Current state of Wet Shaving

[global_dev]

I hate to say that over the last 10 years i just cant get with what i believe to be the crazy hyperbolic exaggeration of incrementally better stuff in reviews. It feels like reading or watching WWF. for video, I end up watching the italian guy with glasses because i have no idea what he is saying outside of a few words and its easier on the brain.

Buuuuuut, buuut. And i know this to be true. Aint nothing better than a 14.

 

[Blade4vor]

Great thread, @dangerousdon ! I also started out wet shaving back in 2014. I ordered my first setup off of Amazon: Merkur 34C, Escali pure badger brush, chrome razor & brush stand(seemed like a requirement at the time,) alum, 100 Personna Lab blues, and a tub of ToBS Sandalwood shaving cream. I also ordered a Feather Popular razor the following day. Now, I should have known I was falling head first into a rabbit hole after ordering a 2nd razor before receiving the first!

I have a lot of the same recollections as the rest of you from over the years. Most artisan soaps are very good today. A really great Silvertip, 2-band, or synthetic brush can be had for well under $100. I think the thing that surprises me most is that an excellent, new, precision machined razor of stainless or brass can also be had for under $100.

Now on the subject of rabbit holes and FOMO, I will only say that I am a shaving soap enthusiast with a shaving problem.

 

[dangerousdon]

Great thread, @dangerousdon ! I also started out wet shaving back in 2014. I ordered my first setup off of Amazon: Merkur 34C, Escali pure badger brush, chrome razor & brush stand(seemed like a requirement at the time,) alum, 100 Personna Lab blues, and a tub of ToBS Sandalwood shaving cream. I also ordered a Feather Popular razor the following day. Now, I should have known I was falling head first into a rabbit hole after ordering a 2nd razor before receiving the first!

I have a lot of the same recollections as the rest of you from over the years. Most artisan soaps are very good today. A really great Silvertip, 2-band, or synthetic brush can be had for well under $100. I think the thing that surprises me most is that an excellent, new, precision machined razor of stainless or brass can also be had for under $100.

Now on the subject of rabbit holes and FOMO, I will only say that I am a shaving soap enthusiast with a shaving problem.

Great to see you posting here again!

Some nice observations!

 

[dangerousdon]

I end up watching the italian guy with glasses because i have no idea what he is saying outside of a few words and its easier on the brain.

I will admit...I may have done this exact same thing from time to time!

 

[dangerousdon]

For me, my journey, at least with hardware, has been similar to when I was buying guitars. I was always trying to step up in quality, looking for the elusive "best" option, but always appreciating how much variety was at my fingertips. But then, I eventually did find my "Excalibur", and as soon as I did that was all I wanted to use. I never thought all my razors would take a back seat to just one of them, but they have, and I sometimes feel a little wistful when I see the others just sitting in the drawer. But any time I have gone back and forced myself to use one of them, even for old time's sake, the experience is just not as pleasant as my number one,

As for soaps, I am buried in them. I have more that I will ever use in my lifetime. Soap and splash sets, if I were to just keep the matching ones, would still be more than I could use up in a decade. Going into lockdown and working from home has actually slowed down my usage, so hopefully things will return to normal soon and I will be motivated once again to shave every couple days.


View attachment 51494

It's interesting to see how this hobby affects us all differently!

 

[SM29]

My journey in this hobby has been a little bit different than many. It began slowly enough in 2015 after about 35 years of electrics preceded by a Hoffritz (Merkur), black handled Superspeed, Paul Revere Schick Injector (wish that one never got away), Trac ll, and Astra.

I saw an add for a Detroit Razor and was intrigued but not sold, but saw that their higher end razor was a Merkur 34c. I bought the Merkur from Amazon, added a Parker Silvertip brush and Proraso Green soap. I then took my Grandfather’s mug out of an inherited china cabinet. The mug was then close to 100 years old and now likely more than 100. The mug is the only part of this original kit that I still use.

Several months after this journey began my wife became terminally ill. During the 18 months of her illness I changed soap to MWF and brush to a Simpson Classic 2. That was the extent of my acquisitions. She would always ask if a purchase would make me happy and if it would she supported it but if it wasn’t needed or wouldn’t bring joy no purchase was made. As her illness progressed, the 15 minutes or so of shaving always brought a sense of calm and escape from her illness. It did for me what a massage or facial do for others. It was a brief daily respite from the pain and difficulty of her illness. I can still see and feel her running her hand down my cheek and saying “wow”.

After she died, the vintage razor began arriving for a little while. None terribly expensive and some meaningful. An A4 Red Tip Superspeed from her birth quarter, a C4 Flare Tip Superspeed from my birth quarter, an Old Type approximating my father’s age and a Goodwill 164 near my mother’s age among several others. The older razors have now survived my mother and my father. Next came an ATT that I received for a Slim and a fat handle postwar Tech. A new stainless razor for two older razors was a fairly good trade especially since I had another Tech and wasn’t crazy about the Slim. Then a Timeless Titanium which could have been my last. Next a Janus, which was not for me and returned. Finally a Blackland Tradere which could be my last, but you never can be sure in this hobby.

A number of Simpson brushes were acquired, also a Rudy Vey/Shavemac 2 band and then a Rudy Vey Rubberset type Manchurian that I bought for my father that unfortunately is now mine. No new brushes on the horizon but who knows.

Soaps are another luxury that I have purchased. My preference seems to be for old time or at least relatively older soaps like MWF, D R Harris, Tabac, and Cella with MdC being the newcomer. I’ve enjoyed these more than the artisan soaps that I had purchased or received.

Aftershaves included Clubman VIBR which my wife always liked, Lucky Tiger ASFT, a number of Fine splashes, and Floid Vigoroso. There will likely be others in the future but I’m not in a rush.

This may be a good time for wet shaving but most important for me is the escape from the rest of the day, a few minutes of a meditational type relaxation that I get to enjoy everyday. Running my hand over my freshly shaved face I can still feel my wife’s hand and her saying “wow”. There is so much more than just the product.

 

[dangerousdon]

My journey in this hobby has been a little bit different than many. It began slowly enough in 2015 after about 35 years of electrics preceded by a Hoffritz (Merkur), black handled Superspeed, Paul Revere Schick Injector (wish that one never got away), Trac ll, and Astra.

I saw an add for a Detroit Razor and was intrigued but not sold, but saw that their higher end razor was a Merkur 34c. I bought the Merkur from Amazon, added a Parker Silvertip brush and Proraso Green soap. I then took my Grandfather’s mug out of an inherited china cabinet. The mug was then close to 100 years old and now likely more than 100. The mug is the only part of this original kit that I still use.

Several months after this journey began my wife became terminally ill. During the 18 months of her illness I changed soap to MWF and brush to a Simpson Classic 2. That was the extent of my acquisitions. She would always ask if a purchase would make me happy and if it would she supported it but if it wasn’t needed or wouldn’t bring joy no purchase was made. As her illness progressed, the 15 minutes or so of shaving always brought a sense of calm and escape from her illness. It did for me what a massage or facial do for others. It was a brief daily respite from the pain and difficulty of her illness. I can still see and feel her running her hand down my cheek and saying “wow”.

After she died, the vintage razor began arriving for a little while. None terribly expensive and some meaningful. An A4 Red Tip Superspeed from her birth quarter, a C4 Flare Tip Superspeed from my birth quarter, an Old Type approximating my father’s age and a Goodwill 164 near my mother’s age among several others. The older razors have now survived my mother and my father. Next came an ATT that I received for a Slim and a fat handle postwar Tech. A new stainless razor for two older razors was a fairly good trade especially since I had another Tech and wasn’t crazy about the Slim. Then a Timeless Titanium which could have been my last. Next a Janus, which was not for me and returned. Finally a Blackland Tradere which could be my last, but you never can be sure in this hobby.

A number of Simpson brushes were acquired, also a Rudy Vey/Shavemac 2 band and then a Rudy Vey Rubberset type Manchurian that I bought for my father that unfortunately is now mine. No new brushes on the horizon but who knows.

Soaps are another luxury that I have purchased. My preference seems to be for old time or at least relatively older soaps like MWF, D R Harris, Tabac, and Cella with MdC being the newcomer. I’ve enjoyed these more than the artisan soaps that I had purchased or received.

Aftershaves included Clubman VIBR which my wife always liked, Lucky Tiger ASFT, a number of Fine splashes, and Floid Vigoroso. There will likely be others in the future but I’m not in a rush.

This may be a good time for wet shaving but most important for me is the escape from the rest of the day, a few minutes of a meditational type relaxation that I get to enjoy everyday. Running my hand over my freshly shaved face I can still feel my wife’s hand and her saying “wow”. There is so much more than just the product.

This is a great post Steve! I am sorry to here about your wife. That is really sad. Your story is one that really drives home that while this is a hobby for a lot of us...Wet Shaving can be very personal. ANd I bet that it is very personal for a lot of us in many ways. I appreciate you sharing this part of your life with us.

 

[HMan]

My journey in this hobby has been a little bit different than many. It began slowly enough in 2015 after about 35 years of electrics preceded by a Hoffritz (Merkur), black handled Superspeed, Paul Revere Schick Injector (wish that one never got away), Trac ll, and Astra.

I saw an add for a Detroit Razor and was intrigued but not sold, but saw that their higher end razor was a Merkur 34c. I bought the Merkur from Amazon, added a Parker Silvertip brush and Proraso Green soap. I then took my Grandfather’s mug out of an inherited china cabinet. The mug was then close to 100 years old and now likely more than 100. The mug is the only part of this original kit that I still use.

Several months after this journey began my wife became terminally ill. During the 18 months of her illness I changed soap to MWF and brush to a Simpson Classic 2. That was the extent of my acquisitions. She would always ask if a purchase would make me happy and if it would she supported it but if it wasn’t needed or wouldn’t bring joy no purchase was made. As her illness progressed, the 15 minutes or so of shaving always brought a sense of calm and escape from her illness. It did for me what a massage or facial do for others. It was a brief daily respite from the pain and difficulty of her illness. I can still see and feel her running her hand down my cheek and saying “wow”.

After she died, the vintage razor began arriving for a little while. None terribly expensive and some meaningful. An A4 Red Tip Superspeed from her birth quarter, a C4 Flare Tip Superspeed from my birth quarter, an Old Type approximating my father’s age and a Goodwill 164 near my mother’s age among several others. The older razors have now survived my mother and my father. Next came an ATT that I received for a Slim and a fat handle postwar Tech. A new stainless razor for two older razors was a fairly good trade especially since I had another Tech and wasn’t crazy about the Slim. Then a Timeless Titanium which could have been my last. Next a Janus, which was not for me and returned. Finally a Blackland Tradere which could be my last, but you never can be sure in this hobby.

A number of Simpson brushes were acquired, also a Rudy Vey/Shavemac 2 band and then a Rudy Vey Rubberset type Manchurian that I bought for my father that unfortunately is now mine. No new brushes on the horizon but who knows.

Soaps are another luxury that I have purchased. My preference seems to be for old time or at least relatively older soaps like MWF, D R Harris, Tabac, and Cella with MdC being the newcomer. I’ve enjoyed these more than the artisan soaps that I had purchased or received.

Aftershaves included Clubman VIBR which my wife always liked, Lucky Tiger ASFT, a number of Fine splashes, and Floid Vigoroso. There will likely be others in the future but I’m not in a rush.

This may be a good time for wet shaving but most important for me is the escape from the rest of the day, a few minutes of a meditational type relaxation that I get to enjoy everyday. Running my hand over my freshly shaved face I can still feel my wife’s hand and her saying “wow”. There is so much more than just the product.

What a moving post.

The meditational aspect has always been the most important part, that and the hand that says 'wow'.

 

[HMan]

I think part of why I felt more at home in the TSC is there's comparatively less shiny new object syndrome.

I never went that deep to begin with, but of late, it's really a couple of soaps I use. n
My luxury items are two smaller Paladin brushes. But after finding the right size synth for me (smaller is better) I use them as much if not more lately.
I've got a number fo vintage razors, the Gibbs adjustable being my top choice for a good close shave. Thanks to the upgrades from @Clouds, it's just a great razor.
But lately I'm using a lowly Fatip Grande as much as anything, I just like the way it leaves my face when I want a comparatively milder shave.

So to the OP, I think the state is, there's a lot of great stuff out there, and at some point I think some people realize they are happy with what they have. No more need for FOMO.

At the end of the day, for me the hobby is about the ACT of shaving, not the gear.

 

[global_dev]

I think part of why I felt more at home in the TSC is there's comparatively less shiny new object syndrome.

Totally agree, while i love my kit i felt like while finding your goto kit can be a marathon, doesnt have to be a sprint. And to my point above the wetshave scene is very sensitive to fomo and not knowing what you dont know.

For example, i know i can appreciate a diamond spray on balsa edge, but after much consideration i like the journey to and feel of a trans/black arkansas edge.

 

[Spider]

Honestly, the current state of the hobby has me burnt out. The number of choices is overwhelming. I've seen many call it the Golden Age of Shaving, but I don't know.

I get that for a newbie, there is a lot more choices than we had when I joined the hobby over 10 years ago, but that's a blessing and also a curse.

When I first started there was few choices, especially among the artisans. So it was easy to try one from each artisan and pick the ones you liked best. Now, especially for a newbie, that way of thinking is near impossible to achieve. I've chased many rabbits down holes over the years, and most end up as dead ends.

Back in the day, razor options were few. You had a few modern razors, but the biggest thing to do was to try out as many vintage razors as you could and find the ones you like best. Most folks flocked to the vintage scene because they were a bargain, and they worked. Now it seems everyone wants modern, and the choices are staggering. It seems every week I read about a brand of razor I've never heard of. And for me, it's offputting... it's just too much.

I went on a hiatus of buying into new razors and new artisans for a few years. Then the bug hit me again, and I jumped into both rabbit holes. Neither ended up being very fruitful. I tried a whole bunch of new stuff that didn't end up being any better than anything I already had. It was overall very disappointing. There were a couple of exceptions, I did find a couple things I liked, but it was an expensive trial and error journey before I found those few stand outs.

 

[HMan]

Honestly, the current state of the hobby has me burnt out. The number of choices is overwhelming. I've seen many call it the Golden Age of Shaving, but I don't know.

I get that for a newbie, there is a lot more choices than we had when I joined the hobby over 10 years ago, but that's a blessing and also a curse.

When I first started there was few choices, especially among the artisans. So it was easy to try one from each artisan and pick the ones you liked best. Now, especially for a newbie, that way of thinking is near impossible to achieve. I've chased many rabbits down holes over the years, and most end up as dead ends.

Back in the day, razor options were few. You had a few modern razors, but the biggest thing to do was to try out as many vintage razors as you could and find the ones you like best. Most folks flocked to the vintage scene because they were a bargain, and they worked. Now it seems everyone wants modern, and the choices are staggering. It seems every week I read about a brand of razor I've never heard of. And for me, it's offputting... it's just too much.

I went on a hiatus of buying into new razors and new artisans for a few years. Then the bug hit me again, and I jumped into both rabbit holes. Neither ended up being very fruitful. I tried a whole bunch of new stuff that didn't end up being any better than anything I already had. It was overall very disappointing. There were a couple of exceptions, I did find a couple things I liked, but it was an expensive trial and error journey before I found those few stand outs.

I think you nailed it here. Though when you think that there’s a huge population of people who shave, there’s plenty of room for makers of all kinds. It’s probably healthy for there to be so many choices. I wish Finland had some more high quality local options.

At some point, it’s just that there’s no expectation that you should try everything, anymore than that you’d own every kind of car or motorcycle. You’ve got. More choice now, but that means you have to choose, or go nuts trying to chase everything.

 

[Spider]

anymore than that you’d own every kind of car or motorcycle.

Except the chance to try before you buy is better with cars and motorcycles.

 

[gwsmallwood]

Honestly, the current state of the hobby has me burnt out. The number of choices is overwhelming. I've seen many call it the Golden Age of Shaving, but I don't know.

I get that for a newbie, there is a lot more choices than we had when I joined the hobby over 10 years ago, but that's a blessing and also a curse.

When I first started there was few choices, especially among the artisans. So it was easy to try one from each artisan and pick the ones you liked best. Now, especially for a newbie, that way of thinking is near impossible to achieve. I've chased many rabbits down holes over the years, and most end up as dead ends.

Back in the day, razor options were few. You had a few modern razors, but the biggest thing to do was to try out as many vintage razors as you could and find the ones you like best. Most folks flocked to the vintage scene because they were a bargain, and they worked. Now it seems everyone wants modern, and the choices are staggering. It seems every week I read about a brand of razor I've never heard of. And for me, it's offputting... it's just too much.

I went on a hiatus of buying into new razors and new artisans for a few years. Then the bug hit me again, and I jumped into both rabbit holes. Neither ended up being very fruitful. I tried a whole bunch of new stuff that didn't end up being any better than anything I already had. It was overall very disappointing. There were a couple of exceptions, I did find a couple things I liked, but it was an expensive trial and error journey before I found those few stand outs.

The paradox of choice is definitely something that hits me as well, particularly with software. So many good options these days. I've settled into 5 or 6 artisans that I support because I like their products, I like their prices, I like their character, and I've built relationships with them. I still try the occasional new artisan, but it's pretty rare, even after starting the YouTube channel.

 

[Joe Hackett]

Wetshaving has completely changed since we started in January of 2012 from an artisan standpoint. If you're going to get in the game now, you better be top shelf from day 1. If I tried to launch Stirling today the way I naively did back then, I wouldn't make it. The market was so much more forgiving back then. Now, it had better work great, smell great, have quality packaging, and arrive within a few days of placing the order or it's going to receive some type of negative feedback.

 

[beginish]

I’ve been wet shaving since 2000 or so and didn’t really get into it in earnest until 2009. From there it was a rapid acquisition period for brushes in particular, followed by soaps and creams. I’m still living off the soaps I bought almost 10 years ago, sold off a bunch of brushes and just found that my buying petered out in 2015-16. The desire to acquire just kind of stopped, and I can’t explain it. I tried sabbaticals multiple times before and failed.

I greatly simplified my routine over the years, using soaps from start to finish, the same razor-blade combo, one AS at a time, with brush rotation being the only variety. This just works for me, and I never got into the soap-a-rama we have these days. I think the hobby is in fine fiddle, especially with Gillette itself getting back in the game, at least a little bit.

 

[dangerousdon]

Wetshaving has completely changed since we started in January of 2012 from an artisan standpoint. If you're going to get in the game now, you better be top shelf from day 1. If I tried to launch Stirling today the way I naively did back then, I wouldn't make it. The market was so much more forgiving back then. Now, it had better work great, smell great, have quality packaging, and arrive within a few days of placing the order or it's going to receive some type of negative feedback.

I can't imagine what it is like from a business aspect. Trying to learn or keep up with the latest trends in a hobby where information about what the consumer wants is really hard to decipher. Rod, you and Mandy have built more than just a business though...Stirling is synonymous with wet shaving. So while you might not have done as well if you opened up today...you learned along the way and are now the go to for a lot of people. What is interesting about Stirling is that you have just about every conceivable scent profile out there...and yet...you still come out with new stuff! Your Hardware is no slouch either. I still contend that the Stirling Finest Badger is the best affordable Badger Brush out there!

 

[dangerousdon]

I’ve been wet shaving since 2000 or so and didn’t really get into it in earnest until 2009. From there it was a rapid acquisition period for brushes in particular, followed by soaps and creams. I’m still living off the soaps I bought almost 10 years ago, sold off a bunch of brushes and just found that my buying petered out in 2015-16. The desire to acquire just kind of stopped, and I can’t explain it. I tried sabbaticals multiple times before and failed.

I greatly simplified my routine over the years, using soaps from start to finish, the same razor-blade combo, one AS at a time, with brush rotation being the only variety. This just works for me, and I never got into the soap-a-rama we have these days. I think the hobby is in fine fiddle, especially with Gillette itself getting back in the game, at least a little bit.

Thanks Bob for sharing! You must have stocked up on a lot of the Old English House stuff then. Well, maybe you didn't, because that stuff lasts forever.

 

[beginish]

Thanks Bob for sharing! You must have stocked up on a lot of the Old English House stuff then. Well, maybe you didn't, because that stuff lasts forever.

Yup. I ended up with a ton of the triple milled stuff (probably 10 pucks of GFT, DRH and TOBS alone). Throw in a stockpile of tallow AOS and some unobtainium I tracked down, and here I am in 2021 with still another 5 years of shaves in a box in the closet. And I'm lamenting that I can't justify buying a puck of the Fat. What's wrong with me?

 

[mrdoug]

Wetshaving has completely changed since we started in January of 2012 from an artisan standpoint. If you're going to get in the game now, you better be top shelf from day 1. If I tried to launch Stirling today the way I naively did back then, I wouldn't make it. The market was so much more forgiving back then. Now, it had better work great, smell great, have quality packaging, and arrive within a few days of placing the order or it's going to receive some type of negative feedback.

I don't know that I 100% agree with that. Still to this day people talk about the price/ounce and affordable quality you offer. I'm sure there were business snafus that you might have not been able to ride out today... I neither know the inside of your business nor was I wet shaving back then. Still, the business plan is not only sound, it's revered in Bards tales. Lol. The world's needs Stirling... Whether it opened in 2012, 2002, or 2020. [emoji846]