Why This Blog?

Why Am I Doing This?

I have no idea. I have the desire but I really don't have the time. For me time is a luxury that I do not have. My work days begin at four in the morning and they end at eleven at night. Only on the weekends do I get an extra three hours of sleep. So little things like shaving is something that has to be done in a hurry. It was only when I rediscovered double edge razor shaving and the satisfaction it brought did I see the dilemma I was in.

For me, starting out DE shaving took a lot of practice, patience, up front expense, septic pencils and most importantly time! How I hate the time clock! The most evil invention ever made. In our day and time the phrase "Rome wasn't built in a day" doesn't apply. Sometimes I wonder why the good Lord didn't make the days longer than 24 hours long. I sure could use a little extra time.

What got me started

It was about 4:30 one morning I was reading a news story about the success that the Dollar Shave Club  was having in the shaving world. After a little googling I ran across this video  Watching an old man with a walker getting tasered as he shook the locked razor blade cabinet sent me into hysterics! It also got me thinking about how to get a good close and cheap shave. 

YouTube was a valuable place to start. After watching hours of DE shaving clips and shopping on Amazon  I was ready to go. I bought razors, blades, soap, brushes. I know the UPS guy was getting tired of me! I spent quit a bit of time in front of the mirror each night. Upwards to thirty minutes for a shave! After a few months of this my wife asked me"do you realize how much time you spend doing this?"

What almost made me quit

Finishing up at 10:00 at night and then getting things ready for work the next day I realized I was taking away the few minutes of the day that we got to see each other. Unhappy, I tried going back to the old way of shaving with the disposable razors and canned shaving cream. The shaves just weren't as good but it only took me ten minutes. We got our time back and all was well. 

Almost.

As much as I tried to get my mind off DE shaving I couldn't. I got to thinking, if I can shave in ten minutes with the disposable, I should be able to do the same with my double edge. If I can get a better shave in the same amount of time, it would be worth the effort. So the challenge began. 

Getting things into perspective

Closing the gap to get a ten minute shave required doing things different. It also required to not experiment with new things and techniques with every shave. Getting a good enough shave was the goal and the smooth as a baby's bottom was the exception. 

Learning to cut corners began to give me new satisfaction. Getting a good shave in the least amount of time and expense involved became an obsessive challenge. I have timed a few of my shaves and the best I observed was twelve minutes. This is from the moment the brush hits the soap until the aftershave balm is recapped and back in the drawer.

What I plan to do here 

First, I do not plan to blog every day. I just don't have the time. I'll be doing good to get one in a week or so. I do not plan on many product reviews. There are so many of those out there already. What I do plan on doing is talking about what works for me and save me time.  I will talk about the products I use and how I get the most for my dollar. 

I don't have an elaborate shave den. Just half of two drawers in the bathroom. And those are small drawers! And a small cardboard box in the closet. It's not that the wife refuses to give up bathroom  real estate, I'm just afraid to ask for it. Once the wife takes it, it's gone for good!

So, let's see where this takes us. Hopefully somewhere profitable!