Estimated savings since switching to TTO and soap

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by Admiral Beez, Jun 17, 2016.

  1. Preacher

    Preacher Well-Known Member

    Gotta agree with you on this. My reason for taking up traditional wet shaving was to get less irritation with the cost savings as a side benefit. I do get less skin irritation, but I have spent more money on shaving. I had no friggin' idea of how deep the rabbit hole went.
     
  2. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    Financially, I expect I've broken even or done a bit better than okay if I figure in the flipping I used to do when I found razors and other shave stuff EVERYWHERE in Ohio (it helped pay a little bit of some bills). But I can't put a price on the quality of shaves I get now with improved technique. I could use the SuperMax silver carts from Big Lots for the rest of my life at around $3 a pack and die happy, if I wanted to...but there was a time I would have hated them too because I didn't know what I was doing, blaming the tool and not the fool misusing it.

    So overall, I think I've saved money but I know my shaves are better off.
     
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  3. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    Come to think of it, that's what this hobby needs, if no one has done it yet: a series of friendly, simple YT videos that teach Technique over Tools, outlining all the principles of prep and proving it by shaving well with even cheap and disreputable, but servicable shaving equipment. THEN, newbs could be gently encouraged to explore DE, SE, injectors, etc, if they want to..."Hey, now that you're getting good, non-bloody shaves from your Dollar General Dorco carts, let me introduce you to the ancient magic of a one bladed razor with the Gillette Super Speed and Tech."
     
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  4. brit

    brit in a box

    how much money saved? none so far, but i am not finished..narrowing down the hardware and such ,but a hobby not a chore. its just shaving but the stuff that goes with it is worth every penny..
     
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  5. richgem

    richgem suffering from chronic clicker hand cramps

  6. Lancre

    Lancre Well-Known Member

    I figure I've saved about $200.00 on shaving since I started DE shaving back in June, 2016.

    Collecting, on the other hand.... :rofl:

    I'm down several hundred on that front.
     
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  7. jtspartan

    jtspartan appropriately stimulated, via Netflix

    The gods are conspiring against me I think. Was just adding up my gear and realizing I’ve accumulated a sizeable Den, and then saw this thread.
    I’ve saved zero. But have done so happily.
     
  8. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    None at all. Not an estimate...fact. lol
     
  9. brit

    brit in a box

    i avoid my ebay archives. hide order means its gone right?:p
     
  10. Frijolero

    Frijolero Well-Known Member

    I'll save plenty when I'm dead. No need to rush things.
     
  11. Badgerstate

    Badgerstate Well-Known Member

    Unfortunately, what most people save on blades they more than spend on brushes, soaps and aftershaves. I feel like we all talk about how overpriced carts are but we never talk about how we get sucked into buying more traditional shave gear than we will ever need.
    Especially when you consider that you can get a can of Barbasol for less than $2 that will last you a few months, that pretty much negates what you save on blades.
     
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  12. canoeroller

    canoeroller Well-Known Member

    The saveings is I think, quite realif you keep your impulses under control. Since I switched to a Single Blace Razor, I figure I save about $3.00 per week on th e cost of blades. While I have spent more on soap than I did in the past, I am not spending $150 a year on it, and while I have purchased more razors that I need, that is also less than $150, in toal for all the razors in the last four years. I had the advantage of using a brush and traditional soap long before I gave up on Carts, so I am not particularly suseptable to over buying soaps. I have 3 or 4 brands at a time which I rotate through, replacing them when I run out. Aftershaves I had already, so they are not an additional expense or savings.

    There is also the additional costs for that is shared by the community if you are still using carts and canned foam. The non-recyclable carts and cans are added landfill and polution. This is a cost as well, it is just not one that can be tallied easily. Once you add that to the savings, even if you overindulge in, soaps, brushes, razors, or, commas, you are still saving,
     
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  13. Badgerstate

    Badgerstate Well-Known Member

    What about all the plastic soap tubs that end up in the landfill and the animal cruelty of killing animals for their hair? Metal cans rust and break down over time, so I don't really see the green aspect.
    IMO, that's just something people tell themselves to justify the other excesses of traditional wet shaving.
     
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  14. Preacher

    Preacher Well-Known Member

    I think that's because buying additional razors and soaps and brushes are options. We are not forced to do it to keep shaving. You are forced to keep buying rather expensive cartridge refills. In traditional wet shaving, one could be satisfied with only one razor and brush and all they would have to purchase is refills on soap and blades. While this hobby certainly encourages us to buy and experiment with other gear, it doesn't compel us to.
     
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  15. Badgerstate

    Badgerstate Well-Known Member

    I dont know how real the cost is though. You can get 15 Mach 3 carts for $25 that would last you over a year and 3 or 4 cans of soap for $12 that would also last you a year. Cost: $37
    Even if you use the Fusion Proglide, you are looking at $43 for 12 carts, so even then, youre looking at $55 a year.
    With DE, you have $5 a year for blades but youre looking at soaps that are about $15 a tub and last you about 6 months. Cost $35. Not to mention you have the cost of whatever razor you use ($30-200) and your brush ($10-200).
    Not to mention the cost of your aftershave, which can vary greatly depending upon what you want to use.
    If you use a straight, the cost is probably even more because you are looking at a $150 razor, hundreds of dollars for stones or paying $25ish every couple months to send your razor out to get sharpened and the cost of your strop, strop paste, not to mention your brush, soap, aftershave, etc.
    In the long run, if you use a Mach 3, carts and foam are actually cheaper than wet shaving. LOL
     
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  16. Terry

    Terry Tool Admirer

    Saving money isn't the question.

    What is my wife gona do with all my razors if I die?
    :signs002:

    tp
     
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  17. Lancre

    Lancre Well-Known Member

    Razor and brush purchase are a one-time investment, not a running cost. Amortize it over however many years you expect it to last. A $30 starter kit from Maggard's, Stirling, or IB gets you a razor, brush and a couple of months worth of soap and blades. If you assume a 5 year lifespan for the razor and brush, that comes out to be about $6 per year.

    Aftershave, or the lack of it, should be the same whichever way you go, so doesn't figure into the cost comparison.

    You're estimating $15 a tub or $35 annually for soap. A lot of us use Williams ($0.99/ puck or Arko ($1.49/stick). BamaSamurai got more than 130 shaves off of one Arko stick. On another forum one user needed 7 months to 3017 a puck of Williams. With either of those, annual soap costs would be under $1o.

    So $6 for the razor and brush, $5 for blades and $10 for soap adds up to $21/year for DE shaving, compared to your estimate of $37/year for cartridge shaving. That assumes you're trying to save money. If the razor and brush last longer than 5 years, the annual cost drops even farther.

    So it's not hard to save money by switching to DE shaving from cartridges. Most of us opt instead for the luxury of higher end products, but that's a different matter. And collecting is a whole other thing.
     
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  18. david of central florida

    david of central florida Rhubarb Rubber

    Like anything else, numbers can deceive or convince, depending on how you want the outcome to be swayed.
    I've gotten several vintage de's for five bucks or less. The pawn shop guys set was given to me at Christmas, but I've not seen it sold for more than 20 bucks. Which is ten less than your minimum of 30. Several folks got a very good futur copy for less than ten.
    I got many rounds or pucks off pyrate cove soap 3 bucks each.
    An average of 10 or 12 bucks should buy 100 blades( persona labs, astra, voschod) are all fine blades. Many get 5 shaves a blade, but even getting 3 a hundred should cover a big chunk of a year.
    I got a nice silvertip online 3 bucks, but i also got a regular price razorock 400 synthetic for 16 bucks.
    Aftershave is used whether you run carts or de's, so it's off the equation.
    This being said my low end could dip as low as 24
    5 de vintage/futur copy
    10 astra sp for 100
    3 fs silvertip
    6 two rounds pyrate cove soaps.
    With restraint it can be done nicely, but cheap.
     
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  19. preidy

    preidy Just call me Dino

    My retired accountant father in law would approve. However I take issue with your figure of $561.00. I must insist that you reduce that figure by $12.49 plus shipping - the cost of a 150 Ct box of #2 pencils.
     
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  20. Frijolero

    Frijolero Well-Known Member

    At this moment you can get a case of 12 sticks of Arko for $11.69 on Amazon. That could easily hold you for 5 years.

    Edit: Found that thread. He got to 158 shaves on one stick. And it sounds like he stopped before he used the absolute last of it.
    https://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/the-arko-challenge.55208/
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2018
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