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Suggestions for Son's First Shaving Set-Up

my son is ready for his own de set and his birthday is at the end of April. I want to get him a nice set that he will cherish forever, particularly a mild vintage razor, maybe a tech I guess. Decent soap, brush, and any other essentials. Unfortunately $ is a major issue, so I need help putting something special together for my boy as a gift that he will remember from his daddy! This will also be his first shave! I am open to thoughts helps and suggestions! Thanks guys.
 
Budgets are typically tough, I can relate. A vintage Gillette tech is supposed to be quite reasonable. An EJ89, Maggard V3, and Merkur 34C are all available for around $30 or less, depending on sales and purchase location. You can find very inexpensive soaps, such as Arko. Depending on the budget, a soap like Stirling or Haslinger can run around $15 plus shipping. A cheaper synthetic brush can be found for under $15. You can also check out the Buy-Sell-Trade section here and see if the items are available at prices that fit your budget.

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RazoRock has a couple of inexpensive (US$15 - $20 range) three-piece razors that are still good performers, according to many reviews here at B&B. Also separate handles and heads to mix and match.
I'm quite pleased with the RR OLD Type Open Comb head on the Stainless Steel Barber Pole handle, which I got for approx. Cdn$27 altogether.

Rather than buy a purpose-made shaving mug, look in thrift shops for bowls that fit the purpose, like round-bottomed soup mugs. They're far more interesting, and the majority of bowls that come with shaving kits look way too small.
 
Good, inexpensive, mild starter, vintage - pre-zamac tech or a superspeed. Either readily available for less than $15, possibly less than $10. Some people like the VDH brush. I'm partial to the Omega Pro 10049 boar brush. Soap is a good place to splurge if you like that sort of thing. I like Arko, and the boar brush is good for face lathering. Witch hazel is a couple $$ at walmart.
 

KeenDogg

Slays On Fleek - For Rizz
Blue tip or a Fat Handle Tech would do nicely. To me, the razor is the most cherished aspect of my collections.

Kindly,
Adam

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I love these threads because my son is 17 and I just went through this myself and was very excited to set him up as he was costing me way to much on disposables. We took a Saturday and drove to Maggards an hour away where they had the Maggard Mr14 and matching badger brush in a very cool aluminum grey at a fantastic price which is perfect for a young man and old guys as well. I picked up a couple tubes cream to get him started since it doesn't require much skill for a beginner. What's funny is I catch him taking Barbasol canned cream and brushing it on and I'm fine with that since on Sundays before church he uses my clubman puck all the time. He's a football and baseball player so he attends a lot of camps and overnight trips and his fellow teammates who laughed at first are converting from the Mach one style of shaving and it's catching on. Maggards is top notch and I'm positive he will have this setup long after I'm gone and he loves it himself plus it's pretty dam funny watching 17 yr old skin splash on clubman or old spice and see his eyes water.
 
When I started, I got the Van der Hagen bowl/brush/puck pack and the VDH razor/blade since they were cheap and convenient. On the outside, they're nice looking. The puck is pretty good considering the price. I like the bowl, but it's a bit small for my taste (palm-size). I still use the brush, but the only complaint anyone has is it doesn't stop shedding. The razor I would say is okay, and the blades it comes with didn't suit my skin. All of this cost me $25 USD. For that much you might as well get a RazoRock or Maggards starter set.
 
Congrats! I would go for a Slim or a Merkur 34HD with a reasonable boar brush plus a blade sampler pack and a few soaps. (He is lucky to have a Dad who can help!)
 
The Fendrihan MK II is a fully stainless razor available for US$39. It provides a great shave and is both very mild and very efficient. The razor will last forever. Pair it with Astra blades, which are as effective, but smoother than, Feather blades, at one half to one third the price (under $12 for a 100 pack). The Semogue 830 boar brush is a truly luxurious lather monster and can be had for under $20. And of course Arko shave soap: a two to three year supply of which can be had for around $12. This is a great set up that is, coincidentally, budget friendly; there is no compromise here in terms of quality. In fact, this was my shave of the day. Good luck.
 
Check out different vendor sights. Many offer starter sets. My choice would be Maggerd Razors. They have a few in different price ranges, with choices of a few soaps and razors for each.
 
With first-hand experience, I can say that either a Weishi 9306 (a TTO) or a Razorock Teck II (3 piece) are both very mild and super inexpensive at $10 or less, and deliver fine shaves. The TTO may be good for an absolute beginner to shaving simply for the ease of use with regards to blade loading.
 
Well if cheap is what you want and Vintage then I think the Schick Krona is for you.
Get some Prorasso Soap and a Lord blade sample pack and maybe an Omega Boar Brush and you are off to the races.
Vintage Kronas are cheap on the Bay and a very underrated razor.
The Krona is a great mild razor and perfect to learn on an something i believe your son will cherish as their is a great History behind the Krona.
 
One thought, since you're leaning vintage, is to get something from the year your father (his grandpa) was the same age--a razor from the year his grandpa started shaving!
 
Well if cheap is what you want and Vintage then I think the Schick Krona is for you.
Get some Prorasso Soap and a Lord blade sample pack and maybe an Omega Boar Brush and you are off to the races.
Vintage Kronas are cheap on the Bay and a very underrated razor.
The Krona is a great mild razor and perfect to learn on an something i believe your son will cherish as their is a great History behind the Krona.
+1 Krona.

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I should probably _use_ the Krona I have just to try it out.
Maybe it'll work with a Derby blade! :)

I have the VDH starter set (puck, bowl, brush), and while I have lost some bristles, I can't say that it 'won't stop shedding'. It's working out just fine. Yesterday I had to crack out a NOS Surrey brush, because I put my main brush in a bag to take with me the day before, and couldn't find the bag.

Cheap starter set? Vintage razor on e-bay, if you're not that picky, you can get a gillette Tech or SuperSpeed for less than $10, shipped; you can get a small, but okay boar brush for $2.50, and Arko for next to nothing. Bowl? I'm sure you have something around, or you can use the Arko as a stick.
 
Last week for my oldest Son's birthday (28) I bought him a wet shaving set up. EJ89, 100 Russian blades, arko, cella, syn bruth, alum bar came to about $70 with shipping. As I make aftershave splashes he already has an assortment of those. He should be set a year with the blades and the alum bar. Soap will probably last him 4 months or longer. Now he can get out of the dollar monthly club and starting shaving versus scraping. I hope your Son enjoys the set up. One addition suggestion is to forward your son some highly rated shave videos. My son was skeptical to try wet shaving but the videos helped. Found a couple of "how to use a DE razor", "how to load the blade", "how to use arko", "how to bowl lather cella" and "how to use alum". This worked out as he lives in another state and I'm not there to show him the ropes.
 
I love these threads because my son is 17 and I just went through this myself and was very excited to set him up as he was costing me way to much on disposables. We took a Saturday and drove to Maggards an hour away where they had the Maggard Mr14 and matching badger brush in a very cool aluminum grey at a fantastic price which is perfect for a young man and old guys as well. I picked up a couple tubes cream to get him started since it doesn't require much skill for a beginner. What's funny is I catch him taking Barbasol canned cream and brushing it on and I'm fine with that since on Sundays before church he uses my clubman puck all the time. He's a football and baseball player so he attends a lot of camps and overnight trips and his fellow teammates who laughed at first are converting from the Mach one style of shaving and it's catching on. Maggards is top notch and I'm positive he will have this setup long after I'm gone and he loves it himself plus it's pretty dam funny watching 17 yr old skin splash on clubman or old spice and see his eyes water.

Sounds familiar. My Son just turned 16 and has been interested in DE shaving. I gave him my starter gear to use - 34C, Perfecto Badger, and Schone bowl. He had his first DE shave a couple of weeks ago. We are going to the Maggards meet up together in May and I told him we can go shopping for something of his own if he like using the 34C. He lit up and said that would be cool. He had his own soaps he picked himself and some Aqua Velva. I bought a couple of the Aqua Velva gift sets around Thanksgiving with a Williams puck, and he wanted to try it. I told him if he could use Williams, he could use anything. He also wanted C&E Sandalwood in a wood bowl during the holidays when they were on clearance and uses Cremo Cooling when he wants to just keep it simple and fast. So far he told me he really likes the 34C.
Steve
 
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