The Van Der Hagen razor. I show it very little love, despite it being the one that started it all. That’s what this week is all about: revisiting that first razor to see if it really is terrible, or if it was just a victim of lack of experience and technique and being paired with sub-par software.
First off, the VDH, for the uninitiated, feels as cheap as it is. Unlike the King C Gillette, which is $5 to $10 more expensive, the VDH is light, doesn’t feel like it has much quality at all, and just doesn’t really inspire confidence. When I got it out of the toolbox Sunday morning, I was reminded of that lack of a solid feeling, especially after removing the old blade out of the Rockwell.
It should be noted that when I was using it daily, I paired it with blades that were fairly aggressive: Kai, Accuforge, Perma-Sharp, Personna Red, Astra Green, etc. And that’s because those are what came with the Sensitive Skin sampler pack from Razor Emporium. I understand why they’re in that pack, because the theory is that minimizing passes makes for a more comfortable shave, but for me, I’d prefer to make an extra pass when needed than to scrape my skin off with the first pass.
I paired it with the Bic Chrome Platinum for the first shave because I’ve found the Bic to be comfortable and close while still being a relatively mild blade. I thought that would give the VDH a chance.
And I wasn’t wrong. Recent experience with the Parker 55SL Semi-Slant taught me the importance of a lighter touch with an aggressive razor. And I took that to heart here. The first pass on my cheeks had a lot of blade feel, and so I lightened up the pressure when I shaved my neck, also minimizing the against-the-grain pass.
But the second shave, with the Gillette 7 O’Clock Yellow, was almost too mild, though it was a little weird because there was still a lot of blade feel, so I’m wondering if the VDH exposes the flaws of that blade.
The third shave, with the Accuforge–an aggressive blade, but one that delivered one of the best shaves of those early days–was close, but with more blade feel and more irritation. But the balm knocked that down, so I’d trade slight razor burn for the closeness I got.
My biggest complaint with the VDH comes back to a complaint I’ve always had about it: the handle is very short and hard for me to handle with my larger hands. A longer handle would help me a lot, but generally, it isn’t a terrible razor, and I apologize to it for all of the nasty things I’ve said about it over the last year.
So the big question: would I come back to it in the future? Yes, if I needed to. But I’m not going to go out of my way to use it because I have much better options in the stable that will deliver a much better shave in every respect. Bottom line: the VDH is a serviceable razor, but if you’re going to be buying what you can get at a pharmacy, grocery store, or department store, hit the King C Gillette first. It’ll cost you a few dollars more, but it works so much better.
I was excited to get back to this to celebrate the anniversary, and I’m happy I did it, but I’m not sure I’ll be coming back to it anytime soon. It did show me just how far I’ve come, and I appreciate that.
The Ratings
Sunday’s Shave, #162. The Proraso White Sunday with the Bic blade.
The setup:
- Razor: Van Der Hagen
- Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum
- Pre-Shave: Proraso White Sensitive Skin pre-shave
- Brush: Proraso boar brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Proraso White Sensitive Skin soap
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Proraso White Sensitive Skin aftershave balm
I was pleasantly surprised that this didn’t completely suck. Yes, there was a lot more blade feel than I’d like, but it was a mostly comfortable, mostly close shave that certainly outperformed others (Kai blades, I’m looking at you). This helped prove that the Proraso white line is excellent for my face and that the Bic blade is very good as well. It also, as noted above, helped me use some of the experience I’ve gained from the Parker to use a lighter touch.
Overall, it was a good shave: close enough, comfortable (though only later did I spot some nicks on my neck in the usual places at the corners where it transitions to the throat), and enjoyable. I didn’t hate the shave, though it also didn’t thrill me.
Comfort: 4.750 out of 5
Quality/Closeness: 4.750 out of 5
Overall: 4.750 out of 5
Tuesday’s Shave, #163. The Gillette 7 O’Clock Sharp Edge Yellow.
The setup:
- Razor: Van Der Hagen
- Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock Sharp Edge Yellow
- Pre-Shave: Edwin Jagger Hydrating Pre Shave Cream
- Brush: Razor Emporium badger brush
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Cooper & French Unscented shaving soap
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Zingari Man Artisan Aftershave Serum
After the surprisingly good shave on Sunday, this one brought me back to reality with the realization that the VDH just struggles sometimes to deliver a quality shave. But here’s the thing, nine months ago, I would have loved this shave and declared it one of the best ever. Just through experimentation and learning have I discovered that there are much better shaves to be had. It makes me wonder where I’ll be in another year.
This shave wasn’t as close, and there was a little more discomfort and irritation to it. Now it’s true that the differences could be chalked up to the change of blade and even the other software, but both the Edwin Jagger pre shave and the Cooper & French soap have performed wonderfully in prior shaves. So does it come down to the blade?
I really like the Yellow, and it has delivered some outstanding shaves in other razors, including the Rockwell, the KCG. But it has also struggled in the Parker and the Henson, where it just delivers a far too mild shave–it’s extremely comfortable and gets the job done, but it isn’t anywhere near as close as I want.
I forgot, though, that the Edwin Jagger pre shave is very menthol forward, not necessarily in smell, but in the vapors that shot up my nose almost uncomfortably after it hit my face. I’m thinking I don’t like the pre shave. I did also try my sample of the Zingari Man Artisan Aftershave Serum this morning. It’s a very thin lotion that went on fine and seemed to provide good moisturization, but doesn’t seem to be as soothing and satisfying as the Proraso products or the Nivea Sensitive Skin balms.
Comfort: 4.750 out of 5
Quality/Closeness: 4.500 out of 5
Overall: 4.625 out of 5
Thursday’s Shave, #164. A throwback shave.
The setup:
- Razor: Van Der Hagen
- Blade: Accuforge Super Stainless
- Pre-Shave: Razor Emporium Unscented pre-shave
- Brush: None
- Soap/Cream/Gel: Nivea Sensitive Shave Gel
- Alum Block: Stirling Soap Co. Alum
- After Shave: Nivea Sensitive Soothing Post Shave Balm
In my first blade sample pack was a small Ziploc baggie holding 5 individual blades wrapped in black. These were the Accuforge Super Stainless blades, and I used them for 3 weeks (non-consecutively) in those first few months of safety razor shaving. They scored among the best shaves with the Van Der Hagen, but I never came back to them with the King C Gillette or other razors.
So this shave is really a lead-in to comparing the Accuforge in another razor. Next week, I’ll pair it with my Henson AL13 mild. But what were the results for this shave?
The Accuforge is an aggressive blade, and it shows in the VDH. There was a lot of blade feel, but the lighter touch I’ve been using this week worked well with it. Paired with the Nivea gel and balm, it worked well as the gel gives a nice amount of lubrication and cushioning. There was some more sting with the alum than with the previous two shaves, but the increased closeness was a nice result.
Comfort: 4.750 out of 5
Quality/Closeness: 4.750 out of 5
Overall: 4.750 out of 5
