Test shave: VDH razor, WSP Monarch and Kent BK4
A couple of tests today. One was to compare the WSP Monarch brush shown—and which of the current Monarchs it corresponds to, I can’t say. You’ll note it’s a three-band, though. And I also used the Kent BK4.
The two brushes are both excellent. The Kent has a slightly softer feel on the face, and the Monarch is a bit more resilient. I would be happy with either, but of the two I personally prefer the feel of the Kent because I enjoy a soft, fluffy brush. Others might well prefer the Monarch.
I was curious to try the Van Der Hagen razor, which seems to be a Weishi in origin. I haven’t used a Weishi in a long time, and I found it better than I remembered. I will still recommend the Parker 24C (or 26C) as a beginner razor, but the Weishi would certainly work. I used it with a Personna Lab Blue blade and got a fine shave. I would guess it will work best with a relatively sharp blade (such as the Lab Blue). It’s not at all bad as a first razor—a great relief, since I suspect this will be the first razor for many.
A splash of Ginger’s Garden aftershave, which I do like, and the day is now underway.
Do you plan to try the blades? I saw the whole VDH collection at a local Target. I was a bit curious as to the blades. I’m not sure if the ones packaged with the razor are the same as the ones sold separately, but the ones sold by themselves were German, and seemed to be on the expensive side. I might have to give them a try. At any rate, it’s good to see this sort of thing pop up in a retail store.
Brian Trepka
31 March 2015 at 9:33 am
I totally agree that it’s good to see DE razors start to reappear as standard stock. I did not try the blade yet. I wanted to know how the razor worked, and had I used the blade and the shave was bad, I would have not known whether it was the blade or the razor or both. I will be using the blades, but in a razor whose performance is familiar, so that I can focus on the blade itself. But, as you know, it doesn’t make much difference whether the blade works well for me or not: what you would be interested to learn is whether it will work well for you, and the only way to know that is to try the blade. Blade recommendations are not worth a bucket of warm piss, to quote John Nance Gardner’s evaluation of the office of Vice President (which he occupied).
LeisureGuy
31 March 2015 at 9:41 am
That razor will tame a Feather blade as comfortably as your Tech will.
Larry
31 March 2015 at 10:10 am
I would imagine so. I just happened to come across the Personna Lab Blue first. 🙂
LeisureGuy
31 March 2015 at 10:30 am