Razor Acquisition Disorder

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41
Location
Bristol, UK
Has anybody that got into wet shaving of any form managed to actually avoid getting RAD? or the general acquiring of brushes,soaps, creams, balms, aftershaves and other accoutrements?

After trialling the various products on offer, has anyone gone down the minimalist route of sticking to 1 brush, 1 soap/cream, 1 aftershave etc?
 
Unfortunately not! I have enough razors and brushes to stock a small shop and enough blades to last several lifetimes! I think that im seriously in need of help!
 
I've managed so far with my cheapo starter DE razor and DE89. I can count my brushes on one hand still. I don't bother having loads of creams & balms, tend to have one on the go and will order another as its getting low. Got enough blades for a few months, no point buying any more until I've made my mind up on which I really like out of those I'm trialling.

Doesn't stop my jaw dropping at some razors & brushes I see on SOTD though. The likes of ATT razors & Wolf Whiskers brushes for example. There will probably come a point where I try another DE razor out and/or get myself an SE, and then the floodgates will open! But then I've read examples of people moving on from their DE89, trying loads of other razors, only to find that the DE89 suits them best anyway, so I'm not in a hurry to buy more razors.
 
I've managed so far with my cheapo starter DE razor and DE89. I can count my brushes on one hand still. I don't bother having loads of creams & balms, tend to have one on the go and will order another as its getting low. Got enough blades for a few months, no point buying any more until I've made my mind up on which I really like out of those I'm trialling.

Doesn't stop my jaw dropping at some razors & brushes I see on SOTD though. The likes of ATT razors & Wolf Whiskers brushes for example. There will probably come a point where I try another DE razor out and/or get myself an SE, and then the floodgates will open! But then I've read examples of people moving on from their DE89, trying loads of other razors, only to find that the DE89 suits them best anyway, so I'm not in a hurry to buy more razors.

I've got a couple more razors since my DE89, but i've got no reason to really want to sell it.

My first razor and still gives a great shave every time.

I enjoy using different razors but equally enjoy going back to my DE89 every time.
 
Its strange, I don't have an addictive personality but I frequently find myself trying to justify another brush, another soap, another razor etc. Just one more!

Currently I have 5 brushes, 5 creams, 5 razors and say to myself that's enough now, I'm happy with my lot. Then another part of the brain will go 'what about a vintage razor, you don't have one of those in the collection, that would finish it off nicely' or ' you need a matching cologne to go with that particular shave soap, then you need a matching balm type'

Currently I do cycle the items and use everything I own, but I've seen guys on here with brushes, razors and soaps reaching into the dozens and I wonder if they do use and enjoy them all or just settle into using a rotation of just a handful of them.
 
I seem to have managed to avoid accumulating large stocks of brushes, blades, soaps/creams and other accessories, however razors, definitely yes, though i'm blaming it on curiosity!
 
Realistically no! but to justify my RAD, half of my shaving kit has been passed on to me.. Recently i've had a RAD spending spree my latest passion(RAD) is SE vintage razors, ever since i was kindly gifted a Ever Ready 1912 (USA), since then i've a 1914 (Brass) & 1912 (Eng), adding to that i've bought a few tubes of Shaving cream, & a tub of soap.. I quite simply don't need anymore razors, i've made a vow to myself, that is " i've got what i need, not what i want"..and i'm going to do my upmost best and stick with that..I too have enough razors and brushes to stock a small shop and enough blades , soaps & creams to last me for a few years..Anough said, if the truth was to be known, lots of TSR members have RAD moments, some more than others..i'm one..Regards B.:oops:
 
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When I first started, just over two years ago it didn't take long before I fell down the rabbit hole. I started with the best intentions and heeded the advice given. Stick with the same gear for a few months, get used to the gear and get your technique down before buying anything new...I probably lasted a few weeks before I decided to buy another razor. I went from the Merkur 34C to the Above The Tie R1, so no small purchase by any means. I think I still had things under control until I ventured into Badger brushes…:eek:

I started out with a Razorock Synthetic and couldn't get on with it at all. As a newbie I found Badger brushes a bit of a minefield. I started a thread asking for advice and the response was amazing. Not long after I started the thread Paul AKA @Blademonkey gifted me a badger brush. Well he might as well of offered me crack cocaine.:oops:
If I was only looking down the rabbit hole before. I fell in head first after my first badger brush ‘moment'. So it's all Paul's fault.:p

I think most of us have a ‘thing' we're into. For some it's razors others it's soaps. For me it's brushes. At one point I owned 15 (?) brushes at once. I've since bought and sold a few. I think I've got 7 brushes at the moment. I would like to add a couple more but I've found like to keep my rotation to 10 maximum. This number gives enough variety not to get bored and not too many so I don't feel I'm neglecting others.
If you were to look at this months ‘Acquisitions' thread you would think I have a problem…and you'd be right. I do have mad moments/months but I don't like to have too much gear. My goal is to have a small selection of gear which works for me. This will take some time and money but I'm having a great time deciding what does work for me.

Here's a breakdown of the amount of gear I have at the moment;

3 SE Razors
4 DE Razors
Circa 200 razor blades
7 Badger brushes
22 soaps
5 creams
19 aftershaves/balms

So not too excessive…;)
 
22 razors, DE and SE, will cut down to my favourite 10 or 12, no urge to buy more
200+ blades, enough
12 brushes, I am ok with that, no urge to buy more
soap, not counted but enough I am sure, no urge to buy more
15 or so straight razors, itch to buy more but being sensible at the moment
2 strops, going to add a couple of paddle strops DIY
3 shavettes, enough
 
I've settled on a pretty tight set up really. Razors and brushes I wasn't overly keen on were all moved on. Managed to avoid the acquisition disorders. At the moment I've got:

6 razors, 4 of which were inherited. Old Type, New, 2 Techs, Super Adjustable, Sensor. Rotate through them as the mood takes me. The open combs are my favourites and get the most use. The Sensor only really gets used for carry on only air travel.
2 boar brushes. Would be just the 1 but the Omega 49 is on the big side for travel so I have a smaller Kent VS30 for that.
1 soap - Figaro P.160, about 5 years worth!
5 AS splashes, 4 inherited.
2 balms, 1 inherited.
Perhaps 20 years worth of blades, mostly inherited.

So I've no need to be buying anything for years...on the other hand Fassan double slants tempt me but I've resisted so far.
 
I suffer from soap acquisition disorder. I started of slow, had 1 soap for a year maybe, then bought one more, two more, etc and now i can't seem to stop it. I just got a package from maggard and the next day i was on the website again, adding stuff to the cart. I did not order it but i am just fooling myself, its only a matter of time wgen will i press BUY.
At the moment I'm at 25-30 soaps plus 20ish samples. I'm not happy with it, there is too much of them for a normal rotation. I can't decide what to keep what to PIF.
And i already know there is 7-8 soaps i want to buy soon. It's causing me discomfort but i just like having them, smelling them and using them.

I have maybe 15 aftershaves but I'm ok with it. No interest in new ones since alcohol is hard to aquire and balms dont work me. Also i find the scent of the soap important, i like a good scent in my quiet time in the bathroom. But the splash you just put it on when you're finished, and off to other stuff - i do not enjoy is as much. No disorder present.

Brushes are least important to me, atm i have 3, 1 badger and 2 synthetics. I could live without the 1 badger but i wanted to try it. And it's a 30mm so it's a soap eating monster. I do find some bushes attractive but i do not ever browse through them on shops like i do with soaps. I find my plissoft style brush wonderful in appearance and performance and have no interest in owning 20 expensive badgers that need special care. And I am very happy because of it, more money and more excuses for buying soaps :)

As for razors, i am on and off. Never had more than 5. At the moment I'm on 4. Could go with 2, but i like having some of them even though i am not using it much (Gillette Slim Adjustable for example).
Imho, many razors are too expensive, so that keeps me off. I have great shaves with rockwell 6c and merkur 34 which cost less than 50 usd so i don't want to get involved in more expensive things. I don't think paying that much more gives that much of a better shave. Even though I find the Rex, the ATT and many other beautiful and would like to own them. Muchmore than expensive brushes. But I think i am keeping it under control. If i buy 1 I think i will buy more so hope that won't happen.

Hobbies are usually obsessions and it's fine unless it affects a normal, real life. In my opinion all of us have some sort of disorder, or we did have or we will have, otherwise we would keep the shave to ourselves, not think of it much and certainly not get involved with shaving forums :) :)

Sent from my PRA-LX1 using Tapatalk
 
D
I've managed so far with my cheapo starter DE razor and DE89. I can count my brushes on one hand still. I don't bother having loads of creams & balms, tend to have one on the go and will order another as its getting low. Got enough blades for a few months, no point buying any more until I've made my mind up on which I really like out of those I'm trialling.

Doesn't stop my jaw dropping at some razors & brushes I see on SOTD though. The likes of ATT razors & Wolf Whiskers brushes for example. There will probably come a point where I try another DE razor out and/or get myself an SE, and then the floodgates will open! But then I've read examples of people moving on from their DE89, trying loads of other razors, only to find that the DE89 suits them best anyway, so I'm not in a hurry to buy more razors.
Love my DE 89, but just taken delivery of a Ming Shi 2000s to try out something a bit more aggressive. Only taken two weeks to get here from China and very cheap. Dipping my toe in the water with a vintage from e bay, so that will take me to 4 razors. Her indoors rolls her eyes as my shelf in the bathroom slowly overflows!
 
D
Love my DE 89, but just taken delivery of a Ming Shi 2000s to try out something a bit more aggressive. Only taken two weeks to get here from China and very cheap. Dipping my toe in the water with a vintage from e bay, so that will take me to 4 razors. Her indoors rolls her eyes as my shelf in the bathroom slowly overflows!

With reference to the Ming Shi razor. Be careful when loading the blade to check blade alinememt and the blade is sitting flat. Look from the side to see if the blade is horizontal and not at an angle.
 
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