Anyone try the Penhaligon's shave set?

[JohnnyO_Jr]

I've had mine for several years now, and I'm looking to get another set. I think I paid $300 or so for this set. I really don't like the construction of this Penhaligans set since the brush seems to be way too heavy. The imprinted name on the brush also already came off...

I hope to post a short review soon.

[brothers]

Waiting for your review, Johnny! That's a lot of money! I hope you find that the set is all that you expected it to be.

[JohnnyO_Jr]

I finally had time today to snap some pictures of my Penhaligans shave set. Below is a picture of it.



I've had this set for a couple years and am not impressed with the set because the quality of the set does not match the price tag. I think I paid a tad less than $400 including tax when I bought this set couple years ago at the store.

I'm getting tired of this set, so I will look around for another set to buy.

My Penhaligans set came in this cardboard box which is nothing special. Practically every shave set box packaging I've seen is boring and unoriginal.



I'm not sure what the metal used is but it appears the metal has been nickel plated since the color looks very similar to my nickel bathroom faucets. If you turn the stand upside down, you will notice the vertical pole of the stand is secured to the circular base by a screw. Very cheap construction if I may say so.

After a couple years or use, the circular base did not hold up well to normal wear and tear. The bottom of the circular base now has white gunk which I cannot take off.



Also, water collected all the time in the grooves in the circular base, so now green mineral deposits (or is this some type of green rust?) formed over time. Not very hypoallergenic if I may say so. I can't believe I haven't thrown away this shave set in the garbage long time ago...



Penhaligans marked their brand name on the circular base with black paint which doesn't seem to be that good of quality because the name has partially rubbed away for some reason. I never wiped the set with a towel but just washed it under water to get rid of dust and soap splashes that accumulate over time.

And by the way, these water marks won't come off the stand anymore.



The brush doesn't use silvertip badger hair but uses goat & boar hair. I remember when I used the brush at first, it would have this weird funky smell to it but it finally dissipated. With a set of this price tag, I would have assumed the hair used is silvertip badger.





The brush is extremely heavy and too heavy for my taste. If you accidently drop it on your marble counter, I'd fear the havoc it would cause, even more so if you accidently dropped it on your big toe!

Penhaligans is printed on the backside of the brush. Very boring. Penhaligans should have etched, laser engraved, or CNC'ed its name in my opinion. Printing is the cheapest method in my book.



The razor has a nice heft to it. For some, it may be too heavy but I like it this way. The razor is the best part of the set, and I have no qualms with it. It uses the older Mach 3 blade which works very well. My next set will probably definitely be a Fusion blade set.



In summary, this Penhaligans shaving set got me through a couple years but it did not last long. Material used weren't that good and the quality definitely doesn't make me want to go to the store and buy another Penhaligans set.

I'm going to do some research on the web to see which Fusion blade shave set will be my next purchase. I've used Gillette blades all my life, so I will still with them. 3 blades is nice so I guess 5 blades will be even better.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

JohnnyO

[i_shaved_something]

Yikes! That set has seen better days. Out of curiosity JohnnyO where are you located? Just wondering if you're in an environment such as a beach/salt water etc or other harsh climate that may have contributed. I have a $20 Col Conk stand that looks brand new after 3 years with no special care here in Virginia. Your looks like it's from the Titanic!
Good luck on finding a new set, I see you posted in the TwinLuxe thread as well, if you get that one let us know if it's worth the $$.
You can also piece together your own set, then can pick whatever pieces best suit you and if one doesn't work can always swap it out. May not all match perfect like these pre-made sets, but have more control over what goes in it, and like you've seen, you don't always get what you pay for!
Best of luck in your search, let us know how it goes.

[joe mcclaine]

If you've got money burning a hole in your pocket - how about the black Aluminium one from Czech & Speake?

[i_shaved_something]

Also, have you just tried cleaning up your set with a good metal polish like Simichrome, MAAS, or Cape Code polish?
I just checked my Col Conk stand again, wasn't in as good shape as I thought, looked a bit like yours but not as bad, but still lot of water marks etc, I also just rinse mine sometimes. I polished it with a good amount of Simichrome polish and lot of elbow grease and looks almost new. Some spots still but not bad. Maybe try polishing your set, I'm assuming it's nickel. May clean up better than you think. Of course sounds like there's other aspects of the set you don't like so won't help with that, but may be able to make it look better if want!

[i_shaved_something]

If you've got money burning a hole in your pocket - how about the black Aluminium one from Czech & Speake?

Wow I hadn't seen this one, more than I'd spend but a nice set, and def cheaper than the TwinLuxe set (but what isn't ha).
Plus you get the whole set with the CS 88 soap which is pricey in itself. For any interested here's the link that may work:

http://www.czechandspeake.com/products. ... 0&deptid=1

[JohnnyO_Jr]

Also, have you just tried cleaning up your set with a good metal polish like Simichrome, MAAS, or Cape Code polish?
I just checked my Col Conk stand again, wasn't in as good shape as I thought, looked a bit like yours but not as bad, but still lot of water marks etc, I also just rinse mine sometimes. I polished it with a good amount of Simichrome polish and lot of elbow grease and looks almost new. Some spots still but not bad. Maybe try polishing your set, I'm assuming it's nickel. May clean up better than you think. Of course sounds like there's other aspects of the set you don't like so won't help with that, but may be able to make it look better if want!

I don't have time to polish my shave set, so I would never use Cape Cod polish or any other metal polish. But wouldn't Cape Cod strip the nickel plating off my Penhaligans set? Cape Cod is perfect for polishing steel though.

[JohnnyO_Jr]

If you've got money burning a hole in your pocket - how about the black Aluminium one from Czech & Speake?

Wow I hadn't seen this one, more than I'd spend but a nice set, and def cheaper than the TwinLuxe set (but what isn't ha).
Plus you get the whole set with the CS 88 soap which is pricey in itself. For any interested here's the link that may work:

http://www.czechandspeake.com/products. ... 0&deptid=1

I just looked at the Czech set you linked. I'm not a fan of those bulb-like shave brush handles. I like more of a modern look, that's why I picked the Penhaligans set earlier.

[i_shaved_something]

Also, have you just tried cleaning up your set with a good metal polish like Simichrome, MAAS, or Cape Code polish?
I just checked my Col Conk stand again, wasn't in as good shape as I thought, looked a bit like yours but not as bad, but still lot of water marks etc, I also just rinse mine sometimes. I polished it with a good amount of Simichrome polish and lot of elbow grease and looks almost new. Some spots still but not bad. Maybe try polishing your set, I'm assuming it's nickel. May clean up better than you think. Of course sounds like there's other aspects of the set you don't like so won't help with that, but may be able to make it look better if want!

I don't have time to polish my shave set, so I would never use Cape Cod polish or any other metal polish. But wouldn't Cape Cod strip the nickel plating off my Penhaligans set? Cape Cod is perfect for polishing steel though.

According to the packaging Cape Cod would be OK for Nickel, Steel, Gold, Silver, etc, so should be OK.

Good luck on your quest!

[KAV]

The green is verdigris or the natural oxidation of copper or brass alloy which your set is made of with an obviously poor nickle plating. The white is heavy calcite deposit. The PC nonsense about protecting badgers, an already protected animal in Britain as excuse for an inferior brush is misigenation of chutzpa and hubris.
What I do not understand is the very need for this cruet set when you can leave oil and vinigarette in the bottles they came in. Instead of this Rubec Goldberg edifice to imodesty invest the next $400 in a REAL shaving brush and show real spettzaturia by setting it base down on the counter. Like your extra virgin olive oil and vinigarette people in the know will see quality in the components.

[drumana]

JohnnyO,

Have you tried Art of Shaving? They might have what you are looking for...

[notthesharpest]

If you have $300 to spend, spend it on something good. Good does not include a shaving set. As you have seen for yourself, even the expensive ones are chintzy crap. Forget the whole shave set idea, and get a special bottle of Scotch, or two really good shaving brushes, or ... well, anything but a shaving set!

[brothers]

This whole thing speaks volumes about Penhaligon's. It's not anything to do with quality or value, or "the best" of anything whatsoever. It's peddling shiny objects with impressive looking names stenciled on them to kind and generous folks who have the disposable income to gamble with. Penhaligon's is willing to put their name on an inert hockey puck of soap-like wax they call shaving soap and sell it for almost a hundred dollars.

[KAV]

I think the sister thread on pronunciation of Penhaligons might be open to some new ones after viewing this.

[bernards66]

I agree with David; 'shaving sets' are almost always a poor choice. You'll notice that hardly any of the experianced shavers here use them. One gets much more for one's money by choosing seperate pieces from reputable firms. With sets you hardly ever get a real quality brush ( except from Joris ), while paying through the nose for a 'fancy' stand that you don't even need. I could get one hell of a good brush and razor plus a bunch of top notch blades and shaving soaps/creams for $300.
Regards,
Gordon

[JarmoP]

Those stands, they just look so stupid to me.
Shaving is a simple maybe aggressive thing done to our face. so lets us keep it like it is. Not make it "glorious" with some stupid kits.

It is another thing after a good shave to apply the fave AS on , but basically what we are after is have our stubble gone as gently as we can

Jarmo

[gsgo]

While I rather like the look of matched sets my preference definitely falls in the "make up your own" camp.

[JohnnyO_Jr]

JohnnyO,

Have you tried Art of Shaving? They might have what you are looking for...

I looked at Art of Shaving sets but I don't like the quality of them. Most of them look fairly cheap in my opinion and furthermore are not that original looking. A dime a dozen.

[KAV]

J- Everybody here has bought some Rube Goldberg whats- it. Mine was an elaborate wrought iron and chain stake set for dutch ovens. I almost broke an ankle and landed in hot coals tripping over the thing.
Skip the whole idea and buy some quality kit his time.