Over at Free Money Finance, a guest poster recently wrote about how to save money with straight razor shaving. Because I’ve been at war with my facial hair for twenty years, I read this piece with interest. The author writes:
Straight razor shaving is like fly fishing: if your aim is to catch a fish or get a shave, you can get by with fairly inexpensive stuff, but if your goal is to pursue the ultimate in aesthetics and performance, you can get into some pretty pricey stuff.
Now, I don’t shave with a straight razor, but after reading Trent’s guide to shaving at The Simple Dollar last year, I did move to a safety razor. And while I concede that eventually I will recover the initial costs, it’s not going to happen anytime soon.
I intend to continue using my safety razor, but it’s not the end-all be-all that many advocates claim. It takes more time to use, it doesn’t shave as close as modern multi-blade razors (not on my face, anyhow), and it does not reduce nicks and cuts. It is, however, a pleasure to use. I used to hate shaving. Now I look forward to it. (This shaving cream is amazing.) But I want to see some real-world long-term numbers before I buy into the “shaving the old-fashioned way saves money” propaganda.
Here are some other money-saving suggestions I’ve found recently:
Last week, Rachael at Antithete explained how her family of five eats on $250 a month. She starts with a meal plan, then builds her grocrey list around it. Rachael may not be saving as much as the coupon queen, but I suspect her approach is more realistic for most people.
I’ve had many readers write to ask my opinion of Lifelock, the company that promises to protect you subscribers from identity theft. I don’t have an opinion of the firm because I don’t know much about them. But Annie sent me an article this morning that reveals Lifelock is the subject of several class-action lawsuits complaining that the service doesn’t do what it claims to do. (In March, I posted an article about how to prevent identity theft.)
Finally, gardening season is in full bloom across most of the Northern Hemisphere, and that means the battle against weeds has begun. It’s not difficult to spend a small fortune on herbicides. But first you might want to visit This Garden is Illegal to check out Hanna’s list of seven deadly homemade weed killers. You may be able to kill weeds and save money at the same time!
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I’ve found the safety razor to be the closest shave I’ve had this lifetime.
Plus it cuts through several days of growth as if it wasn’t even there.
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I’ve been shaving off the same high-quality braun activator 8695 electric shaver and blade for 3-4 years. The blade has gone from excellent to satisfactory performance. They recommend spending $25 for a new one every 18 months. It came with a built-in cleaner device, which, instead of buying replacement cleaning fluid cartridges for, I refill with denatured alcohol from the paint section of any big box/home improvement store. About $4/quart and that’s been my only expense since the purchase at around $130. I love it. Quick, clean, portlable, cheap to maintain.
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When we moved to the UK this past winter, I saw that Gillette blades cost double what they cost in Canada. Basically just swap $ for £. I bought a £3 Wilkinson safety razor. Five blades runs me under £2. I recovered the cost immediately, and have never been happier with my shave. Its a little challenging getting around my admittedly knobbly chin, but my neck is smoother, and more bump-free than its ever been.
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I fear this blog has gone from ‘Get Rich Slowly’ to ‘Be Cheap Endlessly’. The ratio of scrimp to actual finance and investing seems to be way off lately.
Opportunity cost should be factored into a lot of this.
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About 3 years ago I was sick of paying $8 for 3 Mach III blades and started using a straight razor. I found an fairly inexpensive straight razor on ebay for about $15. I also bought a strop for $35. That lasted me about a year when I bought another straight razor (with a cool blade that has an etched eagle) on ebay for about $35. I also bought a 5000 grit sharpening stone for $12. All together I’m in for about $105 over 3 years and don’t regret it a bit. Yes it did take a few weeks and months to shave my whole face without slicing myself up but now I’ll never go back. I’ve also made a bit of a hobby buying old razors at flea markets and restoring them to shaving condidtion.
As for advice to anyone who wants to try it. Take your time & be patient. Yes you will cut yourself and yes it will take some time. But it’s well worth it! Check out this website for lots of good information.
http://www.straightrazorplace.com/
Oh yeah, no matter how you shave, buy a badger hair brush and use cake shaving soap. It’s fabulous and one cake of soap will last almost forever.
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This is the best thing I have ever come across to save money on shaving. It’s called the razor saver, and for $12, it will resharpen your razor dozens of times. I actually only buy razor blades about every two years since getting this product. I totally recommend it from personal experience. The product excerpt is below from http://www.sustainablevillage.com.
Razor Saver
Get up to 130 shaves from one razor blade in just a few seconds! Normal razors only give you 5-10 uses. Common and simple, but actually a razor blade represents some remarkable technology. Days of a strap and straight razor aren’t that far in the past. It’s a shame to have to throw them away so quickly. In fact, they’re only disposable because you can’t resharpen them. But now you can! Just insert a razor head and draw the old blade across the Razor Saver – it will be like new. Get 75-130 or more shaves from any regular or disposable razor blade, men’s or women’s, single, double, or triple. You’ll use 75% less razors each year.
Dimensions: 5 3/4”L x 2 1/4”W.
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I also read Trent’s piece and was converted to straight razors. I agree though, it’s not as close a shave and it takes a lot longer to get it done. It did take me a while to get “good” at shaving with it, but it’s still not as convenient as the expensive Gillette stuff.
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The CEO of lifehack that has his SSN posted everywhere to show how safe lifehack is? I’ve heard that he has been the victim of ID theft several times over (but I am too lazy to go find the articles to support it)… Also, people haven’t been able to get the money back guarantee if they become a victim of ID theft
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Depending on where you get your DE blades, you can *really* save money if you buy them in bulk. I buy packages of 100 Personna+ DE blades (made in Israel) for $25.00. That works out to $0.25 per blade. Using the same criteria for replacement (i.e. one blade per week, which is how often I replaced the Mach 3 razors that I used), the equivalent Gillette Mach 3 blade cost me, even at the best bulk rate I could find, close to $1.50 per cartridge. That’s a six-fold savings, provided the same products are used and the same approach to shaving is used (using my Vulfix badger hair brush and Proraso shaving soap).
Granted, I shave both my face and my head, so I go through razor blades more quickly than your average guy, but I can attest to the cost savings of shaving with a DE razor vs. a Mach 3, at least on a per blade and per use basis.
Having tried straight razor shaving many years ago, and deciding I didn’t have the right balance or patience for it (and the fact I kept cutting myself something fierce each time I tried) the DE is a good compromise for me.
For those who *really* want to go hard school frugal, there’s one other trick you can use with DE blades… get a wide mouth canning jar and smear some standard white toothpaste on the inside wall. Take the blade and press it against the bend of the glass, and then rub the blade back and forth against the glass. Flip and repeat, then turn the blade over, flip and repeat, and you have effectively sharpened your DE blades again
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For those that aren’t keen on $35 shave soap posted by JD, be sure to check out Proraso(~$11) & Taylor of Old Bond Street (~$14). I’m loving Tayor’s rose & avocado right now. Also a good badger brush is a must have as well. I haven’t attempted moving from the mach3 to a safety razor yet, but just the brush & good cream makes for an amazingly close shave.
Another suggestion is an alum block, which works great as both aftershave & deodorant.
Classicshaving.com carries all this stuff.
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@Kevin Kleber-Great idea about denatured alcohol. I’ve considered doing the same but just haven’t taken the jump.
I’m one of those guys that needs to shave a couple times a day. If I go a weekend without shaving, I have a beard. Blades were tearing up my face, so I shifted to electric. While it isn’t as close as a blade, it allows me to shave morning and night. That way my boss and my wife are happy!
As for Lifelock, I have been happy with the service I receive. I could do everything myself for free. What I find is:
-I would forget to do the periodic stuff (renew fraud alerts, order credit reports, etc). This is what I’m paying for, not their guarantee.
-My time is my most valuable resource. It is worth a few hundred bucks to protect my entire family. If I was still building my emergency fund I would do it myself.
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The single best article about shaving I ever read was in a 1960s book on advice for men, published by Esquire magazine, I think it was. One of those. Anyway. It said that success in shaving and longevity of razor blades have to do with two main things. First, how wet you get your whiskers. They get soft and easy to shave in direct proportion to how much water they absorb. So I wet them repeatedly in the shower and deliberately avoid drying them when toweling off, and then shave immediately. Second, keep microscopic rust spots off your razor by carefully and religiously drying off the blade right after you use it. I’ve heard of people not only doing that but storing their razor in the medicine cabinet in a container with a lid that they put a layer of corn starch in the bottom of. The corn starch absorbs the moisture in the air that does get in. (I suppose they replace it every couple of years.)
I haven’t tried the corn starch thing, but the other things work; I go months without replacing the double- or triple-bladed disposeable razor I use, and I sometimes go a full week between nicks.
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I’ve been using a DE razor for about 6 months now. There’s tons of good advice on wet shaving at http://www.badgerandblade.com.
I love my setup. I have a 1955 Gillette Red Tip Super Speed, I use Feather Blades, I have a Crabtree & Evelyn badger hair brush, and I alternate Trumper’s Rose shave cream, and Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood Shave Soap.
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I just use an electric shaver. I find it gets plenty close, at least as close as when I was buying the mach3 ripoffs.
The key to using an electric razor is you have to give it a chance. Your first couple weeks or month or so aren’t going to be that close.
I also don’t buy into that cleaning it with alcohol thing. I bought one you clean by running it under the sink after shaving. Total cost was something like $40-$50 several (5-6) years ago and replacing the screen at $25 a pop I think twice since then.
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JD said “I’ve been at war with my facial hair for twenty years” Anyone else remember how anxious we all were in high school to start having to shave? It’d be nice to be able to go back to those days of just worrying about the 3 hairs on my chin!
The person that invents once-a-month beard removal cream for men will make a fortune.
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One month ago I made the switch from expensive multi-blade cartridge razors to wet shaving with a double edged safety razor. My initial investment was approximately $40. I purchased a Merkur razor online for $31, a simple shaving brush from WalMart for $5, and Williams Shaving soap for $4. I must admit that I actually look forward to shaving. I get the closest shave I’ve ever had and I have not had problems with ingrowns. Best of all I can purchase a 10 pack of blades from WalMart for 1.54.
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Re: Antithete’s grocery purchase tips.
DH and I have been using that strategy for years now. (We don’t shop at three different stores – we both work full-time and our off time is too valuable, not to mention the added cost of gasoline burned). We plan our weekly menu around the store specials.
We eat very well and are so spoiled by the quality of our home cooking, we only eat out maybe once a month, if that.
The meal planning works very well – just takes a little time and discipline but the pay off is worth it.
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Scott Says:
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I fear this blog has gone from ‘Get Rich Slowly’ to ‘Be Cheap Endlessly’. The ratio of scrimp to actual finance and investing seems to be way off lately.
Opportunity cost should be factored into a lot of this.
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Well said. To be fair, I think maintaining a balance between spendthrift and cheap might be a tougher act than one might believe. (Personally, I could do with less of the latter, as I constantly have to resist the urge to live like a cheapskate.)
P.S. I would appreciate it if you could expand on your “opportunity cost” remark.
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Scott and Aaardvark, I appreciate your feedback. I have no intention of focusing on frugality to the exclusion of finance and investing. The blog has always had ebbs and flows where one topic gets more attention than another. You’re right, though, that there’s been a lot of tightwad stuff lately. Also, like Aardvark, I have been fighting the urge to be a cheapskate lately. Maybe it’s time for me to write about evaluating purchases and actually *make* some.
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Your safety razor isn’t giving you a close shave? Are you shaving three times (With the grain, across the grain, against the grain)? That’s what I do and it takes until about 5pm until I can even feel stubble on my face…
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I use the safety razor now, and although I don’t think it is as close a shave as the Mach 3, I like it better. (yes it will get as close if you shave 3 times, as mentioned above, but I usually only shave with the grain and across the grain; not against).
I’ve used it for about 5 months now and I have no intention of going back to the old razor. I also know I will save a lot of money in the long run.
As of right now, I have no plans on going for a straight razor. I’m just not ready for that yet.
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I’ll second that DE shaving takes awhile longer than dragging a new, multi-blade razor across your face. It takes two shaves on my face, but my face is smoother and softer. I use Prorasso shave cream and a brush. But when I travel I’ve used Tom’s of Maine shaving cream ~ careful it comes in a toothpaste tube and can be confused early in the morning. Tom’s is a nice cream and not expensive. As to cost I only bought those $28 blade packs about twice a year. I figure that in 1 1/2 years the German DE razor I got will have paid for itself. It’s certainly cut down on the amount of plastic I dispose of each year while shaving.
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i’m in the camp that fell for the allure of the DE razor a few months ago. I’m glad to read JD’s comments about not being totally convinced at the payoff. On a morning when I have nothing but time on my hands, the results are terrific. However, on a recent oversees trip, not wanting to deal with re-outfitting the travel kit i started re-using a modern razor.
Comparing the two, I agree that DE’s aren’t quite the end all be all that the fanatics claim, but they add a certain novelty to the otherwise robotic drone that is personnel grooming.
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I did the numbers for me on double edge shaving. Buying a new razor and blades, over the span of three years, with one blade per month, total cost of ownership would be $59.95. Buying refills for my existing Mach III would give me a total cost of ownership of $47.85. Buying a brand new electric razor could cost anywhere from $40 to $$$. Clearly this can’t really be an economic decision. Double edge safety razor shaving isn’t cheaper!
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