Van der Hagen

[strop]

Not long ago I found myself out of town on an trip overnight trip. Unfortunately I forgot my Dopp kit. I figured I could manage with a Bic and some canned goo, so headed next door to the hotel to Walmart. To my surprise, there was the whole line of Van der Hagen razor, blades, and soaps. I have been pleasantly surprised with both the razor, which I found out is a rebranded Weishi,in

Spoiler: this thread

Van der Hagen

and especially the blades. I had assumed these were rebranded Merkur blades.

It has been at least 5 years since I used a Merkur, but I don't thinkthis is one. They were never this good in the past!
Today was shave #11 On this blade! Still smooth with no tugging, and no irritation. I usually don't use an Alum block, but I have been just to assess these shaves. Today was the first day there was just a little bit more tingling,but I'll bet 14 days is doable very easily.

Bottom line, these blades can certainly do in a pinch if you're stuck out of town without your gear.

 

[BigJ]

WELL DONE!

 

[BSAGuy]

Nice recommendation. Maybe I should give those blades a second look.

 

[Badgerstate36]

Id be interested to find out just who makes VDH's blades. I doubt its Merkur because theres a ton of companies in Germany who make razor blades but it could be.
I tried them once and they were just OK for me. They were pretty good on the 1st shave but were pretty much toast after that.

 

[weekly]

I've been wanting to pick up some of these
Blades for quite some time now but I only
Purchase blades in 100 bulk packs and I've only seen these blades In single tucks at a
Price that would equal $50. Per 100 which
Is way to much for a blade with such a divisive reputation , on a site unseen bases
However I do occasionally buy single tucks so I may at some point be sampling them..

 

[ackvil]

This is what a Merkur blade looks like.

Here is a photo of another German razor blade.

Bolzano also is made in Germany.

There is another company in Germany, Feintechnik, who makes razor blades for themselves as well as others. I believe they make the Bolzano blade. I picked up some Croma blades when I was in France and liked them.

 

[strop]

Probably should have known based on the alum yesterday, but couldn't finish today with the Van der Hagen. Lots of tugging during the first pass, so finished with a Polsilver in my Fatboy. Again reminds me why I like those blades so much.

 

[Houdini5150]

Was my first safety Razor. Picked up vintage stuff and havent used it since. Maybe I will try it again and see if I get similar results with my Gillettes.

 

[SGWB]

I have a hunch that Vanderhagen blades are rebranded Timor. According to Try a Blade, they are both "ice tempered".

 

[strop]

Thanks. I may have to get some Timor blades for comparison.

 

[Jed M.]

Just tried their soap and felt it was solid. I'll do the razors next time.

 

[Mike R]

I’ve been using a Van der Hagen razor exclusively for the past two years. For the 10 years prior to that I used any of the 30+ Gillette TTOs, adjustables, 3-pieces, etc. in my arsenal / collection / hoard. I’ve found the Van der Hagen to be every bit as good as any of them with the benefit of being bigger and heftier than some. Not to mention widely available and not overly expensive. It works well for me with a wide variety of blades. I keep meaning to go back to my vintage razors, but it’s so hard to stop using the VdH.

 

[Pierce13]

Thanks. I may have to get some Timor blades for comparison.

I bought a few Timor blades because I had heard good things about them. They worked very well for me, but were fairly pricey compared to other blades.

 

[TexanTom]

I too suspect that they are Timor blades. I bought a 5-pack and thought they might be some Merkur blades as they have a very similar feel on the initial shave and they smooth out really nicely after that first use. More durable than a lot of the "middle of the road" blades like Astras and Personnas. I get a couple more comfortable shaves with them. They're actually very nice blades....but that price is pretty hard to justify at roughly 60¢ a blade. Even Feathers can be had for about 1/2 the price. Very good blades but not a good value.

 

[strop]

I thought I would update my experience with the Van Der Hagen (Timor?!) blades. I've used them periodically since my original post in a variety of razors. I don't usually keep track of numbers, and just use a blade until it starts tugging, but thought I'd push these a little, to either severe tugging or a weeper or two.

Final tally....

Van Der Hagen TTO 11 shaves
Slim 12 shaves
ATT S2 14 shaves
EJ89 head 8 shaves
Red Tip 15 shaves

Just confirms why the Red Tip is one of my favorite razors!