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Hello, I'm new here!

Hello everyone!

I'm pencil from the Netherlands, and I recently got into shaving with a double edge safety razor after realizing how crazy expensive replacements for my Gillette Mach3 are (especially in the Netherlands, where every skincare product is twice as expensive so we can give a 50% discount of half the brands at any given time).

I bought a King C. Gillette safety razor, which has been working wonderfully over the past couple months. And I bought a whole lot of different small blade 5-packs to try out which brand I like best.

My favourites so far are: Derby Extra, Gillette Silver Blue, Gillette Platinum, and Astra. Bic, Feather, and Wilkinson Sword have worked out less than ideal.
For shaving cream I've been using shaving gel from Gillette, mostly the Gillette Series one. But I'm looking to maybe get into brushes and soaps. For after shave I use Nivea Sensitive Post Shave Balm.

If you have any tips for brushes that aren't crazy expensive, that'd be great! :)
 
Glad you've joined, welcome! For getting started in brushes, try either synthetic fibers or boar. To get a good badger, the cost is going to be considerably more than a synthetic or boar brush. One fun point I'll make is that the way to get better at shaving is to shave more. That's great news for those of us who like to shave! Enjoy your shaves!!!
 
Hello everyone!

I'm pencil from the Netherlands, and I recently got into shaving with a double edge safety razor after realizing how crazy expensive replacements for my Gillette Mach3 are (especially in the Netherlands, where every skincare product is twice as expensive so we can give a 50% discount of half the brands at any given time).

I bought a King C. Gillette safety razor, which has been working wonderfully over the past couple months. And I bought a whole lot of different small blade 5-packs to try out which brand I like best.

My favourites so far are: Derby Extra, Gillette Silver Blue, Gillette Platinum, and Astra. Bic, Feather, and Wilkinson Sword have worked out less than ideal.
For shaving cream I've been using shaving gel from Gillette, mostly the Gillette Series one. But I'm looking to maybe get into brushes and soaps. For after shave I use Nivea Sensitive Post Shave Balm.

If you have any tips for brushes that aren't crazy expensive, that'd be great! :)
Welcome to B & B Pencil. I’m glad you’ve seen the light and rejected the obscene costs of cartridges and taken the plunge into the world of traditional wet shaving.
You will save money as a long as you don’t fall to deeply into the rabbit hole.
 
Welcome aboard. Regarding brushes, I purchased a Simpson Trafalgar T2 and could not be happier with it in terms of price an quality. I also suggest investing in a lathering bowl, as this will make getting a good lather either via cream or soap, a snap. I purchased the Timeless Razor bowl (available on Amazon) because it was inexpensive and found it to be excellent at making lather with almost any soap. The one thing I will say about this bowl is that avoid getting a white one. I have found it very hard to determine how much lather I've made because the lather is white and the bowl is white. If I did it again, I'd get a blue or black one. Hope this helps.
 
Same reason as mine: I decided to hop on the bandwagon since the replacement cost for the Mach 3 Sensitive has gone out of hand. Quite scared at first since I have quite sensitive skin (hence the Mach 3 Sensitive) but fortunately, my starter gear served me well, even better than the March 3S I may add.
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
Welcome to B&B, we're glad you're here. I purchased a couple of Bruce/Big Bruce brushes from RR years ago for around $12. No doubt they're more now, but there are plenty of inexpensive synthetic brushes that work well from different manufacturers (although many seem to have the same knot). That's where I'd start with a brush.

Boar brushes are also available at pretty reasonable prices, although with considerably more variety in feel. I'd save that journey for down the road when you have a better idea of what you'd like in a brush.

Badger are available in the $25 range, but I'm never going to recommend them (but note that other's would disagree). You can get a nice badger in the $60 or so range, and a very nice one for considerably more money.

There are lots of shavers who have tried all three (and horse hair) and decided that synthetic is their favorite, so don't feel that's a step down. This is a place where questions are celebrated - and the more specific the question the better the answers. Don't be in a hurry to spend a lot of money until you have a pretty good idea of your needs and desires - and don't feel you ever need to spend a lot of money - lots of members here don't and they are very happy with their shaves.
 
Welcome to B&B ! If you are looking to get into wet shaving I would suggest taking a look at Italian Barber. It's a Canadian based Company so I'm not sure if they deliver to Netherlands, but they sell very reasonably priced products that are high quality. If you want to try a shave brush i'd recommend starting with a synthetic brush.

If you want a good cheap brush i'd recommend Big Bruce from italian barber, it works great. Sometimes they put it on sale for 10$ USD. If you want to spend a little more the Simpson T2 and T3 are fantastic.

Italian barber also has some great stainless steel razors for a very reasonable price. The gamechanger .76p is an amazing razor for new wet shavers and would last you a lifetime.
 

blethenstrom

Born to häckla
Welcome to B&B @pencil! We are so glad that you decided to join us. Greetings from Raleigh, NC, USA.

Seems like you are getting a great start into wet shaving and of course like you pointed out in your post you would like to get into shaving soap and brush use instead of canned products. Since you are in the Netherlands I am summoning @Guido75 who also lives there. I personally would recommend an inexpensive synthetic brush to start with, but where to source things from I would leave up to @Guido75 to recommend for you. He may have some other recommendations as well. Again welcome!
 
Welcome to the forum. Hide your wallet from yourself.

A good quality synthetic brush from APShaveCo (you can even choose a handle and knot that you like) or Phoenix Shaving (about $20) would be a good idea and serve you forever. A good soap from Cella (I like the almond. ~$10) or Stirling (~$14), which aren't expensive, would be good places to start. These soaps last a very long time, like a year or more of every day shaving.
 

Guido75

Is it swell time?
Hey there @pencil! I received a message from Boris @blethenstrom. Well he summoned me so I couldn’t help it! Haha!

Welcome to B&B! From whereabouts are you in the Netherlands? I might even know a local brick and mortar shop nearby.

I started out with a KCG myself (bought at Etos if I remember correctly). A fine razor to get your technique rising. Paired with a good blade you can have many wonderful shaves with that razor.

Blades are personal of course. What you list as working for you might not be my first choice although GSB is a good blade. Some believe it is so good they join a cult!

As for brushes you could pick up one from Etos or Kruidvat, but I would go for something just slightly higher end without breaking the bank. As Keith @musicman1951 mentioned Razorock brushes are awesome. I indeed like Big Bruce and I am a fanboy of the 400. Both are available through AlphaMen or Mijnbaard. Basically any Razorock with a Plissoft knot is what you want.

And soaps are plenty around of course. Vergulde Hand is a staple of course and easy to lather, but there are other Dutch soaps too with Kox Bergamot being my favourite by a long stretch.

@Brian H Shaves mentioned Italian Barber (the owner of Razorock). They ship to here but it will cost import and VAT. You can dive a binder of their products through Rasoigoodfellas - but sometimes they too need to handle the US fees (mostly noticed with the razors. Lupo and Game Changer are twice as expensive here). But BST (our B&B sales platform) can get you a long way too.

Anyway, ask away if you have questions or queries.

Enjoy!

Guido
 
Hello and Welcome to B&B. You’ve already received a bevy of good advice concerning brushes so I won’t repeat what’s been said. I second the motion to purchase an inexpensive synthetic. They’re budget friendly and a pleasure to use. Enjoy the journey.
 
Italian barber also has some great stainless steel razors for a very reasonable price. The gamechanger .76p is an amazing razor for new wet shavers and would last you a lifetime.

The Game Changers are excellent, I have tried various baseplates, wished for a .76P years ago (before they existed), but ended up with the ,84P as my current favourite.

The base plates are about £30 / $30, but the one that you don't like might be someone else's "goldilocks zone", so it needn't be a case of wasting money to zero in on your ideal.
 
Welcome aboard! My traditional shaving was very inexpensive for the 45 years before I discovered B&B. You've been warned.

I love boar brushes. And you have very useful De Vergulde Hand soap right there, in a variety of formulations.
 
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