On the road

I'm out of town, but I'm loaded for bear.

I'm headed to the volcaninc landscape of Mt. Aso in Kyushu...hot springs, dairy farms and famous chimpanzees.

I'll be trying out MWF with my Duke 3, and a nice little J2 Schick Injector. I'll be in touch.

To the Lava!

My Preeeecioussss....

I got a new toy! A New SHINY toy! Wanna see it? Huh?



Well...let's see...



Pretty paper!
I wonder what's inside?


It's a box! A wooden box!
And like Pandora, I open the box...


It's STEEEELLL!!

I got me a new Japanese straight. It's a shaver, not a collector, so it's in the lower range of Japanese razors...I didn't feel quite up to spening $300 on a Handcrafted Iwasaki. But it's still fine steel...

Yay!

Fools Rush in...

something something something...

I have jumped into the straight razor pool with both feet.

That's not a pretty image, is it?

I started out simple. I picked up a Double Arrow off of eBay. $9.50+$4 shipping to Japan. Not shave ready, but not a huge investment, so I could afford to tinker with learning to hone.

Of course, to learn to hone, I need a shave ready monster to give me an idea of what to aim for. Soooo...I picked up a shave ready vintage Kropp off of B&B.

And, of course, I need a strop, so I picked up a cheap one from a guy on SRP.

And Now I'm looking for hones, a pasted paddle strop, and a book on care and feeding of straight razors....and I've never even touched one yet! I wonder what's next?

The fuse is lit, kids, and I feel like Slim Pickens at the end of Dr. Strangelove... I plan to ride this baby to the bottom!
Yeee HAAAWW!!!!

Review: Kim Son Brush In Use

This will be an ongoing commentary on how this brush performs in use. I will update a few times before making a final judgment in a couple of weeks.

So, let's see how she goes...


The First Lather...



So, I started out using this brush with a test lather. I used TBS MACA Root Cream in a bowl, just to see how it worked--I'm a face latherer by nature, so bowls aren't my bag, usually.

I snurdled in the bowl, wet the brush in the running sink (no soak this time) and shook it about three times. I started to lather--and it just exploded. I didn't need to add any extra water to make a good, slick cream. However, as you can see from looking at this lather in the picture, it maybe could have used a touch more work with the brush, but like I said...I'm not a bowl latherer.






Here is the knot after use, still wet, with more bloom:



No shed hairs on this lather.

*****

The First Shave...(Christmas!)

For my first shave with the brush, I decided on Cella Crema Da Sapone. I don't have any good soap pucks right now, so this was the closest I had to a soap--they load similarly, but when my VB Luxury Shave Soap gets here, I can give a better indication of soap performance.

I soaked the brush while I showered (I know this isn't necessary for Badger brushes, but some people do it, and this is a test so I went for it.) After my shower, I shook the brush out a good four times, getting all the excess water out, and loaded the brush. I had no problems getting a good load of soap on the bristles. They have a good backbone for this--I don't anticipate any big problems with soaps. After loading, there was one hair left in the Cella.

For the shave, I face lathered as it is my main MO. And...this was a very pleasant brush. The bristles were smooth and soft, with no hint of scritch or scrubbiness at all. It was stiff enough to lather the crema with no extra work, and made a good lather quickly. I personally found it much easier to use than the Shavemac Silvertip I tried, which was much silkier, but (or therefore?) much more difficult to gauge as far as water content and loading goes.

I had to dip the bristles once, as I might have overshaken the brush in the beginning, but it was overall a very easy, intuitive brush to use, and exremely comfortable.

I got enough lather to last for 3.5 shaves, though I had to squeeze the knot a bit for the last touch up pass.

Another hair was shed when I was drying the brush on a towel after the shave, for a total of 2 hairs shed.

Nope, nothing wrong here!

(Sorry I didn't get any pictures of the shave, but I don't like the idea of using the Camera in the bathroom...)

***
Second Shave...(Dec. 26)

Switched to Castle Forbes Lime Oil Cream today, love the smell. Again, face lathering after the shower. I didn't soak the brush today, just let it get nice and wet, and the performance was the same as yesterday. It holds a lot of water, but is fairly easy to adjust.

Today, I kind of felt that the density was a bit low for my tastes. Holding the knot with thre fingers, like they teach you in the barber books, my finges really sank in. It's not a big problem, as the hairs hold up pretty well in the lathering, but it is there...

The knot doesn't splay out too much, and it hilds a nice big god of lather for your shave.

3 Hairs shed today--I still don't think it's anything to worry about, but if it continues too long it might be a problem.

Last update this week...Be back next year with a thorough report!

***

Dec. 27--I know I said I'd be back in a week, but I got a puck of Vintage Blades Soap yesterday, so I had to give it a try.

Great lather, easy loading--no problems with soap! Again, this brush seems a little too soft, maybe not dense enough, for me. I like a stiff brush, with lots of backbone. But it's got more backbone than the Shavemac, though it isn't as dense.

1 shed hair today.

***

Dec 28--2 hairs shed. A little weak with MWF...hmmm....

Special Review: Kim Son Horn Handle Brush **UPDATE**

A Vietnamese company, Kim Son Handicrafts, has recently gotten into the shaving brush game, and they sent me a sample of their work to review. Here are my first impressions.

I got this brush in the mail today from Vu Kim Son. Vu represents Kim Son Handicrafts, a company specializing in handmade genuine horn products. The have a huge range of products, from shoehorns and combs (which Vu also generously included) to pistol grips and razor handles.

Kim Son has been making brush handles for some time, having done work with Savemac in Germany on custom brush handles (Correction: Apparently, the custom brush was for SRP, NOT B&B. Sorry about the mixup.), and now they have begun supplying complete brushes in Silvertip badger.

But enough talk, here it is:



This is an attempt to give you a view of the darker side of the handle. The handle is a lovely marbled horn--just beautiful.



Another view, with different lighting, showing the lighter side. The Knot here is just out of the package--it was rather tightly bound, so it hasn't bloomed at all.

It is quite a large brush--here it is in comparison with some other brushes I have; a Simpsons Duke 3 (which is 92mm tall, with a 23mm knot) and an Omega Travel 21047 travel brush (a TINY boar brush):



Here's the knot after some rest and a little blooming, from above:


It's rather dense. It feels firm to the touch, with a bit more bounce-back that the only other silvertip I've tried up to this point--a 23mm Shavemac; it seems to have a bit more backbone, but is not as densely filled. The hair might be of a slightly lower grade than the Shavemac, I'm not sure.

Vu says that his knots are sourced from India, which is unusual. The knot looks fairly dense and has a nice springy feel to the hand. I haven't tried it in the shave yet, but I am looking forward to it tomorrow. I've also sent some specific detail questions to Vu, and will post his answers when I get them.

**UPDATE**
Here are my questions, and Vu's answers.
1. What knot size is this brush--that means, how wide is the hair where it goes into the handle? 23mm? And can you make other sizes?
The Knot size is 23-21 mm the wide of hair could do custom follow customer.

(Ed. I need to measure this...it looks like the knot is closer to 25mm to me.)

2. How tall is the brush total? How tall is the handle, and how tall is the hair loft?
About the tall , I don’t measure when I send them but your samples is standard . Let me discuss with my father next day.

(Ed. I just eyeballed with my trusty pink plastic ruler--it looks like the brush is just under 11 cm tall, with a 49mm handle and a 58mm loft...!!!)

3. Where (what country) did you get the hair from? Was the knot (this is the word we use for the hair in the brush) hand tied, or machine tied?
The hair come from Asia , specially from India and I also looking for best resource . As you know, I do business with 1st is quality and customer feedback not the big sale. Later in the email, he also said that the source uses hand tied knots, as per his request.

4. Can you make brushes in different grades? There is silvertip, Pure Badger, Best Badger, etc.
Of course , I could provide Silver Badger , Pure or Best Badger . But I think the horn handle come with the Silver badger is the best because my supplier said the silver badger is the best quality. I will listen your comment and put the option for customer choice when they order. They could choice the Silver , Pure , Best etc.



My initial impressions are, on a purely visual level, very favorable. I will be making periodic updates with my progress with this brush, and giving a final verdict in a couple of weeks, so please check in often!

L'Ultima Setola...

So, I've been working on getting a custom Boar brush made up. Why, you ask? Because they told me I COULDN'T!!!

L'Ultima Setola will be the culmination of all of man's hopes and dreams, from the earliest days of recorded history, mankind has dreamt of a quality boar knot in a quality, custom handle.

I have made it my goal to see this dream come to life.

I have made the first step. Due to a generous donation from a member at The Shave Den forum, I got an Omega brush and removed the knot.


This is an Omega 10048, I believe.

Here's the removed knot.


It's set in plastic...we'll see if that needs to be removed.

The next step is to get it off to Rodd, of knotty badger fame, to get the custom handle turned and the knot reset.

And then, Valhalla AND Nirvana will be within reach!
Hail the might boar!!!

A Rose by any Other Name..

Wow. So, I finally tried a top shelf English cream. Man. I can see the appeal!


Taylor's of Old Bond Street Rose. Fantastic stuff.
The scent was a bit on the strong side...lathering up it felt like someone had stuffed a bouquet of twelve long stems up my nose. And the pink is, well....pink. But the lather! I whipped enough thick, cushiony lather for 4 passes--USING A BOAR BRUSH! No nicks, no cuts, no razor burn and a DFS. It was almost too easy!


Of course, I just came off a term of using Cella Crema da Sapone, which is also a fantastic product. Lovely Almond smell, rich creamy lather and smooth shaving. It's been a good week!



This whole shaving this is just great!

Best Stay Away, It's Catching...

I caught this shaving disease from some random comment (NOT EVEN A POST!) on John Scalzi's blog Whatever, and it has rapidly taken control of my central nervous system. Now, my poor poor friend in Scotland has become infected with the same dread plague....Be careful, for you may be next.

Apart from the acquisitiveness, apart from the obsession with shaving that leads me to try it twice a day, apart from the almost insane amount of attention I am paying to my skin these days, it is the intense progression of the disease that frightens me. Me, who until very recently spent 4 minutes a day with a buzzing electric beast against my face, am now taking twenty minutes with a brush, soap and mind-numbingly sharp blade to scrape away my whiskers...and just now, JUST NOW, I found myself reading a guide to straight razor shaving.

STRAIGHT RAZORS!!!! Folding KNIVES that you drag across your skin! By all that is holy, what has happened to me? And how did this new thing come to me, this new symptom of the shaving measles?

By reading the Goddamned Internet...just like YOU ARE DOING RIGHT NOW!!!



So, does anyone have a half-hollow solingen and a strop they'd like to sell me?

Back in the saddle again!

Ok, so things are back to normal on the vast open plains of my face.

On the recommendation of a good friend, I returned to the warm, wooly bosom of Mitchell's Wool Fat, and the lanolin did work a charm. My face feels better after last week's shenanigans, and shaving is once more a pleasure.

What's more, the very day that my last drop of that sweet, sweet TSD Aftershave milk went, I got a new shipment in. This time Old Spice Type, Bourbon Vanilla and Mayan Gold (I couldn't resist...it's just so tasty!). I wasn't sure about the Old Spice, but my wife seems to like it so there you go.

I also got in some shave soap from Susie's Bubbles--Citrus Sage with Shea Butter and Honey Almond with Goat's Milk. The scents on these soaps is something else. Sweet and fragrant....like candy. I'll let the MWF take care of me for a few more days, and then see how these guys shave. Thanks Suzie!

In other news, I am working with the famous "Swede".


No, not that one...

Gillette Super Platinums, commonly known as "Swedish Gillettes", are some of the priciest, and well loved, DE blades around. They are reputed to be smooth, sharp blades that last forever; one gentleman of note claims that he got 30 good shaves out of one--and, as most good blades give about 5-6, that is something else. I find them sharp, but smooth...hmmm. I'm not ready to give up on my yellow/green 7 O'Clocks yet.

So that's the current state of affairs. In the near future, expect an extended series of Brush reviews as I get a silvertip in a hand-carved genuine horn handle from Kimson Handicrafts in Viet Nam, and a pre-Vulfix Simpsons Duke 3 to try out. Yay!

Takin' 'Er Easy...

You might have noticed, if you are very perceptive, that I haven't updated my "Daily Shave" for a couple of days. The reason is, this was a hard shave week for me. I didn't want to tell you , well, I didn't want anyone to worry. No, no, I'm ok, please, don't cry...It's just, well...I have some bad news.

Since I started shaving with a brush, soap and a DE razor, I have found that my skin is WAY more sensitive than I ever thought it was. I don't know if this is a thing that was always true and I was never in a position to notice it, or if it's caused by all the random things I've been doing to my face for the past couple of months, but there have been some...issues.

First, there were the infamous Japanese Shaving creams...Enough said.
Then, things went ok until I tried the Feather. Bad news, but not too bad.
Smooth sailing for a while, improving technique, getting better supplies, and then BANG! Institut Karite happened.

IK is billed as a soap for sensitive skin, gentle and loaded with moisturizing shea butter. When I read about this, I drooled..."MMMmmmmmm" I said, "Buuuu-tteeeeer..... SO I acquired some (4 pucks actually...) and tried it. It burned me. And when I sayburned, not like "Oh, my, that's slithly irritating..." but more like "Dear god, I can't touch my face for two days...".

And that, I think, is where it started. Because I couldn't let it rest. I had to keep scraping that sharpened steel across my face. In the process, I learned that C&E Sienna is also a No No (Dammit! I LOVE the scent!). And now, this last week, I think I did another bad thing.

This last week I tried a Gillette Super Platinum from India, in the black pack. It was sharp. And I just kept scraping. And my skin kept getting rawer. What's worse, I kept putting Musgo Real on it...Musgo real is another one of those products I was drooling after, an old fashioned European cream, loaded with lanolin and a lovely green scent (It is also a fantastic latherer, and gave a great shave...if you aren't sensitive to it, I highly recommend it). But it is also lightly mentholated, and at the end of my third pass it left my skin raw and painful. Not enough to make me give up right away, but eventually I realized there was no way I could continue using it. Just oo much irritation.

I used it for four shaves, with the Blackpack, and...well, let's just say that last Friday my face said "Stop it." I got 5 nicks and serious burn from my Swede, which hasn't happened to me for ages. So yesterday and today I did not shave. Even though I got some new Cella Crema from my mom for Christmas. Even though I have unopened soaps waiting for me. I gotta let it go. For now.

But I'll be back.

I feel special!

So, a while back, when I first got into this gig, I sent an Email to Omega, the boar brush company, asking for information about their brushes, and wondering about how to get a brush "for review purposes" (hey, I was new!). Looki what they sent me!


I got what has to be their ENTIRE sales catalogue, with posters, brochures, sales info...all their professional brochures! It's nice, in that old-fashioned Italian barbershop kind of way. And, of course, I found something I want. Several somethings, in fact...

So, Thanks Omega! And well done, I'm gonna buy!

Yeah...

It was the Williams.


The blade is sharp, and not quite as balanced as the yellows, but yep...yesterday's fiasco was very likely the Williams.

Hmmm...might not even be worth the trouble of trying it again.

Ouch...

Tried out a new shave set today...Williams Mug soap and Gillette 7 O'Clock Blacks. Things...didn't go well...


It was my first time with both the soap and the blade. I'd heard good things about the Black:

That it is sharper and smoother than the Yellow's I've been using, which I love. Well, after today's shave I certainly think the first is true...Luckily they had a few pints in my type at the blood bank...

As for Williams.

Hmmm. I don't know what to think. That's the problem with introducing two new elements at the same time--you don't know which one blindsided you. Either that Gillette Black is a monster, featherlike in its deadliness, or Williams gave me all the benefit of shaving with warm spit. Either way, today's shave sucked the big one.

Ok, so, the blade nicked and cut and burned me. The soap lathered (apparently) fine. Not quite as slick as I like, and the scent was a bit off for me; reminiscent of ARKO, though not quite as penetrating. I don't know what I should do...I want to give this pair a good try, but I DON'T want a repeat of today's performance. Maybe I should switch out the Williams for it's brother-in-bargainhood (Williams is about $1 a puck), VDH, and let the Black have another go at my face. Let's just hope it's bloodthirst was slaked with this morning's sacrifice.

Yeah, let's do that.

Productive Product Reviews: Auslese Trocken Skin Conditioner

Icy winter is just around the corner, even in balmy Hikari. It snowed today, and the wind blew dry and searing. It's time to get serious about a topic vital to everyone: MOISTNESS!!!!

I gets some mighty dry skin in the winter, and although my TSD Aftershave milk does a good job of taking care of my skin, I feel like I should use it more sparingly as it is an import...and imports are special.

So, when I was standing in the drug store the other day with some yen burning a hole in my pocket, and the men's skin care shelf passed before my eyes, I took an interest.
In this:


Look at that. What a bottle. What style. Man, that is one PRETTY bottle of skin conditioner. I couldn't help but pick it up. Reading the back, it looked like this was a soothing, slightly medicated moisturizing lotion for use after washing or shaving--just what I was looking for.

Ingredients (Maybe, this was a tough one...):
Dikalium Glycyrrhizin (Anti-inflammatory), d-alpha tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E), Aloe Extract, dipropylene Glycol, Water, Ethanol, Ethylhexyl palmitate, methylphenylpolysiloxane, Polyoxyethylene, Polyoxypropylene decyl tetradecyl ethyl, Cetanol, Carboxyvinyl polymer, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Sodium hydroxyl, Polyacryl alkyl, Trisodium Edetate, Propylene Glycol, Paraben, Fragrance

The "Trocken" in the name is, in keeping with the Auslese, German. It means "dry", as in "dry white wine" or "dry sherry". Dry as in not sweet, slightly bitter...And the label says that the scent is "A gentle, non-sweet fragrance..." There's a whole line in this scent, Colognes, AS Lotions, Hair Tonics, and I had such good results from the Original Auslese I figured this was a good bet.

So I got that puppy home and took her to town.

My first reaction when I opened the bottle was, "What scent?" This is a SUBTLE fragrance. Even when applying it, I could hardly make it out--it was like walking into a room that had just been occupied by someone wearing a very tasteful cologne. There's a touch of floral scent to it, perhaps Rose or Lavender, but it is fleeting, and almost imaginary. Subtle. Not a reason to buy this product, but a nice touch.

The product itself is VERY thick; the shaker on the bottle is almost too small, it's kind of hard to get anything out, but that's fine. As with most milks/lotions, a little goes a long way. The product absorbed fast and did not leave any sticky or oily residue. Plus.

Now, as for the effects...Hmmm... This contains Aloe, which is good, it is pretty soothing after a bad shave (luckily, I don't get those too often, it as it goes, I got one today...) and it calms razor burn pretty well. However...it really isn't moisturizing enough for me. It is better than nothing, and certainly better than an alcohol based splash, but in both the soothing/healing and moisturizing aspects, it is not quite to the level of the TSD milk, which is my gold standard. It's better than The Gentleman's Refinery Aftershave Balm, in my opinion, if that helps, but not immensely.

I will use it as a moisturizer at night, to save my AS Milk, but it won't be my daily-use aftershave.

So, with an almost imperceptible scent, and slightly above mediocre results, I can't wholeheartedly recommend Auslese Trocken Skin Conditioner. But man, WHAT A BOTTLE.

Behold, a Stick Is Born!

I love me some Mitchell's Wool Fat. Great, great soap. Lovely smell, fantastic shave, excellent skin care. It was my first soap, and remains my favorite. However, I have found that since I first started this shaving bidness, I prefer shave sticks to soap pucks.

What's a boy to do?


Put the two loves together!

Inspired by a thread on B&B about turning a Tabac Puck into the highly coveted Tabac stick, I went to work on my battle-scarred puck.

First, I shaved the puck down into slivers using a vegetable peeler. I dropped the slivers into a glass bowl and tried a little "double boiling". The heat and steam softened the slivers a bit, allowing them to be reformed. I dropped the slivers into an empty "twister" deodorant stick and tamped them down with a marker. I added a few drops (DROPS! not splashes) of water now and again to add to the softness. Soon, I had this:



A MWF STICK!

After the stick set for a while, I tried it out.

Unfortunately, the soap set up too hard in the stick,and the twist-action broke when I tried to use it. I had to cut the bottom out and push up with my thumbs. Apart from this little mechanical trouble, the soap performs beautifully!

I've shaved with it and the lather was pure MWF. The shaving/tamping caused no permanent changes, and the stick form is PERFECT for lathering this notoriously difficult soap.

Score!!!

A Research Shopping Trip

My Wife and I got a new car (YAY!) and it showed up the day before yesterday. We took a road trip to The Big City, and while we were there I checked out the shaving goods available.

It wasn't pretty.


We went to Kokura, which is a nice big city in northern Kyushu. It's not huge, but it has some major department stores, which are about the only places to find good shaving supplies in Japan.

First, I went to The Body Shop. I was finally able to pick up a tube of their Maca Root Shave cream for 1,630 yen, about $16. Not bad...

Next, to a big department store--Izutsuya. Shaving supplies are usually found in the cutlery sections, cased along with row after row of fine hand-forged Japanese knives. Maybe it's to help justify the prices...Apart from the usual Schick and Gillette multi-blade cartridge shavers, they had ONE DE razor, a Merkur Futur. For 11,000 yen. That's 110 bucks. For a razor that retails in the US and Europe for around $55-$60. Eep.

They also had Merkur DE blades for 825 yen a pack, and a no-name Tanuki hair brush for 7,000. (Their no-name boar was 3000...). Eep again.

SO we moved on, to the big Isetan department store next to the station...which, in the year since we had last been to Kokura, had been bought out by Izutsuya. D'Oh!

The cutlery section again...and there's a bit more selection this time.

There was Futur again (same price as before) and also a gold Merkur Slant Bar.


For 11,000 yen. Which is odd, as the Slant usually sells for quite a bit less than the Futur...

They also had a couple of Plisson brushes. This Pure Black hexagon (Retail 40 Euros) was selling for 12,000 yen:


And this one (I think) for the same price:


Over priced, over priced over priced. I guess products ARE available, if you are willing to pay double the price of importing them from the US or Europe. Thank God for the internet, is all I can say.