Real shaving, with a DE safety razor, is just like real ale in that big business tried to kill them both off so they could make more profit and both times the consumer fought back. With real ale it was with the organisation CAMRA, with real shaving it is with the power of the internet. There are lots of real shaving blogs, forums and vendors. Because in the real world there is very little to be found, just a handful of upmarket grooming shops in London’s St James’s. If I go into Coventry or Leamington there is only the bare minimum of real shaving kit that can be bought at physical retailers. Yet online there is a huge rich world where a vast range of products from all over the world are available.

One huge advantage of online is that it is global. If you live in Uruguay, Botswana, Macau or Lichtenstein you have exactly the same access to goods, services and knowledge.

This list is not meant to be in any way definitive. In fact I have left off lots of “me too” men’s grooming suppliers. But it is a good start to exploring the amazing diversity of the real shaving world. And it enables you to get your hands on some truly amazing products.

Online retailers

SafetyRazors.co.uk modern and vintage shaving equipment.
The English shaving company. For Edwin Jagger and much more.
The gentleman’s shop. All sorts of stuff. Currently selling original Somerset Simpson’s shaving brushes.
Connaught shaving. Excellent range of real shaving swag. Good for razor blade sample packs.
Shaving Shack. Another huge range of everything for real shaving.
Diamond Edge. Excellent for Simpsons and Vulfix shaving brushes.
Carter and Bond. Huge range of grooming brands.
Badger and hone. New UK online retailer with good range.
BarberBlades.co.uk. Very low priced barber’s supplies. 200 DE blades for £6.
The Dutch Shaving Shop. Lots of difficult to get hold of European stuff. Fascinating to browse. In English.
TuttoItaliaOnline. Dutch vendor with lots of Italian shaving products. In Dutch.
Irish Barber. A huge range.
Shaving.ie. Another impressive range.
New Forest Brushes. Niche shaving brush specialist.
Nanny’s Silly Soap Company. Artisan shaving soaps and creams.
Gifts and Care. Lots of good Spanish stuff. Horse hair brushes.
Vintage Scent. More exotic European swag. Semogue brushes. La Toja soap. And much more.

St James’s gentlemen’s grooming shop’s websites.

Trumpers.
Taylors of Old Bond Street (TOBS).
Truefitt &Hill.
D R Harris.
Floris.
Penhaligon’s.
Czech & Speake.

And in America

West Coast Shaving. Huge range of everything for real shaving. Blade sample packs.
BullGoose shaving supplies. Another huge range with blade sample packs.
The Gentlemen’s Quarter. Artisan soaps, creams and much more.
Vintage Blades. Cut-throat razor oriented. But lots of other stuff.
Superlather.com. European products in America.
Mama Bear’s Soaps. Artisan soaps.
Bob’s Razor Works. Artisan brushes and razors.

Forums

Real shaving is badly served by forums. Like a religion most are the result of schism after arguments. Some have hidden agendas and delete anything that doesn’t conform, others are the playpens of cliques. Many of the key people in the real shaving world today are banned from one or more forums for totally spurious reasons. Many of the very best vendors, some of whom you will find on here, are banned from forums with disingenuous and misleading reasons given for the ban.

There are much, much more resources out there, this is just picking the low hanging fruit, so if you want to know more use Google and browse.

If you want to buy blades then they are so cheap that it is best to buy them by the hundred from some of the above suppliers, Amazon or eBay.