(09-10-2023, 04:39 AM)rocket Wrote: Pasteur sent out a link to this WSJ article on a comparison of "expensive" razors, indicating someone affiliated with WSJ purchased a razor from them for the article review:
We Tested Six Expensive Men's Razors. One Stood Out.
Is it worth ditching your drugstore razor and splurging on a high-end model?
Always glad to see wetshaving in mainstream media. But not sure I see the rationale of including razors priced as low as $59 in the same category as a $435 speciality razor, much less the lack of leading artisans. Regardless, I hope it encourages consideration of more traditional wetshaving options.
Dude, this is really cool! I am really happy about safety razors, re-gaining some popularity among the mainstream crowd. With the costs of cartridge razor blades and electric shaver head replacements on the rise, and inflation not letting up, while people's wages are not properly following inflation, safety razors start looking pretty good, pretty quick. These days an 8-pack of Gillette Fusion cartridge blades, is around 28 to 30 bucks! Where as I can get a 100-pack of DE blades, for 15 dollars or less. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see where the savings are here, and who is trying to take advantage of you!
Now, in regards to the other topic, cheap DE razors, VS expensive specialty razors. Here's the thing, cheap DE razors, made out of Zamick ( pot metal ) will last a good while, if one takes care of them. But people who put their zamick razors away wet all the time, and do not allow them to dry, they have a tendency to fall apart quickly. While a lot of this depends on the plating job as well done on them, it is well known, that cheap DE razors, have poor plating jobs, compared to artisan brand options. The old well known axiam, you get what you pay for.
I have a total of 12-razors. Some of them are cheap coated Zamick, other's are high end Copper gold plated, stainless steel, or titanium. IMHO, anybody who is brand new to traditional wet shaving, should start out their journey with a cheap razor first, perhaps a Merkur 34C for example, and find out if traditional wet shaving is for them. If they decide that traditional wet shaving is for them, and they actually love it enough, then it would be a good idea perhaps, to purchase a stainless razor, something that is pretty much guaranteed to last their entire life. So, one reason to buy artisan, would be just for the sheer durability of it.
And I will admit, sometimes our purchases, tend to be indulgences. For example, I could have been fine with just my stainless razors for life! But nope, I just had to have a titanium razor, and purchased my Timeless TI95. Now, Titanium is a material 100% guaranteed to last forever, it doesn't rely on a coating, or method, to water proof it. Titanium, by its own nature, does not rust or corrode, so it will last many many lifetimes. But does one need a razor that high end? No, not really, again, its an indulgence. If you want your razor to be a family heirloom that lasts many generations, OK, well, maybe yeah, get a titanium that becomes a collectible one day I suppose lol.
But in reality, just start out with a Zamick razor, see if you like it, and if you answer yes to that, then get yourself a stainless razor and be done with it. Because at the end of the day, everything else is an indulgence, although I must admit, it truly is a fun hobby to indulge in, and I love it!
