Thread: Okay, NOW where are you at with shaving stuff??

A while back I started a thread asking about where you started and where you were now.
I thought it would be intersting to see where the new group of newbies is at.

Myself, I went from aquiring every decent eBay razor, to buying only new Dovo razors, to owning mostly newer TI razors. Dozens of strops, stones, hones, etc.....

So, in my latest effort to refine my life <g>. Here is my ultimate "reasonably sized" setup (not there, just planning).
Seven nice razors, one for each day of the week, a complete rotation. Three to seven more as spares, fill ins, etc...when others are being honed, etc..... One nice badger brush, in my case the $35 Crabtree and Evelyn model. I have th big one and don't like it. One huge Marvey boar brush for hard soaps. My grandfathers mug. One 3" Best Latigo strop, one 4 sided paddle with pastes, one 2x10 yellow Coticule, one large Escher with rubbing stone, Lynn for anything more than touchup honing <g>.
So, a weeks worth or razors, 2 brushes, 1 mug, 2 strops, 2 stones, Lynn's address.....lots more room on my dresser.

What is your ultimate "reasonable" setup.....real or planned?

Tony

Tony,

I have nine straights that are shaveable, a 6000 waterstone, your paddle and hanging strops.
Buckets of shave cream etc plus I've made a cabinet for my stuff.
I'm now trying my hand at making scales.

Ideally I would like one of those superduper coticles that everyone raves about.

Oh and about a dozen or so more straights.

and...the skills of Lynn Abrams and Bill Ellis etc...

Gary

Tony,

This question is almost impossible to answer! I have WAY too much, uh, stuff to narrow it down. But I'll try:

Straight Razor: SRP or Mondesir 7/8
DE: Merkur HD Classic or Merkur Slant
Shaving Cream: Taylor's Shaving Shop
Shaving Soap: Truefitt & Hill Shaving Soap
Shaving Brush: Anything by Shavemac, but probably the SMF I

Aftershave care:

DR Harris A/S Milk or Trumpers Skin Food
Thayer's Lavender or Rose Witch Hazel

Strop: Tony, one of your's, but I can't decide which one!

RT

I have one shave ready razor, a Union Cutlery Manganese that I bought from Lynn.
Also, a Merkur Futur for touchups and for when I'm pressed for time.
A single hanging strop, one of your seconds Tony.
A Col. Conk Boar brush and mug, as well as two other mugs that I pulled out of my coffee cup collection from long ago.
5 Barber hones (Tilly's starter set, plus a Swaty and a Little Devil)

I have 2 ebay specials that I'm working on getting cleaned up, a Wostenholm and a W&B (both for $7)

Things I still need:
A paddle stop, pasted I think
Norton 4K/8K
Badger brush (I have my sights on a Shavemac I think)
More razors of course. Friodur and W&B are probably at the top of my list.

Not sure what's reasonable but I'll bite:

Bear in mind, what about one month or so ago I said I'd only have one razor, one brush, one strop.... something like that. I think you'll all see that I've done an excellent job of sticking to my original plan.

I have 4 razors with four more in transit and incoming for a total of 8. 2 of those 8 were from eBay and the rest from people here. 2 project razors are not included in that count, they're honing practice razors that Joe very generously tossed my direction and that I'll mangle and mutilate on a norton before I mess up one of my good razors. Subtract one from those that I've promised to my stepdaughter.

I have a starter #3 tony miller hanging strop and a 4 sided pasted paddle strop. I have a norton incoming from hartville tool. I have my old boar bristle brush that I use for soaps and my $35 C&E brush for everything else. I have 3 different shaving creams (proraso, T&H 1805 and Trumper's Lime) and 2 soaps (C&E sienna and my good ol' williams). Oh and I have a moss scuttle. I have two different aftershaves (proraso and C&E sienna) and some goat milk stuff coming from the arizona goat milk lady... and I'm badgering Colleen for some soaps and creams and some lotion for my fiancee.

So, I think all total I have exactly one razor, one soap, one mug, one brush and absolutely nothing else. I'm so proud of myself for sticking to my guns and not going off the deep end or anything.

My fiancee thinks I've lost my marbles. She likes the shaves though and she actually watched me shave for the first time the other day and even mentioned the possibility of asking me to shave her legs heh heh.

-- Gary F.

Yikes, I forgto about he DE for those days I am in a hurry. Mine would have to be the Merkur 1904 Classic or a Progress.

My goals was to thin down to just what I needed to get the job done, while using what I consider the best of the best, items. No 2 and 3 of something, one fine stone, one average stone, one brush for each type of soap, hard and cream, one nice mug, etc..... Razors of course are duplicated as they are the whole reason we are here.

It's our nature to collect I think but at least in y life I often find I collect too much. One is not enough, I need another as I cannot decide what is best, Before I know it I have dozens of everything but use only a very few pieces....it is just those pieces that should be kept. With fewer tools, one learns to use each to their fullest instead of wandering from one to another, mastering nothing.

Anyway, on the screen this thought train all looks good. Someone pleae bookmark this and e-mail it to me some day when I get carried away again <g>

Tony

Originally Posted by Tony Miller

Yikes, I forgto about he DE for those days I am in a hurry. Mine would have to be the Merkur 1904 Classic or a Progress.

My goals was to thin down to just what I needed to get the job done, while using what I consider the best of the best, items. No 2 and 3 of something, one fine stone, one average stone, one brush for each type of soap, hard and cream, one nice mug, etc..... Razors of course are duplicated as they are the whole reason we are here.

It's our nature to collect I think but at least in y life I often find I collect too much. One is not enough, I need another as I cannot decide what is best, Before I know it I have dozens of everything but use only a very few pieces....it is just those pieces that should be kept. With fewer tools, one learns to use each to their fullest instead of wandering from one to another, mastering nothing.

Anyway, on the screen this thought train all looks good. Someone pleae bookmark this and e-mail it to me some day when I get carried away again <g>

Tony

Tony,

We can't do that. We're just waiting on your "items for sale" post!

RT

Ooooo ultimate set up?
One razor for each grain of wood worth having I think.
I've got my Ironwood W&B thanks to Bill, plus 4 scale sets coming from Vlad. No maple in the lot though and I Looove maple so I'm going to have to add a sixth at least. I think (for now ) that any man should be happy with 7 razors, one for each day of the week. I should be able to do some swapping and try out a few others if I had a couple more though. I guess the final tally on the razors is, Keep 'Em Coming!

I'm, happy with my Norton and use it regularly. It's the workhorse. But that hasn't stopped me from getting TWO paddle strops a 12,000 stone, a handful of barber hones and a new Belgian Coticule. I'm done with those for now. Really. I am. I WANT a bigger coticule and maybe a double sided just to try the blue stone out, but It's not like I'm going to get one. ... Really ... I'm NOT!

I only want one brush. It's a great brush I have, the Crabtree and Evelyn Edwin Jagger. Trouble is it's not the brush I want. The brush I want is one of Matt's custom 20mm Ebony Silver Tips. "Stay on Target", "Almost there", "Stay on target".

As some of you know, I never used to use shaving cream at all and I really don't want to go crazy there either. I've still got enough Lush Ambrosia to last me htrouggh the summer I think, but with Colleen's samples around and more on the way in a month or so, it's unlikely I'll use the Ambrosia till Christmas. Add to that the fact that EVERY DAY I have successfully talked myself out of running out to Crabtree & Evelyn and picking up some Sienna cream. What would happen if I walked into Truefitt & Hill?

Prognosis:
Doctor I think I'm getting very sick. What's your advice?

X

I have 2 shave-ready razors: a Taylor's Eye Witness 6/8 and a Satinedge, a W&B 6/8 (now closer to 5/8) that's slowly getting there but she ain't gonna be a beauty, a W&B waiting on scales, a Boker that's gonna get sold once I clean it up (unevenly honed so I don't think it will become a good shaver), and a Walker 6/8 that is going through a DETAILED restoration. I also have a paki but it's just used for restoration experiments and as a teaching tool.
I have a rough Norton oilstone that I only use for large nicks, a 4k 2x4 wedge-shaped jap and its 8k counterpart. Just got a coticule.
When it comes to strops I got one that came with the paki, which is only to be used as a teaching tool and one of Tony's seconds that's totally pimp.
Brushes: A Wilkinson el-cheapo that I only use for application of pre-shave soap and a C&E Best Badger with a Kent stand.
Soaps: got a Wilkinson that I only use as a pre-shave softener and a couple of Colleen's samples. I'm buying Cavendish Black, Orange Patchouli and Desert Ironwood.
Aftershaves: Dominica Bay Rum, Paco and I'm about to mix up a second batch of my alcoholic formula.

Ironically, I was gonna go small, and yes Nenad, you have my permission to laugh your a$$ off

I'm back up to about 53 razors, with 14 more on the way (including one from you ), 6 strops, about 14 different kinds of soap, 5 mugs, 1 scuttle, 2 shaving bowls, and about 11 different kinds of aftershave. As far as where I'm at...the poorhouse. Most of my razors are going to be sold soon, though. I have to simplify. I'm more interested now in the honing and maintenance than anything else. I'm planning on keeping 14 (2 seven day rotations), and pouring my meager resources into a full-blown sharpening operation (woodworking tools, chainsaws, handsaws, knives, razors, etc.)