Walmart wet shaving gear, how bad is it?

I was picking up some cartridges for my old Gillette Sensor razor so I'm ready to start practicing making lather when my soaps arrive, and to my surprise I saw some wet shaving gear there. Even some DE blades. I am mostly curious about the soap.

Knowing bicycles, I know that Walmart stocks product that is far from even midrange, let alone high end.

I wonder if anyone was brave enough to actually USE the puck of soap they sell
http://mobile.walmart.com/m/phoenix#....5-oz/10322202
And if they had any skin left after using it

Vdh deluxe is a nice soap. If you do a search you will find years worth of reading on it. Its a workhorse soap low end but quality product that produce good lather with very little effort. The de blades that Walmart sells are typically wilkenson blades and are pretty good to. Probably they are going to be the best you will find at a brick and mortar shop.

I've tried it and hope to NEVER use it again. The brush is fine. Again, this is one of those "opinion" type questions though. Water type really effects shave soap as well. Proraso is my soap that I measure others with. If it's better, I keep it, if it's worse...it gets filed in the circular file next to the toilet after I give them a few shaves.

I is certainly not Poraso, but is an all together different type of soap as well. This is an old-fashioned puck of inexpensive shave soap. It works, and I always have a puck of either VDH or Williams at any given time. I still use the VDH brush after buying a badger brush because it's a darn good boar brush, especially once it's broken in. Buy all means, spend the $8 or whatever on it and upgrade when you feel the time is right, but you might find you keep this stuff around later on, too.

Oh, and YMMV.

I don't mind VdH; while it is far from high end it gets the job done. I sometimes use it in uberlathers. For the money it is hard to find better, I think - but then it hardly costs anything :)

It's kind of the Yugo of soaps. The car gets you where you want to go period and the soap does the same.

I noticed this at Wally world and picked up the kit (soap, bowl, boar bristle brush) to take on a trip. It was my first "not checking a bag" trip out of town, wanted to Wet-Shave and knew that taking the Str8 was out of the question. And I did not want to take "the good stuff" in case I had to abandon it. So I mailed a couple of DE blades to the Hotel the week before (worked) and packed the kit and unloaded DE razor. I agree that it's not my favorite (Poraso) but it worked very well for a DE shave. The brush on the other hand was a very pleasant surprise. If you sometimes like that stiffer/a little scratchy feel (try it) it's great.
BTW I hand carried the DE blade to the front desk on the way out and asked for them to drop the package in the sharps box...did not want anyone to get a surprise emptying the trash.

That was the first kit I used when starting out straight shaving. It's kinda like everyone else said, I especially liked the "Yugo of soaps" description. Get some and see if you like it. It's only 8 bucks...

I bought that kit about four years ago, the soap is cheap but works ok and is melt-able, the brush is also ok and I still use it once in awhile.
It's not the best soap, but far from the worst I've used. As others have said it's sort of the Yugo of soaps, it gets you there and that's about it.

I use VDH to clean my beard, then soak the hair with warm-water cloths and then apply a good soap such as Prorao.

The soap is decent, easy to lather, and works fine. It isn't as luxurious as a high end imported or artisan soap, but for 2 or 3 bucks at Walmart, it isn't bad. I'm going to disagree on the brush. The brush is, in my experience, very poor. Thrifty brushes can perform well, like a $10.00 Omega, but the VDH brush isn't such a brush in my experience.

I don't find myself in need of any of those items but nice to know it would work in a pinch, as there are walmarts just about everywhere.

Bed bath and beyond sells it real cheap also

BB&B sells C.O. Bigelow, too, which is Poraso. Not exactly the same on the ingredient lable, but made them and still feels very nice.

My experience has been with the VDH Luxury kit. I still use the brush and find the soap to be just fine (still use it on occaision). I had the opportunity to sniff the Delux soap at a store and I did not find it as pleasant of a smell, but not bad either. At the very least is should be a cheap way to learn whipping up lather, functional and a starting point comparison wise.

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Originally Posted by Sargon

Thrifty brushes can perform well, like a $10.00 Omega, but the VDH brush isn't such a brush in my experience.

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Agreed! I purchased the VDH brush solo at a local drug store. So it was not the one that came in the Deluxe kit. The thing fell apart in no time. I ended up throwing it away. I have an Omega, the 'little chubby', which is miles better. It only cost me about 6 bucks. Semoque also makes some great brushes too. I think some can be had for under $20 if I am not mistaken.

I have a $16 Col Conk brush I got from an actual local shop (I prefer spending my money there, it's a very cool old timey shop).

I have the Deluxe and the Luxary version of the soaps. The deluxe does exactly what its supposed to do it will get you from point A to point B. ITs super easy to lather and the scent is really clean. The luxary puck is nice also and the scent is kind of tropical i can't really describe it. You should buy a puck of deluxe and give it a try and if you dont like it you are only out 2bucks. Don't knock it tilll you rock it

The best thing I can say about VDH soap (apart from the fact it's cheap and gets the job done) is that it will melt in less than 20 seconds in a microwave - I then add about 40 drops of glycerin and some flavoring oils to make it my own, then put it in the fridge for an hour to harden it.

I just saw a Boker King Cutter for $108, some other Bokers, and some Linders for sale on Walmart online. They were under hunting knives.

They also had "Whetstone Huge 10.5" Sweeney Todd Replica Straight Razor"

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Bring a piece of the musical and movie into your home with a Whetstone Huge 10.5" Sweeney Todd Replica Straight Razor. It's also ideal for use as a prop in plays and videos or as an accessory to make your Halloween costume look real. Even better, this Sweeney Todd straight razor gives a very close shave. The blade is sharp and designed to stay that way with little maintenance. The 4.5" length gives you a choice of cutting angles, and the 10.5" overall length is not unduly bulky. The acid-etched handle on this stainless steel straight razor features intricate detail, like the razors found in a 19th-century barber shop. After the first smooth stroke, you'll feel like you're in a comfy old-time barber chair. Use for an extra-close shave or to add a touch of realism to your costume with a Whetstone Huge 10.5" Sweeney Todd Replica Straight Razor.

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Think I should pick up one?

Sweeney todds are on the dont buy list according to the library. However boker king cutters are very nice and right there with the dovos, at a good price too. I believe they usually retail for 150-160usd

Every time I see that Sweeney Todd replica thing all I can think is, it's a replica of a straight razor not a real straight razor.