Bit of a shame that they're closing down, as the store only just reopened after a hiatus, but they're offering 40% off some seriously good quality shaving gear, including hand made leather strops and razor accessories.
"All stock must go. Use the code SUMMER40 to activate the discount in the checkout. There are loads of Thiers Issard Razors available at an unbeatable price. There are however only a few available of some styles."
Sure, there's been a huge resurgence in old school shaving kit.
A lot of it is hipsters and people who just like to collect handmade things, but a safety razor can get a great shave and save you a lot of money long term.
Sorry but I don;t think in the recent history of getting into traditional wet shaving ANYONE has actually ended up saving any money getting into it. In theory yes, BUT everyone (and I say this meaning 95%+) end up appreciating it's nuances so much (as they're so vastly superior to the mass produced cartridge/multi blade razors & cans of goo) that they end up incrementally buying more and more artisan & bespoke gear. Before I quit the best known Aussie shaving forums it was actually a well known joke that newbs would announce themselves by saying they wanted to save money on shaving by getting into safety razors etc.
BUT all that aside I strongly recommend folks get into it - but you've got to check yourself before you go off the deep end and end up going to work shops to make your own kamisori or staying up all night trying to secure a limited run of a Llama milk and Kiwifruit seed oil shaving soap.
Haha I say all this as someone who has several thousand dollars worth of shaving gear (seriously - though to be honest most of it is vintage blades that when I eventually sell I'll likely get 3-10 times what I paid for them back) but I also now have a taliban-esque beard and don't plan on changing it for a while. :-)
It depends a lot on your entry point, I guess.
As an example, I use an old Gillette Super Speed double edge safety razor (made in the 50's, I think) that cost me nothing with blades that cost me $30 for 100 about 3 years ago. If you're not buying new gear, but instead prefer to restore something with some history, the economy of it really adds up.
Definitely don't consider myself a hipster, either :P
@Doctor Roboto: Ah I think you'll find you might be in the 5% but that said you've got to factor in what you spent on your brush/s, soap/s, extra products that you never even knew existed until you got into wet shaving etc e.g pre-shave soap.
Again we're going to have to disagree here as unless it's drastically changed the prices for vintage gear (which seems what you're alluding to) had ballooned and then some….I highly doubt it's dropped much and if anything is likely higher than ever.
If you happen to have access to Grandpa's safety razor - sure thats great but it's only one piece of a pie of needs. Vintage gear is nice but unless you stumble across a cornucopia on a backwater or have a family heirloom I would say you're FAR better getting 'smart' low end buys like the Lord L6 safety razor (which has a horrible handle but a Merkur 34c replica head), cheap synthetic brush with good density and Permasharp blades.
Vintage is great IF you got in before the prices skyrocketed - but to save money now, forget about it.
I originally got into DE shaving a couple of years ago to save money…now own 3 DE razors, 2 brushes, 3 bowls, 3 different creams and enough blades to last a few years. Blades are cheaper per shave but it's going to take while before I start saving money!!
That said, shaving isn't a chore anymore and I get a much better shave from this gear than I ever did from cartridges.
@OzBragain: Bingo….honestly I'm not sure how much I have but IIRC I belive around 20-25 razors, around 30-35 soaps (not including unopened backups of many of them), 15 or so brushes and I believe around 5-7000 blades ( and they're primarily either highly sought after discontinued models or vintage).
None of my posts are anti-wetshaving - as I 100% agree it gives a vastly superior shave when done correctly (which is soooooooooooo much easier than folks expect) and it does make whats for much of a man's life a PITA chore somewhat enjoyable. But too many folks go off the deep end, and I'm clearly speaking from experience. :-)
But too many folks go off the deep end, and I'm clearly speaking from experience. :-)
You certainly are, but now you're talking about a hobby rather than just a normal person shaving.
i have a $14 brass de safety razor and and use an arko shave stick $7 which will last 6 mths and $6 brush off ebay … blades are $40 for 100 ….. i will indulge one year and get the $70 for 100feather blades which is as expensive as it gets.
i’m definitely saving money , if people want to spend more and pamper themselves they can but that becomes a life style choice rather than an economic one ….
with toileteries like that women must love you proveded you are willing. to share …..
nothing worse than women’s using my razor and not telling me about it and i wonder blade is blunt …..
they stil make brass safety razors in china which are based on the gillette super speed, check aliexpress, no need to buy vintage ….. cartridges are a western indulgence .
i’d love a $300 made in usa artisan stainless steel de razor nut then i’d also love a ferrari but drive a 20 year old car instead and use chinese brass de razor.
they also. are $10 single edge / cur throat razors in china , eg dollar razors …. i own one but am alway too rushed to use it so it’s more a conversation piece in my bathroom.
Avatar backs up Nikko's claim of spending thousands on shaving gears.
….. i will indulge one year and get the $70 for 100feather blades
Hand in your OzB card, $40 shipped logically and even cheaper on eBay.
@Nikko: Hehe, I must be somewhere in the middle - scored the father in law's old safety razors about 6 years ago, thought I'd give it a go, and never looked back once I felt how good the shave was. It's definitely no longer a chore, but yeah, there's a deep rabbit hole of associated gear that you can fall down…
@garage sale: Willing & able. ;-)
Seriously though I'm well ahead of the curve on this one - my wife has her own Gillette Tech (which is what I recommend you put any lady in your life onto as they're cheap, very forgiving to use & a good shaver with the right blade), Chinese synthetic brush and soap (an Austrian sheep's milk one). She loves it and other than raiding my bathroom mini-stash of blades for a changeover is very happy.
I think gals definitely also appreciate the intangibles of a nice metal razor & lathering from a brush with a good specialist shaving brush vs the pretty horrible stuff the masses use.
No wonder they are closing down. With prices like these, how can they stay afloat?
It certainly can be pricey for some of the fancier straight razors. I haven't made that leap, myself.
From this sale I managed to pick up a leather cover for my DE razor and my shaving brush.
Unfortunately there seems to be a few online shave stores close.
I think is because people have the idea that shaving with blades is all cool and an art form, but in the end it's just shaving and they want it done simple a quick so drop back to normal blades again.
I don't know a single person who thinks 'well, this is nice and all but I really want to pay ten times as much for a worse shave'.
It's more that it's a niche market, there is limited turnover (like, you buy a tub of cream and some blades every two years) and there just isnt enough profit in a local setup.
I think is because people have the idea that shaving with blades is all cool and an art form, but in the end it's just shaving and they want it done simple a quick so drop back to normal blades again.
Written by someone who's never tried or doesn't have the patience to spend a few weeks learning a different technique.
No reason a wet shave can't be quick…even a quick wet shave will be better than a cartridge shave. I took cartridges on a trip OS a few months after getting into DE shaving and the cartridges felt like shaving with a cheese grater…never again
No, not true at all. I have used blades and creams etc many many years ago, before it was a fashion trend my sir.
My perception - and it's purely that as I've not bought anything in several years and don't plan to perhaps ever again…..but anyway I suspect a lot of these store owners were early adopters of the wetshaving boom that happened 5-7yrs ago. Like many of us they'd only ever used the mass produced cartridge crap and when they made the switch they LOVED IT (which is what the vast majority do). But they loved it so much that they decided to open small online based stores (changing market dynamics made this less of a risk than in the past doing a bricks & mortar commitment - that'd end up seeing you lose your house if it went bust!).
But I think a lot of them made the mistake of being SO passionate about something that they were blinded to the market dynamics & realities of competition and what if anything set them apart. So yes I've noticed in my periphery a bunch of them have closed over the past few yrs and I think thats the chickens coming home to roost.
On a secondary note, yes shaving for the majority will (atleast until that auto-robo laser shaver or similar is released) will for many folks be like doing their teeth or cutting their nails - a chore. And as such they'll want to do as quickly and simply as possible and if they can do it so they feel they got a great shave, thats fine but of secondary importance. But a lot of folks as with many things in life will be happy to take a lil extra time (honestly it's very easy with a safety razor to shave just as fast as a cart - straights are much slower but they're not my cup of tea anyway and I do feel they're very hobby oriented) for whats generally a noticeably superior result & a process they actually enjoy. They'll be the minority but nothing wrong with that. :-)
Sure, there's been a huge resurgence in old school shaving kit. A lot of it is hipsters and people who just like to collect handmade things, but a safety razor can get a great shave and save you a lot of money long term.
I'm still using my $19.83 Philips Senso Touch Shaver from 4.8 years ago bargain… so I guess I have saved? :D
… so I guess I have saved?
A decent close shave :)
If you're happy with an electric razor then no need to change anything but they just don't give the same result. There's a convenience factor with them in that you can shave in traffic on the way to work but it's not the same.
So would a razor give a smoother (less stubble) finish? is that the difference?
or would a razor make regrowth slower?
I'm interested to know the differences cheers!
Smoother finish/less stubble. Baby bum smooth takes some time and practice but is satisfying when you get it.
Less stubble means more time between shaves.
That's all nice but the big plus for me is less irritation.
I think my veins just popped looking at the prices of one blade..
Do people still take their time shaving these days?