Before I got into DE shaving I'd probably shave about twice a week with my old Gillette cartridges and it would last me about a month per cart. However I wasn't going for a truly BBS so it was a one or two pass shave and go and didn't care about patches of stubble or a few days growth in between shaves. Since discovering the joys of proper shaving I am now shaving every day going for a 3-4 pass BB shave every time. A pack of Gillette Sensor Carts used to cost me around £8 for a pack of 5 which would last me 5-6 months. I believe Fusion are more like £10 for 4. A pack of DE blades costs around £10 for 100 and I get 2-3 shaves out of each blade so if I shave every day that's 300 days out of a pack of 100 DE blades compared to 5-6 months from my old carts for around the same cost and now I'm getting a far better shave too. The only cost is finding the razor that's right for you. I went through several razors before I found one that felt right for me but now I've found my perfect match it's fine. I also find that my Taylors of Bond Street cream is lasting me far longer than the cans of gel did. When I first started DE shaving every day I went through a full can of gel in the first month. I've had my tub of cream now about 5 months and I'm only half way through it. It does cost about 3 times more but it lasts 10 times longer so again I'm saving money and getting a nicer shave. Initially the cost of badger brush and razor probably outweigh the cost of cartridges but once you're set up it actually works out a lot cheaper. My setup in total cost £20 for the Muhle R89 + £15 for a R41 head + £20 for the badger brush so £55 in total. BUT I'm saving £10 a year on blades plus £25 by swapping from gel to cream tubs. So while I haven't saved any money as yet, by this time next year I will have recouped any losses by the savings I make on blades and shaving cream alone.
You'll have to excuse me as I'm English so all my prices are in pounds but here's how I managed to work it out... If you break down the cost of a pack of Gillette cartridges, they are around £1.50 per cart if you go for the regular 3 blade Sensors/Mach3 or about £2.50 per cart for a 5 blade fusion. Yes they do last longer than DE blades but that's because they have more blades so more cutting power. BUT!!! They don't do as good a job (in my opinion). They don't cut as close or as sharp (in my opinion) so I don't stay as BBS for as long AND I'm paying about 50p per actual blade compared to about 10p per DE blade. Stop and do the math. Gillette Fusion carts (pack of 4) = £10. That's £2.50 per 5 blade cartridge meaning each individual blade is costing 50p each. That's the equivalent of 5 of my 10p DE blades which last me 3 shaves each. So that's 15 shaves I can have for the cost of just ONE Gillette Fusion blade. Now times that by 5 because there's 5 blades per cartridge. For the cost of each Gillette Fusion cartridge I can get 75 shaves from my DE blades for the same price. Would a cartridge last you 75 shaves? I doubt you would even get half that amount out of one, making my DE blades about 3 times less expensive and I'm getting far closer and superior shave. When I used cartridges I used to suffer terribly with ingrowing hairs and yellowheads. This is because cartridges tend to rip at the hairs rather than slice cleanly. Since shaving with decent blades and a good quality safety razor my spots have all cleared up.
That's a really good point. My Palmolive soap stick , which was £1:50 has lasted months and months and months. I'm no-where near finishing it although I do rotate it now with one or two other soaps.
I've saved a bunch. Carts were costing me $30.00 to $40.00 a pop. I bought 100 Wilkinson sword blades for .99 a pack and 50 feather for $13.00. That's enough blades for two years. I have six de razors and six brushes. I am saving to pick up a Merkur Vision. I have approximately $300.00 in hardware. I'm going no higher than eight razors (lve set a limit) and brushes. When I reach it I stop. You may spend some initially but you will save all in the long run. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
I do save a lot of money on shaving. I've got so much crap that I don't need to buy anything for at least a year, and I don't plan on spending anything until I'm out. Not out of a certain product, but out of it all together.
I don't actually use either of mine very often (I have two). I did use one a week or two ago to eke out one last shave during the Voskhod challenge. The problem with the Stanford five second sharpener is that I get sporatic results. Sometimes the razor blade comes out improved, other times...not so much. The Shake Sharp razor is just as effective at sharpening, and I don't even have to take the blade out of the razor. Of course, the Shake Sharp is limited to sharpening carbon blades, but I have several lifetime's worth of those.
One DE razor (Gillette Slim) lasts a lifetime, it cost me just 0ver $2 but in those days a candy bar was $.05. 1 brush (VDH Badger) lasting 2-3 years, 1 Soap (VDH) 2 months, 100 Wilkinson Sword blades 4-5 shaves each. Brushes and Soaps should not be included in cost comparison, due to Cartridge Savers also use soaps and brushes I've tried many different cart razors from 2-5 blades and never got a BBS with them, Carts give me razor burn and bumps, but that's me. Some guys can get a great shave with them. I do not include the cost of my razor collection as that is a new hobby for me.
Compared to other ways of shaving? I don't know ... always wetshaved. (which probably means that I saved a lot of money in the long run) Compared to before discovering the shaving forums? I'm definitely spending more now! However, with 4 razors, a handfull of creams and soaps, and a few aftershaves, I probably did not get bitten as hard as some in the hobby
in 1.5 years of true shaving, I have spent under what it would take to shave for 6 months with cartridges. although myrazors have gone up in value..
Difference between carts and DE shaving is only cost of blade and cart , being that both cart and DE users, use shave soap, brush, aftershave etc. Cost of 4 pack of Gillette Fusion carts $19.98. 1 cart lasting 2 weeks, Cost per day= $.35 (even cart lasting 1 month will cost $.17 per day} Cost of 5 pack Astra SP blades $.63 , 1 blade lasting 4 days, Cost per day $.03 This is all based on 1 razor usage . SE blade cost is even cheaper. A DE razor will last a lifetime (mine has) How long will a plastic cart handle last? Does it really mater weather we use a Cart or a DE, as long as we enjoy our shave.
Short answer is correct. But after initial outlay, and getting past the ads, there is some potential to shave much more economicly than before.
If we only buy 1 razor, 100 pack of our favorite blades and soap as we need it, it is definetly less expensive than cart shaving. The problem is that none of us only buy 1 razor and 1 brand of blades. The more we learn, the more we want to try. It becomes a hobby, and a darn fun one at that !!!
I save money buy trying to get the best deal I can, be it razors or blades. That's a secondary consideration, though. I don't do it to save money, I do it for the enjoyment, the shaving *and* collecting. And I didn't really start enjoying wet shaving until I came to this place.