Thread: It's just nuts......

Originally Posted by ats200

I know I'm going to kick myself when I hear it but what exactly does everyone mean when they say RAD, HAD, etc.?

An 'AD' is an 'Acquisition Disorder', so RAD is Razor AD and HAD is Hone AD etcetera and so forth...


Mck

I never acquired any of the ADs associated with shaving... it is bad enough having the ADs with brewing, lol. Don't think I could survive having it with both hobbies.

When I started in early 2009 I purchased a new Dovo set and have since added a used blade, set of good stones and enough Conk's soap to last me for years to come. I would say I have spent at most 400, probably closer to 300, in total and almost half of that is the hones that I also use for maintaining pretty much anything else in the house with an edge on it. That's two years of use and with what I have (including soap) I can easily go another 4 years. If I don't count the stones I am past break even easy. Even if I do count them I will break even in the next year or so. And I'm enjoying a better shave!

If it was really about saving though you could pull off a used blade and skimp on the basics (use a coffee mug, cheap brush, etc) and start for very little invested.

As far as the 'frugal mentality' that is a personal quirk more than anything else. Most everyone has their own little quirks that other people wouldn't understand. It is those things that make people interesting and unique, in my opinion.

I've only been slightly touched with the AD's (is there such a thing as only being slightly touched?!).
I've only bought four razors and one of those was for a mate to kick start him on the road to shaving nirvana.
The other three have been either bartered, traded or gifted to me.
Not including the DE.
The three hones I have I consider to be the minimum. Two of those are double sided, but that doesn't count.
I only have five different creams/soaps, two brushes. One cream and one brush for the 'dopp' kit.
I only have three strops...Well four if you count the one that is left permanently in my cabin on the family property...But it's also used as a guest house in my absence, so theoretically it's a communal strop. I won't mention that it always appears to be untouched in my enamal washbasin whenever I get out there, because then I might have to admit to owning four strops. In my defence I do make the damn things so surely that's acceptable.
Ok so whats the list:

6 Cut-throats (+1 DE)

5 shave creams/soaps

4 strops (3 of my own making)

3 Hones 1000/3000, 6000/8000 and 12000

2 brushes

1 face to shave

There we go! Not too bad for a bloke that reckoned he was just fine with one, then two razors (for rotational purposes), a strop, a brush and a tube of shave cream.
I was once a minimalist, but now I think I might have shamed myself out of that club...And No! I won't be getting rid of any of my sharp, shiny babies! I love them all!


Mick

5 Cut-throats (+1 DE)

5 shave creams/soaps

5 strops (2 of my own making)

5 Hones norton 1/8k, 4/8k, 16k shapton, 2 barbers hones

3 brushes

1 face to shave

total cost appx $1k

time till break even in a monetery sense, maybe when my kids inherit my gear. First ones on the way ^_^

time till I feel I've broken even?
EVERY TIME I SHAVE ^_^

Part of my money saving economic equation is the fact that I can sell most of my gear on Ebay for roughly what I have in it, if not more. Or, even after 50+ more years of use (hopefully!), my heirs will.

All my razors I bought secondhand, cleaned, and honed. I view them as "money in the bank" in the sense that they can easily and quickly be liquidated.

The 3 hones I bought new I'd lose more than 50% on. But those losses would likely be made up for with the profits on razors I got cheaply and honed on them. Jnats I guess would be closer to a break even.

I have 3 strops- one new and two used. The vintage ones I got good deals on ($25 for barely used shell) and they restored nicely so, again, something close to break-even assuming I don't gash them. The new one I paid $40 for and it should fetch $10 even a decade from now.

Brushes I'd lose at least 50% on, but I accept that. They're boar and horsehair (very inexpensive) and I LOVE them! Soap gets used, and even the good stuff works out to be about the same as canned goo, if not cheaper, so that's a wash.

The fact that most of my stuff is vintage I think puts something of a floor on the price- they're not making any more of them and they're cool antique collectibles involving something that's gaining in popularity. Plus, if civilization goes down the toilet at least we'll be clean-shaven until the bitter end.

When I'm buying I keep in mind potential resale value, so I buy desirable and decent stuff and sometimes pay a few dollars extra for that "insurance". Been lucky so far.

I say all this because I think resale value often gets lost in the shuffle. People wanting to go in as cheaply as possible forget that if you have decent gear you should be able to get most of your money back assuming you didn't overpay- known names are easier to sell. Meanwhile that coin is just parked in a cool experiment and hopefully rewarding hobby.

My best western razors I got for $15-$35. For the kamisori $60-$80. That involves selective and very disciplined buying, extreme patience, and some luck. Not to mention tons of research on the forums, etc when I was just starting out. When I've got my eyes on a razor for that week I avoid eating out, drive slower and less, get thriftier with electricity usage, everything I can think of to minimize expenses. I guarantee you I save more than whatever the razor costs so, in my mind, it's kinda sorta almost free.

There was a real lull in Ebay bidding around the holidays so I did some buying. I guess guys were buying presents for others and wives were saying "over my dead body!". Whatever it was, the general distraction was a window of opportunity. The bids, however, are now returning.

12 vintage western razors (2 Sheffield, 4 Swedes, 3 Grelots I bought in France, 2 Solingen)
5 vintage Kamisori (WOW!!!)
2 DMT (1.2k & 8k- ok, fast but too scratchy)
1 Shapton GS 16k (great stone, now I want the lower grits too)
1 C12k ($20 delivered- ok but not my fave)
1 Ebay Jnat ($50- for the kamisori- surprisingly good edge, there's probably better but not at that price!)
3 brushes ($5 horsehair, $25 horsehair, $10 boar)

I admit that I have yet to sell anything because I love them all. But I've reached the point where I should sell something to make room for anything new. I'd like to get a few more Shapton GS's to replace the DMT's and I'd love a $400 Jnat. And, although I nabbed a few unused vintage razors. someday I'd like to splurge on a brand new TI.

Further buying could get indulgent and would throw my break-even equation out the window. Until then, I truly believe that at the end of the day I'm getting these magnificent shaves for roughly the cost of soap and brushes and hot water and hone wear, if that.

I think that if I sold half my stuff I'd get most of my total investment back and STILL be set for life.

I'm a cheapskate. We'll see.