van der hagan shave set

[mrjediconsular]

so i just got back from shopping at the local Walmart grocery shop and i passed the shaving are and i took a look to see if they had anything i needed and saw that they were selling van der hagen soaps razors and brushes the i saw the set with the soap the brush and the bowl, and i was thinking should i buy it or not then i thought back to the micro touch one and thought it might better to set what you guys thought of it.

[CMur12]

I've always been tempted by the VdH brush/soap/bowl set, as well, but I never bought it.

From what I have read on these forums, if you like boar brushes, the VdH brush isn't bad, but it takes a LONG time to break it in. Last I checked, their shave soaps were mostly glycerin and detergent, though they seem to work all right for the shave, if not on the level of the better soaps we take for granted here.

For the price and the experience, they're probably not bad. You may find them adequate, but probably not more than that.

- Murray

[mrjediconsular]

i heard that the soap was pretty much trash but can teach you how use a brush. i mostly just want the brush and bowl

[CMur12]

The bowl looks nice and the brush should be all right after a long breaking-in.

- Murray

[nicodemus38]

if you WANT a van der hagen shave set, walgreens website is the cheapest spot. 8-10 dollars.

However...

an empty cool whip container would make a better soap bowl for yourself. The ones ive seen in store, well lets just say its more of an art project that came from your 4 year old childs art class.

The soaps alright. it doesn't lather like razorock does, but it does give a better shave. less irritation afterwords too.

[brothers]

If I may suggest Tabac soap and bowl. Now on clearance sale here. For a brush, I'd suggest the Kent BK4. After loading the soap onto the brush in the soap bowl, you may want a good bowl in which to build the lather before brushing it onto the face. Next time you're in WalMart, check the dinnerware aisle, the cereal bowls or the somewhat smaller "berry bowl" make excellent and very inexpensive lather bowls.

[mrjediconsular]

Well I got the set as a birthday present I haven't used it yet but I wasn't going to buy it myself oh well I got to start somewhere

[ShadowsDad]

It'll do as a starter set; it's how I started for all the same reasons you have one, availability and price. The brush is nothing to write home about, but it's a start. I'd be surprised if it doesn't begin shedding fibers almost immediately. But it's a boar and will require breaking in before it gets as good as it'll ever get. If you shave every day it should start to get split tips (the goal) somewhere around 20 uses or more. A broken in boar is a very nice brush. But my VDH boar shed so badly that I replaced it early on and it was years ago, so I don't really remember much more about it. The bowl I used exactly twice for making lather for shaving. I did use it a few times to learn how to use it. It didn't take me long at all to move right into face lathering. The 2nd time I used the bowl was approx' a month later to try bowl lathering again. That was the end of my bowl lathering experience of any type. I exclusively face lather today.

The soap is better than you're being led to believe. It's capable of making a fine yogurt like lather. I haven't used it in quite some time, but that's because I mostly use my products these days. In the past year or so I can count the times I've used other products on my fingers w/o using my toes, so it isn't because the VDH soap is junk that I haven't used it. I remember liking the mild scent of it also. Bought separately it's not an expensive soap, but it does perform better than the price would suggest. It's definitely better than Williams, steer clear of that soap should you see it. Williams doesn't sell for much and at that price it's over priced. There probably are decent soaps available near you. If you have a Bath and Body they have Bigelow which is rebranded Proraso. It's a decent cream soap. A large tube runs near $10 from what I remember. But that was years ago that I bought mine.

If you want to know what's good look in the Shave of the Day section. There are plenty of reviews in the soap section as well; look at the top of the section, and sprinkled throughout. But your VDH kit will get you started and you have it in hand, so use it.

After exhausting the locally available shave products, and that didn't take long for me, I moved to mail order. I suspect that's how most of us here get their shave supplies.

[mrjediconsular]

well i just used it the brush was easy to use lost like 6 hairs first use and the soap i couldn't get it to work for me i guess i didn't quite get all the excess water out of the brush or i just need to practice more

[ShadowsDad]

Yup, lather making needs to be practiced. Try ditching the bowl for now. Just use the palm of your hand, and don't worry about "wasting" soap. You're learning and it takes soap to learn with.

Do yourself a favor and put the soap in a coffee cup or tub or some such. It'll push right out of the plastic cup that it ships in. Once it's in a permanent hom, pit it in the microwave and melt it. DO NOT leave it to microwave on it's own. You must watch it! It'll boil over in a heartbeat. Once melted just allow it to cool down and resolidify. It's new home will make it much easier to use.

You need to work up a paste with the brush and water on the surface of the soap. Don't be afraid to use too much soap because that's very hard to do. But it's extremely easy to not use enough. Wet your brush and let it soak up the water for a bit, a few minutes is plenty. The fibers need to be flexible and soaking does it. Then shake off the excess water. I like a drier brush rather than too wet. You can always add water but once too much water is used it's easier just to dump what you have and start over. Begin working the brush over the surface of the soap. Don't be afraid to flex the bristles. Add water as required a tiny bit at a time, 1/4 teaspoon is plenty. With the soap you have it will begin to get "snotty" and there will be plenty of it; exactly what you want. From there move the loaded brush to your palm and lather. Again, add water as required, a little at a time. I do that by dipping my brush in a basin of water and carrying it back to the lather. To test your lather paint some on your arm and wait. It should remain in lather form for about 5 minutes or more. If it dries and turns to a "ghost" it needs to be wetter. Make it so, testing on your arm until it's right. I like my lather to be thick and creamy almost like yogurt. You will not be able to see the bubbles composing the lather, they will be that fine. You might also notice an iridescence to the lather because the bubbles are so fine. That's good stuff. Try some between your thumb and fingers. It should be slick and give some fight to prevent the fingers from coming fully together. That's what protects your face and skin from the blade.

OK, but you're not done yet. You need to do this at least once... Now you know what good lather is, continue adding water a little bit at a time. The lather will turn to larger bubbles and eventually to a froth. Neither of those are what you ever want to shave with. Add a bit more water and the entire mass will break down. If you get a froth when actually building lather for a shave it can be corrected, but it's easier to just dump it and begin again.

When I started I always tested a new soap in this way, now I don't need to, but you should for a time. You should also practice making lather. Without great lather your shaves will suffer; it's critical skill.

For shaving you could palm lather, but I use that only for soap testing. Most gents either face lather or bowl lather. I prefer face lathering because just like your brush, the face requires soaking to soften the whiskers and face lathering does that. It also give instant feedback on lather quality as it's being built. Lather for subsequent passes is stored on the brush. Even the very tiny Wee Scot will hold enough lather for 2 additional full passes.

The Wee Scot is the smaller of the 2 brushes. The Special next to it isn't a large brush, and I have small hands.

[Gareth]

I really like the Simpson Special - I use mine when travelling as it fits perfectly into one of the Simpson travel tubes. A great brush for someone just starting out and not too pricey either.

I would echo Brian's comments - don't be shy with the amount of soap you load on the brush.

Gareth

[mrjediconsular]

I was just using the bowl as a place to load the brush then i face lather. I will difenetly practice more. with just crappy lather I made I got a better shave then with the canned goo I was using.

[ShadowsDad]

Yup, you should be experiencing just the reverse. The lather you make should be far superior to the canned goop. Practice on your palm and don't worry about wasting soap. You're learning; you need to use soap to make lather. Start with a soaked by dryer brush and add water as needed. VDH is inexpensive and easily repurchased but you won't even come close to using one tub in learning. You might use $.20 worth of soap if you need to practice alot. Another soap that's actually quite useful as a shave soap is Clearly Natural glycerine soap from the supermarket. It's about $1 per bar and melts the same as VDH. It'll do in a pinch for shaving, but its also OK for practicing. It comes in different flavors if that floats your boat.

I have lots better soaps for daily use, but I still use Clearly Natural unscented to test scents. Yes, it also works for a shave once one knows how to make lather. It's not ideal, but it's surprisingly useable. Not all soap is. I know because I try many. I have a childlike insatiable curiosity.

[CMur12]

Hi mrjediconsular and Brian -

I have to admit that I haven't read everything here, but I know that Brian gives very sound advice. Though I think Brian mentioned it, it might help to emphasize that a boar brush should be soaked for a few minutes before use. I sit mine upright in a glass or mug of hot tap water and let the bristles soak while I wash/soak/prep my beard.

Boar bristle actually absorbs water into its basic structure, changing dry stiff bristle into flexible, soft bristle. The VdH brush may benefit from even 10 - 15 minutes of soaking, especially at first. After it is broken in, 5 minutes of soaking may be plenty. You will need to experiment and see the effects on the brush you have for yourself.

- Murray

[brothers]

The following remark is outside the scope of discussion of a cheap boar brush, but ignoring it would be to the detriment of mrjediconsular who asked the question to start with - cheap = synthetic, in spades; making great lather = synthetic; no soaking needed, and no shedding = synthetic. Bottom line is that he should be using a synthetic. I have one I'll be more than happy to send him. I'm sending him a PM now in that regard.