Thread: New Appreciation for Arko

I have only been in this wet shaving habit/hobby/obsession since June, but even at 6'2" 250 lbs., I have enough soaps and creams to shave my entire body and head every day for at least two years. I'm sorry if that vision causes nausea or arousal...I have no plans to do it...

BUT, my point is as others have said, this is an Arko thread and I, evidently along with others, am amazed at the lather one can whip up with a shave stick you can buy in the US on the internet for under $3. Looking at it, after a number of uses, I have to wonder how long one of these sticks will last. I don't seem to be using any after 20 shaves with it.

JMHO

PS -- I won't be buying any MdC anytime soon...out of my range.

Originally Posted by Haroldg48

I have only been in this wet shaving habit/hobby/obsession since June, but even at 6'2" 250 lbs., I have enough soaps and creams to shave my entire body and head every day for at least two years. I'm sorry if that vision causes nausea or arousal...I have no plans to do it...

BUT, my point is as others have said, this is an Arko thread and I, evidently along with others, am amazed at the lather one can whip up with a shave stick you can buy in the US on the internet for under $3. Looking at it, after a number of uses, I have to wonder how long one of these sticks will last. I don't seem to be using any after 20 shaves with it.

JMHO

PS -- I won't be buying any MdC anytime soon...out of my range.

It's amazing when you have years worth of soaps, none of them ever seem to deplete. I have been wet shaving for about 18 months but I have yet to use an entire puck/jar of soft soap/tube of cream/shave stick.

In the past two years since starting using a straight I have somehow gotten around 30 different soaps and creams. At my age I can't wait to use one up before getting another or I might not stand a chance of sampling them all. Yea, they do seem to last forever that way. To make matters worse I have 2 more coming.

I the 40 odd years wet shaving before going to straights I would use one soap or cream till it was gone. Generally that took 6 months to a year IIRC. The replacement soap/cream would normally be the same as the empty one. Can you just imagine somebody actually surviving all those years on only a handful of different drugstore variety soaps/creams and managing contentedly to get decent shaves. Yea, ignorance is indeed bliss.

Bob

I was given 2 sticks of Arko by a friend. Now that my Clauss USMC is fresh back from restoration, looks like I'll be giving it a go with some Arko tonight!!

Originally Posted by BobH

Now that is exactly the point and is easily lost on newbies seeking a short cut to a better shave.

Bob

Well, perhaps that. But also the natural tendency is to think that the more you spend the better you get. And in many cases there IS a correlation between the two but its not quite that simple. Same with your razor. You can drop $500 on that Double Duck but it may not shave any better than a no name for $40. Its fun to splurge on these luxury items but its important to know that its not necessary. And not having it should not leave a person feeling that their experience has been compromised. We see a lot of posts from new guys saying they want to give this a go but are on tight budget. They need to know that it can be put together quite nicely on lesser budgets.

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

Well, perhaps that. But also the natural tendency is to think that the more you spend the better you get. And in many cases there IS a correlation between the two but its not quite that simple. Same with your razor. You can drop $500 on that Double Duck but it may not shave any better than a no name for $40. Its fun to splurge on these luxury items but its important to know that its not necessary. And not having it should not leave a person feeling that their experience has been compromised. We see a lot of posts from new guys saying they want to give this a go but are on tight budget. They need to know that it can be put together quite nicely on lesser budgets.

Yes, exactly what I meant but you spell it out in more detail. Past a certain point where all the basics in equipment are satisfied you can achieve some gains. Lets face it, if you took crappy photos with a Nikon getting a Leica more than likely will not, in and of itself, automatically make you a top photographer. OTH once you can do well with the basics you should be able to appreciate and put to full use those incremental gains in performance obtained by spending more, nice if you can afford it, but it is not totally necessary to do so.

Bob

As with any luxury good, quality often follows the principle of diminishing returns. The differential cost between Arko and the pricier stuff gets you that extra 10% in terms of quality and performance, but the cost of admission is not always justifiable. To purchase something great like Arko for an even better price is how most consumers will behave.

Originally Posted by RMarsh

As with any luxury good, quality often follows the principle of diminishing returns. The differential cost between Arko and the pricier stuff gets you that extra 10% in terms of quality and performance, but the cost of admission is not always justifiable. To purchase something great like Arko for an even better price is how most consumers will behave.

Yea, diminishing returns on investment is a given for most consumer goods. Most consumers, bless their hearts, are constrained by budget or just a general frugality streak. I am cursed by that later of the two evils which I can sometimes shake free of. Long winded way of saying I will let you know what I think of MdC after tomorrow mornings shave in the appropriate thread of course.

Bob