Shave of the Day - Late December

I've been slowly working my way thru a bundle of blades a friend sent me about a year ago.

Slowly because I only shave once or twice a week (blasphemous of course, but SWMBO likes the stubble), and I alternate between my 1961 Super Speed and a 1940's Tech.

Well, I've gone thru Wilkinsons, Derbys, 7 O'clocks, and... well... I was feeling a little like I had a two digit IQ or something. I could never really tell the difference between blade brands - although thankfully I could distiguish between the two razors loaded with the same brand of blade.

Finishing up a brace of 7 O'Clocks, I reached into backstock for the next candidate.

"What came to the top of the pile?" you ask?

Ya, yoo-betcha... the Feathers.

Loaded one in each razor and had at it with the SS.

"Holy SHIT, Batman!!!"

I had weepers galore, even though I'd been careful to use zero pressure. Overall, the shave was terrifically irregular - caused mostly by the shock of the operator, I'm sure.

Most of all, I felt a strong regret that I hadn't chosen the milder Tech for the first test drive.

Travel Razor

Just picked up a nice, apparently unused travel razor on eBay. If you include shipping charges, I paid more than I typically care to - about $11, but it's a nice example of a genre that I did not previously own.

Pix to follow!

(and yes, I know I still owe you better picutres of most of the summer's acqusitions)

Shave of the Day - Art of Shaving

Lisa was out at the Mall of America the other day and stumbled upon the new Art of Shaving store there. She took a quick peek inside, just to have a look around, and was rewarded with a sample package containing pre-shave oil, shaving cream, and after-shave.

Well, I tried the pre-shave and shaving cream yesterday.

I found the overall results quite satisfying - I especially liked the cream. The pre-shave oil however, was pretty odd to me. It was very heavy and sticky, which made it surprisingly hard to apply to my face.

These days I shave post-shower and the oil instructions did not say whether to apply to wet or dry skin. I made no special effort to keep my face wet, but portions were still damp from my shower. These areas seemed to be the hardest places to apply the oil.

I then rubbed the shaving cream in a thin layer over my entire beard. I followed that with the brush, face-lathering to a very nice rich creamy lather which built very quickly.

Following the lathering, I did a quick with-the-grain pass with my early '60s Super Speed.

I then rinsed and relathered, using only the lather remaining in the brush. Again, I was able to build a nice creamy lather, although it was not quite as rich as the initial application.

Following that, I did my usual second pass against-the-grain, and only needed minimal touch-ups. All in all, a very nice satisfying near-BBS shave.

My initial reaction to the Art of Shaving products is that they are quite effective, though I can't say I care unduly for the fragrance. In fairness, I did not try the after-shave, so cannot comment on that.

AD - Take Three

Another round of flea marketing and antiques at the September Gold Rush in Rochester last weekend.

I managed to escape with only a little travel razor from Germany, vintage maybe 1930's or 1940's(?) and an old porcelin shaving mug.

Pictures to follow, although the mug has already been pressed into service.

Also, my lovely wife was at the Mall of America yesterday. She noticed the new Art of Shaving store there and ducked in for a quick look. She came out with a sample pack of pre-shave oil, shaving cream, and aftershave.

I'll report on those directly as well.

More New Stuff or, "I'm Buying and I Can't Stop!"

Gold Rush Days in Oronoco, MN last weekend. This is a huge flea market / antique fair, and there's a sister show that's similar just down the road in Rochester the same weekend.

Sure enough, my Acquisition Disorder kicked in again.

In Oronoco on Friday I made off with three DE razors (1960s Super Speed with case, 1960s Adjustable with case, and a Thick Handle Tech), an Old Spice mug, and a reference book of 1000 straight razors priced and illustrated. Total spend - $19.00.

Saturday in Rochester I did even better: three razors - a nickel plated Ball-end Tech (appears new & unused, with thick paper insert showing where the blade goes, but has some pitting), a Fat Boy Adjustable, and an older gold tone Ball-end Tech in Bakelite case. Total spend - $7.00.

All razors except the 1960s Super Speed will require some clean-up. That particular razor looks to be new-in-the-case. Even has a metal pack of blades still sealed in cellophane.

Better pix to follow!

New Stuff - First Look

Lisa and I were in South Dakota in late June and early July.

As we always do, we stopped in every antique store we saw, and this is a first look at my booty.

More to follow when I get it all cleaned up.

Shave of the Day - Aug. 16

This load of Derbys is reaching the end of its life. I have one in both the Tech (which I used for this shave) and the Super Speed.

I've lost count of how many shaves I've gotten out of them - probably ten apiece.

I keep lovin' the Arko. I'm craving the fragrance!

I'm Back!

Geez...! Has it really been six months since I posted here!? That was a BAD sidetrack.

Anyway, I'm back. I've been shaving every 5 - 7 days in the mean time. Mostly with the Derbys. the current blades are getting close to being finished. I'll hav to come up with some way to objectively rate them. The only thing I have to compare them to is six month old memory of the Wilkinsons.

Lisa and I took a drving trip to S. Dakota in late June - early July. We stopped at numerous antique stores on the way there & back, and I picked up several old Gillettes, a very cool silver and glass shaving mug (probably actually silver plate), and brush.

I'll get photos and publish in a separate post.

More Cool New (Old) Stuff!

Lisa and I just got back from our annual trek - a week at the jewelry trade shows in Tucson. We took a day off mid-week and toured around town to several antique stores and malls. At one of our first stops I found these two treasures - a shaving mug, circa 1870 (so the tag says), and a travel shaving brush, vintage unknown. Please comment, and I'll get better photos posted when my camera batteries recharge.

Shave of the Day - Feb. 10

If you're reading this blog from end to end, you must think I only shave every two or three weeks! Not true! I only record them so often.

Had a good shave back at home this morning, after shaving in a hotel room, with hotel soap (forgot my beloved Arko) for a week. Ahhh, it's nice to get back to real shave soap!

No BBS this morning, but a nice shave. I think my blade's getting a bit dull. Will have to remedy that with a new Feather blade from my benefactor, Squire of the SMF Forum.

Shave of the Day - Jan. 29

Ahhhh.... Arko and SOFT WATER!

Today's post-shower shave was with the Arko soap, using my Gillette Super Speed. The soft water seemed to help (discovered that our water softener had run out of salt last week), although it may also have been the more aggressive SS razor. Whatever is responsible, I'm back to a BBS shave. My face feels great, although a little on the dry side. It seems as though the Arko may be a bit more drying than the Williams.

I have to say, I love the Arko scent. I find it clean, mild, and refreshing, and it lathers like a fiend! I started a thread about Arko on ShaveMyFace.com and while many people like the scent to one degree or another, a significant percentage simply can't stomach it - even when they like the lathering and shaving results. Some even have mentioned that the smell takes over the whole bathroom. This is not my experience however, and I've had the mushed-up stick sitting open in a mug for over a week.

Shave of the Day - Jan. 24

The ShaveMyFace.com resident blade connoisseur, Squire, sent me a stick of Arko Shave Soap a couple of weeks ago (along with a nice sampling of blades and a couple of vials of cologne - see below. Many thanks, Squire!). Due to circumstances I only got to trying it this morning.

I followed his advice and chopped and mushed it up and pressed it into a mug. I have to say, using the trusty Tweezerman brush, I was able to whip up a MUCH better lather than I have with the Williams I've been using up to this point. Went on my face nice & thick, and stayed. There was enough lather left in the mug for a second pass, and even a third, even though I don't do three. The lather remained nice & thick all the way through my second pass as well, another plus. Having the lather thin out or collapse during my second pass has been an issue with the Williams.

All in all, a nice close shave with my Gillette Gold Tech loaded with a Wilkinson blade, and the Arko.

Even more to my delight, the Arko did this at a time when I all of a sudden realized my water softener was out of salt and we've been bathing with a fine clear limestone dust instead of actual liquid H2O. Can't wait to shave again when the water goes soft in a day or two.

One last thing - this stuff is about $1.33 per stick when purchased in bulk (15 sticks) from Amazon.com.

Shave of the Day - Jan. 18

Back to my trusty Gillette Super Speed and Wilkinson Sword blade - two passes as usual - and back to my near BBS shave. I'll still try the Tech with more aggressive blades, but for now will use up the Wilkinsons that are loaded in both the SS and Tech.

I would like to try the Arko that my "patron" on ShaveMyFace.com sent me before I wear the Wilkinsons out. He recommends pulverizing the stick and pressing it into a mug before using. Will need to do that next.

Kindness of a New Acquaintence

I've been posting some lately on the forum on ShaveMyFace.com. I'd asked a few questions on blades, and had posted about finding the Gillette Tech mentioned below. A gentleman on the forum who goes by the tag of Squire was kind enough to send me sample packs of eight different blades, along with a stick of Arko shave soap, and some French cologne/aftershave.





Over the coming weeks I'll be testing the blades, soap, and cologne and putting my thoughts down here.

Squire, if you're listening, thanks a ton for your kindness and generosity! If any of you newbies following this blog haven't checked out the forum at http://www.shavemyface.com/, please do so. It's a great community of wet shavers!

Shave of the Day - Jan. 1

I used the NOS Gillette Gold Tech again this morning, but I was in a hurry. I therefore did not get nearly as good a shave as I usually do. Not nearly as close, even though it was a two-pass shave, and several small nicks - totally my fault, not the razor's.

A new acquaintance on one of the shaving forums is generously sending me a small sampling of blades to try. I'll try these in both the Tech and the SS.

I've also learned a few details about refurbishing a brush with a new hair knot. So that's one more thing to be watching for in the antique stores - old brushes with neat handles. It seems to be a fairly inexpensive proposition to re-knot these things.