Premium Traditional Shaving Set with The Shave Factory Classic Safety Razor, Arko Shaving Soap, 10 Astra Double Edge Razor Blades with Bonus 10 DORCO Double Edge Razor Blades and 20 Styptic Matches

I was growing very tired of the maintenance and expense of the disposable or mass-marketed reusable razors out there. Disposables are flimsy, lightweight and give a horrible shave. I've seen myself go through 3 disaposables (albeit, cheap ASDA own-brand) in a single shave before and it's just a nuisance. I've had some success with the likes of the Gillette Fusion ProGlide but the expense of the blades meant I tried to shave as little as I could get away with - not great unless you like looking a bit rough half the time.I've never used open-blade before so I was very weary but at £20 for an entire set of what I need, I thought it was risk worth taking. Here's some bullet points of the items themselves- The stick feels solid and has a good weight. I would like it a little heavier and a little longer, but for a first one it's ideal- My shaving stick had a smell, but it wasn't overpowering, unpleasant or off-putting- The shaving cream stick is new to me, having used cans of gel in the past. I still have trouble getting a decent lather on it (poor quality stick? cream? inexperience?) but it does have a nice small to it- The blades are extremely thin & flimsy but they are extremely sharp so do be careful when removing/installing blades- The stick comes in a fairly okay travel box. Once opened it has a small mirror attached to the inside and there's also a small 'inshot' to keep a small box of blades. The derby blades you get with this comes in packs of 5 - each 5-pack box is slightly too big to store in this slotAll-in-all I was very pleased with the quality of what my money had bought. The stick itself is of much better quality than I expected. You twist a small part at the bottom of the stick to open the 'arms' to where you carefully place a fresh blade, and then twist the stick again to lock the blade in place. Once locked tight, the blade has absolutely no give in it at all (obviously a good thing). Again this is my first foray into open-blade shaving and after 4 shaves, I'm a convert. I'll never be a slave to cheap and nasty disposables again. I'll never be a chump and fork over £10 for 3 blades that last only a few shaves. Each of my 4 shaves have been on the same single blade - I feel i'll get either another 1 or 2 shaves from it before I it's time to replace. By my calculations the blades supplied will easily last about 1.5yrs but at this price you can afford to replace the blade after every shave for an amazing shave each and every time.Final words: With this shaving set I've had the best, closest shaves ever but please do be careful during the first few shaves. I noticed I'm holding the stick at a far higher angle than before due to the placement of the blade. During the first few strides it felt very alien - because the blade is directly touching your face you can feel it far more prominently than with your usual Gilettes/Other - these mass-marketed razors all tend to have wire running vertical to the blades to try and add protection. I've not nicked myself yet but because I'm feeling the blade far more than before, I feel the need to constantly re-moisturise my face and keep adding new foam to help the blade glide easier (even with a fresh blade)

Looking to save money on the incredibly expensive cartridge refills I wanted to try a safety razor but had no idea where to start. I was totalling up individual items of a fancy razor handle, brush, soap sticks and big pack of razor blade which came to at least £30. I then reconsidered thinking what if I don't like safety razor shaving, £30 for items I would never use is quite a waste of money. So I decided to go with this preset kit for only £15 thinking it would be a cheap throwaway purchase.After using it continuously for 3 months now I would say you pretty much get exactly the same quality of product as you would if you bought them separately, high quality, long lasting and endlessly reusable if well maintained. The razor handle is 100% solid metal that has a nice weight to it with blade door mechanism on the bottom of the handle, it's not overly large and heavy like the more premium handles appear to be. The double sided razors are sharp and durable, easily lasting a week or more of daily shaving and the double edged blades can then be flipped over for another weeks use on a fresh sharp edge. 2+ weeks per razor blade is incredible value compared to all the multi blade plastic cartridges that dull very quickly and are expertly designed to block up and be impossible to clean, which also cannot be recycled unlike the metal blades which can be stored and disposed of safely. The pack of 100 blades is going to last me 2 years at this rate before I have to buy more, which is just astounding compared to what I used to pay for overpriced cartridges or disposables.The brush is soft and very fun to use, its a great feeling brushing a layer of foamy soap onto your face rather than mushing lumpy gel or foam with your hands then having to clean them. The soap has a lovely old fashioned barbershop soap smell and you don't need much to work up a foam onto the brush head, the single soap stick lasted about 2 months of daily shaving use which for the size is very long lasting. It does dry faster than foam or gel so if the lather on your face dries then just reapply another layer with your brush to avoid shaving a dry face, also it does leave a layer of soap on the razor and blade so rinse your razor thoroughly and keep a piece of toilet paper to wipe any soap and hair that might stick to the blades edge to maintain a clean and sharp blade. The razor handle also comes snugly held in a hard plastic blue case with space for spare razors and a small mirror inside, very useful for keeping the razor safe away from children or if your travelling and need to shave on the go.Overall this is without a doubt the best value starter pack for anyone looking to get into shaving with a safety razor and want to save hundreds of pounds on razor blades. If you are worried of cutting yourself by shaving with a safety razor, search some online videos of people using them, they give plenty of advice and will show you tips on getting the best out of your razor. For me this is one of my best ever purchases on Amazon.

I give this set four stars for the following reasons:* The soap is excellent, compared to your random go-to-the-mill Gillette goo you might think of it as expensive, but it lasts a whole lot longer, plus it smells really great (I've actually been complimented how amazing the bathroom smells, and its due to this soap!) 5/5.* The blade is great, as with most other things you get what you pay for. It's a little light so you have to apply a little bit of pressure in comparison to heavier razors, but for the price it's really a great beginners razor to test this method of shaving. The box for the razor is also decent. 5/5.* The brush is so-so. It's a cheap boar brush so you lose hair on it almost every shave when you lather the soap and sometimes also while you apply it to your face. Still, it's an essential piece of wet shaving, so you'll get used to it. Consider getting a badger brush at a later stage if you carry on wet shaving though. 3/5.* The Derby blades are the cheap blades within wet shaving (and blades in general are quite cheap so its the cheap of the cheap) so their quality I feel is thereafter. I enjoyed the shaves I had at first, but once I changed into Shark (also quite cheap) & Feather (best quality I've found, a bit more pricey) I realized they weren't as sharp in comparison. 2/5.* The styptic pencils I haven't got to use yet as I have yet to nick myself with the razor. ?/5.