A primer to the fine art of traditional shaving, and a buyer’s guide
By MICHAEL HAM
Michael Ham may be the world’s most prolific collector of shaving gear. For the past decade, he has written a blog item, nearly every day, about his tests of different pieces of shaving gear.
During the decade I’ve spent studying and writing about shaving for my blog and for the various editions of my book, Guide to Gourmet Shaving the Double-Edge Way, I’ve purchased and tested hundreds of shaving products—a seemingly endless variety of razors and blades; shaving brushes, soaps, and creams; pre-shaves and after-shaves. These products constitute the tools of what’s come to be known as “wet shaving”—today’s term for the traditional style of shaving your father or grandfather used to do.
A couple of the vintage razors that have inspired their modern counterparts. In front, the Gillette Tech with fat handle; in back, the Gillette NEW with fat handle. Both have original plating, and the NEW is 84 years YOUNG.
Somewhat coincidentally, the growth of my interest has coincided with the public’s. Thanks largely to the Internet, demand for wet shaving products is growing rapidly, and so is the supply. One reason is that wet shaving fulfills its promises: the shaves really are better and the daily shave, once a tedious chore, really is transformed into a pleasure.
A “wet” shave begins with building a lather from a soap or cream with a shaving brush; and it progresses, for most, to a shave with a double-edge or “DE” safety razor. (Some die-hards swear by straight razors, which can deliver a remarkable shave. But with the plethora of fine DE razors available today, there is no need to hazard a straight razor’s dangers.) A perfect wet shave finishes with one or more after-shave potions—generally a splash, balm, or milk.
The gift list below contains, in my opinion, some of the cream of this crop. On-line vendors for nearly all of these items can be easily found through a simple Internet search on the product name. A few recommended sources are listed at the end of each section but there are many, many more.
RAZORS
iKon Shavecraft #102 with cast aluminum head and stainless steel razor: the one razor to take if you can take only one, or so I find. It’s unique among modern slants in not twisting the blade; closest shave to it is the Above the Tie S1, which does twist the blade (which adds rigidity, they say).
Double-edge, or DE, safety razors fall into three main types—three piece, two-piece, and a “twist-to-open” razor with all the parts in a single piece. All of these are made with some kind of guard (the “safety” part). That can be a bar (often scalloped) or coarse teeth, like a comb. The comb guard (also called an “open comb”) was the original design for DE razors, and it works well for those who shave only once or twice a week and need an aggressive edge.
Most razors cut with compressive force—a straight-on chop as you pull the razor through the stubble—but some razors position the blade at a slant, which is why these razors are called “slants.” A slanted blade cuts stubble with a shearing action, which noticeably reduces the cutting effort for thick beards.
The current mass-market standard for a good workaday double-edge razor is the Edwin Jagger brand. Some prefer one of the classic vintage razors such as the Gillette “NEW” (now 85 years old and still a superb razor) or a Gillette adjustable. For a gift, however, I would suggest razors that are a cut above the norm. Here are my favorites:
From the front: Double Open Comb razor showing the combs and the interesting knurling; Above the Tie R1 (R = regular, 1 = bar guard) head on the “Atlas” handle; the Standard head on a “UFO” handle, showing how handles are easily swapped with three-piece razors. (A heavier handle seems to increase razor agility.)
. The iKon Shavecraft #102 ($80), a slant razor with a cast aluminum head, has become my “desert-island” razor: if I could have only one razor, this would be it. Slant razors can offer noticeable efficiency, and often excellent comfort, and the #102, for me, is particularly comfortable.
. Above the Tie razors ($185) are precision machined from stainless steel or bronze, and sold with a 30-day money-back guarantee. To accommodate different beard and skin types ATT provides 8 different baseplates, and if you find that your first choice is either too harsh or too gentle, you can readily exchange it for an alternative. If you’re not sure which to start with, begin with the M1 (mild) or S1 (slant), both of which tend to work well for men with average beards.
A few vintage adjustibles–widely considered Gillette’s classic, or at least most comfortable, DE razor. From the front: Fat Boy (ver 1); Slim Handle (ver 2); and Super Adjustable (ver 3 and final), long-handle model. Most of these old razors are readily available on sites like eBay, although their prices have risen markedly with the growing interest in wet shaving.
. The Double Open-Comb razor from Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements ($35) reprises, and improves, a classic, vintage design: the razor’s guard and cap are both made as open-comb. While comb razors can be aggressive, the spaces between the teeth of the comb leave a little shaving cream behind, which creates more glide on the face. Although priced modestly, the DOC does a fine job and has an interesting texturing on the handle: sharply defined, grippy, and comfortable.
. The Standard ($65; or around $35 if obtained in the Barber box from BespokePost.com) is made of a high-quality aluminum alloy. For me, a standard head on a stainless steel Bulldog handle is particularly nice—the heavier handle adds agility.
Sources:
iKonRazors.com – a catalog of razors and also a list of iKon dealers.
AboveTheTie.com – this site lists the whole ATT line: its various razor models, refurbished vintage razors, and some shaving supplies.
PhoenixArtisanAccoutrements.com – shaving supplies and also the Double Open Comb razor
StandardRazors.com – the main source for Standard razors
BLADES
A small sampling of DE blades—Tryablade.com offers over 100 different brands. Each of these brands is truly great for some and horrible for others, and there’s only one way to find out into which group you fall.
Although cartridge razors now dominate the market, well over a hundred different double-edge blades of various brands are still made in roughly a dozen countries throughout the world. How any given blade is perceived in terms of comfort, smoothness, and efficiency varies greatly from person to person. It all depends on the nature of your beard and skin, and on the razor being used.
Blades therefore epitomize a term frequently used on the Internet shaving forums: “YMMV,” meaning “your mileage may vary.” And the only way to figure out your particular mileage is through trial and error. Fortunately, many shaving vendors offer blade sampler packets that contain a variety of brands. But note: a novice might assume “sharp” equals “good,” but it doesn’t work this way. Sharp can also equal harsh. What one wants is a blade that, on your skin, cuts stubble easily, smoothly, and without nicks.
It helps that double-edge blades don’t cost much. In the DE world, an “expensive” blade costs 50¢, and most cost around 20¢. And some brands are available in boxes of 100 for less than a dime a blade. Blade life varies, but a DE blade typically lasts 4-6 shaves, longer if your beard is mild.
Now, to the shopping: Feather blades are commonly regarded as sharpest, but many find them harsh and nick-prone. Other sharp brands are Gillette 7 O’Clock SharpEdge, Kai, Astra Superior Platinum, Personna Lab Blue, and Gillette Silver Blue. For an edge likely to be more forgiving, try Derby and Merkur.
As you develop preferences, save your discards—blades that didn’t work well in one razor might perform like a champ in another (if you, like many others, fall for wet shaving’s allure and start collecting various models).
Sources:
Tryablade.com – excellent source for sampling blades: you can order individual blades from a range of more than 100 brands.
SOAPS
A few choice shaving soaps: On the left, a Meißner Tremonia showing some uncommon ingredients; on top of it, Otoko Organics, an unusual vegan soap from Australia; in the middle, Eufros from JabonMan in Spain; and finally the French shaving soap by Martin de Candre, with lid dutifully discarded, as they ask.
A good soap should easily make a rich, creamy lather—one that’s a pleasure to smell, assumes just the right consistency, and facilitates the razor’s smooth glide. For decades, the ingredient that’s fulfilled these tasks most dependably has been tallow. Today, however, a great many innovative soap-making operations have devised effective formulas with few if any animal products.
The number of small, high-quality operations making soap of various kinds has grown rapidly—in the current edition of the Guide is a list—still incomplete—of more than 40 different makers. These include stand-outs such as Mickey Lee Soapworks, Stirling Soap Company, Strop Shoppe, and WhollyKaw (a vegan soap).
There are also plenty of good mainstream soaps, such as Cella, D.R. Harris, and Mitchell’s Wool Fat. For a gift, however, look for a treat. These four lean toward the unusual.
. Meißner Tremonia ($25 in heavy glass tub; $21 for puck along) is a German shaving soap (sold in the U.S. by Straight Razor Designs). They offer unusual fragrances, including Scotch Whiskey, that are strongly present in the lather—and the lather itself is wonderful. The soap is also made with wool fat (or lanolin), which offers a nice, gourmet alternative to the venerable Mitchell’s Wool Fat.
. Eufros is made in Spain by Manuel Garcia, AKA JabonMan. The soap makes a superb lather and the fragrances are very nice. Price is generally €13.80, but some special fragrances are more. Vetiver Haiti is €24, Rose Bourbon €34. (Garcia also offers aftershave balms.)
. Martin de Candre ($65) is an exceptional French soap with a light fragrance that suggests a wooded glen full of lavender and mint. Its uncommon lather is awakened by the mere touch of a brush, getting creamier as your morning shave progresses.
. Otoko Organics is an unusual vegan Australian soap, formulated by a colloidal chemist. It’s made of cold-pressed, organically grown plant extracts: coconut, palm, soy, and jojoba oil with aloe vera and pear essence. The makers argue that, technically, it’s not a true soap but “a hydrating and healing emollient with anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory actions.” Nonetheless, it produces a rich, stiff lather with a clean and refreshing scent. Otoko has long been unavailable in the U.S., until now.
Sources:
Meißner Tremonia – Available in the US from StraightRazorDesigns.com
Eufros – Email magafe_es@yahoo.es for availability and pricing. (Payment is via PayPal.)
Martin de Candre – In the US: frenchgardening.com/item.html?pid=GISF40
Otoko Organics, in the U.S. – http://bit.ly/1Tk9TmF
BRUSHES
Shaving brushes are made of badger, boar, horse, or synthetic, with the “brush” part called the knot. If you get the wet shaving bug, I suggest that over time you try all four types. They all can make a fine lather, but they differ in how they feel on the face.
Two exemplary badger brushes: Wet Shaving Products Monarch on the left, G.B. Kent BK4 on the right, both superb silvertip brushes. The vase-shaped handle is very comfortable.
Badger: The finest shaving brushes have traditionally been made of “silvertip” badger hair, which offer fine bristles and, in some cases, very soft tips. Depending on the knot’s density, the brush’s softness may be at the surface, overlaying a firm core (which can help in working up lather). When the softness runs deeper down the knot, the brush caresses rather than scrubs your face, which some prefer. (Contrary to machismo opinion on many shaving forums, a thoroughly soft brush creates lather, and applies it, as efficiently as a scrubby brush. It just requires a gentler technique.) I find the badger brushes made by Wet Shaving Products to be particularly good, and the Monarch High Mountain White ($110) is one of my favorites. It has a comfortable and (to my eye) attractive handle, a soft knot with excellent resilience, and it creates lather easily. The Monarch handle also seems to be an homage to G.B. Kent, whose BK4 ($145) is also excellent and, with its nifty cylindrical red-leatherette box, offers a wonderful presentation for a gift.
The mighty boar brush: on the left, the Omega 21762; on the right, the Semogue Owners Club. The Omega will hit its stride with two weeks of daily shaves, the Semogue in two months. Both are excellent.
Boar: Boar brushes, the workhorse of the shaving-brush world, are typically more resilient and less costly than badger brushes, and Italians in particular favor them. Boar bristles are coarser than badger, and a boar knot must be soaked before each use. Some boar brushes have plain white bristles, others have a stripe dyed to mimic the look of badger. I recommend plain knots, since the dying seems to weaken the bristles. A new boar brush will kill lather, but that tendency vanishes over a week or two of use. Initially, boar bristles feel coarse on the face, but over weeks and months of use the ends of the bristles split and the tips soften. Two exceptional boar brushes are the Omega 21762 ($37) or the Semogue Owners Club ($45). Because of differences in the bristles each company uses, an Omega brush will hit its stride after only a couple of weeks of use, Semogue after a couple of months. (Frequent soaks and workouts in hot water, or even making practice lathers, expedites the break-in.)
The horse hair brush. A Vie Long 13061S in chestnut—horsehair brushes, like horses, come in a variety of colors. Chestnut appeals to me, especially when the sun hits it.
Horse: Horsehair occupies the middle ground between badger and boar. Coarser than badger, finer than boar, horsehair has its own distinct feel. As with boar, a horsehair brush requires a good soak before each use. Unlike badger and boar, however, horsehair brushes are cruelty-free—a by-product of routine grooming rather than slaughter. Tail hair is stiffer, mane hair is softer, so brush-makers combine the two. Plain brushes, without the dyed stripe, have stronger and more resilient bristles (and don’t turn the lather gray in the first few uses). Like the horses they come from, these brushes vary in color, and a chestnut brush in the sun shows beautiful coloration. The best source is Gifts and Care in Spain (horse brushes being a Spanish specialty), and the Vie-Long 13061S ($30 outside the EU) is a particularly nice model with a chestnut knot.
The new kid on the block–a synthetic brush: From L to R: Plisson (and Plisson synthetics come in an astonishing variety of handles, all using the same knot); Fine Accoutrements; RazoRock “synthetic badger.” These have special appeal for a traveler: synthetic bristles do not absorb water and thus dry quickly.
Synthetic: In recent years the quality of synthetic brushes has greatly improved. Since no animal fibers are needed, synthetic brushes can be pumped out in volume, driving down costs. The result: excellent brushes at low prices. Synthetic bristles do not absorb water, so they dry quickly, and the brushes vary greatly in quality and feel. The “angel-hair” synthetics, first introduced by Plisson and now available from many vendors, are as soft and resilient as the best silvertip badger at a fraction of the price, though the synthetics don’t feel quite the same on the face. Plisson offers the greatest variety of handles, but Chiseled Face, Fine Accoutrements, RazoRock, and Stirling Soap Company all have excellent angel-hair synthetics available as low as $10.
Sources:
WetShavingProducts.com – A good selection of brushes beyond the Monarch
VintageScentsLLC.com – A good source for Semogue brushes
GiftsAndCare.com – The mother lode of horsehair shaving brushes
Blaireauxplisson.com/en/39-shavingbrushes-fiber – A broad range of synthetic brushes
FineAccoutrements.com – Fine offers several synthetic brushes along with other shaving supplies
Italianbarber.com/collections/brushes-vegan-synthetic/razorock – good synthetics at low prices
AFTERSHAVES
And finally, the aftershave: From L to R: Krampet’s Finest Bay Rum (splash), D.R. Harris After Shaving Milk, Institut Karité 25% shea butter aftershave balm, and Thayers Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera. Milks and balms are especial nice in winter.
An aftershave’s fragrance, unlike that of a shaving soap, lingers. It’s a quintessential matter of personal taste. For a gift, therefore, samples are your best bet. And many companies offer them.
Splashes come in a wide variety. Some are witch-hazel based, best for those with sensitive skin; others are alcohol based, best for those who like a more bracing splash. Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum ($15) is a good splash that’s also somewhat moisturizing. Thayers is the classic witch hazel splash, blended with aloe vera and either with 10% alcohol or alcohol-free, in various fragrances (all short-lived) at $8-$10 for 12 ounces.
Balms are more moisturizing and protective than splashes and tend to be relatively thick. One particularly good one is Institut Karité 25% Shea Butter Aftershave Balm ($25 for 250ml—use only a small dot).
Milks are thinner than a balm; thicker, and generally more protective and moisturizing, than a splash. The venerable D.R. Harris offers a variety of aftershave milks ($30-$40, depending on the fragrance), a very nice finish to a wintertime shave.
Many of the soap-makers listed above also sell aftershaves, including some that match the fragrances of their soaps.
Sources for samples:
Maggardrazors.com
Samples.manmachine.co (UK)
Sampleshop.blogspot.com
Shavedash.com (UK)
For a taste of one dialogue between Michael Ham and someone who thinks there is no point in switching from the simplicity of canned shaving cream and cartridge razors, see this. (A note to the uninitiated: In the wet shaving world, “BBS” means skin post-shave that is “baby bottom soft”):
https://leisureguy.wordpress.com/2015/11/30/focusing-on-the-right-things/
If you’d like to poke around Michael Ham’s shaving blog – which contains years of daily observations on his tests of hundreds of different razors, blades, brushes, shaving soaps, and aftershaves – look here:
https://leisureguy.wordpress.com/category/shaving/
For more information on wet shaving:
Badger & Blade – badgerandblade.com – a popular forum for exchanging shaving information, asking and answering questions, and learning technical information.
Wicked Edge – reddit.com/r/wicked_edge – a novice-friendly subreddit for asking questions about traditional shaving with double-edge or straight razors
Lady Shavers – reddit.com/r/ladyshavers – much the same as Wicked Edge but with a focus on women shavers.
Leisureguy’s Guide to Gourmet Shaving the Double-Edge Way – tinyurl.com/LGshaving – explains the benefits of traditional shaving and provides detailed guidance for the utter novice, including someone who currently hates shaving but has not thought of trying something other than cartridge razors and canned foam.
Michael Ham, a former teacher, director of admissions, programmer, marketing manager, and textbook writer, is the man behind the popular shaving blog, Leisureguy. He is also the author of Leisureguy’s Guide to Gourmet Shaving the Double-Edge Way, now in its seventh edition.
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