Gollnick
Musical Director
- Joined
- Mar 22, 1999
- Messages
- 29,258
I bought a Futur (love it), a Futur-style brush (love it), a Merkur bowl, and a nice stand. It was expensive, $270 as I recall.
The last time I bought them, Sensor cartridges cost $30 for a package of five. I typically got six shaves from a Sensor cartridge. That is one dollar per shave.
Canned lather costs about four bucks per can and there's typically about twenty shaves per can. That's about 16-20 cents per shave.
Feather blades are the most expensive DE blades. Westcoastshaving sells them for $40 per hundred, 40 cents each. I reliably get four good shaves from each, so that is ten cents per shave.
I just finished a cake of DR Harris soap that cost $15 (yes, fifteen dollars for a cake of soap!). But, that cake of soap, pricey as it is, has 120 shaves in it, 12.5 cents per shave.
$1 + $0.16 = $1.16 per shave with cartridge and can
$0.10 + $0.125 = $0.225 per shave with deluxe DE
$1.16 - $0.225 = $0.935 savings per day, $341 per year.
So, my very top-of-the-line kit was paid for in about nine months and I made $70 the first year. Now, I make a real savings of $341 per year. The razor, bowl, and stand will, with minimal care, last for a lifetime. The brush will need to be re-knotted perhaps every ten years at a cost of about $50.
I want to emphasize that that $341 per year is real savings. It's hard to see it because it comes 93.5 cents per day. It is money you don't spend at the grocery store for cartridges and cans. Instead of spending four bucks every three weeks for another can and thirty more every month for cartridges (notice that they stagger those so you rarely buy both at the same time), all through the year, you will go to westcoastshaving and order a hundred blades for $40 (400 shaves) and three cakes of DR Harris soap for $45 (thus qualifying for free shipping) and you are set for the year.
And Bic blades are, in my opinion, 97% as good as Feathers for literally half the price and I get six good shaves from each of them. Redo the math with those and the savings is even better.
$341 will pay for three nights in a nice hotel near the Cobb Galeria Center in Atlanta, Georgia each year with a little left over for ground transportation and even meals.
And here's the other thing to consider. You can a nice razor for less than $20. A very nice brush can be had in the $50 range. I think a stand is nice to have, but you can get a nice one in the $20 range. And there are plenty of options for a bowl in the $5 range. So, you can get a great kit together for under $100 without much effort. Then, your payoff is in about three or four months.
The last time I bought them, Sensor cartridges cost $30 for a package of five. I typically got six shaves from a Sensor cartridge. That is one dollar per shave.
Canned lather costs about four bucks per can and there's typically about twenty shaves per can. That's about 16-20 cents per shave.
Feather blades are the most expensive DE blades. Westcoastshaving sells them for $40 per hundred, 40 cents each. I reliably get four good shaves from each, so that is ten cents per shave.
I just finished a cake of DR Harris soap that cost $15 (yes, fifteen dollars for a cake of soap!). But, that cake of soap, pricey as it is, has 120 shaves in it, 12.5 cents per shave.
$1 + $0.16 = $1.16 per shave with cartridge and can
$0.10 + $0.125 = $0.225 per shave with deluxe DE
$1.16 - $0.225 = $0.935 savings per day, $341 per year.
So, my very top-of-the-line kit was paid for in about nine months and I made $70 the first year. Now, I make a real savings of $341 per year. The razor, bowl, and stand will, with minimal care, last for a lifetime. The brush will need to be re-knotted perhaps every ten years at a cost of about $50.
I want to emphasize that that $341 per year is real savings. It's hard to see it because it comes 93.5 cents per day. It is money you don't spend at the grocery store for cartridges and cans. Instead of spending four bucks every three weeks for another can and thirty more every month for cartridges (notice that they stagger those so you rarely buy both at the same time), all through the year, you will go to westcoastshaving and order a hundred blades for $40 (400 shaves) and three cakes of DR Harris soap for $45 (thus qualifying for free shipping) and you are set for the year.
And Bic blades are, in my opinion, 97% as good as Feathers for literally half the price and I get six good shaves from each of them. Redo the math with those and the savings is even better.
$341 will pay for three nights in a nice hotel near the Cobb Galeria Center in Atlanta, Georgia each year with a little left over for ground transportation and even meals.
And here's the other thing to consider. You can a nice razor for less than $20. A very nice brush can be had in the $50 range. I think a stand is nice to have, but you can get a nice one in the $20 range. And there are plenty of options for a bowl in the $5 range. So, you can get a great kit together for under $100 without much effort. Then, your payoff is in about three or four months.
