brings some fun and a sense of pride to a daily activity.

alright, enough of the soap-box! lets get to it

Mach 3 w/ 3 blades $8.77
24 pack of blades on sale $35.95

-it is recommended that you change the blade every week so for the mach 3 and a year supply of blades at this cost we have $80.67

a 7 oz can of aveeno shaving gel costs $4 but I'm not sure how long it will last so I didn't include this

now everybody is different but here are some costs that I came up with for straight shaving

vulfix super badger brush $60
taylor of old bond street shaving cream $13.50
heirloom razor strop $50
norton 4k/8k waterstone $75
new dovo 5/8 carbon blade $60

total 258.50

Now this is higher but over time I'm thinking this would pay itself off as long as you stuck to what is on this list but I don't think anybody on this forum could do that.

when you throw in extra products like other soaps, creams, preshaves, aftershaves, more stones, more brushes, and more blades....

so my conclusion is that this would save money over time if one were to stick to the necessities but I think we are all addicts so this argument for saving money does not even almost apply in our case

actually a can of goo lasts for about a month. And some cans are more expensive than others....also blades are more expensive over here (more like $6 a piece almost)

and don't even get started on the Fusion blades and goo....those cost even more.

Once you have a nice stack of soaps etc (like I do now) you can last for AGES without buying something new.

I have't bought nything shaving related in almost six months now.

That's 26 mach 3 blades at (let's be kind) say $5 a piece makes $130 on blades and 6 cans of goo that I used to buy for around $6 a piece. That makes $166 dollars for half a year.

That's what I USED to pay in realism. So yeah...considering the $140 razor I bought a year ago....and the (somewhere around) $50 or so dollars of soap I have (both of which will last me more than a year) including the $40 strop, the $40 brush and the other $20 razor I have I'd say I'm WAAY ahead of the game.

I mean let's face it.

$270 for more than 3 year's of shaving with a straight (ok let's include stones and it'd be up to $300 or so)

or around $300 for a year? Methinnks my straight is winning this.

$6 a blade! Holy Jesus! You should've bought that s*^t online!

from what I here (although it sucks) the mach 3 does offer a close shave and was a pretty innovative design but the fusion pretty much brings nothing new to the table except more blades.

I do see that over time the gear would start paying for itself and maybe this buy everything I can possibly think of is just a phase that newbies go through.

Anywho, this was just for fun. I don't think anybody who has tried classic wetshaving with a straight or DE (I wouldn't say it is the recommended method but it's better than some of the alternatives) would go back. I don't see how anybody could go back to a can of goo after applying a lathering shaving cream or soap with a badger brush or go back to scraping 3 or 5 blades across your face after getting great results from 1.

Originally Posted by LX_Emergency

also blades are more expensive over here (more like $6 a piece almost)

where have you been buying cartridges? $6 is a bit much, they're usually about $3.5 (per cartridge) in shops, if you buy a packet of eight.

As DwarvenChef said that is one of the reasons I did take this up. To Conserve the amounts of shite we place in our landfills and such from such a task. The Disposable razor inventor was a genius, EVIL genius really.

I feel that I am doing my part some ways more then others lol. But it is nice to get this accomplishment through sharpening and keeping things in good shape to keep YOU in good shape.

well i definately belive that my straight WILL last a life time and more who can buy just one?? i sure cant but maybe that is the impulse shopper in me or i just having choice in what i use, but yea i could never go back to those crappy razors that just cost way to much for the job that they do plus i am (as the chef so lightly put it) kind of a granola head and cant dont really like the waste that goes on so much these days. and the stuff in a can ewww, which reminds me im almost out of my shaving cream (good thing i go on leave in 5 days so wont be needing it for a bit) any suggestions on a soap/cream to go for next?

Originally Posted by bjrn

where have you been buying cartridges? $6 is a bit much, they're usually about $3.5 (per cartridge) in shops, if you buy a packet of eight.

I think you're confusing euro's for dollars now. When I was shaving with the M3 they were around 3.5-4 euro's a piece. That's almost $6 us dollars.

Besides...it doesn't matter. That's still TOO expensive.

If your mission is to save money and not get sucked into AD, straights win easy.
A wapienica, fine barber hone and strop are a relatively small investment.
Just getting some soap on the bristles of a boar brush and lathering it on your face and your soap will last forever.
I'm actually scared my soaps and cremes will last me forever, I wanna try new stuff .

Originally Posted by Friggin Joe

If your mission is to save money and not get sucked into AD, straights win easy.
A wapienica, fine barber hone and strop are a relatively small investment.
Just getting some soap on the bristles of a boar brush and lathering it on your face and your soap will last forever.
I'm actually scared my soaps and cremes will last me forever, I wanna try new stuff .

There is always room to buy more. Then if you really want you can give someone else a soap, either by you selling or gifting a 'slightly used' soap

Interesting topic. It reminded me of a discussion when I was in 8th grade or there about. The discussion was more than the cost of wet shaving, but rather the cost of shaving in general.

My teacher was talking about energy costs and the discussion went something like this, "You guys are going to wake up one morning and notice that you have hair growing on your face. When it comes time to remove that hair, you'll have 2 options -- an electric razor or with shaving cream and a blade." Fast forwarding to the end of the discussion, we were told that electric razors are the least expensive way to shave.

However, all or almost all of us on this forum know that putting all costs aside, the best and only real way to shave is by using a straight razor.

Since almost exclusively using a straight razor for over 2 years now, my philosophy is this: Yes, I may be using more energy than if I used an electric razor and I'm possibly spending more than if I used a different razor for wet shaving, but it comes down to this...the shaves are superior to any other method, I really enjoy and now look forward to actually shaving, and maintaining an almost lost art is just the "icing on the cake!"