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van der hagen?

does anyone else tried theiir products. whats your thoughts on them. i cant tell if their agressive or mild but i got a decent shave out of them almost needed just 2 passes paid 2 dollars for five blades
 
I've never tried a VDH razor. I've read some threads in this forum suggesting they're basically the Weishi clone. I have another suspected Weishi clone, the MicroTouch One. That is a super mild razor. It's too mild to provide a comfortable shave for me.

I've also never tried the blades. Some forum members have reported not liking them. Some suggested the blades are similar to Merkur or Solingen blades. In any case, they seem overpriced at $2 for a tuck of 5 blades. That amounts to $40 for a carton of 100 blades. There are plenty of other blades that can be bought for much less elsewhere. If you're new to wet shaving and are interested in different blades, it may be advisable to order a sample pack online from a reputable vendor or from Amazon.

I used and liked VDH's luxury shave soap. It was my first real shaving soap. If I could find it in my local shops, I would stock up on it and keep it in my regular rotation.

I've also tried VDH's brushes. They shed like crazy. I use a VDH 3-band silvertip regularly for my shaves. It lost over 100 hairs (I stopped counting after 100) within about a month of use. It's been at least half a year since and it still loses about a hair every other shave. It's also floppy. But it's soft and I like the small size. I've thought about replacing the brush, but I am rather fond of it.

I've also used VDH's pure badger and boar (both the green handle and black handle) brushes. They all have a shedding problem. The quality control on these brushes is pretty non existent. The best thing I can say about them is that for $5, they'll do in a pinch. If the knot happens to fall out, I would consider that a stroke of luck as that would enable me to buy a better replacement knot elsewhere for the handle (which is the best made part of the brush).

I also tried the VDH boar shave set early in my wet shaving journey. That was okay. I liked the set, but quickly replaced the brush with a pure badger brush from West Coast Shaving. The stand, soap, and mug were all pretty good. For the $15 price, it was pretty reasonable. Of course, I had my own non VDH razor, as the set does not include a razor.

All in all, VDH seems more geared to the beginning wet shaver who doesn't know what else is available in the wet shaving world. There are much better similarly prices options than VDH for just about everything VDH sells. Still, I'd be happy to stock up on the luxury shave soap for around $3/puck. Similarly, I'd be happy to give the wet shaving novices in my life a $15 VDH boar shave kit as an introduction to wet shaving.
 
The VDH TTO is based on the classic Gillette Superspeed. I used them side by side and got very similar results. It is a nice razor to start with, a little more aggressive then the Gillette Tech. Longevity might be the downside for using it long term. The VDH sounds a little rattly when you shake it. No rattles from my mid 20th century Superspeed.
 
I've never tried a VDH razor. I've read some threads in this forum suggesting they're basically the Weishi clone. I have another suspected Weishi clone, the MicroTouch One. That is a super mild razor. It's too mild to provide a comfortable shave for me.

I've also never tried the blades. Some forum members have reported not liking them. Some suggested the blades are similar to Merkur or Solingen blades. In any case, they seem overpriced at $2 for a tuck of 5 blades. That amounts to $40 for a carton of 100 blades. There are plenty of other blades that can be bought for much less elsewhere. If you're new to wet shaving and are interested in different blades, it may be advisable to order a sample pack online from a reputable vendor or from Amazon.

I used and liked VDH's luxury shave soap. It was my first real shaving soap. If I could find it in my local shops, I would stock up on it and keep it in my regular rotation.

I've also tried VDH's brushes. They shed like crazy. I use a VDH 3-band silvertip regularly for my shaves. It lost over 100 hairs (I stopped counting after 100) within about a month of use. It's been at least half a year since and it still loses about a hair every other shave. It's also floppy. But it's soft and I like the small size. I've thought about replacing the brush, but I am rather fond of it.

I've also used VDH's pure badger and boar (both the green handle and black handle) brushes. They all have a shedding problem. The quality control on these brushes is pretty non existent. The best thing I can say about them is that for $5, they'll do in a pinch. If the knot happens to fall out, I would consider that a stroke of luck as that would enable me to buy a better replacement knot elsewhere for the handle (which is the best made part of the brush).

I also tried the VDH boar shave set early in my wet shaving journey. That was okay. I liked the set, but quickly replaced the brush with a pure badger brush from West Coast Shaving. The stand, soap, and mug were all pretty good. For the $15 price, it was pretty reasonable. Of course, I had my own non VDH razor, as the set does not include a razor.

All in all, VDH seems more geared to the beginning wet shaver who doesn't know what else is available in the wet shaving world. There are much better similarly prices options than VDH for just about everything VDH sells. Still, I'd be happy to stock up on the luxury shave soap for around $3/puck. Similarly, I'd be happy to give the wet shaving novices in my life a $15 VDH boar shave kit as an introduction to wet shaving.
I agree with your assessment of the Luxury soap, the starter shave set, and the boar and badger brushes. I still use the mug and razor stand from the starter set, but I no longer use the badger brush, having upgraded several times over.

I also tried the Deluxe shave soap, which has a pinkish hue and an odd scent that kept me from buying it again. Stick with the Luxury shave soap, and you're good to go.

I never tried the VDH TTO razor, but it appears to be a Weishi 9306F model. I have one of those and never use it due to door and safety bar misalignment/poor QC issues.
 
I agree with your assessment of the Luxury soap, the starter shave set, and the boar and badger brushes. I still use the mug and razor stand from the starter set, but I no longer use the badger brush, having upgraded several times over.

I also tried the Deluxe shave soap, which has a pinkish hue and an odd scent that kept me from buying it again. Stick with the Luxury shave soap, and you're good to go.

I never tried the VDH TTO razor, but it appears to be a Weishi 9306F model. I have one of those and never use it due to door and safety bar misalignment/poor QC issues.
I use the mug now as the base of my makeshift scuttle. After filling the mug with hot water, I put an old yogurt cup inside. I used to make my proto lather in the yogurt cup and also keep my brush in there, but now I just pour my bloom water into the yogurt cup. I then add the bloom water to my lather in my lather bowl as needed. This process helps keep my lather warm (though not hot).

I really liked the shave stand as well. If I hadn't replaced it with a chrome plated steel stand from West Coast Shaving, I would likely still be using it. It worked very well.
 

Eben Stone

Staff member
I started my traditional shave journey when my wife bought me the VDH "premium shave set." Trashed the soap without even trying it. Trashed the brush after about 30 shaves. I still use the bowl.
 
I've only used their low end badger brush, and it was as I was just learning to shave. The brush started shedding hairs almost instantly and never seemed to stop. I would not recommend, at the very least, their brushes.
 

OkieStubble

Dirty Donuts are so Good.
I like melting the VDH Deluxe in the microwave and then pouring it into an empty, twist up deodorant stick tube. Then i put it in the freezer until the soap hardens up again. When I travel, if I don't take a stick of Arko or La toja with me, i'll throw that deodorant stick with VDH in the dopp kit. I can twist up just enough to rub on my face and lather with a brush. Works great! :)
 
My first razor was a Van Der Hagen long handle TTO and i used it exclusively for 2 years. I ended up PIF’ing to someone here starting out. At the end it had some door alignment issues but would still close and shave well. I actually quite liked it and found it to be far more aggressive than most here make it out to be. I have a Gillette Tech and that was much milder. I’d say the VDH was about a mid aggression razor in my eyes. Overall though I quite enjoyed it and think it was the perfect starting razor. The VDH blades were so so. I’ve tried much worse and also much better. As others have stated, for the price they’re just not that great. The soap is actually quite good and also pretty cheap so i think that’s a great buy for those curious. Never tried their brushes. All in all it’s a great “beginner” brand and it’s always nice seeing their stuff on store shelves.
 
I currently rotate my Van der Hagen and WCS 84S razors--changing with each blade change. The VDH razor has yielded great shaves with each blade I have used.

The VDH blades are Meh to me, but YMMV.
 
does anyone else tried theiir products. whats your thoughts on them. i cant tell if their agressive or mild but i got a decent shave out of them almost needed just 2 passes paid 2 dollars for five blades

The razor, WEISHI, shaves close to the later model Super Speeds. If you get a kit, the soap puck is a pretty good performer. The plastic razor holder is solid and a must for those who own stainless razors that would prefer to keep their baseplates from getting scratched up.
 
I like the soap in the green box....good performance and smells nice, affordable. Razor: have one but never used. Now I saw they have the chinaman copy of the Merkur Futur, those are OK.
 

The Count of Merkur Cristo

B&B's Emperor of Emojis
Stagger and Jags:
plus-one-png.797576
...on all the comments about VDH Scented Luxury Soap! :thumbsup:

VDH Logo.jpg
“It's time to start shaving like a Van der Hagen man". VDH Slogan
 
what's that old saying, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all..."

I can say this about VDH, it's available at my local Target and they are inexpensive. But I would argue that for the price there is much better quality gear to be found for now much effort.
 
I started my DE shaving with the VDH Luxury kit(cup, soap and badger brush). I don't use the brush as it is to scratchy for me. The Luxury soap is quite nice, it is easy to lather, it is slick and it just works great for the money. Sometime last year I bought the VDH razor and it is a little mild for me. The blades are just okay. Wilkinson Sword Classic's I like way better and they are available for a $1.29 for 5 locally but would rather just purchase them cheaper online. My other favorite blade, Gillette Permasharp(India) are even cheaper at $13 per 100.
 
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