In a fit of early morning pandemic boredom I did a search on shaving. I note that the Fashion Forum had its own thread on the topic. So I figured Trad ought to have its own take. The Fashion question, "What do you use to shave?" (In quotes, maybe not a verbatim quote but captures the sense) seemed to work. Many are embracing beards these days. While I can certainly envision a Trad with a beard, in that vision the beard is trimmed (unless he teaches at an iconoclastic and remote prep school where the incongruity of a mountain man in tweeds is suitable). It occurs to me that Trad and the value of thrift align well. Anyway, I like thrift, but I also like a little self indulgent luxury. So in a few minutes when I have drained the coffee pot and head upstairs to shave, I'll start with good hot water and lather with a cake of Taylor of Bond Street sandalwood (about $15, lasts about a year) and a badger brush that came from Crabtree and Evelyn close to thirty years ago. I'll shave with a single Israeli Personna blade in an Edwin Jagger DE razor, a very mild but close shave. If you are plagued by razor bumps, I am guessing you use a multiblade razor. I find that single blade shaving pretty much eliminates razor bump issues. Back on the subject of thrift, these blades seem to last about ten days and are around $10 for 100. For aftershave I use 4711. It smells good, fades quickly enough that my scent does not announce my arrival, and is $43 for 800 ml, a pretty good deal. i love to pencil whip stuff. I figure compared to shaving with even the Dollar Shave Club Blades I am saving serious money. Compared with canned foam, Fusion blades, and a high end aftershave like Polo, I save about $1 a day.
