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Is your setup Vintage or Modern?

Luecke3262

Luecke3262

“I am the Grail Razor Hunter”
Hobbyist
A lot of us started wet shaving because it was a cool way to connect with our past and to make a typically robotic and unenjoyable task become a relaxing ritual. Some of us started with vintage gear handed down by our fathers, where as others picked up a micro One touch, a Sally’s beauty supply DE, or a shavette from their barber supply.
No matter how you started, what do you prefer now? A modern setup with the latest and greatest titanium razor or custom straight, $200 artisan turned synthetic brush, and the most popular artisan shaving soaps and aftershaves? A classic setup with a Vintage Gillette or ancient straight, classic brush, classic shaving soap and aftershaves? Or something in between?

I’m always curious what everyone is into. As for myself, I almost exclusively use a vintage setup. I typically use a vintage soap and aftershave or a current production of a vintage. As for brushes and razors, 99.9% of the time I shave with a vintage straight razor and my brushes are almost all vintage brand brushes like Semogue or re-knotted vintages. Granted, from time to time I do use more modern products, but I always fall back to my vintages.
 
I have mostly modern stuff. The only real vintage things I have are some razors. As for usage my regular razor rotation is about half/half. Software and brushes are almost always some form of modern.
 
I started off with vintage razors & brush. Drug store soaps and aftershaves.

Now, razors I own are 99% vintage, but use 50/50. I’ve found a few modern razors I like, but not any more than my favorite vintage.

Brushes, almost all modern.

Aftershave, own mostly vintage, use is 50/50.

Soaps mainly artisan, but use vintage 5-10% of the time.

But my vast collection is all vintage goodness!
 
Virtually all of my software is from the classic houses, so I think that qualifies as vintage. All razors save one (EJ DE89) are actual vintage or vintage design, and the brushes are almost all classic models of recent production with the exception of a couple of customs.
 
Almost all my soaps are modern . Some are from older companies but still recent production.. Most of my razors are vintage with less than 10 or so being modern. My brushes are a mix of new and old with some being older handles with new knots and some are 3d prints I made of older style and newer style handles with new knots. AS I have some vintage old spice and a couple of other vintage but mostly new production stuff along with some reproduction / clones of new stuff that's just to expensive for me to have the real versions.. Some stuff has been improved with modern production and some are worse like I know some people like vintage Williams better than modern production Williams. Also some prefer vintage old spice to modern production whereas some like the modern better.
 
Great topic 👍

When I started out 8yrs ago. The plan was to stay vintage.

But after sticking around on the shaving forums. I have purchased modern soaps and a couple of modern razors and aftershaves.

I rotate through my razors, just like my soap and aftershaves. So none of them get neglected and it keeps my shaves interesting.

Most of the soaps that I have stocked up on are vintages. Since they have a good long shelf life.

Note the modern soaps and aftershaves I purchase are usually purchased for their more modern scent profiles.

Example: A more modern scented soap or aftershave like TdH.
 
My razors are a mix of vintage and modern with the majority being vintage. Most of my other gear leans toward modern, but I have been a little more interested in vintage soaps and AS lately.
 
The vast majority of my gear is vintage or antique. All but two of my brushes are modern or custom. Soaps are most all artisan. I’ve been picking up a modern razor or two here and there. This month with a vintage razor reminds me of just how well DE razors had been developed by the end of the Twentieth Century. And they are getting better by decreasing increments.
 
I have one modern DE and SR, all the rest are vintage. I have one vintage brush and the rest are modern. I have one vintage soap and the rest are artisan. Aftershave is a mix of modern and vintage.
 
Yes....
I started with new stuff i got in a pif over at b&b for new shavers and mystic waters soap.
Now I have a mix of both for brushes, soaps, and de razors. All of my se are vintage though. My straights are all vintage except for the gold dollar I modified for the b&b competition and one I forged. My stropsare mainly new except for one vintage.
 
I have a mix of vintage and modern and vintage shaving stuff. I have more vintage razors, but tend to use my Karve or Rockwell 6s for most of my shaves. I use modern soaps and aftershaves since that is what I mostly have. I have three vintage brushes that have been restored with modern knots (1 badger & 2 synthetic), but I tend to use my modern synthetic brushes most of the time. After this short reflection of what I have and use, modern is my preference for most of my shaves.
 
This question or set there of, I found interesting. I have a lot of gear vintage and modern and I move through both with ease as fancy takes me. I love the vintage set ups though very much and there is something magical about a vintage A’crat and some Old Spice soap and AS.
 
Most of my razors are vintage, and the few modern I have are low end, Fatip and Muhle. I just find the bang for the buck with vintage keeps from from getting any modern razors, though I expect to pick some up at some point.

Brushes, I don't even think about, other than reknotting a handle, but that's too much of a pain for me.
Soaps, well, just did a vintage Williams month, but otherwise it's all modern artisan.
 
Hardware is mostly vintage, software is mostly modern. I do love reviving an old DE or SR or finding a nice vinatage soap, but also the current market offers some amazing products. I tend to buy more vintage hardware as it is more "fun" to collect and use items from the past.
 
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