great price & product. Lasts ages.
Ive saved loads of money since switching to DE shaving a few years ago. People do not realise how much they are getting ripped off using the brands starting with WS & G.
£20 for a decent handle, £10 for 100 Astra blades, £10 for a box of 12 Arko sticks. £2 for Alum block to help with cuts. Will last you years

Pretty much my starting set up when I started DE shaving last year, actually sold this set on ebay , having upgraded a tad (ok maybe went a bit ott lol) :sunglasses::confused:





Astra blades , DE89 razor , Arko stick and a Proraso (Omega) brush a perfect starting set up for about £35

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000VBLVHO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Cheaper brush https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0012XTHXU/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and hidden in the sale section a DE89 http://www.edwinjagger.co.uk/edwin-jagger-chrome-lined-de-razor.html

so if you go with the cheaper brush you can be up and DE shaving for a bit over £20


And P.S .. Join the forums, all the blades in the pics were given to me by great guys on the forums to help a newby......:smiley:

Lol:D

I tend to stock up on shave balm when its a good deal somewhere..... Can often get The Real Shaving Co balm in Poundshops and recently bought some tubes of Gillette 5 Irritation Defence balm that was on offer at Boots for 50p each, I posted the Gillette balm as a deal on here.

Which balm do you use?

Just looked at this....its coming up £2.49????

Excellent, cella is the popular one, vitos is the newest brand. If she can find something called p.160 at reasonable prices it's worth more than gold. The guy who made it retired, p.160 soap

Shaving soap of the gods.

My shaving costs per year..... is about £7...... that includes razors, shaving soap, alum block, styptic pencil and after shave balm.
Eat your heart out, you mugs that spend a fortune on multi blade cartridge systems and other overpriced crap.

I've done the DE thing.... and while its not a bad shave, i prefer my disposable razors. I can shave quicker with them and as they last longer than DE blades they're cheaper as well. Only use 1 or 2 blade disposables and only a few makes work for me. Also use an electric shaver as well sometimes.
But proper shaving soap with a brush i always use, usually Derby or Palmolive, its a million times better for me than any overpriced canned gunk from Gillette, WS or any make.

Sounds like a plan!.. My sister lives in Rome, and is coming home to visit soon-I shall send her around all the barber shops to buy all the options you've mentioned-TVM-I've been struggling for years to find a really good, close shave combination (being blonde is actually a disadvantage, I think, because everybody thinks you can shave with Matey bubblebath and a blunt butter-knife), and had settled on a Gillette 3-piece (why is everbody now calling it DE), with Russian blades, and a hand-made mixture of Palmolive, Simple, and Molton Brown's shaving soap, all boiled up until soft, and mixed by hand-it's not bad, but awfully messy... And since the recession, I've sadly had to let my valet go...

Results vary person to person.
I'm a dark blond, but like to shave daily. If you have sensitive skin I find the best soap for me is the classic Italian handmade type stuff. Its meant for the barber trade, but you can get it online from Amazon and ebay. Usually in 1kg blocks. It's not a cream it's a soft soap which is nice and playable look up the brands Vitos, or cella. It just feels more luxurious than arko soaps etc.

Don't get me wrong I love arko. But you can tell the soft Italian tallow soaps are probably the best shaving soaps you can get.

Have a look around on forums, and do a little research. You don't need it, it depends how much you like your shaving. But if your going to buy soaps or creams more expensive than arko personally I wouldn't bother with anything other than a soft Italian soap.

If using a shavette you can leave it quite wet too, it feels super slick.

I saved so much in the 1st year, I bought myself a Merkur Futur
Great handle for me, as it is longer & stops me getting hand cramp!
Also a perfectly weighted for my use. It's as if it was made for me.

I'd never thought of creams!.. Which is better for softer beards (I'm a baby-faced blonde, who, at the ripe old age of 50, still doesn't need to shave every day, but if I leave it a whole week, I need to use a shavette)-creams or soaps?.. I've found various creams, including 'Proraso', which I'm assuming is the Italian brand you were referring to...

If you're a veggi or a vegan I'd avoid this stuff. It contains tallow.

Showing up as £2.49.. am I too late?

Merkur or go home

personally hate the smell! good deal tho

Nice set up, reminds me of my grandad bless him. Proper old school.

Daytime nothing but compliments on this, I'll have to try it

Yep appears to have gone up , this would be a better buy now 12 for £9.40 (78p per stick) https://www.amazon.co.uk/PIECES-SHAVING-CREAM-STICK-DELIVERY/dp/B00IPS5YQY/ref=sr_1_6_s_it?s=drugstore&ie=UTF8&qid=1466416733&sr=1-6&keywords=arko

Pretty much my starting set up when I started DE shaving last year, actually sold this set on ebay , having upgraded a tad (ok maybe went a bit ott lol) :sunglasses::confused:





Astra blades , DE89 razor , Arko stick and a Proraso (Omega) brush a perfect starting set up for about £35

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000VBLVHO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Cheaper brush https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0012XTHXU/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and hidden in the sale section a DE89 http://www.edwinjagger.co.uk/edwin-jagger-chrome-lined-de-razor.html

so if you go with the cheaper brush you can be up and DE shaving for a bit over £20


And P.S .. Join the forums, all the blades in the pics were given to me by great guys on the forums to help a newby......:smiley:

Its coming up as £2.49

true cut throat razors are not that hard to use you just need to practice, but keeping them honed to stay sharp is hard work and time consuming. so i much prefer a shavette - particularly if you have a near beard that your trying to get rid of in one swipe.

Scary! I wet shave but I am so scared of these cut throats.
How hard are these to use?

I have about forty DE Razors, vintage to new, loads of brushes and creams and soap. The cheap razors are useless. Avoid cheap Chinese butterfly opening mechanisms, thin heads with flat guard bar etc.

Go for heavy head designs starting from £7+, they're usually copies of £20+ famous models. Search eBay UK for "de razor" and leave on best match sort, from page two you'll see top heavy copies for about eight quid.

Buy Astra super platinum blades, Amazon eBay, I use many but this is best for durability, balanced medium shave, forgiving etc etc.

I have about ten adjustable razors old and new from U.S. and former Soviet block. If you're an old hand, get an old slim adjustable, better than the later plastic handle super or even fatboy. Couple of old Soviet adjustables are also good and my faves too but that's another story. For old hands, looking for killer shaves, try the adjustable futur or it's Chinese knock off. Beginners, better off getting an Apollo copy of the twenty quid jaeger etc. Though the slim suits them too, I have a few slims and most still function great though a chance buy and over twenty quid.

Same manufacturer of arko.
Derby soaptub £2.99

Not seen it that cheap before, addon item though.

Loving the love for straights. :smile:

Most likely the terrible derby blades.

Not really a deal as going price is usually 70p a stick.
Decent product for price, made by same folks who make derby shave sticks.

Personally I prefer Italian soft soap theese days, incredible stuff and not that well known. Blows the socks off of shaving sticks.

Best price point on blades, are Russian Gillette, in fact any gillette, or Rapira types, voskhod, Swedish super steel, platinum lux, or personnas.
Feathers are way overpriced and not worth it.
If you look on ebay you can get most for £5 per 100 delivered or about £7 for 50 from uk.

To use a stick rub it over your beard / whiskers and wet your brush then work into a lather on your face.

You don't really need multiple passes if you get a second hand Gillette adjustable and open it up to about 7.
Search for super slim, or super adjustable, avoid the fatboys are they too are over rated. You can get a lifetime razor for about £25 that way.

Or if your brave get a shavette, you only ever need one pass, and a quick touch up. And you can double the life of your blades as you snap them in half.

:stuck_out_tongue:

I just don't feel like there is enough blade sticking out :disappointed: may give it a try again. How do you use that soap ?

Accepting that everyone can have a different experience I bought that set 2months ago and have really enjoyed shaving. I do 3 passes for a good shave and Iam waiting for a Gillette tech to be delivered . But I have found the derby blades to be my fav so far having bought a tester pack of other brands.

​probably technique as lots of people seem to like weishi razors. did you do multiple passes? if you're coming from multiple blades you can get away with that (but risk ingrown hairs), but you really need a minimum of 2 passes in different directions with old school razors.

I've finally almost finished mine. the only negative being all the other soaps languishing in a drawer.

Hi guys

I bought this set https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004EG24HI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
last year and tbh after using it twice I threw it away. Is it because it was cheap ? I just didn't feel like I was getting a proper shave.

I have this exact brush and it is superb. Just recently I have had to visit a few barbers, due to breaking both my arms, for a shave. They have used top of the range badger brushes which don't feel as good in my opinion and can't wait to get back to my Arko and Wilkinson brush!!

Blades and handle http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172213335542?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&fromMakeTrack=true £7.98

great price & product. Lasts ages.
Ive saved loads of money since switching to DE shaving a few years ago. People do not realise how much they are getting ripped off using the brands starting with WS & G.
£20 for a decent handle, £10 for 100 Astra blades, £10 for a box of 12 Arko sticks. £2 for Alum block to help with cuts. Will last you years

great product and one stick seems to last for ever - I bought 4 back from Turkey last September and still have 2 unopened and the other two are only half used .... one at home and one for travelling

EliTom

I have been using one of these for over a year and a half now. Good product.

I recommend this wilkinson sword brush to use with the soap stick.

Great product. One stick lasts ages though!!!

Voting hot cos OP a gunner xD good deal anyways

Word of warning if buying this for the first time.....use all your existing shaving foams/gels/creams before using this. As you will just end up throwing them away.

Have seen this in Turkish shops for about 70p so this is great for delivered price.

good item. works up a nice lather :smile:

good item. works up a nice lather :smile:

I got a box of 12 for £12 from ebay (delivered from Turkey) a couple of years back. This is a great price for an excellent product.