I can home from work today with a nice surprise. My box of goodies arrived from Wet Shave Club. It is always a good day when shaving items arrive, let alone a box of shaving items.

If you are unfamiliar with Wet Shave Club, they provide a monthly subscription of wet shaving items, each month you receive a box with samples of soap, after shave, blades, and other goodies. The exception being your first box – the box I received today – which also includes a razor and brush to get you going (or to add to your shelf). I will have to admit I was excited to find out what was in the box; making the service a nice addition for the hobbyist or for those who simply like the idea of not having to think about purchasing their shaving supplies every month.

The box itself, for being a cardboard box, is quite impressive. It really makes you feel like you are opening ‘something’ of importance. The contents are placed nicely in the box really creating an experience for you. It had a wonderful scent upon opening which added to the whole event. Right on top of the items were two cards, a welcome card and a quick start guide if you are just starting out. Overall – nicely done.

I wasn’t sure what to expect in my first box – I knew I was going to receive a brush and razor but beyond that I had no clue. Assuming that all first boxes are the same, the first box comes with a nice selection of items. Here is a quick rundown of items, excluding the razor and brush, which I’ll touch on below:

Two soap samples, both of them Red Leaf. They smell great, and will definitely last you longer than a month

Two, five packs of blades, Gillette 7 O’clock yellow pack, and a pack of Gillette Silver Blue. Once again more than you will use in a month. I tend to change my blade once every three to five shaves. So unless you change with each shave you are good to go.

A nice size bottle of aftershave from Whiskey, Ink and Lace which I have never used so I’m excited about. Also, more than you should use or need in a month. Smells great.

And something I have never seen before – a pack of alum matchsticks from The Legends. No idea how to use these so also excited.

So, overall a very nice selection and number of items.

Having not used either, my first impressions for the brush and razor are one of surprise and one of expectation. The razor really resembles a Merkur, so much so that I was convinced that it was a Merkur razor before seeing the Wet Shave Club stamp on the top of the head. I guess it could be a Merkur but I’m not sure, and will have to assume not. The weight is nice, the cutting head as mentioned above quite similar to that of a Merkur closed comb you would find on a “1904” or similar, and the handle has a nice pattern and diameter (I’ll review the razor separately in another post). Overall, I am surprised with the quality of the razor that is provided in the first shipment.

The brush is more or less what I expected, nothing fancy, and more of an introductory brush, which is perfectly fine in this situation and for the price of what you are receiving. Seems to be a boar brush, rather stiff, the handle is plastic and simple. Nothing overly exciting. Perfect for someone new to wet shaving.

Overall, I’m very impressed with my first Wet Shave Club shipment. The box contained much more than expected, and the quality of the tools either met or exceeded expectation. One thing that I would like to see is perhaps a first shipment that didn’t include the razor and brush for those who are already established wet shavers and are just looking for something new every month. But that is really a minor detail. The membership has various price points based on subscription length, you can take a look at them here.

In reality the Wet Shave Club subscription is probably more geared towards those who use wet shaving as a hobby. Yes there are many of us. If you are just looking to save money I’m not sure if this is the direction you want to take. The subscription does make for a great gift; its something different for someone who doesn’t wet shave. Either way it is definitely worth considering. Whether you are an established wet shaver, or someone who is just curious. You can cancel you subscription so there isn’t any risk.