Its Quiet Out There....Too Quiet?

Interesting thread, and a topic that I have thought about some. DFS is a wonderful site that helped me immensely 3 years ago as I was new to traditional shaving. As others have mentioned, I was info gathering and excitedly sharing experiences. And I was collecting stuff, always looking for "better."

Now I have a set up that I am very pleased with, I have more blades than I know what to do with (or I do know, I could PIF many and still have a couple of years of shaves!). And I don't find I have much to offer that seems thread worthy. But I still stop by at least every other day and see what's happening!

Excellent discussion - and it seems I'm not alone. I share the experience of several who've posted above. I'm no longer in experimental mode but rather know what I like and use it. I'm also unlikely to try to persuade anyone else that my way might be better than their way. I accept that we each have a pretty good idea what we like. That doesn't mean my mind is closed because I'm always open to improvements in my technique and I know for a fact that I don't know everything.

The subject of cartridge shaving is interesting. I'm reasonably certain that most of us have used cartridge razors in the past and some of us continue to do so, either exclusively or occasionally. My start with wet shaving was replacing my shaving foam with soap and brush while sticking to a cart razor and I think it was an excellent introduction because there is so much variety available. I didn't transition to DE razor for a couple of years. I think a thread devoted to those who use cartridge razors, brush and soap (hybrid shaving?) would be a good idea. There are definitely tricks and techniques that make cartridge shaving better and more affordable that could be discussed. There is also the custom cartridge handle market - just like DE razor handles and the software side is the same. I guess I'd draw the line at a canned shaving foam thread unless there was actually genuine interest in it, then by all means...

I'm pleased to see the level of serious discussion on this thread.

I agree. I too started on this fine approach to shaving about 4 years ago. I actually can't believe it's been that long. But up until this year I was scouring the bay looking for deals on razors I wanted to try. I was ordering creams at first and then added soaps to the mix. I was buying brushes of all types. And checking out different blades. I've since put away 20 of the 30 razors and have settled on a rotation of 10 razors. I've bought 16 brushes and put away 6 of them leaving me with a regular rotation of 9 (3 each of boar, badger and synthetic) plus one dedicated synthetic travel brush. I've settled on blades as well. And I now have 6 shave bowls to rotate through and no longer search for them anymore. The only things I keep looking for are creams, soaps and aftershaves. And since software eventually gets used up and scents are integral to my overall shave experience, I'll always be searching for the next great performing great smelling soap or cream and aftershaves. I am only looking to get my hands on one piece of hardware. An Ikon Deluxe Open Comb or a Ikon Deluxe B1 Open Comb, preferably the former but may just get the latter.

I will read through threads from anyone seeking advice and if I feel I can add to the discussion I'll chime in. But one thing I really like about these forums is that many also have subforms covering other areas of interest such as coffee, cigars, cooking, even biking. Much to talk about. So I will admit that my shaving related presence on the forums has dwindled since I first took to classic wet shaving, I am still here pretty much daily and will check out all the areas of interest. A great community of people.

Since we don't have the financial ledgers of every artisan out there we can only venture guesses based on what we see on forums and to a far lesser extent in a few brick & mortar giants, e.g., Walmart, Target, etc. However, being active on a forum or two will reveal to the astute observer which trends are in favor for the moment and which ones are history as regards DE/SE wet shaving.

A great "barometer" for established artisan razor makers is to notice when they intro a new model. To me that says that sales of their older model(s) have topped out and it's time to excite the "monkeys" anew.   The same could be said for soap makers as well and to a lesser extent brush makers. The biggest news in the latter category is the great extent to which synthetics have displaced hair brushes and rightfully so. That's not because of any animal rights sentiment, but simply that for many they flat out work better. However, I think any further gain with synthetics will be microscopically incremental from here on out as the latest generation has equaled or bettered hair brushes as regards "feel" and few would argue that they don't lather faster & better.

Soaps have become incredibly good with very little (if any measurable) difference between top tier makers and that settled subjectively by the user. There will always be new artisan soap makers, but the bar has been set very high and to eke out a living they are going to have to not only have a top tier base, but also inventive & exciting scents and after shave face "feel" for the crusty old codgers.    It's a tough market this one.  

The worst battle is something few here have to endure or participate in:  Gillette's bid to try to regain customers with their newest gizmos due to customers who have fled to Harry's, Dollar Shave Club, et al. That's corporate trench warfare.

The best news is that everything a DE/SE wet shaver needs for a perfect shave already exists and is easily purchased relatively cheap.  

This game is just not cheap. We all get into it thinking it'll be cheaper, but for 99% of us that is most definitely not the case! I went on a pretty long hiatus myself and I pretty much stopped experimenting and finished up a lot of my soaps that were collecting dust. Artisan soaps (as great as they are) are no longer cheap. Every artisan out there has at least doubled their prices since the time I started shaving and using their products. I pretty much just stick to 2 artisan soaps now and the rest are TOBS. The funny thing about this is that out of all the years I was shaving, I never even bothered with TOBS, thinking it was an inferior product, but by gosh, the stuff rocks and you can usually get them for dirt cheap if you wait for a sale or coupon and stock up.

Also, I don't mess around with matching anything anymore which was my ultimate downfall. Gambling on so many sets without even knowing how they'd smell. I spent thousands and that was seriously insanity. Then you gotta deal with trying to sell what you didn't care for, lose more money on bst, and then deal with the post office. Just not worth the trouble to me anymore. I stick to unscented stray whisker after balm to finish up every shave no matter what scented soap I'm using.

Plus DE became a pain in my you know what, so I personally switched over to the MR3 and have been getting BBS shaves ever since. Sold all my brushes and now just use 1 brush and will continue to do so until it falls apart, at which point I will buy another one. And most of the time I shave every other day now since mr3 refills aren't exactly cheap.

That's my 2 cents. Plus many a men have a SWMBO! lol.

I went on a pretty long hiatus myself and I pretty much stopped experimenting and finished up a lot of my soaps that were collecting dust. Artisan soaps (as great as they are) are no longer cheap. Every artisan out there has at least doubled their prices since the time I started shaving and using their products. I pretty much just stick to 2 artisan soaps now and the rest are TOBS.

I know of one long-standing artisan soap maker that has only had an increase of $1.41 on her refill soap pucks, in the past eight years, which is astounding.

indeed. I do love her sensitive skin soap which is 1 of the artisan soaps I still keep around. But i stopped with buying other scents. Anyways, didn't actually mean "every" artisan on the planet. I wrote all that pretty fast without double checking it.. but It's funny because it was a soap I was really trying to sell back when! Luckily it never sold! It became my favorite. I super lather every cream I have with the unscented puck so I can still enjoy the tallow and skin benefits.

...Plus DE became a pain in my you know what, so I personally switched over to the MR3...

Why was DE shaving (the actual shaving part and not rampant untethered buying) a pain?

indeed. I do love her sensitive skin soap which is 1 of the artisan soaps I still keep around. But i stopped with buying other scents.  Anyways, didn't actually mean "every" artisan on the planet. I wrote all that pretty fast without double checking it.. but It's funny because it was a soap I was really trying to sell back when! Luckily it never sold! It became my favorite. I super lather every cream I have with the unscented puck so I can still enjoy the tallow and skin benefits.

Good to know that you are still enjoying her soap.

Maybe a more reasonably priced Nuavia Rosso?