Comments on: Wet Shaving Accessories in the UK

Question: Wet Shaving Accessories in the UK

dance — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 14:41:58 -0800

Where can I order wet-shaving accessories and accoutrement, as per this MSNBC article in the UK?

I'm interested in badger shaving brushes, DE razors and quality shave cream. The sites mentioned may ship to England but I thought I'd ask about first. Surely there are some wet-shavers on mefi?

By: Heatwole

Heatwole — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 14:49:05 -0800

ClassicShaving.com

By: dance

dance — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 14:56:04 -0800

Mmm, thanks - but what's their support for UK sales?

By: Quinbus Flestrin

Quinbus Flestrin — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 14:56:15 -0800

There's always Trumpers.

By: rongorongo

rongorongo — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 14:57:25 -0800

Ebay might be worth a go - I picked up an unused 1960s Gillette double bladed razor there last year and have been happily using it since. Don't pack a DE razor or its blades in your hand luggage when flying by the way.

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 15:16:43 -0800

Kiehl's sells a great shave cream; unfortunately they don't ship to the UK at this time, but you can use the Store Locator to see if a store near you in the UK sells Kiehl's products.

By: athenian

athenian — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 15:24:56 -0800

Dance, I tried to look up your location from your profile, but you appear to be somewhere off the Yorkshire coast, and I can't think of anywhere you might go near there.

I bought my badger-hair shaving brush at Boots (admittedly the large one in Brighton, and a few years back). As for something to shave with, I'm currently enjoying Razorantium from Lush for the first shave after the weekend, and King of Shaves gel for the day-to-day, also from the Boots in Brighton.

Couldn't say where to get a double-edged razor though.

By: twine42

twine42 — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 16:17:18 -0800

Thank you for asking this question - without it I'd never have known the proper name for a cut-throat razor. I wandered into Boots trying to find one a while back and only succeded in scaring the crap out of the little asian pharmacist...

By: obiwanwasabi

obiwanwasabi — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 16:26:46 -0800

Charles at QED will be more than happy to meet your wetshaving needs, and is a gentleman to boot. I've had no problem getting great service in Australia, so I have no doubt he'll be able to help you in the UK. I highly recommend the Savile Row SRT8 super badger brush (made by Kent) for US$58 (I think it has a new code now - SR208?), a Merkur classic hefty double-edge razor for US$28, a tub of QEDMan Fresh Lime for US$9.50, and a jar of Geo F Trumper violet for US$25 (prices are approximate - Charles will be able to give you the latest.)

Not sure about the availability of Merkur platinum-coated DE blades in the UK - if they're hard to find, buy, like, ten packs from QED with your order. Nothing else compares.

By: ObscureReferenceMan

ObscureReferenceMan — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 19:03:59 -0800

I'm in the US, and know nothing about locations in the UK. That said...

The Gentleman's Shop has some nice (but expensive) stuff. Ditto for Taylor's of Old Bond Street. English Hall seems to have mostly colognes, but probably worth a look. Shavemac is a German company, but they shipped to the US for not too much. And you can do some nice custom sets.

And, just for good measure, Enchante Online is a place in the US (Texas) has some nice stuff, and a nice essay on shaving.

By: oh pollo!

oh pollo! — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 01:19:58 -0800

Mankind has everything you need and is based in the UK. I've used them before with no problems.

By: bifter

bifter — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 03:06:54 -0800

Yeah, my wife bought me a Merkel razor and assorted froufrou from Mankind at Christmas - worked out pretty well.

By: jack_mo

jack_mo — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 04:33:49 -0800

You can get all that stuff in any department store (John Lewis, Fraser's) and a lot of chemists, especially the smaller, non-chain type ones. I second the Kiehl's recommendation above, FWIW.

(Sorry if there's some reason why you have to order online, just thought it might be worth pointing out that these items are probably easier to find on the high street than on the web...)

By: rongorongo

rongorongo — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 06:34:30 -0800

Oh yeah - as far as getting DE blades goes I would opt for the very cheap ones you can get at Boots. They also sell cheap and nasty DE razors. The blades are also platinum coated if that makes you feel better.

By: dance

dance — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 09:08:29 -0800

Just an update on this:

Mankind were indeed pretty good - they had a nice clean website with a good range of soaps and razors, but they really fell down on the brushes front. I sent them an email complimenting them on their service, but alerting them to the problem of their lack of badger brushes (they favoured synthetic brushes) and have not yet had a response.

In the end I bought :
Merkur's Futur Razor: Mankind
Geo F Trumper's Sandalwood Soap: Mankind
'TBS' (?) Super Badger Brush: eGay
White Face Cloths: Tesco
DE Razor Blades: Tesco

The Tesco blades were a recommendation from Badger & Blade forums, where Merkur blades are not well liked.

By: LeisureGuy

LeisureGuy — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 15:22:41 -0800

Take a look at this long post---it includes links for many suppliers, along with everything I've learned about shaving with a safety razor. It should prove helpful.