Brick-and-Mortar Shaving Stores

[Chuck Sirloin]

Do brick-and-mortar shaving shops exist here in the states? I love new soaps, but the only downside to buying them is that I am forced to buy them online without being able to smell them beforehand. I assume there are such stores, but here in Indianapolis, there are none. The Von Maur near my home carries The Art of Shaving products, but only a few creams and no soaps.
Do any of you have a shave store near you? Tell me where! I'd honestly consider a road trip to load up on products!

 

[aihpcfl]

I have personally never seen a shop dedicated to shaving products. I had not heard of Art of Shaving until I started reading the forums.

As an aside, I was outside of Pittsburgh on travel and realized my soap was about gone and I didn't pack a spare. I could not find shaving soap in any drug store. Sad.

 

[smalltank]

sure..I rehone/cleanup straight razors for a shop that repairs and sells electric shavers..the rest of the 80% of the store is ALL old skool shaving related....I live in SoCali

 

[Mandina]

The Mecca: Pasteur Pharmacy (two locations), NYC.

 

[Wingnut]

Since you're in Indy, the closest shave mecca is a place in Chicago (darn it--I forget the name! B&B members, HELP! AH! I remember now: Merz Apothecary!) Certainly, Pasteur's in NYC and Cambridge Chemists in Boston come to mind.

 

[Wingnut]

I have personally never seen a shop dedicated to shaving products. I had not heard of Art of Shaving until I started reading the forums.

As an aside, I was outside of Pittsburgh on travel and realized my soap was about gone and I didn't pack a spare. I could not find shaving soap in any drug store. Sad.

If you find yourself in the same situation again, give Target or Wally World a try--both stock VDH soap. Not the greatest soap in the world, but it'll do in a pinch and it's quite inexpensive--under $2.00 IIRC.

 

[alpster]

I found the coolest place I have seen in a long time walking around Red Bank, NJ. "The Old World Barber Shop"

I bought a refill of Truefitt & Hill from this guy, just because I had to. He had a guy cranked back in the chair all lathered up for a shave while I was there. Very cool!
No pics of the barber or patron. I won't post a picture of anyone (person) without their permission. The black & white picture was hanging on the wall and I was captivated.

Ronnie

 

[Graybeard57]

Oddly enough, I no longer need a barber, just extra razor blades and AS.

 

[Wingnut]

It looks like a great place to put into the shave wiki for posterity's sake--Red Bank, NJ, home of Count Basie and a great barber shop, whoda thunk it?!

 

[DukeNDuke]

If you find yourself in Chicago, check out Merz Apothecary. They have two locations, downtown in the Palmer house and on the northside in Lincoln Square. The Lincoln Square location has the bigger selection, but both are great. They have lots of shaving gear. It's a great place..can't recommend it highly enough!

 

[RaiserLiebe]

I agree. I like smelling and touching before buying.

There are two that people RAVE about. Truly worth a pilgrimage if you are in the location:

1. Merz Apothecary two locations in Chicago. But go to the Lincoln Square shop- MUCh better than downtown. Website is smallflower.com There is a thread here with the glowing opinions of many people. My post (#25 in that thread) has an amazing picture of the wall filled with razors and brushes. My daughter lives in Chicago, so I visit Merz a couple times a year. Words cannot describe the helpfulness of the staff, or the truly amazing breadth of selections in all categories. You should go- not impossibly far from Indianapolis. I guarantee you will not regret it (until you get your credit card statement!).

2. Pasteur's in NYC. Many praise it to the skies on B&B. No personal experience- I don't get to NYC much...

Cheers

 

[Boti2634]

I was just in Medina, Ohio (about thirty miles or so from Cleveland) and found a place called Imperial Shaving. They had a great selection of products. Make sure you call ahead though, it's not an easy place to find.

Hope that helps!

Paul

 

[Mick]

You can take a look in the wiki for shave shops.

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Category:USA_Shaving_Supplies

There is one that I walk by every day. It is not a dedicated shaving shop but they carry a fair selection of shaving supplies (Trumpers, TOBS, DR Harris, T&H, C&E, Floris, Penhaligons, Jagger, and MWF).

 

[UOduck]

The best I've encountered is a pharmacy a few blocks from where I live that carries Williams, Omega brushes, and Wilkinson blades. Other than that, the supermarket I went to growing up carries the VDH kit.

 

[dpm802]

Check around in ethnic grocery stores that cater to Italian / English / German / Spanish / Turkish / Inko-Pak clientele ... they often carry other products besides food that appeal to their customer base and remind them of home.

 

[Mason_07]

Here in MA, the only place that I know of so far is Art of Shaving (AOS). They're pretty much in all the malls in eastern MA. I find it to be a bit on the expensive side and is limited in terms of what they stock....but it's better than nothing.

 

[Chuck Sirloin]

Merz is only a few hours away... It'd be nice to spend the weekend in Chicago! Thanks, all!

 

[scboch]

theres a small shop here in glastonbury, ct that carries some edwin jagger stuff, and a aos in the mall... outside of that in this ares theres nothing

 

[JBLA]

sure..I rehone/cleanup straight razors for a shop that repairs and sells electric shavers..the rest of the 80% of the store is ALL old skool shaving related....I live in SoCali

What is the name / location of this place?

 

[Fidem Scit]

I live near Williamsburg, VA and I have checked World Market, Pier 1, several Asian Markets, hispanic markets, every Bath type and a half dozen beauty stores. I even stopped at an antique mall with about 200 vendors. I found mostly SE razors there. Numerous pharmacy chains have an inexpensive soap puck here and there. I have found only one place that carried a cheap DE razor. By cheap I mean it is about $5 and I would be afraid to even try it. There is a chain named Ulta that has JB and AOS creams, oils, balms and fragrances and AOS shaving brushes. I couldn't find any new razors worth buying anywhere though. I've gotten a bit obsessed in trying to find anything worth looking at.