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Kit for my graduating brother

I have a little brother who just graduated high school and will be off to college in the fall. I'm quite a bit older than him, about 17 1/2 years, so I'm nearly twice his age but we've been connecting much more over the last few years. I left for college shortly after he was born and went on to find my way in the world. The age gap is narrowing by the year. Well, I'm pretty heavily into wet shaving and think a fantastic gift for him to leave for college would be a nice grooming kit. Turns out, even though we have many years between us, we are more similar than one can imagine. I think he'd really take to it as much as I have.

So, I know there are all sorts of pre-assembled kits out there, but I'm planning on putting together a kit with some of my favorite items.

There are a few items I could use some suggestions. I'm trying to keep costs down but won't be skimping on quality.

Shave Bag - I want to get him a decent bag and that is an item I am not sure what to get. Suggestions would be fantastic.
Grooming kit - I will be getting him a nail trim set and I'll find one in a local store so that's not a big deal.
Brush - I was gifted a Semogue 620 and an Omega Mixed Midget and love both. I love Boar and the prices are great. Any suggestions for the best, most economical Semogue or Omega would be greatly appreciated for a beginner. I'm thinking around 22-24mm knot, as it's middle of the road. I might go with the 620, but suggestion is welcome.
Razor - I'm thinking of giving him my first razor given to me by my best friend, a mid-50's flare tip or one of a couple other non-valuable old Gillettes. They all shave wonderfully. If I get a new one, I'm thinking of either a Maggard or a Razorock as the prices are great. Suggestions would be appreciated.
Razor case - My sister got me a nice little leather razor case and it now holds my favorite razor whenever I travel.
Blades - Just a sample pack from Amazon. As long as there are 5-10 of around 10 or so different blades, he'll be fine finding his way.
Soap/Cream - Going to order him a cream and a soap. I love Razorock and will probably get him one of the new scents as they are all fantastic and priced great. I'll probably get him Proraso red as it's fantastic as well. I've thought of doing a sample pack as well, but I'm not sure. So many choices. As long as he has something, he'll be fine.
Pre-Shave - Pre-barba from Razorock. Love it more than any other pre-shave oil I've used. He may or may not need or want it, but I want a nice full selection of different types of items.
Alum - Again with the Razorock. The case is so nice and the price is even nicer.
Styptic Pencil - local drug store item. No thought necessary.
Aftershave - I'm either going to get him a sampler or just buy him one I like, probably either one from Fine or Razorock. Joe seems to be getting a lot of my money these days and this is just an excuse to add another item or two to the order for myself.

As long as he has the razor, blades, a brush and some sort of soap, he's good. Everything else is just icing. He can get what he likes for creams, aftershaves, etc. as he sees fit. I'd just like to get him started with a full slate and to also send him along with some of the items that I have landed on that put a smile on my face day in and day out.

So, any thoughts on some of the items would be greatly appreciated. This will be probably more fun for me than it will be for him receiving it, but who knows. Maybe he'll be a happy convert.
 
What a great idea for a gift. Your brother is blessed to have a friend/brother like you. I just recently came back to DE shaving and got myself a new kit consisting of a Maggard MR18, an Omega 10066 boar brush, selection of blades, Arko soap & alum block. I love the razor and the Omega brush has been excellent as well as inexpensive. Give the folks at Maggard a call and they can help you with your gift list.
 
For the consumables (soaps, blades, AS, etc), give him a selection of things you like. Like you said, he'll find his own way.

For the razor, the Superspeed Flair sounds great! It has the history with you that will continue. The brush should come from your personal collection or at least a model that you like.

This is your gift to him and there is nothing better tgan physically passing on your tools!
 
Passing on your razor is a great gift idea.

I would give him a brand new brush. Omega makes good brushes for very little money.

Bigelow is high quality and available at bath and body works, Kiss My face is a favorite of mine and a big bottle at most stores is under 10 bucks, and don't forget Williams. If he is moving out and going to college affordable shaving products are going to be important. Maybe get him some top shelf stuff too.

Kohls has some nice leather shaving bags. Sometimes you can get them really cheap on sale with a coupon.

Aftershave Balm. if he is new to wetshaving, get something soothing so his first shave doesn't scare him off.
 
I'm sure your brother will appreciate this gesture!

Here is what I would buy :

Razor : edwin jagger de89 (excellent fit, finish, customer service ,can be had for 30$ and most importantly he doesn't have to worry about blade alignment) ---- but giving him your razor is a fine idea!

Case : if you get the EJ, muhle makes a nice little cap that's just perfect.

Soap : razorock classic is great.
Cream : biotique bio palmyra (excellent lather and lots of protection)

Blades : A sampler pack with some gillettes, astras, supermax, polsilver and feathers will be great.

Brush : omega 10810 or pro49. I personally prefer omega to semogue.

Alum

Let us know what you pick and your brothers reaction to the present.
 
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I'm not a DE shaver so I can't comment on that stuff, but this $38 toiletry bag recently caught my attention. I like the black on black version myself. I think this company is in Seattle and they use recycled goods in their products. Nice gift idea by the way.

http://alchemygoods.com/elliott.html

Those are very cool!!

I kinda like the black and yellow, really looks like you would be able to see the contents. Might have to have my Sis in Seattle take a cruise by if they have a retail location.

Thats what I love about B&B, there is always something new turning up!
 
Great idea... I sent my twin brother a shave kit for his graduation (20 years late), and he is totally hooked. I think it was made all that much better since it came from family. I did a Ball-end tech, walmart salsa bowl, semogue brush, co bigelow cream(proraso), van der hagen soap, williams soap, col conk soap, and I think I gave him some arko cream, too.

He'll love it, whatever you decide..
 
Shave Bag -Find one that can hold his shave gear along with a travel sizes of shampoo, soap, toothbrush, etc..

Grooming kit -
Never used so I cannot help with that

Brush - Semogue 620 is a decent starter brush, and since its for family, something from another member of the family might be greatly appreciated. If cost is an issue, the VDH boar set for $10 is a decent starter set as well (Food Lion had it here locally). If not buy him the B&B boar Brush.

Razor -I would recommend the RazoRock Mission, or Gillette Rubie (modern day tech) if you want to go with a new razor. Both are under $20 and they come with sample blades as well. Love both of them. For old school, whatever Gillette you wanted to give him would be fine.

Razor case - Go to WCS and get the B&B case. If you give him your Superspeed, order a $3 Chinese razor with case and rob the case from it (I did that for my travel Micro One Touch and it is AMAZING!)

Blades - I would make sure there were Astra SP, Dorco 301, Gillette Silver Blues, Gillette 7 O'Clock(any color) Feathers, Personna, in the set.


Soap/Cream - RazoRock XXX or Stirling would be a good choice. If you are looking for low cost or ability to restock locally, VDH is a decent option. If looking for a stick soap, Arko all the way.


Pre-Shave - Never used so I cannot help with that


Alum -
Never used so I cannot help with that

Styptic Pencil -Go to walmart and get the $2 clubman pencil. Trust me on this one.


Aftershave - I have not tried any IB aftershave (Maybe someday I will have that luxury :) ). I personally like Aqua Velva Blue and Musk, or Brut.

Aftershave Balm - I use one that can be found at Wal-Mart for under $2.25.

Do not forget a $1 salsa bowl from Dollar Tree to lather in


I hope this helps you in assembling your kit for your brother.

PS. If you are in the CONUS, send me a PM with your address and I will send you a few blades to contribute to this kit.
 
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Very nice of you. I wanted to share the shaving kit that I use. It's from L.L. Bean and it's perfect in my opinion for a travel kit. It comes in three sizes, has a mirror and a hook that is perfect for hanging the kit on a towel rack when travelling. It also has a smaller pouch with a hook that you can remove and hang in the shower for shampoo and what not. Plenty of the pouches and compartments for all of your toiletries also.

http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/73889?feat=Shaving kit-SR0&page=personal-organizer-toiletry-bag-small
 
Very nice of you. I wanted to share the shaving kit that I use. It's from L.L. Bean and it's perfect in my opinion for a travel kit. It comes in three sizes, has a mirror and a hook that is perfect for hanging the kit on a towel rack when travelling. It also has a smaller pouch with a hook that you can remove and hang in the shower for shampoo and what not. Plenty of the pouches and compartments for all of your toiletries also.

http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/73889?feat=Shaving%20kit-SR0&page=personal-organizer-toiletry-bag-small


Looks a lot like the one my wife got me. Works great!!!
 
What a great gift idea!!!

As for a razor I would say the Edwin Jagger DE89......but I havent tried the Maggards or Razorock which get great reviews as well. Either way you cannot go wrong. You could give him your first razor, but it may be nice to always have your very first DE for sentimental value.

Brush - Id go with the Semogue 1800 over the 620.....I feel that the 1800 is better straight out of the box. Both are great brushes though. but I would give the nod to the 1800 for bowl lathering.

Blades - A sample pack is a good idea....but you could also get 2 or 3 packs of blades that you like so he can focus more on technique than using different blades.

Soaps/creams - So many good ones that its hard to recommend a single one....Razorrock seems like a safe bet. Id also suggest possibly getting him a shave stick (La Toja or Valobra or Tabac) to try. then he can have something for travel and its a cheapish way to try a great soap.

Aftershave - If you get him razorock soap you may as well get him the matching aftershave!!!

Would be cool if you posted the final kit and let us see what you ended up getting him!!
 
Since I assume he is your brother by blood, you probably have more or less similar facial hair and skin types (a broad assumption, I know, but you probably have more in common physically with your brother than with someone else, like for example, me...), I would get him 1 brush, 1 soap, 1 razor, and 1 AS, that you know work really, really well for YOU. When it comes to blades, you might pick 2 or 3 that run the gamut of smooth to close for your face type.

Basically, I would be thinking less variety, more on the spot for your brother. Also, keep in mind that at his age, he still has baby-face soft skin. So if you've gotten used to being a little more rough and aggressive on your skin, he might not be in exactly the same phase yet.
 
These are all fantastic suggestions.

I think I will head over to Kohls to look at their bags. It doesn't need to be anything super special, just needs to hold everything in. I agree that it needs to hold soap, shampoo, conditioner, etc. I'm guessing he'll be in a dorm with large shared restrooms and will just take the kit to the bathroom and it needs the space for everything. If I don't find one there, a few online suggestions here look great.

I love my Semogue 620 but that 1800 looks great. Still very much in my price range.

I think I'm going to give him one of my razors. I have a super speed from mid-50's that was my first razor. I have a 60's black handled super speed. I have a white plastic handled TTO from England that's pretty nice and a couple ball techs. I like the idea of him starting with one of mine.

I've gone through about 30 blade types and have landed on ASCO, 7 O'Clock, Astra SS and Feather as the four that work best with my various razors. I'm still debating on having him try a good ten brands or so to find what works for him and then having him tell me and I'll order him 100 of his favorite or giving him a larger quantity of a couple brands. I'm gearing up for a small order of ASCO and 7 O'Clocks so I could give him 20 of each to start with technique. Not sure yet.

I also like the idea of starting him with my favorite soaps and since they are consumables, he can branch out from there as he likes. I'll probably send him a cream and a soap and an aftershave, probably both an alcohol based and a cream based so he can try a couple different styles. I'm really loving Razorock's new line and wish I stocked up on P.160. I only have one and as much as I love him, I'm not parting with it. I'll probably get him XXX or Muddy Focker as those are just fantastic. Probably going with Proraso Red as it's decently priced and, for me, a great performer. Regardless of the items, I'm hoping that if he does take to DE shaving, he lets me know what he's interested in, etc. and as he is going to be a poor college student who should be spending any disposable income on dates, I'll hook him up with some refills on anything as needed. I was there once awhile ago and every dollar helps. Plus, it just gives me an excuse to place an order. Ha!

Thanks for the suggestions and I'll keep you posted as to what I end up getting him.
 
I like the idea of the 50's SS as it is just a classic. I travel a lot, so I thought I would give you just a couple of suggestions. Get a bag with a hook. Kohls has got them, but I got my last one from Target which was Victorianox and it works pretty well. Also, get a salsa bowl which is plastic if he is heading off to college as it shouldn't shatter if he drops it. Glass/ceramic + students + tile floor = broken as there is almost no workspace in a dorm bathroom. Finally, make or purchase a waste blade container so he doesn't throw the expended blades directly in the trash. You don't want anyone getting injured from him just throwing his blades down the chute (my dad was a building service foreman at a University for 25 years). This is a very thoughtful gift you're assembling. Good luck.
 
I like the idea of the 50's SS as it is just a classic. I travel a lot, so I thought I would give you just a couple of suggestions. Get a bag with a hook. Kohls has got them, but I got my last one from Target which was Victorianox and it works pretty well. Also, get a salsa bowl which is plastic if he is heading off to college as it shouldn't shatter if he drops it. Glass/ceramic + students + tile floor = broken as there is almost no workspace in a dorm bathroom. Finally, make or purchase a waste blade container so he doesn't throw the expended blades directly in the trash. You don't want anyone getting injured from him just throwing his blades down the chute (my dad was a building service foreman at a University for 25 years). This is a very thoughtful gift you're assembling. Good luck.

Great suggestions! I'll look for a nice plastic bowl of suitable size for lathering and will definitely be adding a blade bank.
 
To save space have him learn to face lather and Semogue 610 is a great brush for that, go with RR soaps, if he's into citrus the KoC Lime is awesome. A vintage razor would be great and can be had fairly cheap.
 
What's your total budget?

I'll guess it's at $100. Here's what I'd get him:

Semogue 830
RazoRock SLAB
Astra SP x 50
RazoRock XXX soap & AS
Proraso cream

Target makes a great dopp bag for $10. Can't help you with the razor case.

Does someone make just a head sheath for razors? That would work well.
 
Don't cheap out on the bag. You don't have to go buy him a genuine leather Jack Spade Toiletry Bag, but you don't wanna go super cheap, either. The bag is one of the first things he's gonna notice.
 
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