Van Der Hagen® Men’s Traditional Safety Razor Kit (includes 5 blades) for a close shave in Chrome

Before ordering this I had never used a razor blade like this and was sick of paying obscene amounts of money for replacement blades for my supposedly better 5 blade monstrosities. This is better in every way once you get the technique down. Pros: 1. Its WAY cheaper. For the cost of one set of cartridges for my big name brand razor, I can get several years worth of blades for this one. Remembering to get razors at the store is a thing of the past. 2. Its faster and easy to clean. Since its double edge, you can shave twice as much area before clearing the blades. Saves on water too! Cleaning is super simple and will prevent gumming up of the retention mechanism. Open it up, wash out all the hairs, blow dry it with a couple of puffs of air and put in a dry place. This should last forever if you do this. 3. Better for travel. Small enough to fit my entire shave kit in the smallest pocket in my backpack. 4. Closer shave I can get closer with this blade with less risk of cuts than my old razor. Since the blades are so cheap, I don't feel obligated to keep using them well past the point when they should be replaced. Cons: 1. You will probably nick yourself the first time you use this. I nicked myself a couple of times when I first started out with it. Nothing a little TP couldn't fix. After using this several times and perfecting my technique, this no longer happens. I haven't nicked myself in months. Just be careful around the chin and jaw line. 2. As a few others have mentioned and because this gets so close, you will absolutely want to use aftershave. I did not use aftershave with my previous razors but your skin will be on fire if you don't when you use this. The upside is the shave does last a day longer for me. YMMV with this. 3. You will need to use an upstroke or 2 around the nose. Because of its shape, its difficult to shave the spot right below your nose using downstrokes. I tend to avoid upstrokes due to the risk of ingrown hairs but that hasn't been a problem with this razor.

Quality, heavy duty, looks and feels great. It’s probably the last razor you’ll ever need.

I've struggled my entire life with razor burn, ingrown hairs, bumpy skin. I'm the poster boy for bad shaving experiences. I've spent most of my life using Gillette multi-blade razors or some variation on that. My mom alway's insisted that I had skin like my dad's and I should try a safety razor. Finally, after 25 years, I relented. I can't believe it took me so long! So I was fearful I would cut the living crap out of myself with this thing. I did, a little bit. Mostly on my neck where the hair seems to grow in 16 different directions. Eventually though, after about 4-5 shaves, I figured out the exact direction to cut to avoid bleeding all over the place. The razor itself is very simplistic to use. Just have to keep it at the right angle. Slow and steady strokes take a little getting used too. The razor doesn't adjust for your skin like the "commercial" ones do. Still, it only takes 5 minutes to shave. I've noticed a lot less skin irritation after I shave. I have only gotten one ingrown hair versus the 10 I typically get. The blades only seem to be really good for about 2-3 shaves each. They are pretty cheap though. My buddy insists the blades from the dollar store are really great so I will probably give those a shot. The blades that come with this seem good quality. This razor was a lot cheaper on amazon than at my local store. I noticed it helps to have a less thick layer of shaving cream/gel/soap with this razor. Having a lot of cream makes me prone to not know exactly where I'm cutting and I think resulted in a few cuts on my initial shaves. If you are on the fence about trying a safety razor for the first time - go for it. I wish I hadn't waited so long to do so.

Probably like most here, I was look'n to ditch disposable, multi-blade razors. I reckoned a Straight Razor was too much work to upkeep- I don't care for shaving, have no desire to make it a ritual -opted for a Safety Razor. Recalling that most razor dulling is due to wet blades oxidizing, I opted for this butterfly-opening model for ease of blade removal, cleaning, allowing the tool to be easily cleaned and blade dried after each use as an incidental task. A primary complaint with butterfly closures is loosening of the end nut that maintains pressure on the blade; this razor was not so afflicted, staying secured. So far, nothing but admiration for the build quality of the made-in-China portion of the tool. The shorter handle appealed to my imagination, but in practice, is too short, making handling a little tenuous- I'm able to put it where and how I want, but there is always a small fraction of awareness of the diminutive handle length. Get the longer handle. The blades are German and EXTREMELY thin, flexible, unlike any safety razor blade I'd encountered for shop use. I had a couple weeks of growth for the first shave- usually a slow process; this was no different, maybe a bit longer, as I didn't tap the razor to clean it, rather running it under water and occasional quick and careful tissue wipe, and soaped my face more thoroughly. Use was intuitive, carefree, nonthreatening, with absolutely no nicks, and acceptably close. Navigating around the edge of mustache and goatee required a bit more focus to locate the blade, and the concavity of the cheeks benefited from the tongue pressed to the inside. Pleased, I expected nothing less on the second use for regular maintenance, but suffering a couple very minor nicks. Closely examining the blade, it now appeared serrated. I doubt (but don't know) this is typical for safety razor blades; this quality means they will need to be disposed of after only limited use. The replacements will most definitely be of another make; hopefully any differences in thickness will be accommodated well by butterfly mechanism- perhaps I'll report back.

Disposable razors don’t work on long beards.with this product I can shave long beard in 10 minutes without hassle and avoid annoying-long-frustrating shaves using disposables.Highly recommended!

First off, let me start off by saying the best customer service I’ve ever dealt with in any product I’ve ever bought. At first, I must’ve gotten a defective razor handle. I sent one email two days later a brand new razor was at my doorstep after dealing with an amazing customer service agent. Not only did they give me a new razor. They gave me some goodies as well to show their appreciation to me the customer. Getting back to the razor itself. It is solid and bulletproof. Provides the cleanest shave you can get. The blades last a really long time, but when they do wear down and get dull, it takes seconds to change them. I will never go back to a regular razor again. I was also worried about cutting myself, but it has safety precautions put in place that make it very easy to shave unharmed. Comes with a lifetime warranty and that’s how you know it’s a quality product. The company provides a lifetime warranty unless they know their product is the best of the best. If you are on the borderline of ordering it just order it already you will not be let down. Did you buy this handle once and it will last year your entire life. Also makes more manly to use a real razor. Don’t wait order it now thank me later.

It's cheap and it shows. It'll shave you but of you're looking for a quality piece of shave gear, look elsewhere.

I've been using these razors for probably a decade or more from Walmart after the blade numbers kept increasing on other name brands and prices. This purchase was a replacement on Amazon after one side was messed up from the way it fell on the floor by me dropping it.