Save Money with Straight Razor Shaving

The following is a guest post from Badger and Blade.

You pay how much per year for shaving?? Just for those little blade-cartridges that Gillette and Schick sell for ever-rising prices? Okay, so how would you like to never have to buy another cartridge or blade again ... and no, I don't mean grow a beard. No, this is not some strange new invention from an infomercial, but a return to the only way of shaving for hundreds of years before Gillette found a way to make us perpetual blade-purchasers.

That's right, maybe you are thinking you'd like to shave with an actual straight razor. You know, a 'cut-throat' like in Sweeney Todd and the Barber of Seville. What's that going to cost?

Well, at the start-up, it'll set you back a few dollars, there's no doubt. Now, straight razor shaving is like fly fishing: if your aim is to catch a fish or get a shave, you can get by with fairly inexpensive stuff, but if your goal is to pursue the ultimate in aesthetics and performance, you can get into some pretty pricey stuff. I'll be talking about the general basics, rather than the razor equivalents of the best Sage rod or (heaven forbid) custom made split cane rods. No, we'll stick to the 'good enough to get the job done' basics.

Okay, you need a razor. Prices for new razors (the good ones anyhow, which come from France and Germany; avoid the cheap-o specials from Pakistan and the like if you value your face) start at about $80 and can easily get up to $200, often because of the materials that the handles are made of ... which means nothing to the shave, quite frankly. So expect to pay $100 for a decent razor when you include the initial honing.

(Some decent used razors are available out there, but that's a whole different kettle of fish, trying to find a gem in among all the useless 'deals'.)

Initial honing? Yeah, get it honed to start. Razors come sharp from the factory, but nowhere near sharp enough for good shaves. Most places that sell razors offer a honing service as well, so it's not too hard to get it honed. You will also need to have it honed from time to time ... how often will depend on the durability of the razor's steel, the thickness of your beard, your stropping ability, and so on ... but let's say three times a year. You will probably spend between $20 and $25 for the honing service and postage, so let's say $25 each.

What's that "stropping" I mentioned? Remember old movies were the guy goes to a barber for a shave, and the barber starts whipping the razor back and forth on that leather strip ... well, it's a leather strop! You do that before every shave to make sure the blade is perfectly aligned. How much will a decent strop cost? Well, let's say $75. Again, you can go cheap, but a good strop can last a lifetime.

So let's crunch some numbers. You have start-up costs of $175 for a honed razor and strop, and ongoing honing costs of $75 per year. Let's say you do that for 10 years: $925 total, or $92.5 per year. Let's say you do it for 30 years: we're now down to $80.83 per year.

Okay, so maybe you want to save the $75 per year, and hone your own razor! You'll be a totally self-sufficient shaver then. Now, hones (like razors) can be likened to fly fishing ... remember those split cane rods with the four or five-figure price tag? So I'll stick to the basics. You will need (as a basic honing kit) a 4000/8000 grit double-sided hone for $65, and a "flattening" stone to keep your hone, well, flat for $28. Now, here some guys who like split-cane fly rods get other super-fine hones to finish their razors on, but yo can 'get by' with a special strop with special pastes applied ... and if you get a multi-sided one, you still have the leather and unpasted linen sides of a regular strop, and there's no additional cost for this model; you'll just need to buy tubes of paste every so often ... again, wading through the variables, let's say $10 per year.

So, what's the cost of a straight razor if you hone your own? Again, $175 start-up for razor and strop, and an additional $93 for hone and flattener for a total of $268. And we're down to $10 per year to buy strop paste. So 10 years of straight-razor shaving is only $368 ... or $36.80 per year. And if you stick with it for $30 years, the total is $568, or $18.93 per year, or a savings of over $62 annually. Outside of the initial $268 (an additional cost of $184 over cartridge shaving for the first year) it works out to an annual savings of $62.29, or over $7,600 after 30 years (assuming an 8% return)!

Comments

how much time is spent in this process.. from honing to stropping to ordering new paste... sounds like the convenience factor out weighs a non inflation adjusted 7600 in 30 years... just use the cartridges longer

[Howie]

I've switched over to safety razors from Merker. It's great, only cost me $25 to start off and the blades cost about $5 for 10. They're double sided razor blades. I also picked up a brush from The Body Shop and some shave cream. The shave cream is lasting forever! Also, the brush feels great and I haven't had any skin problems. It's all natural stuff so I think it's helped my skin. It only takes about 10 minutes in the morning. Cheapest and best alternative in my opinion.

[Rzrshrp]

The savings wouldn't be so great for me. I replace cartridges once about every 3 weeks sometimes more. They cost about 1.25 each when I get 25 at a time. The cost of the shaver itself is negligible. I bought one like 4 years ago and still use the same one. That costs me about 21.25 per year total. I'll make it 23.00 to include the shaver itself. I think that little bit of extra money is worth it to have a quicker shave with less hassle.

[Brandon]

I think that straight razor shaving is only good if you really enjoy the process of shaving... which I don't.

Additionally, I would be too afraid of cutting myself.

[Tim]

After years of being a "wet" shave purist I discovered the best way to save money on shaving: Electric. I spent around fifty dollars for an inexpensive Norelco. It costs pennies to charge. Nothing else to buy -- no cartridges, no soap or cream. I get a close shave with no cuts, no irritated skin, no razor bumps. Fast and convenient, no sink, no water, no mess. Even with the eventual cost to replace the shave heads it beats a wet shave hands down.

[sahm]

coupons--- if you watch the paper every year around Spring there are 100's of offers for free razors and shaving gel/cream. My hubby has forbidden me to "purchase" anymore until next year because we have a cabinet full....

[That One Caveman]

Some days I wish I grew enough facial hair to worry about the economics of shaving. (For a caveman, my face is atypically bald.) I shave twice a week and my cartridge blades last nearly a month a piece.

[WesleyTech.com]

I agree with Tim. Electric is the only way to go. It's cheaper than standard blades in the long run, saves you time (which equals money) and is much more convenient. Blades only need to be replaced about once every 6 months (or longer) and it does the job sufficiently.

[rtaylor61]

Straight razor shaving is great. Shaving with an "old timey" double edge razor is great. Most men today don't enjoy shaving because they don't make it enjoyable. Foam or gel from a can are not enjoyable. But take a comfortable badger brush and whip up lather from a quality shaving soap or shaving cream and then you can begin to understand that shaving is not a chore, but a privilege to enjoy. Racing to "scrape" your face against the clock is drudgery.

[JimmyDaGeek]

I recently read that the secret to keeping a disposable razor sharp is to completely rinse and DRY it after each use.

[FamilyFinanceBlog]

I agree with the electric razor crowd. I really push my blades and they do a decent job even up to 5 YEARS old (although when I get new ones I can tell the difference). I spend $30 at Walmart to buy a new razor every four years (new blades are $28.99, a new razor with blades is $29.99). So my cost every 10 years is about $60.

[Mathieu]

I've made the switch from disposable gilette razors to a double-edge merkur razor in April and never looked back since. I was really scared of cutting myself after reading about those stories about being really careful the first time. It was fairly easy to learn and once you have a good technique, with the correct angle and a good lather, it's a walk in the park. The shave is also closer, much more smooth, better for the skin (using natural shaving cream vs the chemical one in a can) and it's sooo much cheaper. Sure, the initial cost for the razor is a pain, but afterwards, all you have to buy is a pack of ten razors. One blade lasts about 2-3 weeks for me, as I shave every 2-3 days.

I'm glad I've switched, I'm saving up and it's a much better experience to shave now :)