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I'm a big fan of the wet shave. The results you get from using a high-quality shaving cream with a badger brush and the right razor is far greater than you'll ever get from an electric or razor with a cheap can of shaving cream. One of the hurdles I've found in trying to convert people to proper shaving technique with a badger brush is the price. A great shave cream and proper badger hair brush normally aren't inexpensive.

I'm thrilled that I've come across the van der Hagen Luxury Shave Set -- a shave set that finds the perfect balance between great quality and a fair price.

Taking price into consideration (the set retails for around $30, but I've found it as low ast $20 online), this is an impressive set. You get a nice ceramic bowl with handle, a pure badger bristle brush, brush stand and a cake shaving soap (enough to last you nearly a year with daily use). It's a very nice set, well packaged.

Performance

While I'm generally not a huge fan of cake shaving soap, I did enjoy the shave I received with the van der Hagen soap. The shaving soap is a glycerine based soap with shea, mango, and cocoa butter and provided great lubrication. I found the very light fragrance pleasing as well. The shave I received was on par with some of my favorite classic shaving creams. My only complaint was that I felt it left a little waxy residue on my face (as most bar soaps do), but the feeling was gone with a quick wash (which I normally do after shaving anyway).

The pure badger brush did a great job creating lather for an entry-level brush. It's not a premium silver-tip badger brush (the one which comes with the van der Hagen set is pure badger), but it is still a nice quality, effective shaving brush. A pure badger brush, while it doesn't hold as much water as super or silver-tip badger, uses bristles that are a bit stiffer which I prefer (as do many of those I know who are wet shaving enthusiasts).

If you've never used a cake soap, it takes a little getting used to, but you'll find it to be a very economical way to shave. To use a cake shave soap, simply wet your brush a bit and swirl it around on the shave soap until the desired lather is achieved (a little more water for a thinner cream, a little less if you like your lather a bit thicker). Once you've got a little lather worked up, apply the shaving cream to your beard area in a circular motion. After your shave, simply rinse the brush out and hang it out (bristles down) to dry. Properly caring for your badger brush will give you years of use.

Value

I would love to see the van der Hagen folks create a set with a nice double edge razor to complete the package, but most people already have a razor they like, so it's not a critical missing element. It may have also been a nice touch to include a chrome brush stand instead of clear acrylic. That said, you still cannot beat the price of this kit.

If you're looking to dive into the world of wet shaving using proper technique, but don't want to spend a fortune doing so, I very highly recommend the van der Hagen Luxury Shave set. The products are great quality and they are very fairly priced. Another thing I like about this set is that it is widely available online and locally at retailers like Walgreens and Target. The van der Hagen Luxury Shave set would also make a great gift for Christmas, Father's Day or Graduation (or as a way to introduce your son to the art of shaving properly). For gift giving, I would combine this set with a shaving gift certificate from a local barbershop -- now that would be a fine gift for any man.

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