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New to B&B, and wonder if I am nuts

OK, I never thought there could possibly be forums for shavers. Maybe it is just me, but how much could one discuss about running a blade across one's face? Well, after getting tired of dealing with a mediocre shave from my electric, I went back to cartridge shaving. Then my last name brand five bladed cartridge started to get dull and I asked my wife to get some more. She gave me the price at one of the warehouse membership stores and I refused to pay it. I thought there must be something more affordable. I have kids in college I want to financially help, for crying out loud. So I started looking around and recalled my father's DE razor that he used when I was a kid (I am closer to 50 than 40). Oddly enough, even with spending a bit for a Murker 34c and a 50 pk of various vendor's blades, I still came out ahead. The multi-vendor blades also contained a puck of sandle-wood shaving soap. Therefore, after spending all day researching razors, and finally picking that 34C, I started researching shaving soaps and the cost of those vs cans. Low and behold, there is a great amount of information on shaving. I would have never guessed. So that is what got me here. I love research and this site has been outstanding in providing reviews of shaving products that I never knew existed. I've since ordered a basic badger hair brush, and will continue to look at folk's opinions of shaving products as time goes on. And I will be saving a bundle while I hope to get a much better shave than my electric razor.
 
Welcome to B&B! “how much could one discuss about running a blade across one's face?” You have no idea my friend! Is it a 6/8 extra full hollow straight blade, an Israeli Persona double-edged blade, a feather, a Sheffield that you found in some bin somewhere and honed to perfection? I have a feeling you’re about to find out. :)
 
Thanks for the welcome Zach. Yes, I have been amazed at the options. Took me several hours of research to settle on the razor. I still haven't settled on the pre-shave. And since I love vintage tools, vintage razors just seem to fit right in.
 
Welcome! It sounds like you have a nice setup that will give you great shaves and, as you discovered, is a lot cheaper than carts. Like you, I also started DE shaving to save money--so I will offer you a word of caution. The more time you spend here, the more stuff you'll realize you need to buy. If you aren't careful, you'll end up with years worth of soaps, creams, and blades; along with more vintage razors than any sane person needs, along with badger, boar, and synthetic brushes.

Fortunately, my wife still views it as a relatively inexpensive hobby!
 
AZBronco, Thanks for the welcome. Fortunately for my wife, I'm cheap. I spent the money on the 34C, which is certainly not expensive nor cheapest unit, in order to hopefully get a good razor that will pay for itself many times over. I'll get new products as old ones wear out, unless they are just aweful. I will admit, I've already looked at the vintage razors, but I only shave once a day, so how many could I possibly need? Still, it is fun to research.
 
UH-OOOOOHHHHH - Hey guys- looks like we got another one! Welcome to B&B and please remember that your journey to the insanity called AD's has just begun. There are some very knowledgeable addicts (er, I mean people) on this forum that can just about answer any question you could possible come up with. Be sure to check out the WIKI at the top of the page. You can learn just about all you need to get started there. Welcome to the journey and remember to ENJOY. It is a fun and addictive hobby. Plus - its your OWN personal time.
 
Welcome to the club. Glad to have you aboard. You have made a good choice on the razor and there are a number of very good, inexpensive soaps. May I recommend both Arko and Cella, both excellent shaving soaps, and inexpensive. Get a good $10 synthetic brush from Razorock at Italian Barber and you will be in business for quite a while and at a low cost.

I only hope that you don't catch the Acquisition Disorders that most of us suffer from.
 
AZBronco, Thanks for the welcome. Fortunately for my wife, I'm cheap. I spent the money on the 34C, which is certainly not expensive nor cheapest unit, in order to hopefully get a good razor that will pay for itself many times over. I'll get new products as old ones wear out, unless they are just aweful. I will admit, I've already looked at the vintage razors, but I only shave once a day, so how many could I possibly need? Still, it is fun to research.

First off welcome to B&B! Second, I once thought along the same lines as you. That lasted about a month, possibly less. Now getting closer to 2 years of traditional shaving, I now have over 100 razors, 10 brushes, I have close to 50 different aftershaves that some are in duplicate, and I calculate the quantity of shaving soap I have in pounds. But just like yourself, I only shave once a day. You may wa NH the to put your children's collage money in a separate account that only they and or your wife can access.
But in all seriousness if you do manage to keep to one or two razors, one brush, and only buy soap and blades as you need them, then you're going to save a ton!
 
Welcome aboard! There is a ton of stuff that keeps us busy here on B&B! You have come to the right place!
 
Saving money...sure :)

I've spent over a thousand dollars saving money over the last few years!

RJ - Chicago
Posted from my phone, please forgive typos.
 
Welcome to B&B!

Looks like you're on the right track, the 34c is an excellent razor. Happy Shaving! :thumbup1:
 
Welcome and just remember

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Hi, welcome to B&B
You'll have to get used to people thinking that you're nuts - and woe betide if you try to engage them in a conversation about DE shaving, on a good day they'll just roll their eyes or look at you with a very bored expression on their faces.

On a bad day, you'll get comments like these....

"Why don't you just use a safety razor like everyone else"
"I find the subject of shaving boring - I just use a disposable on my legs and under my arms"
"What a waste of money"
"Why do you need so many different razors"
"That's not very good if you can't get more than 3 or 4 shaves from a blade - I can make a blade last for a month"

Occasionally, just occasionally you'll be out shopping with a friend and when you check out the shaving section in a supermarket, they'll see you looking at a pack of DE blades (we both know they're expensive compared to buying online) and comment "That's cheap, €2,35 for 10 blades", then you've got them, you can reply by saying "I can get 100 blades for less than €10 online"

Then ask how much they're paying for a pack of cartridges.......

We know we're doing the right thing by DE shaving, it's not cheap, but remember - the large variety of different razors, blades, soaps, creams, brushes, bowls, mugs, aftershaves and colognes that we treat ourselves to all come out of the money we save by not getting ripped off buying cartridges, so we're still ahead by the numbers.
We actually enjoy shaving and see it as a pleasure not a chore - Speaking from experience, I make time to have a proper shave and get up when I wake up, usually at 7am sharp or even earlier instead of hitting the snooze button.
We shave regularly and no longer feel presentable if we skip shaving for more than a day or two


They're still getting brainwashed into buying the latest razors and cartridges, and then less than a year later they get brainwashed all over again and buy the new razor that the company has just launched - without stopping to wonder why the razor that they used to believe was the greatest thing they could ever hope to shave with, is suddenly obsolete !!
They'd rather hit the snooze button and get an extra 30 minutes in bed, then rush to shave as fast as possible, hating every minute of it
They'd rather just shave under protest once or twice a week purely in the interests of personal hygiene or to look presentable at work

They're the ones who are nuts !!
 
Hello and welcome. Great to have you here on B&B. Wander on over to the Hall of Fame and introduce yourself.
 
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