Is wet shaving cheaper to do than using disposable razors?

Discussion in 'General Shaving Talk' started by Joe Ingal, Jan 9, 2017.

  1. Badgerstate

    Badgerstate Well-Known Member

    Wet shaving is cheaper, as long as you dont get sucked into collecting all kinds of razors and brushes. A razor should last you a lifetime and a brush should last you at least 10 years, so all youre really looking at for cost is soap and blades. DE blades are waaaaay cheaper than cartridge blades, so really the only cost savings with, "modern" shaving is that spray foam is cheaper than a quality hard soap/cream.
    I mean, I could go to Target and buy a can of Barbasol for about $1.50, which is way cheaper than any soap or cream. If you look at whats in spray foam though, theres a lot of chemicals that really arent good for your skin, not to mention the aerosol is bad for the enviroment.
     
  2. lightcs1776

    lightcs1776 Well-Known Member

    I agree with everything up to the comment about the can of shaving cream being cheaper than any soap (although I understand your point). I know the soaps I have will far outlast several cans of Barbasol, and are therefore cheaper. However, one can certainly go the other direction and spend far more with soaps if they choose (I like TOBS cream and Haslinger soap enough that any additional cost over cans of shaving cream is irrelevant to me).

    Sent via mobile - Chris
     
  3. RaZorBurn123

    RaZorBurn123 waiting hardily...............

    It's all about what your budget dictates, I can tell you that the dollar store disposable blades are nowhere near as good as any DE blade. Comfort over Frugal.
     
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  4. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    For us, it has been cheaper. Yes, I tried a few razors until I found what I loved. But we buy blades in bulk, and I make my own soap & pre-shave oil. So in the long run, it has been much cheaper.
     
    Linuxguile likes this.
  5. DDuckyMark

    DDuckyMark Ducky Duck and the Hiding Bunch

    If I really had to try then I could shave way cheap. my 100 pack of Sharp Star blades was $15, My Fatboy was an ebay find for $20 Arko works well for me and its $12 for 12 sticks. RazoRock brush is $20 I use a new blade every 10 shaves with my Sharp Star Fatboy combo so I'll round up and say 30 blades a year. First year cost are $67. 2nd year I might need more Arko but not more blades. So $12 to $37 a year depending on if it was a blade year or not.

    Thats not what I did. I spent $500 collecting some different stuff until I found what I liked and I'm mostly sticking to it with no new shaving purchases in the last year and none planned (except maybe soap and aftershave) for a year or 2 after this.
     
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  6. RetLEO-07

    RetLEO-07 likes his penguin deep fried, with pink sparkles

    It was never about the money for me. It's about the process. Shaving, since I needed to do it for work was a chore. When I started wet shaving it became something I look forward to in the morning. And that shave on Sunday to start my week? The best thing I do for myself. I may get another vintage razor this spring when the fleamarket opens back up. Or I may not. Probably going to buy some shaving soap in the near future. And after my NEW Focus shave this month there is a bulk blade purchase in my future. So, am I saving money? Don't know, don't care.
     
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  7. smittywerbenmanjensen

    smittywerbenmanjensen Active Member

    It can be cheaper if you stay with one razor and buy blades only as you need them. Here is the problem. Some of us get into it and start buying different creams and soaps and AS and pre shave and brushes and it can get a bit expensive.
     
    Joe Ingal likes this.
  8. Matt0210

    Matt0210 Well-Known Member

    I agree with ALL of the above posts. DE shaving can be soooo much cheaper. I only have 2 razors (34C & R41) and honestly I never plan on getting any more. I can safely say that I could shave with only my R41 for the rest of my life. I have about 300 blades, which is plenty. I can get about 10 shaves per blade maybe more before I change it out (Astra SS & SP). And I have 2 brushes (Omega Boar & RazoRock Plissoft Synthetic) but I only use the Plissoft. The only thing I have a lot of is soaps and aftershave but that's because I like the variety. So bottom line is, I could shave with 1 razor, 1 brush, and one soap (Arko) and be perfectly happy.
     
    Joe Ingal likes this.
  9. Joe Ingal

    Joe Ingal Member

    Agree
     
  10. Joe Ingal

    Joe Ingal Member

    Agree
     
  11. Joe Ingal

    Joe Ingal Member

    Like most things in life it's what you make it.
     
  12. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    I've been wetshaving for a while now. It can be cheaper, quite a bit cheaper in fact. You can even find the rare forumite with a razor or two and one brush and one or two soaps. The 'problem' begins when you start trying other blades/brushes/razors/aftershaves, etc. Before long, wetshaving can morph into a hobby. As hobbies go, wetshaving tends to take very little room and can be scaled to suit one's budget.

    My tastes run toward the rare and unusual, both in brushes and razors, which means that some years I spend less than $20 on my hobby. Other years, I've spent in excess of $2,000.

    Some people have made a business out of this hobby, just to pay for the hobby. Buying vintage razors, replating them, and selling them is one way to do that. @Jayaruh hand carves and adopts out brush handles (adoption fees apply).
     
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  13. jtspartan

    jtspartan appropriately stimulated, via Netflix

    Could not agree more! This paragraph is my wet shaving experience in a nutshell.
     
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  14. Eeyore

    Eeyore Well-Known Member

    Disposables in bulk sell for 6 cents per razor (in pound land types of shops). Hard to beat that with DE shaving.

    Maybe, but the OP asked about which was cheaper, and not which was more pleasurable.
     
  15. Shaver X

    Shaver X Well-Known Member

    True, but you did not have to buy all that extra stuff, you chose to spend the extra money. For me, it was all about saving money right from the get go, and I did. Lots of money, and because I chose to do so. The choice factor makes a huge difference as compared to cartridge shaving, where the choices are precious few.
     
  16. jtspartan

    jtspartan appropriately stimulated, via Netflix

    Sorry, was just agreeing with a post.
     
  17. jtspartan

    jtspartan appropriately stimulated, via Netflix

    No question. Was just using some (what I thought was) self depreciating humour about how much money can be spent on this hobby. Wasn't trying to offend, sorry if I did.
     
    Shaver X likes this.
  18. Shaver X

    Shaver X Well-Known Member

    Not even the slightest offense taken. I was just pointing out what I think is one of the really great aspects of traditional wetshaving. With many of the cartridge razors, one spends a boatload of money with even one or two razors. What the hey... where is our choice there? If a guy is going to spend that kind of dough, he has a right to get a lot of cool gear in return. ;)
     
    jtspartan likes this.
  19. preidy

    preidy Just call me Dino

    Nope. Not if you hang around with this (us) fanciful bunch.
     
    RetLEO-07 likes this.
  20. RetLEO-07

    RetLEO-07 likes his penguin deep fried, with pink sparkles

    :happy088:
     

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