New guy here. Can DE really be cheaper than Cartridges?

Hello all,

First off let me say what a wonderful community you have here. I have enjoyed lurking and picking up a few nuggets of knowledge from you folks. I hope to enjoy some good conversation with you folks over time.

As someone who is tired of paying the high cost for cartridges, is it really possible to save money in the long run by going to a DE razor? I am not sure I will ever have the hobby level interest in shaving that some of you folks do I simply view shaving as something I have to do to keep the boss, either at work or at home, happy. Now maybe that changes if/when I go DE, but I am simply exploring options to save money on something I don't particularly care for so I can put it towards something that I do like.

Razor wise I am considering the Merkur 34cHD, EJ 89 series, or a vintage Gillette(if I can find one at a good price which I need to do a bit more research on), Blades I get that experimentation until you find the best blade for your razor and beard, then go bulk. Brush I could probably live with a boar hair omega(at least for now) which seem to have a strong following around here. It's the soaps/creams where I think this whole staying cheap thing could run off the rails for me real quick. I get that everyone is different, but assuming you shave at least every other day just how quickly should you expect to go through these tubs/pucks?

Oh sometimes I will let my beard grow out and maintain it in a neat manner for a while. Well I ultimately tire of it, trim it back with my electric groomer, then shave. Now that shave tends to toast a new cartridge or at least put it's foot in the grave. Is going from groomer "close"(and I use that term loosely with mine) to clean shaven a problem for a DE razor? I would much rather replace a ~.15 DE blade than a multi dollar cartridge in that situation.

Any tips and tricks you have for a cheapskate like me is more than welcome.

If you have willpower yes but I don't & have enough stuff to last me long after I am dead.

Welcome !!

if the virus will get you....you'll probably save real money on the blades ......and start to ruin yourself buying everything else "n" times

Go for the razor you like most on the basis of opinions you might have collected here but above all, listen to your eyes and heart. Take the one you like most !!! It is fun first of all.

Soaps and creams last for a lifetime and they are very affordable. So, don't worry about those "consumables" and use them intensively to protect your skin.

Good shaves !

Mango said:

...if the virus will get you....you'll probably save real money on the blades ..

Click to expand...

Unless the other virus hits you and start hoarding blades. That too is a possibility, especially if you hang around here for much longer.

Don't you answer your own question in your opening post?

Sure. Costco has the new Fusion "Dyson" and 6 carts for about the price of an EJ89 with 5 Derby blades. Refills are $0.08 instead of $3.50 (Costco price of fusion). Worst case DE refills are $0.30 for a Feather or Polsilver.

And you don't need to use the brush and lather, my cousin went back to foam but sticks to the DE. so there's no cost difference from carts.

The cost is not in the cartridges. Unless you want the latest and greatest from Gillette or Wilkinson Sword.

Trac II compatible cartridges go cheap, and deliver a good shave (they do have a bit of a learning curve, when you come from a modern cart, I suspect)

Hello and welcome to B&B. This is a great forum full of friendly, helpful shavers. You'll learn a lot here.

Initial set-up will run you about $50 and less if you start with canned shave cream. Blades are cheap. Where costs escalate is if you get into owning multiple soaps, creams, after shaves, brushes, blades, and razors.

Cream and soap are available for little money if you shop with that in mind. Look for old posts about cheap creams.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/411764-inexpensive-creams?highlight=cheap+cream

5 euros gives you a choice of many good quality soaps that lasts a long time.

But in fact, you could skip the experimtentation phase, and jump on ARKO directly

I just got into wet shaving, but I believe it the hobby bug does not bite you then it can be. I bought a beautiful vintage prewar Gillette Tech for less than $20, Arko in the tub for $3 a piece, an Omega Boar brush for $10 and 100 blades for less than $12. Aftershave is inexpensive too. I bought a starter kit off a popular site for $25 that had a lot of what I needed. But alas it turned into a hobby of sorts and I am about $150 down. Not bad though. I chose to get the Knurled handled Edwin Jagger DE89 for my first razor.

Cheaper... Sure. If your willpower is strong enough.

Welcome to B&B.

If I stick with:

EJ89 £15 (BST)
Omega 49 brush £9
Palmolive stick 49p
Personna labs (100) £9

that comes to £33.49. For two years all I'll need to buy are extra shave sticks as and when I run out at 49p each. This isn't skimping either, Personnas are my favourite blades, very few people would argue that the EJ89 and Omega brush are good tools, and while Palmolive might not have an exciting scent the performance is top notch.

Alternatively:

Gillette Fusion (manual) combo pack with 12 blades £25.00
Gillette Gel £3

That comes to £28 and I'll be able to shave for 13 weeks, assuming one can lasts that long. Based on an eight pack of Fusion carts costing £19.50, it would be cheaper after the 13 weeks to buy another combo pack at £25. Four of those a year equals £100 and that's not counting the gel as I have no idea how long a can lasts. I'm betting it's not six times as long as a Palmolive stick though.

Disclaimer: Gillette prices are taken from Boots.com, your supermarket may be cheaper. Despite some claims, for me a cartridge lasts a week before deteriorating to the point that it's uncomfortable.

So yes, DE is cheaper in the long run. Unless you make it into a hobby...

I've done the math for myself. Prior to DE shaving I had the following set up:
Fusion Power with cartridge that lasted about 10 days/shaves
Anthony for Men Shave Gel ($16.00 a tube that lasted about 3 months)

Now I use:
EJ89lbl ($40)
Astra SP blades ($12 for 100)
EJ Best Badger Brush ($40)
Any one of a variety of soaps I have that were all purchased for less than $15-20 (most much less).

Doing the math it takes about a year to get to the break even point that covers the high cost of the razor and brush. Then if I simply maintain the level of soap that I currently have I will save $150-200 a year. Of course I have also purchased a 1955 Gillette Red TIp on EBay and a scuttle from Georgetown Pottery but that's just part of the fun. Most of my soaps come as gifts for fathers day or birthday so it all comes out in the wash.

Been thinking about checking out Feather blades though.....

Soaps last a long time, and that's the truth. It may look like $10 for a soap is too much, compared to $4 for a can of gel. But the can will last for 20-30 shaves I would estimate, and the soap will last for hundreds. I think 6-12 months on a single soap is a good benchmark. Alot of people seem to report in the 9 months range. Compare this with a new can of gel every 1 or 2 months.

The Omega brushes are really tops. At $9, it's easy to justify the cost. More expensive brushes are a luxury, not a necessity. And even once you spring for a Silvertip badger brush, you might just find yourself disappointed in how floppy it is. This is a common complaint with over-soft brushes. The Omegas don't have that problem. They are made to work.

Another plus to the DE blades: They don't necessary take a bigger beating just because you are shaving off more growth. The single blade will get right to the root and lop off the entire hair at once. This differs from the multi-blade cartridges, which tend to clog instantly, lay the hairs down, and then "drag" across the hairs with all blades, accelerating the dulling of your blades. My first pass with the DE seems to go just as effortlessly with 7 days growth as it does with 1 day growth. And they don't really clog, either. The blade gap is big enough that much larger particles will pass through, and even if it does clog on exceptionally long hairs, they rinse out so much easier than a cartridge. It's a real time saver when attacking long growth.

Welcome to the forum. I hope you enjoy your time here.

I agree with Cratz that a DE is far, far better at mowing down a few days' growth than a cartridge, especially if you go for an open comb.

Welcome welcome!

I'll try not to repeat what everyone has already said, but yes, if you have the willpower to resist the acquisition disorders (I don't) then the savings are huge. A lot of people have recommended Omegas, and rightfully so, but there is also Semogue to think about as well. I have actually been thinking about getting a Semogue to try the Boar Side of the Force, but that is a separate issue.

ARKO has been mentioned, as has Palmolive. Both are top performers, at nigh-unbeatable price points. While the scent of ARKO may take getting used to, no-one can deny that it outperforms soaps that cost more than ten times as much. A vintage Gillette on the BST will set you back around twenty dollars, and a variety pack of blades maybe ten or fifteen.

Let me put it this way: I got a Gillette Superspeed for fifteen dollars, and a hundred-pack of Gillette Yellows for twenty. Those one pack of blades will last me two years, and that's going through one blade a week. I could possibly stretch it to two weeks, but why bother? A cheap Tweezerman brush on Amazon will set you back fifteen to twenty dollars, and a stick of ARKO is about two or three dollars. If you feel like splurging and getting an artisan shave soap from one of our outstanding vendors (coughcoughMAMABEARSOAPScoughcough), then one tub is around ten to twelve dollars, but that will last the better part of a year. The vintage razor, hundred-pack of blades, Tweezerman badger brush, and artisan soap will altogether cost around sixty dollars without shipping, which is what two eight-packs of Gillette Fusion cartridges cost. And you never need to replace the razor. Somewhere down the line you may want to replace the brush for something a bit higher-quality, but there are plenty of cheap alternatives, several of which have been mentioned here.

If you ever have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

If all you do is shave, then yes switching to a DE can be cheaper. If you make it a hobby, it will not be cheaper.

I never did a full analysis on how long a Mach3 cartridge would last, nor a can of gel/foam. I just got tired of paying high $$ for cartridges when I did have to buy them.

I'm still working through a sampler pack of blades, but to be honest I don't find much difference in them so far. I don't really use an aftershave regularly, as I shave at night and shower after. I did get an alum block and will use it after a shave, but it doesn't appear any different than the day I bought it. But I have noticed that I tend to shave MORE with a DE than I did with Mach3. Not becuase the shave isn't as close, but because I don't view it as such a negative anymore. It likely means I have a more kept appearance, which can't be a bad thing. I have an Omega Boar brush, and no desire to get anything new. I purchased an "off brand" DE razor that works great and is comparable to an EJ89. And I still have about a half tube of Proraso Red that I've had for about 6 months. So it can be done. Just watch your spending.