Great shave today, so why is it.

This morning I dug out my Merkur Progress, which I hadn't used since last year.
I threw in a Feather blade with one shave on it, lathered up my Comfort shave stick and had a magnificent shave. Smooth, comfortable, easy. Just fantastic.

So why is it that next time I shave I won't be able to stop myself using a completely different razor and soap/cream? Whether another DE, an SE, an Injector, a straight, or whatever, I know next time I will change things.

What makes us do this? Is it just the variety we crave?

You have options. Options are good.

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE! YOU HAVE BEEN ASSIMILATED!


marty

Because variety is the spice of life!

Is it the variety or the challenge of being able to achieve the same results with different equipment?

Bluebriz said:

This morning I dug out my Merkur Progress, which I hadn't used since last year.
I threw in a Feather blade with one shave on it and had a magnificent shave. Smooth, comfortable, easy.

Click to expand...

This has been my SOTD almost exclusively for the last 6 months. I really like the combo.

I usually go about 2-3 on the dial. Where do you find the comfortable setting?

It's because we think that maybe, just... maybe... our next load out will give us an even better shave than that perfect shave we've already achieved with gear we bought years ago. Is there any truth to this, or is it simply the fevered dream of a mad man with lather on his face?

They say the true definition of madness is expecting different results while repeatedly using the same procedure. Is it any different to expect the same results every time using a different procedure? Food for thought

I use the same razor every day, except when I travel. No complaints here.

Sleeper said:

This has been my SOTD almost exclusively for the last 6 months. I really like the combo.

I usually go about 2-3 on the dial. Where do you find the comfortable setting?

Click to expand...

2.5 for first pass and 4 for second.

Eeyore said:

I use the same razor every day, except when I travel. No complaints here.

Click to expand...

I know that I could use any of the razors I have every day until I'm pushing up daisies quite happily. That's why I don't understand changing almost every day.

7 months ago I thought my Dad was crazy. Ordering soaps from Europe, owning a dozen brushes, razors galore. Always trying to find the perfect setup.

I was a cartridge shaver then.

No I have 3 razors, 4 year supply of soap, AS, and blades. And I still want more.

The weirdest feeling is when you can remember when you weren't crazy.

well after my uncle got me on the bandwagon with a merkur and everything i need, i just got my first new razor in the mail today (weber classic) and i am about to use it. been doing this for just a little over a month, and the bug has bit me hard boys.

+1 for this. Like a moth to the flame.

Plus, once you get a KO shave from one combination, you want to see if you can get it from another...and another........

dawgfan13 said:

Because variety is the spice of life!

Click to expand...

Sanity Removed said:

Is it the variety or the challenge of being able to achieve the same results with different equipment?

Click to expand...

This for me.

After a great shave I want to reproduce it with other razors......silly I know but I cant stop till I have conquered all the razors in my rotation.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/duke-research-monkeys-like-humans-want-variety/

Dan Ariely, a professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke, along with researchers from the Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologiesin Rome, conducted experiments with monkeys to test their predilection toward variety.

They found that the monkeys, when given a token to "spend" on their favorite foods or a buffet, chose the buffet. This correlates with earlier research done on human subjects, such as one experiment finding that participants ate 43 percent more M&Ms when there were 10 colors in the bowl as opposed to seven.
"People choose variety for variety's sake," Ariely said in a Duke press release. "They often choose things they don't even like as well just for the variety. We knew about this, so the interesting thing was to figure out how basic it is."

Just go with it ..

I was an every-other-day shaver. My standard 2.5 pass shave included WTG-ATG on my face, and WTG-XTG-ATG on my neck. At one point in the middle of last month, as a result of participating in the "Soap of the Month Club", I decided to see if I could finish off the puck of soap I was using by the end of the month despite not needing to shave every day. So what I started doing was completing only a 2 pass shave consisting of WTG-WTG on my face, and WTG-XTG on my neck, and that led me to be able to shave every day - thus using more soap. Now that May has been over, I have not gone back to my normal routine that I did for about a year, but I've stuck with the 2 pass shave, every day. The reason that I use this method now is because with daily shaving I now have the opportunity to use my things twice as often as I was. So the moral of the story is that I actually changed my routine to be able to use more options, more frequently. I think, for most of us who aren't considered "minimalists", it is just in our nature to want to use everything we can.

As a bonus, since cutting out the ATG pass on my face and neck, I now get more comfortable shaves. Obviously, I don't get the same BBS or near BBS results that I was getting, but now I shave every day with a DFS result and it is more comfortable.

DigJazz said:

They say the true definition of madness is expecting different results while repeatedly using the same procedure. Is it any different to expect the same results every time using a different procedure? Food for thought

Click to expand...

In my line of study, this is being empirical. We change relative variables and measure the outcome, assessing if it is the same or similar.