New Features!

Sooo. There's a couple of new things popping up here. Though I might draw your attention to them...Take a looksee!


First, a little bit down on the ol' left side, is "My Daily Shave." Pretty self explanatory, these are the things that I am using now...I update this daily, and as new things pop up, I'll post reviews or link to past ones. Because, you know, I was getting TONS of email begging to know what I was using to shave with every day. Cause that's just how cool I am.

Second, and perhaps more pathetic, is the "Followers" gadget, aka "People Who Might Like Me." This is a little widget that people can use to add themselves to the teeming hordes of avid readers I have. Like, all three of you ;). Really, though, if you have a Blogger account and if you like what you see here, add yourself. You'll get automatic updates of my posts and stuff on your dashboard, and maybe you'll come back to see me. This also helps me put a face to people who take the time to read my blog, so I can know who I'm writing for.

So go ahead and add yourself; you can be anonymous if you want, but it makes me feel good.

Like I said, pathetic...

Later!

Turkish Delight...?

So, a while ago, I tried a week of shaving with an ARKO Stick, from Turkey. I am a stick fan (Just wait till you see what I've got in my fridge...!!) and when I got this one for free with an order from Giovanni at Razor and Brush, I reckoned I had to try it. Now, in the fullness of time, I think I'm ready to give my opinion.

(image from Razor and Brush).

ARKO sticks are fairly polarizing. There are those (like Giovanni) that love them--they say the lather is thick, luxurious and plentiful, far outperforming the measly $2 price tag. There are those that hate the stuff --the primary complaint is the scent...

My reaction? They're both right.

The stick is plain jane, wrapped in paper and with no plastic base/holder like is found on the others I have tried. The graphics are kind of nice in a kitschy way. I felt like my shave was blessed by J.R. "Bob" Dobbs.


But even before I saw the stick, the first thing I noticed was the scent. In fact, the entire package I ordered smelled like this stuff...The stick's detractors, and there are many, say that this soap smells like a urinal puck. I don't think that's quite right. I think it smells like ten urinal pucks. This is a potent aroma...I was afraid to leave it in my bathroom, that it might turn the place into the John at a cheap bar. But luckily, with a day or two of air the stick calms down and the smell loses part of its penetrating edge.

So, then, the important part? Well...my first shave with this was a bit disappointing. Make no mistake, it lathered like a monster. My Omega brought forth MOUNDS of creamy lather in no time. But the shave wasn't that great. It was draggy and left my skin feeling dry and slightly razor burnt.

My second shave was similar. Then I realized, the lather was coming too easily--I wasn't adding enough water, seeing the big mounds of foam made me stop too soon. The reaction to the brush was deceptive. This soap needs quite a bit of water to get a good lather, even though it'll whip up a dry one with no trouble at all. Once I found the right water ratio, I got some pretty good shaves.

Pretty good. Not great. After 5 shaves, the bottom line was that I wanted to use something else. This was not true of the Valobra Stick or MWF...with those, I have to make myself stop, to give some other product a chance. With ARKO, I gave it a shot, thought "OK, that's not bad" and moved on.

Now, this is not a bad product. I can definitely see the appeal--it's cheap, it's easy to whip up a good lather, and it's cheap. But given the overpowering scent, and the lack of a really outstanding shave (not as good as VDH Deluxe, for instance), I can't see this one being a re-purchase. I am glad I tried it though, and I will probably give it another chance in a while, when the smell has faded from my mind's nose...

A Guide: Single Edge Blades and The Spines Who Love Them

So, I have been involved with these Feather SE blades, and now that they are finding their way into the public, people are wanting to use them. How odd! Unfortunately, there is a bit of work involved with them, as they are not exactly designed for the common SE shavers we have. Basically, they need a spine from another blade; the removal and installation of that spine can be tricky, if you don't like blood loss. I have a fairly safe way to do it.

Come! Let me show you my world!

First off, what you need.

The Tools:


That's a pair of endcut pliers and a pair of needlenose pliers. I use the endcut pliers because I saw them in another video, and they were 100 yen at Daiso. You could probably get away with regular grip pliers, though.

First, adding a spine to a blade. Not too tricky...

Be Careful:


Grip the blade with the needlenose and get the spine centered on the blade. You can leave the paper on or off; off works a bit better for me. Make sure that you don't get the pliers near the cutting edge, you don't want to ruing the blade.

A No Brainer:

Press the blade spine onto a hard surface, gripping the blade tightly. The blade should fit snug into the spine, with the two indentations on each end of the spine fitting into the slots at the top of the blade.

Now, taking the spine off.


Grip the spine with the end cut pliers, being careful to catch only the edge; you don't want to be gripping the blade with the spine, it's counterproductive. Grip it slightly off center, I find it works best.

Slowly...


Grip the blade with the needlenose, aligning the edge of the jaws with the spine. Grip firmly, but not too tight, there should be a tiny amount of slide. Slowly pull the END of the blade outward, using the tip of the needlenose pliers as a fulcrum, levering the blade out of the spine one end at a time. Don't try to pull the blade straight out, it could fly out and cause some damage.

Once one end is out, it's easy! Just pull them apart with the pliers.

Good luck!

Olde and Newe...

I got a package from Merrye Olde Englande (From Paul Mayhew at Connaught Shaving--Thanks Paul!) last night (well, two actually...) and one of them contained a bit of modern engineering and a bit of old fashioned quality.




That is a Merkur Futur Razor (TSD Review Here), from the Merkur Razor company in Solingen Germany. It is resting atop a boxed tube of Musgo Real shaving cream (TSD Review Here), from Portugal. Cutting edge (pun fully intended) design and old world charm. I wish I could take better pictures.

The Futur is a beautiful, beautiful razor. The old Gillettes are miracles of engineering and functionality, lasting well past any reasonable expectation, but this is like some kind of Bauhaus art piece--smooth lines and pure functionality distilled into one wicked shaving machine. It's adjustable, meaning you can change how much space there is between the guard and the blade, allowing for ever closer, and more dangerous, shaves. It is also HEAVY--meaning you have to work less to get the blade to cut. Just awesome.
I can't wait to use it this morning!

The Musgo Real is a much more traditional product. It is a good old fashioned shave cream from Portugal, rich in Lanolin--meaning it should leave my face all nice and soft, even in the dry, heater filled winter. Which is why I bought it. The lovely, simple design on the box doesn't hurt. I'm going to save using this one until I get a decent cream brush. My Omega is wicked with soaps, but creams are another story...

Man, this stuff is just too much fun!

I'll report back with results of using these two lovelies...

Acquisitiveness....

So this whole shaving thing...It's got its dark side. Its dirty little secret.
That secret? Getting stuff.


When I started this, there were people telling me it was cheaper than using a cartridge. It was a way to economise in today's disposable world. All you need is an old, cheap razor, some decent blades, a brush and your choice of soap.
Look at this.


I didn't have room to fit all the blades in...or the sample sizes...

Less than two months, I've been doing this. And I have three more soaps, another razor and a brush on the way. And I just realized I have two pucks of soap and a stick that I left out of this picture! Dear God!

And this is nothing. Compared to some of the guys on the forums, this is kid's stuff, a single weekend's purchasing...

They have a cute little name for it. "Acquisition Disorder". I call it future grounds for divorce. I mean, I KNOW I don't need all this, but I see it, and I want it... And when I get it, I like it so much I want more! My wife, bless her, wants me to be happy so she does nothing to stop me. SHE DOES NOTHING! So, in a way, it's all her fault and I have nothing to feel guilty about, right?

Right?

Sooo...Where's that credit card? I need a new brush, I think...

**Update**

And...A little over a week later, this is what it looks like. Can you spot the changes?


In ONE DAY, I got three packages:

Consider your Date Upped.

So, I realize I have been remiss in my blogging recently. I've been car shopping, and man, car shopping in Japanese takes it out of you.
I do have things to share, though...


First, I realize I never updated you on The Gentlemans [sic] Refinery. First, Any company that doesn't proofread its own name gets one strike from the get go. It took me a while to actually realize it wasn't just the little pamphlet they sent me...The actual company name is wrong.
Ouch.

As for the products....I gave the shaving cream, preshave oil and AS Balm three shaves. Ok, well, the cream got 2.5. And they were promptly pitched. The shaves were ok...at best. The cream left my face feeling dry, and the AS Balm offered little to no soothing properties in the long run. The moisturizer is good, though, still using it. But for the prices these guys charge... $40 for the Balm? Nope. Go to The Shave Den and get some Aftershave Milk instead. MUCH better performance, for less than half the price. And you can choose your scent (I recommend Mayan Gold, samples are available)!


-------------------

The Van Der Hagen stick gave me fantastic shaves for a good week. Then I realized how quickly it was disappearing and discovered the benefits of the expensive soaps. They last FOREVER. Seriously. My puck of Mitchell's Wool Fat has lasted me for months and the only change in size is where I broke off a chunk to give to a friend. So, there you go. The money does have a place...

So I have put the stick away to try some other products.

-------------------
Like this:

Valobra. Valobra Valobra Valobra. How Italian. How romantic. How smooth and moist! This is a shave stick with belly...it has a very mild understated scent (the tallow comes through, which I think is Good Stuff.) and what a shaver! It's got vitamin E and Soy Lecithin for my skin, and my skin says YES. Paired with its Paisano, my Omega boar brush, the lather is thick, rich and smooth. The shaves are close and comfortable, and the moisturizing is great. I will be using and buying again.
(Available From Giovanni at Razor and brush or Paul at Connaught Shaving.)

For the love o' PETE! (Soap Review)

So I have tried a few high quality shaving creams and soaps now. The Gentlemen's Refinery, Mitchell's Wool Fat, Speick Shaving Stick...but yesterday I got one of the best shaves I have ever had, from a $2 puck of Wal-Mart shaving soap.


Van Der Hagen soap is a widely available, dirt cheap shaving soap. You can get this at almost any drug store in the States. It is, therefore, widely reviled as worthless by the shaving community. However...it isn't. It's actually good. It's pretty DAMN good, in fact, if my shaves yesterday and today are any indication.


The soap is surprisingly soft--when I held the puck, it felt like a slightly warmed cheese...a pink, floral smelling cheese. The particular specimen was Van Der Hagen Deluxe, "for dry skin and heavy beards." Like me.

I got this soap and, as I once read on Shave My Face, I decided to make a shave stick. So I got a shave stick container from JoAnna at The Shave Den, got my puck of VDH, cut it into tiny pieces and dropped the pieces into the shave stick container. a couple of 10-second bursts in the microwave and VOILA! Shave stick!



I tried the soap for the first time yesterday, and I was frankly astonished. I soaped up with the stick and hit it with my Omega brush. The stuff EXPLODED into lather...and it felt really, really good. I used my Tech with a third-shave Gillette 7 O'Clock Permasharp and it was just great. Smooth, comfortable...and moisturized. Not QUITE as moisturzed as an MWF shave, but up there.

And it's only $2. Man. I gotta reexamine some stuff....

Definitely a winner....

It Was a Very Good Week...

One thing about this hobby is, since you can't shave all the time, people make up for it by getting acquisitive...And I am no exception.

I got a whole lot of stuff this week.



This all came in this week, in 4 separate shipments:

WAY TOO MUCH. Four shave sticks, a brush, and blades out the ass.

What's a boy to do?

Shave, I reckon.

The most exciting thing is the Brush.

That's an Omega Professional 10083 model Boar brush (available for purchase, by the way, at Razor and Brush). Stiff and smooth, great for soaps...and smelly. WHEW. Wet pig hair...

I gave it a try this morning, lathering up some Vetiver soap from TSD. A great shave, but a little getting used to--the water control is a bit different from the badger I've been using, but this is definitely a quality tool. The handle is smooth and a bit heavier than I was expecting, as it's an injection molded plastic handle.

People say that Boar brushes are no good with creams, but I'm not sure I agree.

Here are some shots of handlathered Lider cream from Poland.

The brush:


And the Hand:



The lather was very good--it was quite thick, maybe a little dry. But slick and smooth, better than I've been getting with my little badger! I will admit, the brush itself didn't hold a large amount of lather inside it, but I think that with a little more practice this brush will be a lather monster.

And it's only $15!!

Jim's Guide To International Shipping (US edition)

So, I have been getting a lot of "Holy cow, you live in Japan! I can't send you this pack of blades because the shipping will be a killer!" lately, and I'm getting a little frustrated. It's not that I don't understand the concern, it's just that I dislike ignorance in all its shapes and sizes. So, as a service to the wetshaving community, here is Jim's guide to International shipping from the US.


Useful sites: USPS Postal Price Calculator, Online Customs form printer, Oz to Gram conversion table (for those pesky European soaps and stuff)


First, of course, the most important thing to remember about shipping internationally is it's all about weight. This means know how much your product weights, and how much your packaging weighs. This also brings us to the second important thing: pack smart. Don't pack a single razor in a 12x12x12 box--it's unnecessary and wasteful.

Another good point to remember: You MUST fill out a customs declaration on international packages. This is usually the small, green c22 form, printable here (2976). Be sure to write the contents and approximate value--this is used for tax purposes in the receiving country. If the value of the products is of a certain level (differs for each country) the receiver will have to pay duties. It's good to be aware of this, for all parties involved, to avoid surprises. If you are selling the items mark "commercial use", otherwise it's fine to mark "gift".
One note: for soaps, lotions etc. I have heard, and seen on packages I've received, that it's fine to write "toiletries" in the contents box. I am not entirely sure if this is the right thing to do, but my packages have all gotten through with it.

Let's start with a hypothetical example:
I have a Gillette j2 Slim Adjustable, no box or packaging. It weighs 75 grams, that's about 2.5 oz. To ship this, I would:
*Wrap in bubblewrap
*Pack in lightly crumpled newspaper/tissue paper
*Pack in a small (6x2x2) cardboard box. Plenty safe.

The total package weighs in at just under 5 oz. I go to the USPS international postage page and check the price:

*Choose Japan (I tried 8 different random countries, they were all the same rate--but there are a lot of them out there so...)
*Enter the weight (go for 5 oz, just to be safe)
*Calculate.
Price: $4.60 for first class mail international package.

Yes, there are plenty of more expensive ways to ship, but you don't need them unless you have something REALLY valuable, in which case shipping shouldn't be your main concern.

The domestic price? First class mail package: $1.85, Priority Mail $4.80

Ok, so let's talk soaps. Average soap pucks (MWF, Tabac) are 125 grams, or 4.4 oz. These guys are tough, so a simple bubblepack envelope should be enough. Again, 5 oz, $4.60. No worries!

Some real life examples: a single pack of ten blades in the plastic holder, small bubble pack envelope: $1.20
Large box containing 3 shave sticks, a 100 gram block of alum, 45 blades, a pack of Styptic matches (weight 1lb 2oz): $11.95

If we check, we will find that for most packages, international shipping is a little over twice the domestic price. This is not insignificant, but it is certainly not the huge cost that most people seem to think it is.

I hope this helps!

This Gentleman has been Refined...

It's been a big week in my shaving world. I switched from my Tech to a Gillette Slim Adjustable, I got a big shipment from Giovanni at Razor and Brush, including some new shave sticks I'm eager to try out, and last night I got a few free samples from The Gentleman's Refinery--shipped all the way to Japan, might I add!

I reckoned the least I could do was try them out and see what's up.


The Spread:


They sent me four little vials--Preshave oil, "The Standard" moisturizer and two after shave balms--"The Standard" and unscented. They also included three shaving cream samples--"The Standard", "Black Ice (Anise)" and unscented. Unfortunately, I absolutely hate the smell of anise so I'm not even opening that one.

Because the weather is drying out, and my skin has been feeling it, I decided to start last night with the moisturizer before bed.
The Moisturizer:


This is a very, very good product. Really. I put a dab on my hands and spread it around my face, and it INSTANTLY felt smoother and more supple. The cream absorbed into my skin within a couple of minutes, without any tackiness or greasy feeling at all; this is very important to me, as I hate the feel of stuff on my skin--I'm a hand washer. I didn't mind this at all, though.

The smell was pleasant (though the website says it is unscented...must be the essential oils and such?), I thought--sweet and fruity, with a familiar tang to it. My wife, however, didn't like it--she said it reminded her of Chinese herbal medicine. The wife wins on this one, I'm afraid, cause, well...She's my wife. The effects, however, are quite nice. When I woke up, my face felt better than it had for days.

This morning when I woke up, I decided to go try the shaving products. I went for the pre-shave oil (a first time for me), and The Standard Shave Cream and AS Balm.

I did my usual routine, hot shower with plenty of hydration for my beard. Then, I applied a few drops of the oil and spread it around. Using my massive Daiso mug (NOT optimal, I think) I whipped up some lather with the cream.

I am not usually a cream man. I like soaps, and I like face lathering. However, this whipped up nicely into a very slick, very cushiony lather in just a minute or so. My brush is small, but it did a fine job with this stuff.

I lathered up and went for my first pass with my Slim adjustable on 2, running a 3-shave-old Gillette 7 O'Clock Sharp Edge.

Silk. The shave just...glided. I couldn't even feel the blade. I had to keep touching my face to check that I had shaved...and I had. I did a normal 3 pass WTG, XTG XTG shave, and my face felt fantastic. 0 irritation, smooth and soft. My alum went on without a twinge, and then I rinsed and applied the standard AS balm.

The scent on this is the same as the moisturizer, so I'll probably have to move to the unscented for my wife. It went on smooth again, though it took a little longer than the moisturizer to sink in. Afterward, my face felt good...but not stellar. After the hype I'd read about this balm, and the great moisturizer, I was expecting fireworks. What I got was a smooth, fairly well moisturized face (not quite as well moisturized as, say, an MWF face) with none of the feedback of an alcohol AS splash.

I'm going to give these products a couple more days. I'll keep at the same routine for another three shaves or so, and come back to tell you my final verdict. Based on my initial experiences, though, I think I might have some shopping to do....If the wife says ok.