Is anyone else a budget shaver?

yes.

there are lots of ways to save money shaving….here are some that worked for me:

1. as how crazy is this posted: rinsing and drying any blade will save it from corrosion, which is the #1 thing that ruins a sharp blade.
2. proper (and cheap) beard prep will help those older blades keep on keepin’ on.
3. cheap hair conditioner works as well as the expensive creams. for me, anyway.

Get yourself an old Gillette adjustable (Slim or Fatboy) and start on a low number. Unless you have a fairly wrinkled face (I mean that in the kindest way possible) there aren’t any problems that cannot be solved to get a good and pain free DE shave. Also as a bonus, they are the best blades to slice LEDs.

That’s the brand, but not the ook I was referring to. This is listed as “beard cream”. Btfoom what it’s supposed to do, but it’s got good stuff in it, and doesn’t smell like a funeral parlor like some other products do.

I’ll use Gold Bond on my hands, more specifically knuckles, because otherwise they get too dry and literally split, and seems like a bunch of little paper-cuts. And a coupla big ones.

My hygrometer is already at 24% RH; at/below 20% it just stops reading and goes “LL”. Wheee. Hell, just petting my cat, I was feeling little shocks and hearing crackles, so no wonder he ran off after a while. And nope, I don’t have the heat cranked up, as it’s only a chilly 66° in this room.

So yeah, winters are pretty much a dry The Hell over here. I know how Ashy Larry feels…

Hey, that’s how Hitler got his trademark look. Needed to shave his ’stache to get his gas-mask to fit.

Strewth.

Ah yes. I wish the straight razor would have been established in private households for that reason. It never happened at large scale and shaving was done mostly in the barber shop. The safety razor (I like those too) has, and later the cartridge system razors, which added plastic waste :-(. Don’t fear those small cuts. The way you hold it guarantees it cannot cause deep wounds, even when your kid bumps into you while shaving. You’re shaving with almost no pressure, at an angle that can be considered safe.

I use one of these vintage T9 trimmer, they are excellent and super cheap. Just need to add an o-ring at the tail-cap for security.

Have you ever thought about using an electric razor for the first pass or two, then follow with a wet shave to get that closeness you desire? I’d found that my greatest troubles with wet shaving have been long or thick whiskers. On a day when I want to do a wet shave, I found making an initial pass with my electric razor eases the path for the really fine cutting you get with wet shaving.

I never had an electric shaver touch my beard but I never had a high end model to be fair.

I still use an electric shaver I purchased from the Goodwill 9 yrs ago for 10 bucks. :beer:

I use water and a safety razor to keep my beard trimmed up. It was irritating at first, but my skin got used to it quickly and I don’t notice anymore. I paid 10 bucks for a sampler pack of blades a few years back, and in another 5 or 6 years I may need to buy more blades. All in all, it probably only costs me a few cents a year to shave.

I’ve always used an electric shaver. My Braun Activator 8595 is about 14 years old, and the silver finish is peeling in spots, but it’s still functioning well (I change the cutter block and foil once or twice per year).

I used to be able to find a Remmington shaving stick that was like a powder that you put on your face as a pre-shave. That was the only way I liked the electric. Got to hard to find so I went back to wet shaving.

Was considering going back but it seems to me that the foil and block is even more expensive than the cartriges.

I used to have the 8000 Series Braun and would replace the cutter block about once every 6~12 months and the foil about every 1 to 2 years. I stepped up to the Series 7 which has a “cassette”, single unit of cutter block & foil. I replace those about once every 2 years—they hold up extremely well. I’ve picked them up as cheaply as $26 new off Amazon.

BTW, the Series 8000 (8595, 8995) is a nicely made shaver and has a nice ellipsoid profile that’s comfortable to hold. It was a huge leap up from the 7000 Series. But the Series 7 was an even greater step up. The motor on that one is like 2x more powerful than the 8000 Series. Plus, the handle is nicely contoured. And the trimmer is really terrific as it juts out a full inch from the body.

personally, i am glad several have made electric shavers work for them.

they never did for me. multiple models over the years. gifts and giveaways.
nothing ever did anything but “sand down” my whiskers. did not “cut” well.
still have two of them. use them to “shave” my sweaters.

similar function as this one:

I tried electric, Trac II, all kinds of different cartridges and no matter what got nasty ingrown hairs. Finally found a combination that works for me:

Double edge razor
Van Der Hagen shaving soap, applied with a badger hair brush
Followed up with some Pinaud “Clubman” or “Bay Rum” aftershave.

If you’re old enough to have gotten your hair cut in the 1970’s or 1980’s you probably remember the barber shop had a rack of Pinaud products - the bottles of aftershaves and hair tonics with the guy in a tuxedo and top hat on the label.

No more ingrown hairs.

Do you shave with or against the grain?

I always heard to shave against the grain. Kinda like petting a stiff-haired dog. With the grain just smooths it down, and against the grain lifts it up. Better for cutting to lift it up to “grab” each hair vs smooshing them down.

I just buzz, but even then it’s against the grain.

I always go with the grain. I found this causes less ingrown hair problems. Besides, by the end of the day it is back anyway so why deal with the discomfort. Again, my hairs are coarse as hell. YMMV

Being a bad ass , when I shave in the morning. I have to hold a gun to my head to make sure I don’t cut my own throat !

My routine is with, rinse, across, rinse, against. Before Cremo that would have set my face on fire. Now the WTG, is just a quick pass — doesn’t need to be anything more. Remaining two passes finish the job.