I Got Enough Lather for 3 Passes plus Touchup

BadDad I guess it's one of those instances you described before about tone not coming through with words on a screen. I apologize for accusing you of being condescending. I really should have known that was not your intent.

In regards to the topic, I just find it unbelievable to have finished 20 soaps this year no matter how far gone they would've been prior. I've been into this hobby for a year and a half and haven't gone through a single tub! I do a lot of sampling though. Still trying to find those handful of gems that will form a steady rotation, if that's ever a possibility...

No worries. It happens. And to be honest, I am mistaken for being condescending quite a bit when I am writing a response. I think it has to do with my effort to be clear. I tend to use a lot of phrasing that can come across as arrogant. I dont mean to do it, in fact, it's quite the opposite. My goal is to be clear and concise. The effect is often mistaken for arrogance and condescension. Such is the nature of written communication, especially between people that have not actually met, and really entirely upon perception through writing to "know" each other...

As regards the blogger...He combines multiple soaps when they get low, so my assumption has always been that when he kills a tub that has 3 soaps mixed, he counts it as 3 soaps killed. So if he gets 10 soaps close to done, and presses them in to, say, 3 different tubs, he can go through 10 soaps in a couple weeks time. Seems impossible but if each soap only has 1 shave or so left...not so impossible. 1 shave each from 3 soaps in 1 tub, in 3 shaves, he kills 3 soaps...

Again...I don't know the guy personally, only that we belong to many of the same G+ groups. This is just the impression that I have gotten from seeing his SOTD submissions, and how many soaps he goes through...

In my mind there is no issue whatever with him wondering that. His original post though is different. What is the point of being critical of others for no good reason, which was the case with his original post.

People come to forums like these for enjoyment.

What was it our mothers taught us? 'Don't say anything if you can't say something nice.'

In my mind there is no issue whatever with him wondering that.  His original post though is different.  What is the point of being critical of others for no good reason, which was the case with his original post.

People come to forums like these for enjoyment.  

What was it our mothers taught us?  'Don't say anything if you can't say something nice.'

What are you talking about this? http://damnfineshave.com/thread-i-got-en...8#pid74358

The question was simple, why do people say "I got enough lather for three passes plus touchup and all this lather left over" or something similar.

What's the point of this? Why didn't they make enuff for 5 passes? or 2 Passes. But the real issue is "if this is the standard, then how do you use 20 soaps in 6 months?" How does this standard phrase jive with with what appears to be massive soap consumption?

Curious minds want to know.

The issue isn’t your question. The issue is the tone of your post.

Statements like “…threw away money .... flush down the sink.” and “Are these people proud they had left over lather?” are derogatory comments which detract from the quality of this, or any, forum.

It’s like our mothers taught us, “If you can’t say something nice then don’t say anything.”

The issue isn’t your question.  The issue is the tone of your post.

Statements like “…threw away money .... flush down the sink.” and “Are these people proud they had left over lather?” are derogatory comments which detract from the quality of this, or any, forum.

It’s like our mothers taught us, “If you can’t say something nice then don’t say anything.”

Asking why they threw lather down the sink is degratory? That might be your interpretation but that is your choice to do so. One reason many people choose this "hobby" is to save money. They tout things like:

"I can get 10 shaves from one blade and they cost 10 cents each vs $5 per cartridge"

or

"There is no need to buy anything more than Arko, everything else is a waste of money" (I read this a lot)

or

"No need for a badger brush, my $10 synthetic is perfect, anything else is a waste" (I read that one  yesterday)

and it goes on and on and on with reasons why traditional wet shaving is superior, based upon financial reasons, than cartridge systems

Your questioning saving money by using only the amount of lather you need? How does that jive with the foundational arguments people make to convert cartridge shaves to traditional wet shaving?

To save money, you don't get to pick and choose just the attributes you like without looking at the process holistically. If you want to save money, you do so across the board:

1. from the tools you use, the sunk costs

2. the consumables you use, and

3. the techniques you use.

You can't say I got 10 shaves per blade and at a dime each thats a penny per shave and then dump 50 cents of lather down the drain. What's the old saying "Penny saved, dollar foolish"?  That's why I brought it up.

Cost was never a factor in my going down this path to be honest. It originally was based on an article in Forbes that my wife was reading on a plane. It touched on the 2 billion cartridges finding their way to landfills each year in the US alone and the inability to recycle even a portion and highlighted DE shaving as an alternative.

Add the fact that my wife described the "retro" aspect as right up my alley and a few months later I received a starter kit for a birthday gift. Never looked back but at no time conducted any financial analysis nor really care in that context.

I do agree that many rationalize it as a cost saving effort but seriously doubt many that wet shave to cut cost frequent shaving forums regularly. In that scenario, it's a fiscal choice, not hobby as it is for many of us.

Most of your reply has nothing to do with my point, which is your tone in addressing others. and yes, I do find it derogatory.

In my mind there is no issue whatever with him wondering that.  His original post though is different.  What is the point of being critical of others for no good reason, which was the case with his original post.

People come to forums like these for enjoyment.  

What was it our mothers taught us?  'Don't say anything if you can't say something nice.'

What are you talking about this? http://damnfineshave.com/thread-i-got-en...8#pid74358

The question was simple, why do people say "I got enough lather for three passes plus touchup and all this lather left over" or something similar.

What's the point of this? Why didn't they make enuff for 5 passes? or 2 Passes. But the real issue is "if this is the standard, then how do you use 20 soaps in 6 months?" How does this standard phrase jive with with what appears to be massive soap consumption?

Curious minds want to know.

I presume the point is to say: "For some standard amount of brush loading time, this soap produces a lot of nice lather. " I wouldn't read any more into it than that. Clearly, if one loads the same brush for say 15 seconds, some soaps will produce more lather than others. With some soaps, the lather will dissipate in the brush between passes more than others. Therefore, I would imagine the purpose is simply to communicate: "Wow! This soap lathers like a beast and I like it a lot. "

The issue isn’t your question.  The issue is the tone of your post.

Statements like “…threw away money .... flush down the sink.” and “Are these people proud they had left over lather?” are derogatory comments which detract from the quality of this, or any, forum.

It’s like our mothers taught us, “If you can’t say something nice then don’t say anything.”

Asking why they threw lather down the sink is degratory? That might be your interpretation but that is your choice to do so. One reason many people choose this "hobby" is to save money. They tout things like:

"I can get 10 shaves from one blade and they cost 10 cents each vs $5 per cartridge"

or

"There is no need to buy anything more than Arko, everything else is a waste of money" (I read this a lot)

or

"No need for a badger brush, my $10 synthetic is perfect, anything else is a waste" (I read that one  yesterday)

and it goes on and on and on with reasons why traditional wet shaving is superior, based upon financial reasons, than cartridge systems

Your questioning saving money by using only the amount of lather you need? How does that jive with the foundational arguments people make to convert cartridge shaves to traditional wet shaving?

To save money, you don't get to pick and choose just the attributes you like without looking at the process holistically. If you want to save money, you do so across the board:

1. from the tools you use, the sunk costs

2. the consumables you use, and

3. the techniques you use.

You can't say I got 10 shaves per blade and at a dime each thats a penny per shave and then dump 50 cents of lather down the drain. What's the old saying "Penny saved, dollar foolish"?  That's why I brought it up.

How many people legitimately save money switching to traditional methods? From $75 badger brushes to $15 for 4oz of soap, and all manner of money well spent, who among us has deluded ourselves into thinking this will save us money beyond the first month of our introduction? Seriously? And those prices are really at the lower end of the spectrum.

The people that do this to save money aren't participating on shave forums, because hobbies do not save money. None of them. Hobbies, by their very nature, are a non-essential form of entertainment that requires some form of investment, almost always monetary. This particular hobby happens to be a very expensive one if you let it.

For someone to sit there and lather their $20 soap with an $80 brush, to use their $125 stainless steel razor, and a $20 handcrafted splash to be worried about a few extra pennies of lather going down the drain is pretty silly.

I know...it's all about the cost per shave. Yea, yea...nice justification, but nothing more than that at the end of the day. Each of us has hundreds of dollars sitting in a corner of our bathrooms at a minimum. To shave. Why any of us would be worried about someone else losing a few pennies down the drain is beyond me...

You keep saying this is an innocent question of "why don't people only make the lather they need?", but you also keep insisting that the "real issue" is how a single person went through 20 soaps in 6 months. I say it again...if that is the "real issue" in your mind...ask him. I'm sure he would be happy to have a polite interaction about his process. He seems a very friendly individual both on G+ and facebook, so ask him about his process.

And yes...anytime someone suggests that their way is the only way or the best way, and any other way is a waste of money/time/whatever is derogatory. The implication is that the individual making the statement is smarter and more efficient than anyone with a different perspective, and it can come across as both insulting and demeaning. Intentions may not be as such, but still...

I would also like to say that for me, it was never really about saving money. It was about finding a means to shaving my head every day that did not leave me with a minefield of ingrown hair and irritation. It was a bonus that my introduction only set me back about $30 total, but it was very quickly realized that this is a hobby that is going to cost money, not save it...