I'm struggling to recollect why TBH. I'd been using cartridge razors for the best part 30 years and didn't have many issues over that time. I could get a couple of weeks out of one cartridge so it wasn't costing me a fortune either. I'd have a bottle of Nivea aftershave balm and a few cans of Nivea shaving gel for Christmas so I'd only have to buy a couple of cans of shaving gel and a couple of packs of cartridges a year. So I didn't get into this to save money. If only I knew what I know now…
The last cartridge razor I used was the King of Shaves Azor razor. I really rated it and had no issues with it at all. In fact a month or so before I moved away from cartridges I bought a years-worth of cartridges direct from KoS. I still have them in a box somewhere.
Why the move? Well I've always considered myself a bit of a traditionalist and liked the MOD ethos. Put it this way my dream job would be a Bespoke Tailor on Savile Row.
I'd fancied trying a Straight razor for years but the jump/learning curve from cartridges seemed too great and more importantly bloody dangerous!
I was on YouTube and a ‘Nick Shaves' video popped up on my recommendations. I started watching it and it really appealed to me.
As some of you may have noticed I'm quite an obsessive character so it didn't take me long to before I was completely consumed by it all. I watched hour upon hour of shaving videos. If someone asked me what I did over the weekend I'd just have to make something up. ‘'Oh you know drinking and fighting*, you know the usual''. If I told them I watched men shaving all weekend they would have thought I'd gone mad or have a very peculiar fetish…or just a saddo.
When I found this forum it was both a blessing and a curse. It's full of some of the most warm and friendly people you could ever wish to meet. They were very helpful and generous. Unfortunately the forum is full of enablers and photos of lovely shinning things at every turn. Not good for someone with no willpower and obsessive personality…Oh and definitely not good for my bank balance.
So what's the pros and cons of traditional shaving?
The Pros:
Enjoying shaving and actually looking forward to the next one.
The meditative ‘me-time'. When you've had a crap day or somethings playing on your mind you can lose yourself for a little while.
The finished results. When you have a great shave you feel great and basically you can't stop stroking your face.
The endless supply of things to buy and the rush of getting home to a cardboard box full of delights.
The Cons:
The Rabbit hole. I think most of us have been down there or still are. The obsession to buy stuff or to own the latest shiny new thing never seems to end.
We only have ourselves to blame though. We go on the forums and see what everyone else is using and fall for the hype. The hyper which we all help create.
In the beginning it can be disheartening when you start to buy everything you can get your hands on and a lot of the time you can be disappointed. 99% of the time this isn't the products fault, it's user error. Something I've been guilty of on many occasion.
The cost: A lot of ‘newbies' say they've come to this way of shaving to save money. For those of use who've been into this hobby for even a few months read it and say to ourselves ‘'Run! Run while you still have money in your pocket and a roof over your head''.
Cheers
Rob
*I'm a lover night a fighter.