Shaving our expenses.

[alchemysa]

You know when your teenage boys have got their first jobs. A lot of fancy shaving gear starts appearing in the bathroom.

(The Gillette Mach 3 Super Turbo Ultra!.. It cuts through the toughest bumfluff like no other razor!)

Of course, to save money to raise these kids, I always shaved with those orange things that were about 5 for a dollar. (They call them disposables. I'd dispose of them when they got so blunt they'd take a patch of skin out with each hair.)

But then the boys got jobs and I got to see what the modern new-age guy is using to shave with. And lucky me, I got to inherit a fancy shaver every couple of months because, naturally, the boys never buy the right refills, or even use up all the blades that come with their fancy shavers. No, after a month or two they had to buy 'the next generation of precision shaving equipment'. So at the bottom of the bathroom cupboard there's always bits and pieces of shavers that a clever guy like me can put together and use. So I also had fancy shaving gear for a couple of years!

But now the boys have left home and all the leftover blades have been used up. So today I had to buy blades again.
But I thought, Hey I can afford it now. The boys are off our hands. Our expenses are down, and I'm worth it! So I'm going to follow the wife around the supermarket and find myself a pack of Mach 5 refills!.
What??!! $26 for eight blades!!! Are you ******* kidding me?!!

So I'm back to the orange things again. $4.95 for 15, and perfectly good enough.

 

[milkman]

Good for you. I remember when I was a kid and before we got a TV, we would go visit one of my cousins and watch wrestling on Sat. night that was in black and white. Right after that went off, we watched "Gillette Cavalcade Of Sports" which was boxing sponsored by Gillette. That was fifty five years ago and even then their razors were improved for closer smother shave and every model they've come out with since then has claimed the same. I've had a beard since '78 and I would bet that they are so good by now that if I started shaving again, they'd shave so close that I couldn't feel a stubble for about ten days. Amazing how they can keep improving those little plastic things.

 

[DIRTROAD]

That kind of price shock could make a guy go all "Grizzly Adams"!!!

 

[Scooby074]

Buy a Merkur Futur and some Feather blades. Will cost around $100CDN. Cheaper Merkurs are available (like the model 38C ~$40CDN). Youll never go back to that Gillette crap!!!

I've made the change, and am having the best shaves of my life. A pack of blades (10 double edged) is $8. And can be found cheaper on Ebay when bought in bulk!

Theres a great site for everything to do with "wet shaving" here Badger & Blade

 

[cowboy357]

That kind of price shock could make a guy go all "Grizzly Adams"!!!

I Resemble that remark . I,ve never owned a shaver . Bob

 

[jimmyj]

What??!! $26 for eight blades!!! Are you ******* kidding me?!!
QUOTE]

Yeah, it's amazing they can stay in business at those prices.

Funny you bring this up as I recently succumbed to the advertising and got one of the Gilette-super-Nasa-military-tech-alloy-space-age-razors called a mach-something-or-other and I gotta say....I really like it. It shaves really good. Maybe I'm a softie but the disposables are too sharp when they are new and I cut myself to ribbons with them. For the price, a refill lasts about a week so I can live with it for now even though they're about as much as pure gold.

 

[scgargoyle]

I can go a couple months on a refill, so the cost is minimal. I shave 3 times a week, and it's barely noticeable. I do have a small beard and mustache, so there's not that much acreage to mow, but refills last me a long time. I had a chest hair once, but it fell out!

 

[Frosty2]

I Resemble that remark . I,ve never owned a shaver . Bob

+2 The only way to go.Warm in the winter,w/out sunburn face in the summer.

 

[Flatheadyoungin]

Yeah, when I was younger I used electric and just dealt with the lack of closeness. Then I switched to a blade and was shocked at the prices. After a few years, I found my brand of refills- not the little cheapies- at the flea-market. They were priced cheap! I bought every they had and every pack I could get my hands on after that. Well, they lasted me about 7 or 8 years. Well, about a year ago, I ran out of the flea-market blades So, I thought, "How bad could it have been? I make a little more money now, lets go get some. Sam's Club would be cheap." Oh no, they were about double what I had paid for them before striking gold at the flea market. I bought the super sized Sam's Club pack, and I'm about out again.

I don't know what to do!

 

[alchemysa]

Yeah, when I was younger I used electric and just dealt with the lack of closeness.

What about the old line 'Close as a blade or your money back'. (Who said that? Remington?). I wonder how many people actually made them give the money back.

 

[Uncle Doug]

A few years ago we went out to San Diego for Joe's USMC graduation from boot camp. He took us through the on base PX to do a little shopping for himself and us. One of the things I noticed was the razor blade refills were dirt cheap. I had him buy me 10 packs and him 10 packs. I am still useing the last of mine. He was out there again a few weeks ago for some training and was going to stop by and try and pick up a few more packs. He said his base never has deals like that.

 

[Egon]

I've that in the past some folks thought that if you placed a razor blade under a small Pyramid shaped form and had it correctly aligned that the razor blade would last forever!

 

[scott_vt]

You know when your teenage boys have got their first jobs. A lot of fancy shaving gear starts appearing in the bathroom.
Of course, to save money to raise these kids, I always shaved with those orange things that were about 5 for a dollar. (They call them disposables. I'd dispose of them when they got so blunt they'd take a patch of skin out with each hair.)

But now the boys have left home and all the leftover blades have been used up. So today I had to buy blades again.
But I thought, Hey I can afford it now. The boys are off our hands. Our expenses are down, and I'm worth it! So I'm going to follow the wife around the supermarket and find myself a pack of Mach 5 refills!.
What??!! $26 for eight blades!!! Are you ******* kidding me?!!

So I'm back to the orange things again. $4.95 for 15, and perfectly good enough.

Good Mornin Alchemysa,
That was a great read ! I see that things in Australia are not entirely different than the USA ! We raised two boys that have gone on their own and I went through the exact same thing !

Thanks for refreshing my memory !

 

[alchemysa]

Good Mornin Alchemysa,
That was a great read ! I see that things in Australia are not entirely different than the USA ! We raised two boys that have gone on their own and I went through the exact same thing !

Thanks for refreshing my memory !

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I must admit I miss the shaving cream they used to buy. I'm back to plain old soap and a shaving brush again. (I don't really have to scrimp but I just can't bring myself to pay those crazy prices!)

 

[silo36]

I thought I'd add my 2 cents. I got tired of buying razor blades a long time ago. I have used a straight razor for years. While they're not for everyone, I actually enjoy using a straight razor. I have tried most other razors, and as long as I have a steady hand, lol, I'll keep using the straight razor. I also use homemade soap and a brush.

 

[PhilNH5]

I have always used a mug and a brush for lather. I shaved with a 2 bladed cartridge for years.
8 months ago I got the Merkur 38C that Jason referred to. It is a double edge saftey razor. I take longer to shave but get "baby bottom smooth" shaves every morning. My wife loves it.
You can by the Feather blades mention by Jason for the best of the best.
But you can also get Personnas at Wal-Mart. $1.76 for 10. Each one last almost a week.
I also have a 1962 Gillette Slim adjustable razor I brought on Ebay. That gives an excellent shave as well.
For more than you'll ever need to know about shaving stop by The Shave Den at The Shave Den

Phil

 

[Scooby074]

Phil: Glad to hear you like the 38C its a great razor. Im starting to get a bad case of RAD (razor acquisition disorder) and am really wanting a Slant.

I havent had any luck finding old Gillettes locally, but im not quitting the hunt! Who knows, maybe theres a toggle hidden away at some small, local, antiques store

+1 for The Shave Den, its another great resource.

 

[charlz]

What about the old line 'Close as a blade or your money back'. (Who said that? Remington?). I wonder how many people actually made them give the money back.

The thing with electric for me is that is seems to take forever to get the job done. With a blade I can be done in one pass, with electric it seems like it takes at least 3 times longer.

 

[kidr]

I've that in the past some folks thought that if you placed a razor blade under a small Pyramid shaped form and had it correctly aligned that the razor blade would last forever!

It's true Egon, I've tried it and it works....................as long as you don't shave with it.

 

[Egon]

Aww darned; you let out my secret!