Awesome product with an affordable price!

The handle on the straight razor is a bit flimsy Had I known, I would have chosen one of better quality. Also, the writing on the blade is a bit aggravating. I saw it on the picture when I ordered it. I didn't like it, but thought I could live with it AC

So this is a two-pronged review, about the kit and about how I got the kit. Let's start with the kit itself as that's probably why you're here. The kit itself is fine. I've basically only used the razor and the strop, as I already had a good brush and soap/aftershave, but they've worked out great. Being new to straight razor shaving, it's pretty great. A while ago I got into double edge shaving, but I don't always shave often. This means that my beard can get pretty long before I decide to lop it all off. With cartridge razors it's just a nightmare, as the head gets clogged and becomes pretty worthless quickly. Double edge razors really improved this, however to really clean things out you've got to take the head apart, at least with some longer hairs. Starting out with my straight razor, I was expecting a similar starting shave as my first DE razor. Instead it was actually much cleaner, as I started out the first few times by just shaving the flat parts of my face, and finishing things off with a DE razor. Once I had the angle down, I slowly started expanding the area that I was doing with the straight, and was getting my whole face quite quickly. It's very important to know the grain of your hairs, how to maintain the proper angle and pressure, as well as applying shaving soap correctly. The blade of the Gold Dollar is a bit large and heavy, but if you're coming from DE shaving it gives a similar feel to the heft of a good DE handle. Now that I'm more comfortable with the straight I would probably prefer a lighter, smaller blade, but for a starting kit it's awesome. Their travel strop is quite great, though due to the width you have to use a z pattern to get the whole blade. Not a huge problem, but just a possible reason to get the larger strop. I have only used the pre- and post-shave stuff from the Proraso kit, but they do their job just fine (the pre-shave feels awesome, though). I'm not sold on the boar brush, as I much prefer the softness of a nice badger brush. For the kit, the value is amazing. If you're looking to get into straight razor shaving, it's definitely worth the price. Now onto how I got this kit. When I first started shaving with a DE razor from this store, I was living in Seattle. I got a few products (one of the starter kits they don't offer any more and some blades later on), so my information for shipping was on my account. When I ordered this kit I had moved to another state, but had forgot to change my shipping address, so the kit I ordered (and a nice brush) went to Seattle, which was nowhere near where I currently live. Noticing this a few days after the order, I was kicking myself. However, money wasn't too tight and I'd just gotten a bonus at work, so I figured what the heck, I'll just get another one and ship it to the *right place* this time. I must have checked the address a hundred times after ordering to make sure it was going to the right place. Then, a day after placing the second order I got a message from Razor Emporium, saying that they'd received my original order back, and that they could just ship that to me, refunding the order that I'd just made (minus shipping). So even though I was an idiot, it managed to turn out all right! I'll definitely be recommending this site to friends and family that want to try out wet shaving or get quality shaving products.

1st. My order arrived very quickly, which was a pleasant surprise. I've had the kit for a few months now and I found the blade easy to use from the beginning. I would go for a smaller blade when I upgrade, just to get under the arms a little easier. The strop sharpens the blade very well, but the brush was a bit too rough for my liking, so I acquired a softer one and kept the original as a back-up. Big thanks for posting a video for lady straight razor shaving on youtube. That's how I came to this site.