Collecting v Shaving

I had one of those "Voila!" moments a few minutes ago: Amongst us we have at least two distinct communities and perhaps more that I've not yet recognized. (Actually, I just now thought of a potential third, but I'm not sure. I'll come back to that in a sec.) Of course many (perhaps the majority?) traverse both communities but favor one over the other.

Collectors are those that collect. (Duh!) They are after the pristine Aristocrat or every variation of open comb ever made... whatever.

Shavers are those that strive for the perfect symbiosis of all the various components: Which razor, blade, brush, soap in harmony give me the best shave. (And yes, I recognize that some include pre-shave and/or aftershave even extending the matrix further.)

I find myself more in the second camp. My quest is to find the best shaving kit for me. I'm getting a kick out of sorting through it all. Of course I'm still so new that the world is my oyster. Collecting? Collecting always scares me because of my hoarder tendencies. I've alluded to that before.

And now the third community: Might there be one that simply strives to own the very best of a particular aspect? Perhaps multiple aspects? ie, I want the best made razor bar none. or maybe, I want the very sharpest blade. Like that. Similar to what I'm calling "the shaver" but one that really focuses in on singular parts of the whole.

Anyway... back to breakfast and writing!

 

"Shaving is the Art, Collecting is the Hobby. We use what we collect to refine the art." -swarden43

Ryan @PLANofMAN thought my quote above worthy of putting into his signature line.

 

Very eloquently said.

 

* I came up with another: The reseller. Is that a bad thing? I want to say it is but I don't know why. Also, it's an inconsistency on my part because I really wish I had the discipline to be one. I so envy the lifestyle those two on American Pickers portray.

 

Not all shavers are collectors, but all collectors are shavers.

 

You know, I don't think that's true after hanging out here awhile. I mean obviously, we all shave, but I don't think we're all "in pursuit of excellence" or anything like that with it. It's hard to explain. I know myself, what I'm getting a kick out of from this emphasis on shaving is more about honing a heightened sense of awareness and perception. Of course I want a good shave, but I'm not so sure the ultimate one is my endgame. I know, I know -- I was a philosophy major.

 

You can be a shaver with a mint condition razor and use it as a daily razor, sometimes we overthink this hobby called shaving.
I should be a rapper.

 

Could not agree more. I have achieved BBS with all my razors at one time or another, some more often than others. So why not use those razors that are more apt to get me BBS than those that just get me the rare BBS? Because for me it isn't so much about the end results as it is in getting there. I enjoy the variety of all my gear. I'm at a point with my technique and knowing my gear that I never get a bad shave, just some are better than others. But that's how I enjoy my shave, my way.

 

I shave, therefore I am.

 

That may be, but in most other forms of collecting that I've participated in, if you have a mint example, it stays hermetically sealed in a bomb proof vault. No way would you consider using it!

 

LOL! That's great.

 

Wet shaving has become a hobby for me. It started out because I found out that shaving soap comes in a wide variety of scents. From there I went out and got a DE razor. The family thought I had lost my mind, but I got my dad to try one and now he's hooked. I gave him a few soaps and a brush, but was using carts at first, he recently switched to DE razor and he has been happy with the results as well. It is hard not to get lost in the world of wet shaving gear, but that is part of the fun. Trying new gear and products and finding out what works well for you.

 

Yeah, I find it sad that so far I haven't gotten my boys to try it. My oldest is simply in to other things but I think my younger one thinks it too hard or dangerous or something. Thinks he could do it well or something? I think if you're used to cart and goop shaving anyway, the difficulty aspect is way over emphasized. And even if you're technique isn't good, you're not going to go that far wrong.

 

I'm much more a reseller nowadays. Just about everything I own is for sale.

 

The biggest problem I had was getting over the fact that people think it is dangerous. As long as you are careful it will be ok. The technique can take some time to learn, but many of us continue to perfect our technique over time. Wet shaving is a cool hobby, and I cant think of 1 reason to use a cartridge razor. There are just too many great things about wet shaving (cheaper..... sometimes lol, closer shave, more product choices, less waste, etc.) but a lot of people don't even know wet shaving exists because the selection is limited in the big stores. Hopefully things will change with time.

 

Isn't cart shaving wet shaving? I continue to think it is. I think of the split more like electric then everybody else. Back when I first thought about switch to DE, (I went cart > electric > DE) I didn't think it was readily available and didn't FIND it readily available until recently. I should have known though that if there's a weird niche, the internet has a place for it.

 

I'm certainly more a shaver than collector, partly because I cannot afford to collect everything I want, and I tend to trade things I don't use so I can try others.

 

I usually associate wet shaving with single blade shaving with a brush and soap, i'm not sure if it is still wet shaving with a cartridge razor or not. The internet is a must for shaving gear, there are stores that sell some gear, but the vast majority is online purchases. I had a hard time getting gear when I first started because I didn't have a credit card, that changed very fast lol.

 

Water = wet. DE, SE, Str8, Cart - doesn't matter. If water is used for the shave, it is wet shaving.

 

Yeah, that's what I though. lol