My elderly uncle has stopped shaving regularly. He complains that his electric razor tugs too much and that cartridge razors just don't work well for him. So, today I gifted him a small, but complete, DE setup. Not knowing if he will ultimately like wet shaving or not, I wanted to not spend too much money, yet choose items I thought would maximize the likelihood of success. So, here is the challenge: as affordably as you can, come up with a complete shaving setup you think is worthy of gifting a man who has no shaving gear, to give him one month of great shaves.
I had very little time to do this, so my solution is not optimal but, for reference, here is what I came up with. I'm sure you can do better! As you may recall, I am a big fan of the Merkur Futur. That is far too pricy an option here, but the QShave clone is under $18 and comes with 5 blades. The blades are not as nice as the Astra SPs I like, but they're acceptable. My first inclination for shave soap was Mitchell's Wool Fat. It's a great soap and, at around $17, not very expensive. Yet, it's still more money than I think is necessary. My next thought was a can of Barabersol - the yellow one with lanolin. But it's hard to find on Amazon and surprisingly expensive, at least for the items I found in my quick search. Although it would save me the cost of a brush, I nixed the can idea, opting instead for an Arko puck at $7.50. And, unlike the Mitchell's, the Arko comes in its own plastic bowl. For a brush I chose QShave again, with their pure badger knot and a no-nonsense wood handle. I recently bought a similar Chinese brush of pure bagger and I like it very much, so I'm hoping this will be the same. $10, and I'm rounding up. Now, together with the Arko, it's well more than the cost of the Barabersol can. But, in my mind, it's really a necessary expense to do this thing right. Almost done, but certainly no shave can be called 'great' without a good aftershave lotion. In the realm of low cost aftershaves, Pinaud is an obvious choice. But I opted for a bottle of Aqua Velva for under 5 bucks. I decided to splurge at the last minute by topping off my setup with a no- name syptic pencil for 3 more bills. Some might say it's not strickly necessary, but I disagree. Given the situation, a few nicks and cuts are to be expected, and being without a syptic pencil would be an undue hardship. Well, that's it. Final price: $44.50.
Question...has he replaced whatever cutters the electric has? Tugging with an electric sounds like dull heads.
Used Gillette Tech -$10-12 on eBay OR Lord Merkur clone Astra green blades-$10 per hundred on Amazon( give him a tuck and keep the rest for yourself) Arko stick-$2 OR for $7 ( and a nice smell and ease of use ) Cremo sandalwood. No brush-lather with hands on face
He buys them in second hand shops so you're right about the dull heads. I suppose I could have bought him a new electric, but he seemed interested in DEs when I brought it up to him.
Italian Barber has Razo Rock starter kits (razor, brush, soap, aftershave, blades) starting at $19.99. That would give him a solid idea if that’s what he is interested in. Not top of the line, but very solid and usable. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I put together ten of these cigar boxes for ten of my friends as gifts, I might have under $20.00 invested in this (per box)
Baili BD179 $8.09 Comes with its own travelling case and a pack of blades Gillette Wilkinson Sword blades $5.25 for three 5-blade packs Kiss My Face shaving cream $6.80 Omega Model 10049 boar brush $9.99 Total: $30.13 If it turns out he likes traditional shaving, a mug and aftershave can always be added later. Perhaps as a birthday or Christmas gift.
King C Gillette DE, dorco razor blades, can of barbasol shaving cream, clubman pinaub aftershave because it gives you that barbershop smell.
This is my favorite setup listed so far. I'd change out the Baili for a flaretip superspeed. Wilkinson Sword blades wouldn't be my first choice, but it's a solid one. I've always regarded Wilkies as the most average blade of all the blades I've tried. Average sharpness, average smoothness, average longevity. About as middle of the road a blade as a person can get. KMF is one of the best shave creams available, and the price per ounce is unbeatable, especially when buying the pump bottle. Another (usually locally available) alternative is Maca Root & Aloe shave cream, from The Body Shop. They do quarterly sales, buy 3 get 2 free type deals. Worth stocking up on if a person likes it. I'd spend a few more dollars for a Semogue boar brush in acrylic, but that is just brand loyalty talking.
The only good idea I have to add here is the Lord L6 razor - $5.88 on Amazon right now. It shaves really well. It probably would not hold up as well as a Tech or Super Speed though. So if you can find one of those around the same price and don't mind a used razor, it would probably be a better choice in the long run.
Just a little update on my uncle who had stopped shaving. I was worried about him because he's been losing motivation to do basic things like shave and shower. He's been using the DE kit I sent him and loves it, says he's getting really great shaves now and no cuts or nicks. He's one of us now (except that he doesn't know what the internet is, but that's another matter).
