Van Der Hagen Safety Razor
- Price
- Quality
- Value
- Handle
- Aggressiveness
- Usability
Summary
This is the review of my experience with the Van Der Hagen safety razor. This mild razor would be great for beginners and be more forgiving on your skin.
Product: Van Der Hagen Razor Review
Rating: 4.1/5 stars with over 200 reviews
Cheapest Place to Buy: Amazon
I was recently given the Van Der Hagen safety razor for a gift so I thought this would be the perfect item for my next review!
This is a great entry level razor that might be good for beginners or those with sensitive skin.
Keep reading to learn more about my Van Der Hagen Razor Review.
What Are The Features Of the Van Der Hagen Razor?
The Van Der Hagen Safety Razor, just like most razors today, is made of a brass frame that is chrome plated.
The brass gives the razor its weight while the chrome helps prevent corrosion.
The handle was pretty short. I don’t have large hand and it still felt small to me. It is only 3.3 inches long.
I felt like I was forced to grip it near the head just because there wasn’t much handle to grab on to.
I could see how a longer handle would benefit when you are trying to reach those tricky areas like under your chin.
While the handle was short it was heavily textured with deep grooves so I did not feel like it was going to slip out of my hands while shaving.
It also did not have much weight to it. I don’t have a scale but it was probably around 2 ounces.
This probably correlates with the shorter handle.
The Blade
To change the blade is has a twist to open mechanism which opens the butterfly on top of the head.
It is just like tightening or loosening a screw.
Turn it all the way left and the head opens up easily for the razor blade.
Upon tightening you could see that it put just the slightest angle on the blade.
During shaving the knob at the bottom felt very secure. I was not worried that it was going to come loose or open up on me.
It was also very easy to insert the blade. I did not have to adjust it for any angle, it aligned perfectly upon dropping it over the guide bar.
There was not much of a gap around the blade which made this a very mild razor.
The box included 5 of their ice tempered, Teflon coated blades.
They come in a nice box and are individually wrapped. The back of the box has a spot for you to insert your used blades which I thought was a nice touch.
Even after your blades dull, they are still sharp enough to cut you or a trash bag that it is lying in.
However, these were definitely not the sharpest blades, however they were pretty smooth.
The razor glided nicely across my face and you could hear the blade doing its job.
Who Is This Van Der Hagen Razor Review Good For?
Like I mentioned earlier, this would be a great starter razor or a gift for someone who might interested in wet shaving.
The blades were not super sharp and the razor itself is very mild. I had absolutely no fear of cutting myself.
After applying some shaving cream, I performed one pass with the grain and one pass against the grain.
I have an average beard but just with these two passes I was able to get a BBS shave.
I shaved around 8 pm and still felt pretty smooth when I woke up in the morning so while it is not very aggressive I was still able to get a close shave.
This razor might also be good for those of you with sensitive skin for these reasons.
Especially if you use a pre-shave oil this should be a comfortable shave.
I think this would also be a great daily shaver.
Because of how easy it was to use and the low maintenance required
I will update this post after a few more shaves to see how many I get before the blades start to dull.
Where To Buy The Van Der Hagen Razor?
I’m not sure where mine was purchased but the Van Der Hagen seems to be the cheapest on Amazon.
It only has a little over 200 reviews, so not as popular as Merkur or Parker razors but it does have a 4.1-star rating. You can beat the price
For less than $20 you get the razor plus 5 blades to start.
It might be good to add a variety pack of blades so you can try different kinds out to see which ones you like.
Or, if you really want to go all in, you should get the Van Der Hagen Luxury Shave Set as well for about $25. It comes with a badger hair shaving brush, brush/razor stand, shaving soap and an apothecary mug you can use to whip up a nice lather.
That just screams value considering you can spend well over $25 on a shaving brush alone.
if you are purchasing this razor for a gift these two items together are moderately priced but would really make someone’s day.
Check Current Price
Van Der Hagen Razor Review Conclusion
If you have thick or coarse beard you may need to get a more aggressive razor.
However, if you are an average guy and looking to switch to wet shaving from using an electric razor, this is a great choice.
It is very mild which will be more forgiving as you learn the proper technique of wet shaving.
Of course, every man’s face is different and this is just my opinion so you really won’t know unless you try it.
Collinssays
I am really impressed about your shaving product reviews. Every man needs to shave except those who don’t want to shave.
Actually, when I use a blade to shave it leaves me razor bumps unless I use clipper.
But I am in love with the Van Der Hagen safety razor. It look very masculine and the brass nature of it is very powerful. I think I will try this type and see.
Jeremysays
Hey Collins,
Thanks for stopping by, I am glad you enjoyed the Van Der Hagen safety razor.
It was very mild to me so I think it would help with your razor bumps, especially if you do not do any passes against the grain.
Let me know how you like it if you decide to get it!
Pete Carriersays
My freind told me about the Van Der Hagen razor and how much he likes it. I have a hard time finding a razor that I like and when I do, they are very expensive over time. Take Gillette for example, they make nice razors but the blade refills are around $20.00. Anyways, you sold me on this razor. I will give it a try. I’m glad I found your website.
Thanks
Jeremysays
Thanks Peter, I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Let me know how you like the razor after you have used it for a little while!
Stevesays
Hi
This looks like a really cool product for shaving, do you know if they are available or ship to UK?
Jeremysays
No but there is a similar product here. I will do some more research on how to get the Van Der Hagen to the UK.
Zolisays
Hey Jeremy, I was amazed to see all the various types of manual and electric razors that are available. I had no idea there were so many.
I personally would rather shave with a blade rather than an electric. Not only is it cheaper, but I think with a manual blade you tend to get a closer shave, and I love the lather applied to my skin before I shave.
I noticed that the Van Der Hagen Safety Razor with the screw handle butterfly version was still available. I think when I first started growing a beard when I was younger I started with that version, and it is great to see that they still exist, but only through sites like Amazon. I thought they went out of style and was replaced with the click handle razors which is what I am currently using.
The straight edge razors they were using back during world war II also appealed to me and I am glad they are still around as well and also available through Amazon. You just can not find any of them at any retail store. Both those types of blades went out of style just like cassette tapes and eight tracks. I think if I was in the market to purchase a manual blade razor, I would go with the straight edge razor over the butterfly version. I just love how it looks and I think I would get a much closer shave.
Thanks for your time, and hope my comment helps you in any way and good luck.
Jeremysays
Hey there Zoli,
You are right it is hard to find safety razors or straight razors in retails stores. The good ones at least.
But they still do exist and are making quite a come back in recent years.
If you decide to get away from your cartridge razors let me know which one you decide to go with!
jeffrey16201says
Hello
Very nice review on the Van Der Hagen Safety Razor, it does appear to be a fine razor. I do shave with the old fashion type of way, so this product does interest me in a way.
What makes buying one of these razors better than the disposable razors I am using now, you still would have to buy razor blades all the time so I am not sure if this is the right razor for me?
Jeremysays
Hi Jeffrey,
You are right, you will have to razor blades but maybe not all the time. You can find 100 packs for around $10 on amazon and if you get 5 shaves per blade that is almost 2 years worth of shaving.
So if you find a blade you like this could be much cheaper than spending up to $20 a month on multi-blade cartridge refills.
Joe Colesays
I bought a Van Der Hagen razor from Walmart about a month ago and tried wet shaving for the first time. I used the Van Der Hagen blades that came with the razor and thought the shave was OK. In my research on wet shaving a common theme kept popping up… get a sampler pack and try different blades. I bought a sampler pack and tried a Personna first. Wow! So sharp and smooth I didn’t hear any scraping on my whiskers.
I still have 6 different blades still to try, but can’t complain about the Van Der Hagen razor. For me, it’s been a great beginning razor.
Jeremysays
Awesome, thanks for stopping by Joe!