WAHL Classic Shave Set – Guest Reviewer

February 9, 2017Shaving,

This is a special post as it comes to us from a Style 4 Men friend who is an experienced computer hardware blogger, visit his blog: gorling.ca/blogs.   GG was interested in the project and contributed the following awesome article on a true classic barbering brand, Wahl.

 

I’m new to shaving.  Well, actually I have been shaving since I was in my teens and that was 20+ years ago.  What I mean is that I am new to shaving a hobby as opposed to a chore. For years I would buy disposable razors and grumble and complain the whole time.  There have always been 2 things that bug me about shaving

  • Shaving itself. It is a time consuming and monotonous task. That’s why I grew a beard: warm in the winter and easy to maintain
  • The waste of plastic. I never really wanted to buy a fancy electric razor so I just kept buying and throwing out plastic razors.

When I met my good friend at Stlye4Men things took a change. I can now look at shaving as something to enjoy: take some time out for yourself and end up feeling happy and relaxed. It’s not a chore but something that can be fun.  There are so many options in terms of razors, blades, creams, soaps…

So I thought for my intro into the world of shaving products I would get a shaving kit and give it a review. The kit in question is the Traditional Barber kit.  The one I have was purchased at Walmart and retails for 29.96$.  Included in the kit is a 3-piece safety razor (not a butterfly), a razor blade, a metal cup, boar hair brush and a stand.  Sadly, there is no soap or cream in the kit so that needs to be purchased separately.  The kit itself is packaged quite well.  Easy to see what you are getting and reflects the quality of the product inside.

Wahl Classic Shave Set

I will go over the product in 4 parts (razor, blade, brush and bowl/stand).

The razor itself is the first thing that really drew my attention.  It is heavy and has a nice chrome shine to it.  Unscrewing the guard is easy and makes you feel like you are using a precision tool – very manly.  The grip is nice and the shave is fantastic.  Very close and the blade angle is good so it does not nick the skin very often but still manages a really close shave.

When I first opened the package I thought that there were no blades and that I would need to buy some but upon closer inspection there was a Cloud Shave blade included – these blades are so thin that they bend like paper.  Needless to say the shave was close. I am still using the first blade and it works well even though it is 2 months old.  As a gift to a newbie razor geek my friend at Style4Men gave me a sample pack of razor blades so stay tuned for a review of those in the near future.

Using the brush has to be the part of shaving that I enjoy most.   I went out to my local drug store and purchased a fairly basic soap (Wilkinson Shaving Soap- this may also make it into a separate post) and got down to using it. It feels really “old timey” to use a shaving soap.  Spreading on the lather with a brush makes you feel like a cowboy taking a night off from guarding the cattle.  The brush itself is really nice and the bristles are rigid enough to build the lather and delicate enough when applying to not feel prickly.

The bowl and the stand are nice touches and make for a nice little display in the corner of my bathroom counter. The stand holds the brush and the razor while the bowl sits underneath to collect any water or soap that drips down.

Wahl Classic shave Set

 

I don’t have a lot of facial real estate to shave since I usually sport a pretty heavy beard but I have really enjoyed my new shaving kit. It looks good, feels good and, oddly enough, actually makes me like shaving.  If you are interested in shaving products and are looking for an inexpensive starter kit you will be more than happy with this one.  In true Style4Men fashion here is my 5 point review.

Since this is my first product review I don’t have a very strong back ground but I will use this product as a bench mark for others going forward.

Package: 4 – aesthetically pleasing but could have used a bit more instructions.

Razor: 4 – feels great in the hand and looks good.  Not sure how durable it will be.

Blade: 4 – great blade but there is only one in the package (a few more would have been nice).

Brush: 4 – good bristles and feel. Again, not sure about long term quality but it is boar hair.

Bowl/stand: 4 – very nice.  Great little holder and display but I wish it wasn’t plastic.

Comments

OC

I am the wife of GG, who wrote this article and I can certainly agree that this is a great product. After my husband first used this product I was pretty amazed. My husbands beard looked good before, but now after using WAHL Classic Shave Set his beard looks more sophisticated and professional with very clean cut/lines… and I must say looks particularly sexy 😉 His beard now makes me think of pictures in a GQ magazine — simply put, this product is definitely worth purchasing.

OC

Jonathan

I came across this review and I recently purchased this kit as well. I’ve shaved using an electric razor for most of my adult life…with a few forays into the disposable multi-blade razors. My reason for purchasing this kit was more out of practicality. Recharging the electric Braun was getting to be a pointless ritual for me. After trying out this kit for the first time….all I can say is that it’s doubtful I’ll ever go back to my previous shaving methods! Absolutely the best/closest shave I’ve achieved in years with the personal satisfaction of the whole ‘experience’ as pointed out by the original poster. If you’re on the fence about trying it out, I think it’s a pretty safe gamble for the asking price at Walmart right now. PS: Ensure you have a good non-alcohol based moisturizer after you are done shaving.

Stuart

“I am still using the first blade and it works well even though it is 2 months old.”

Even allowing for the fact that as a bearded man he is only shaving his upper cheeks and lower neck, which are not the most hirsute areas of the face, 2 months is WAY too long to be using the same blade. I bet if he changed to a new sharp blade he’d change his mind about the old blade working well. As a non-bearded man who shaves 6-7 days/week I change to a new blade every Monday and I immediately notice the difference even though I wasn’t aware of the old blade getting less sharp with each shave.

As the blade gets blunter you will unconsciously press harder – which can lead to cuts if you let the blade get too blunt. If you are accustomed to using cartridge razors you will also press too hard as those razors require pressure to shave hair. So if you are just taking up DE shaving or you have just put a new blade in make sure you apply zero pressure and just let the weight of the razor head glide over your skin. Lots of good advice and tutorials on Badger & Blade and the other shaving forums.

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