Despite my somewhat funny tagline in the header of my blog, traditional wetshaving can be had on the cheap without sacrificing much in the way of quality. To prove it, here is one suggestion for a starter kit costing less than 10$ from my favorite Turkish web-shop, consisting of items I have tried and enjoyed myself:
- A Racer razor, which is a good if slightly aggressive razor – 3.75$
- A Turkish No6 horse hair brush, which makes up in performance what it lacks in quality – 2.45$
- A tube Arko shaving cream, which lathers easily and abundantly – 2.49$
- Ten Shark Super Chrome DE blades, which I’ve found rather well in the Racer razor – 0.85$
Total cost as listed is a whooping 9.54$! In addition an newbie wetshaver might want to borrow a bowl from the kitchen for lathering in – unless s/he wants to make lather directly on the skin – and perhaps an after shave or balm.
I could have suggested the Dalan d’Men shaving cream instead which retails for 24 cents less than the Arko cream, or even the 1.75$ Arko stick. But I have no experience with the former, and the later is one of those you either love or hate and as such may not be a good choice for a beginner.
In addition I would suggest that someone who is just taking up traditional wetshaving spend some time online, checking out the multitude of wetshaving blogs and forums that have sprung up the last few years. In particular I can recommend The Shave Nook – a friendly and including online community. I can also recommend picking up a copy of Leisureguy’s Guide to Gourmet Shaving, even if that book costs as much as my suggested shaving kit.
With a kit like this, and a steady hand, a fresh wetshaver can get about ten weeks worth of traditional wetshaving under their belt before needing to stock up on more supplies – and when they need more they’ll need just more blades and perhaps more shaving cream. The razor and brush will last forever, if taken care of – at the very least the razor and brush will last until the time comes to replace them with more expensive, higher quality gear.