I am still very new to this, I was introduced by the Art of Shaving and have been reading for a couple of days. I see you guys have all of these great collections, what are some of you favorite online shops? I love old timey barber shop scents Thanks !
Welcome aboard. At this point you should stick to one setup until you have mastered it. Collecting is more fun when you're skilled.
But if you gotta buy, buy TSD. All proceeds supports our great forum! https://www.theshavedenshop.com
If you gave a Ferrari to a 16 year old, he's blame his first wreck on the car. It might be high speed and messy. Assume instead he learns to drive the family SUV. Cautious of making mistakes, he learns to drive responsibly. Later in life he'd appreciate that fiery red sports car. That's how many of us learned, and built our collections. If your current set up is good stuff - take a month or two to "learn how to drive". That will give you the basic techniques needed to make use of and enjoy the gear you will acquire later. Majority of my gear came from local shops. Ladies Beauty Supply stores are rarely well stocked but an aftershave here, a tub of soap there and it comes together. The urge to go online and order one of everything has a name - Acquisition Disorder. It will fill a cabinet with soaps you don't use, aftershaves you dislike, razors you haven't learned how to use. Take your time. Do the research. Ask lots of questions. If you watch the Freebies forum you'll see folks passing along their extra gear, stuff they invested in and found they don't like, the other side of AD's. Not trying to keep secret where Collections come from. Mostly it's a piece at a time over a period of time.
TSD Maggard Razors Italian Barber Royal Shave West Coast Shaving Shoebox Shaveshop Those are just a few off the top of my head I'll probably think of some more in a minute or two.
Best way? Shoot, I did it to save a few bucks after being laid off in March. Been a mess since then. You will start with a new sampler from Maggards or Sterling. Then you'll see a B/S/T for a vintage Gillette. Then you'll scour Craigslist and flea markets for razor lots. Then it will be multiple soap buys. Tallow, vegan or Glycerin types. Maybe all 3. Then it will be the need to find every vintage aftershave your grandfather had and have at least one. Then like me you will find old hobbies like cigars and pipe tobacco to trade. Then you'll go from double edge razor to using an injector then asking yourself if single Edge will help with the occasional irritatation of the neck. If it's irritation then try a shavette or straight razor. Then why not just work with a soap maker on a special scent you want in a group buy. Then.......... My advice is to take it slowly. It can get expensive and I have found soap buying is allot like baseball card collecting. You spend more time smelling and looking at the tubs than actually using the product. Sent from my S8+ using Tapatalk
Well this morning I had the BEST shave even though I took a good chunk out of my leg. I used milagu black soap, it has menthol in it and feels so good being brushed on. I found a good deal on a 1978 (my birth year) black beauty, which was easy to use even though I got careless. And to top it all off I used Florida water to bring everything together.
