Welcome. Great suggestions so far but I would add that for many, soap has a slightly steeper learning curve than cream. You may want to look at something like Taylor of Old Bond Streets cream offerings as they are all excellent and very easy to learn how to build a good lather with. Good luck and let us know what you end up buying and feel free to ask any questions you have. The guys and gals here are all very friendly and more than willing to share their knowledge.
Well I am completely disappointed...Not at anyone hear, but Walmart. (Welcome to Walmart, home of low prices on crap you want but don't have) You guessed it, went to my local supper center to pick up the VDH started kit, and "oh sorry sir we don't have those any more." But according to your website you do, hear is the item number, at it says you have them in stock. Looks like I will have to go to the supper center in the other direction. And I was really hoping to get my shave on today...
Welcome to The Shave Den! You've received some great advice, and you'll soon be off and running. Unfortunately, your experience trying to buy good quality shaving items locally is not uncommon. Many (most?) of us buy from on-line vendors.
A warm welcome to you from North Texas. You might want to take a look at some of the references contained in my signature line below for discussions of the 30 Day systems and more on shaving hardware and software or CLICK HERE! With that being said ... Welcome to the Den. We know you'll fit right in. So grab yourself a comfy chair, and give our threads a spin! Burma Shave
Welcome! Lots of good advice here. Wet shaving is a great hobby and very enjoyable, not to mention an economical way to stay clean shaven (or can be if the RAD/BAD/SSAD didn't get you). I recommend Arko as a great starter soap that's not expensive. I second the recommendation for a micro touch one (or its Chinese counterpart the weishi 9306). Welcome and good luck !
Welcome, you have landed in a great place! I am also a newbie and started with a small budget. I got the VDH Deluxe kit to get a brush, bowl and the soap it comes with. I bought the Lord L6 razor from Amazon. It can be had for about $10 and has been great for me! I also decided I wanted to try a few different soaps so I ordered samples from Stirling Soap. Then I ordered a couple blade sample packs from tryablade.com All have turned out wonderful in my transition from cartridges. Good luck with whatever you decide to do, but you will find whatever you get now will definitely just be the beginning!
As the gentleman from Missouri mentioned, Voskhod is an excellent blade. In my opinion you can't find a better one. Just my opinion as there's a lot of good ones and I still have a lot of inventory left of various brands that I still have to finish. I'm seriously thinking of hoarding a few more hundred of Voskhods in case they quit making them or there's ever sanctions or different political reasons where they're no longer available stateside. I saw it back when I was in the stone industry in 2011. Saudi Arabia quit exporting stone for granite counter tops after the US claimed they killed Osama Bin Laden. True story.
Got my VDH razor and starter set today. The soap has a pleasant smell to me. The brush feels very stiff. I suppose this what is called back bone? I hope it will soften up after a few shaves. I also found some sample blade packages and soap sample packages online and placed an order. Although I will stick with the 30 day routine to hone my technique. Now if I could just find a nice shelf for the den to store everything in, have some ideas with an old wooden Pepsi crate.
Boars soften considerably when broken in, and be sure to soak them well before lathering. The tips will eventually start to split or "bloom"
