Acquisition Disorder; A Cautionary Tale.

Acquisition Disorder? Obsessive Compulsive Disorder? Flavor Of The Month?

What Is My Problem? You Be The Judge.

Happy Saturday From Florida!

Friends, it has finally dawned on me that I may have a serious problem; I can’t stop buying stuff! Really, I cannot stop! This issue is not shaving specific either. I have found that when I get into something, I really get into it; I have to have at least one of everything. Here are just a few examples:

Star Trek, The next Generation – I am a huge fan of the T.V. show now, but I was not an early adopter. When TNG came out, I was 16, and I was shocked and appalled that Roddenberry dare to revamp the original series, mostly because I have very fond memories of watching the original Star Trek reruns with my Grandpa when I was a kid. In fact, I refused to watch the new show. The only man that I have ever called Dad however was a massive fan of TNG. I am not his blood, but he gave me his name when I turned 16 because when he asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I told him I wanted him to adopt me. He set me above his blood sons and dubbed me “Number One” because that is what Picard called Riker. He and my Mom were married for about seven years. When they divorced, he split. I have not seen or heard from him since the summer of 1995. It was after the divorce, whilst opining the demise of the marriage that I started to watch the reruns of TNG, so that I could feel closer to Dad. Well, the years went by and one day, the series was released to DVD. I bought the first season as soon as it came out from Sun Coast Video and would immediately place my order for the next season when picking up the previous season. Next thing you know, I had the whole series and was several hundred dollars poorer. It did not stop there though. Last year while trolling Ebay for shave stuff, I ran across a few TNG novels for sale. Over the next few weeks, I hunted down and bought every volume ever written. Funny thing though; I have never read them.

How about another example? Long before Hipsters started drinking my favorite beer, Pabst Blue Ribbon, I was a huge fan. In fact, I have made a shift knob for my car out of a PBR tap handle. Anyway, along with the PBR, I decided I wanted to wear Chuck Taylor’s. I bought a black pair, with flames on the sides. Then I bought a pair in red, then orange, then green, then purple, next thing you know, I have a new pair in the mail every week. Whenever we go to the outlet mall, I always stop at the Converse store and see what flavors I do not have yet. At last count, I have upwards of 50 pairs! Continuing on the shoe theme, when I find a dress shoe that I like, I buy two pairs of every color that is made. That sounds practical, but is it really necessary to have black, brown, cognac, tobacco, and cordovan all at once? That is me. I love my shoes. It is hard to throw them away too, even when they are worn out. I have lifeless shoes hanging out all over the place because I cannot bring myself to part with them.

Knives! Holy smokes do I have knives! Those cool art knives you see at flea markets, stuff like the Rambo knives made by Gil Hibben. I got my first one from the Mile High Flea Market in Denver when I was 16. I continue to pick them up here and there. In this regard I suppose I would be a knife collector, except that they are all packed away in boxes. That makes me more of a pack rat I think. I just cannot resist them though! Something about the fantasy type knives is just very appealing to me.

I have the same issue with guns as well. BG and I own a three bed, two and a half bath split level townhome. I have a gun in every room and tens of thousands of rounds of ammo stockpiled. I swear I am not a paranoiac. I just felt a need to have a gun in every room. I am trying to force myself to not go to the gun show this weekend, but I think that may be a losing battle. I need an auto-loading shotgun and something with a banana clip. I also need a .50cal Desert Eagle. Why? I dunno, something about having a gun that shoots a half inch bullet just appeals to me, plus, yanno, Florida does have marauding bears…

Like a lot of kids, I grew up not having everything I wanted, and at times, I did not have everything I needed either. Maybe that is where the seeds were planted? Am I making up for all the things that I felt gipped out of as a kid? Stuff like peanut butter. When I was about eight, Jimmy Carter slapped a massive tariff on imported peanuts which in turn drove up the price of peanut butter, which is pretty much the intended result. Well, guess what? Yeppers, ole Jeffie Poo was cut off from that manna from Heaven known as the PB&J. It was not until after I had joined the Navy at 17 that I had another PB&J. I swore to myself that I would eat PB&J every day for the rest of my life. Once I had got out of boot camp and was stationed aboard the USS America CV-66, I would eat PB&J every chance that I could. When I left the Navy in 1992, I ate a PB&J every day for breakfast until 2005. I had to quit eating peanuts because I found out that the little nib that holds the two peanut halves together has a chemical in it that causes my gout to flare. Once I quit eating peanuts, my gout pretty much went away. I say pretty much because I sneak one in every now and then. Soy Nut Butter is an okay substitute, but dangit; I want PB&J’s!

When I got into wet shaving, you can imagine the havoc that I unleashed on the bank account. It started out sanely enough. I was just looking to find a better way to shave; not another hobby. I read all about Acquisition Disorders and was determined to be a one razor, one brush guy.

That lasted all of perhaps two weeks.

When I got the idea for this article, I went ahead and looked through my PayPal history. Between April of 2010 and today, I have spent $1,793.36 on wet shave stuff from Ebay and $351.62 on stuff from TSD. This does not include the money spent raiding various junk shops, Amazon, or any of the other well-known vendors and group buys participated in which is probably equal to, or greater than my internet purchases.

Currently, the inventory at The Stryker Den consists of:


3977 Blades
19 Straights
1 Shavette
3 Gillette Travel Kits
22 Injector Razors
4 Rolls Razors
24 DE Razors
1 SE Razor
2 Hones
34 Brushes
12 Brush Handles
9 Croaps
17 Soaps
32 Creams
1 Strop
13 ASB
4 ASM (Full Size TSD)
7 ASM (Sample Size TSD)
6 TSD AS Samples
38 Assorted AS
3 TSD Cologne


Imagine how much larger this list would be if I counted all of the stuff that I have PIF’d along the way!

Now that I have found the Muhle R-41, I think that I can stop buying stuff and thin out the den. I am thinking about keeping one of everything. I am thinking that I will keep one each of boar, badger, horse and synthetic brushes along with one each of injector, DE, SE, Rolls and straight razors. I think I can narrow down my blade choices along with soaps, creams, and aftershaves.

Or not.

So, what do you think? Do I have issues? Or am I completely normal?
What does your den contain?

 

Well, I've only got about a dozen razors, 8 brushes, and 5 or 6 creams soaps and aftershaves so I can stop worrying that I have too much.

 

Tng Picard Locutus..Love that but It's taken me 5 YEARS to get my wife into Voyager,(seven of mine).. I think it maybe a while to get her onto TNG,

 

Resistance is futile!

 

I'm only going to say one thing.

He Who Dies With the Most Stuff Wins!

 

I personally think it is a reaction to something you may not even notice is effecting you, like a scenario from when you were a kid. This is just your way of dealing with it. But the main thing is that you can acknowledge what your doing and have a plan of action. When I get into something I want to jump in head first and get all the stuff! But there is always something that tries to hold me back other than my wife. So right now my den contains:
1907 Lather Cather
'58 Super Speed
Some Schick DE (From Japan)
Rolls Razor (that I bought and fixed up for a prject)
Valet Autostrop
2 brushes (one badger and boar)
5 or 6 soaps
3 Aftershaves

I am slowly expanding the razor section though...I am getting really interested in the old wedge blade razors.

 

Jeff, the prize goes to you (LOL).You one the most genrous persons in sharing shave goodies with others. I have been a reciepnt of your genrousity, thank you.
Seriously it is your hobby enjoy it.

 

What if you get tired of wearing the Chuck Taylors? I thought I had too much stuff when I had about 10 creams and 5 soaps, along with about 5 DE razors. Finances have always been my roadblock to anything getting out of hand for me, but if you got the cash and as long as your not going in debt to supply your shaving joneses, it doesn't hurt anyone so have fun with it.

I'm just waiting for Santa Claus to bring me my strop so I can dive into the straight end of the pool. I really like those 7 day sets and will have to acquire one.

 

Well, I can honestly say I've been there, done that. What cured me was retiring. When you have no extra money, you cannot buy. I have four razors and lord knows I would like more, but that will do. I still have ten brand new pair of Allen Edmond dress shoes that I've never worn and probably never will. My wife had the same problem before she retired with Birkenstock shoes. She has 70 pair of them.

Two pieces of advise, take a deep breath and ditch the Pabst Blue Ribbon.

 

I go to get a $2.00 bag of swivels at the bait and tackle shop (I make my own leaders) and sometimes walk away with $30 or $40 worth of additional fishing tackle and supplies. I know what you mean.

PBR makes the best beer can chicken!

 

Jeff, if you enjoy buying all that gear and have the monies to do so, and some left in the bank, I don't see an issue with it.

I started out wet shaving with a basic kit which really didn't change for months and months and months, when I finally got money I bought what I wanted for the most part.

Blasphemy!

 

You're so right though. I started wet shaving in July, and already I want another straight razor. I have bought/been given 7 shaving soaps. I have 4 aftershaves that I use.....Like GDCarrington and the Borg have said...Resistance is Futile.

 

Jeff, I'm the same way. If I get interested in something, I have to go "whole hog" -- moderation is not in my nature. When I find something I like, whether it's a pocket knife power tool, or razor, I have to have at least several of the same item. I'm 65, and I've been this way all my adult life. I think it comes from the fact that I grew up with very little. My family never had a TV, air conditioning, running water, or even indoor plumbing until after I left home. I worked my way through college, convinced that an education was my only way out of poverty.

 

Well Jeff, I think that if you came out wanting support, you came to the wrong place. You basically walked into an AA meeting that was being held in a distillery by a marketing genius for the brand.

All I can say is that it ain't crack dude. As long as you aren't putting yourself or Shawna in physical or financial jeopardy than it is not too late.

I often feel that I have too much shave stuff and I don't have near what you do.

I have about 10 soaps, 5 creams, maybe 300 blades, 12 DE razors, 3 injector razors, 2 SE razors, 6 str8 razors, 3 badger brushes, 1 hybrid badger/boar brush, 3 boar brushes, and about a dozen different ASs. Clearly, that is enough gear to shave me clean for a few years at a minimum, but I want more. Luckily, I have the money restraint keeping me from going completely ape-poopies.

I think you highlight a very serious potential issue with doing anything that we like to do and that is over indulgence. Some of us are a bit more aggressive with it than others but as long as it isn't impacting your personal relationship with your (or anyone else's) health, love, or money, you should be ok. Whether it be shoes or SCs.

Just my completely and totally unqualified opinion. I am not a behaviorist or a mental health physician so take what I say as strictly my own opinion. I do know a tiny bit about how the brain works, or is supposed to, and have a pretty good reference if you (or anyone else) wants it. Just PM me and I'll turn you onto it.

 

Its very easy to do i agree, (i try not to check my paypal History as it may scare me) but Im happy wiyh the stuff I buy and as it has a similar re-sale value i dont mind buying nice article

 

ONLY 1 SE? You need to step your game up....

But I know what you mean... I have way tooo many creams and soaps.... I have years and years of supplies. I just bought two more yesterday as well...

However your not that bad my housemate he gets addicted to something and that becomes pretty much everything he can think about and do for awhile... He is adicted to gambeling which I think is much worse than Shaving or your "ADs". It just is ok, I think hey if you want a lot and it doesnt effect anybody else as stated above. Go for it, it is what makes you happy. The guns I think is a bit much... but I am canadian and most people don't have one gun in their home . If they do it is in a bed room locked in a safe.... so its easy access... haha. But not to get in the gun debate.

You could always pif stuff you dont like... your just thinning the weeds to get a few creams/soaps that you and babygirl love... thats what i tell my self except for the babygirl part.
I also bet BabyGirl enjoys having a selection to use as well

 

Careful about that betting, Regan.... gambling is addictive!! ;-)

But as another Canadian, I also think the whole gun & ammo thing is incredibly wrong and totally scary. But that's all I will say about that.

 

I'll bet for most people who golf they spend more than $1,793.36 on gas, green fees, balls etc. not even including clubs and such. All hobbies are expensive. Mountain climbing, sky diving, scuba diving, photography, woodworking you name it. How many guys dream of being rock stars some day and have 13 guitars and 6 amplifiers in their closet? Bunches. The bigger picture tells me if it ain't broke don't fix it. We do work and make money to keep our homes going, yes; but once the basics are paid for and something has been added to savings isn't it the right thing to do to spend the extra following your heart and enjoying the one and only pass through life?

Just thinking out loud after a great cup of coffee!

 

The scary part of AD's is that feeling of a loss of self control, that the inanimate object controls me. That I cannot control my spending, that acquisitions beyond what I really need make no real sense, I am buying the same thing all the time. Addiction seems like the user is wanting to relive the high the drug gives him over and over.The obsessive and compulsive drive to have more and more , the inability to break the magical fascination of the objects pull shows there is a lost of balance in how we regard these things.

We are taking more and more things in and its like we want to fill a void and emptiness with those things. Our society places a lot of value on things and really tells us that things and there acquisition are the only meaning there is, but we all know thats false, we feel that message is not really ultimately satisfying. Perhaps once we find real meaning and purpose for our lives we are full and not driven to buy things so much. That meaning , purpose, values, is really up that person and may mean finding personal fulfillment in something, grand enlightenment, being always in touch with the vitality of being, whatever, religious or just secular ways of being. I have always liked to remind myself of the quote" to have much and be little or to have little and be much" .

With the shaving hobby I noticed my crazy absorption in it, that it took up much time and mind. This worried me and though hobbies are healthy this was becoming a distraction away from everything, why is the hobby drugging me , what anxiety am I killing with the shaving hobby drug?

I've calmed down over the last month the spell has been broken I don't feel compelled to have shaving gear and now I am just enjoying and appreciating what I have . That according to ancient wisdom is the wise course. They said " insatiable desire" is like a curse dooming one to perpetual dissatisfaction , that the way to cure it is by learning to appreciate what one has, so thats what I am doing .