Completely out of control...

Yeah, I don't even know what to say. These all came this weekend...One big lot, and three individual razors.


This is a tiny little Filarmonica Doble Temple Inox...a sweet litte 4/8 stainless steel blade in some ugly scales.


A Herder...this is a German brand I've been hungry for, and it's a big one, too...Looking forward to restoring it!


Two Feather replaceable blade straights--been wanting to try one out for a while, now I have two!


This is a Japanese made ABC razor...it has a big, beefy blade and two tone silver/blue pearlescent scales. Pretty sweet...


A Filarmonica 14 Sub Cero (Cryo-treated steel, very hard apparently...).


This is a Japanese made razor--again, a nice beefy blade, with some scale damage but a good blade in her.


This is the balde of a Filarmonica 14 Inox. A stainless version of the Sub Cero seen above, with green scales instead of brown. This is the last of the big lot...


This one is a vintage Dovo, made in the 50s or 60s, with GORGEOUS cracked ice scales and a history of pure beauty...I hope to bring a little of that elegance back.


Here's a Burrell Top Flight, an American Razor made in New York State...Again, there is a lot of work here, but I think it will be worth it.


And another brand I've been really looking for, a Case Red Imp wedge. This has seen some polish already, and just needs some finishing up and honing.

There is a lot of restoration to be done, but I enjoy that, and when I think about it--there is a lot of hours of entertainment here! And, all of these razors together still cost less than the Revisor.

Oh man. I have WAY TOO MANY RAZORS.

See anything you like? Make me an offer. jimsama (at) gmail (dot) com.

Seriously.

I'm Back with a Bang...

So it's been an eventful week over here, what with floods, big projects at work, and a mini-vacation, I haven't really been up to blogging much. But Now that things are settling down, I've got stuff to say!


Tsuyu is drawing to a close, apparently...though the 2 feet of rain we've got so far this week would seem to argue against that fact...and I figure it's about time to change things up a bit. Which is good timing, because on my little vacation in the Big City, I picked up some new stuff. Yay new stuff!


First off is a face familiar to most wetshavers, a puck of Art of Shaving Sandalwood soap. AOS is, of course, a famous name in wetshaving and the soap is generally described as excellent. Many people say it's identical to the Valobra Shave Stick, which means it should be a truly great shave soap. The sandalwood scent on this one is not too strong coming out of the box, but that's meaningless...it's on the face where it counts, and I can't wait to give it a try! Especially since I paid WAY too much...I was excited to actually find wetshaving goods in a shop, so my resistance was weakened.

The same thing would explain my next purchase, a BADGER BRUSH!!!! Why would I buy one of these, when I am an avowed Boar lover? Because 1.) It was in a real live shop (see above) 2.) It has a lovely maple handle and 2.) It was really well-priced--about $25 for a 22mm knot Badger brush with a matching stand. I'm still not sure what to do with it, but it's nice to look at! It's from Marks & Web, a Japanese company, which makes me happy. I like finding signs of style and life in the Japanese shaving culture, and they had some excellent smelling and well formulated organic soaps that also caught my eye. I'll probably pick some up off the net before too long.


And finally, there's a new soap: Narcissist for Men Shaving and Facial soap. This is sold by a Japanese company called Tree of Life, which is apparently an Organic/Ayurvedic toiletry company. The soap itself lists its country of origin as America, and the ingredients aren't too far off base: Soap Base (Olive Oil, Palm Oil, and Coconut oil), Bentonite clay, Fragrance, Almond Oil, Castor Oil, Shea Butter and Tocopherol. The olive oil worries me, but again, just finding this stuff made me lose a bit of self control, so it came home with me.

The scent coming off this one is very clean and simple, a touch of cedar perhaps--something like D.R. Harris Marlborough, but not as full or as interesting. I'm curious how it does, and I'll give it a try today.

I'll try this stuff out over the coming week and give you guys a complete rundown--I'm hoping I might have found some new winners!

Also, be on the lookout for the post-Tsuyu roundup, and a new projuct I've just finished up.

Enjoy your shaves!

A Fruitful Week

A major haul this week...including one sweet surprise.

I got all this stuff in the last couple of days:


Not too bad! The two Arko creams(Turkish creams, received form America), the Balea (A German cream...) and the Aqua Velva were in a grab box being passed around over at The Shave Den (hop on, there's still time!) and I am really looking forward to trying them...the Arkos are "Sensitive" and "Extra Sensitive"...I like the sound of that.

The Nivea (another German product) was purchased from Turkey (it showed up 4 days after I ordered it...FROM TURKEY. That's impressive!) based on the recommendation of my Man in Tokyo, Aleks. It better be good! ;).

The two Sweet Almond Oil soaps from Crabtree & Evelyn represent serious infringement of my "Avoid Discontinued products" guideline (let's ignore the Florena, ok?) but it was just so cheap...And it's from Australia! We're spanning the globe, here!

And then the surprise...my ever growing HAD (that's "Hone Acquisition Disorder") took hold of me and I bought a barber hone from a member as SMF without really knowing what I was buying. It turns out to be an "Its a peech" barber hone--one of the smoothest and finest barber hones ever! SWEET! I love surprises.

So, there we are. I have yet to use any of these, but it's just so much fun to have new stuff waiting for me...And of course, I'll share as soon as I get to them.

And then, there are the two Torrey straights winging their way across the sea to me, as well.

My credit card's been BUSY!

And The Packages Come Rolling In...

The results of my shopping spree have started to arrive. It's fun time!

The first to arrive, and perhaps my favorite, is this:
A Beardsley and Avon "Empire" straight razor with a double concave grind...an awesome, enormous blade with so much steel it feels like driving a truck around your face. It's not exactly sharp enough to shave yet, but it will be. Oh yes, it will be. (Pictures from the seller on Ebay).


A closeup of the blade, something I hope to clean up a little bit...but I like the etching. I wonder if there's any way to preserve it?



Next up is another box from good old Mr. Mayhew at Connaught Shaving. A beautiful bowl of dark oak, with a puck of Mitchell's Wool Fat; the bowl is not the best for lathering, but it's a great display piece (bottom right in the picture)


I also got a big old bottle of Paul's Three Crowns Indian Sandalwood Aftershave Milk. This stuff is GREAT for really bad shaves--it soothes and calms like you wouldn't believe.


Still on the way is a puck of D.R. Harris Marlborough shave soap, a container of Bronnley's English Fern talcum powder (Yes, talcum powder. Shut up, ok?) and a bottle of Trumper's Wild Fern EdT.

The last is a bit of a new interest of mine. I've come to be quite interested in scents...learning about "top notes" and "heart notes" and "drydown", the difference between tree moss and oak moss, and whatnot (if you wish to do the same, I recommend www.basenotes.net, a great resource for learning about the world of fragrance. God help me.). And it's all because of Penhaligon's English fern--the first Eau du Toilet I've ever found that I really, REALLY like. And so I got a wee bit obsessed with it...it turns out, of course, to be incredible expensive, and the company is more than a wee bit difficult to deal with. SO I settled for the next best thing, a bottle of Trumper's Wild Fern, a very similar take on the Fougere of legend. And then, of course, I got the Bronnley's talc in English fern to put a little frosting on that old cake of madness.

Streamlining

It's time to cut down. I've been in a frenzy, trying all kinds of products...and I think it's time to settle down.

I've found the razor I want (except when it comes to straights, but I've got that in hand...) and the blades. My Futur is about as good as it gets. I can't imagine anything better, really--I love the design, the results and the feel. So there goes the RAD as far as DEs go...

The blades I've been using, Gillette 7 O'Clocks (PermaSharps and Shar Edges) are darn near perfect; the Swedes I get are good, and the Gillette Super Bleues are great--so that's settled. No need to test any more...I'm comfy with them.

The brush? Omega boar and boar/badger, and Kim Son Horn Handle Silvertip? Enough for any man. The badger/horn aesthetic satisifes any luxury taste, and as far as results go the Omega can't be beat.

My AS needs are MORE than filled, between Nivea Extra Sensitive AS Balm and TSD Aftershave milk...

So that leaves soaps and creams. Soaps, I think, are decided: MWF, Valobra Stick, VDH Deluxe and Erasmic Stick. Cella, I guess, is a soap. I don't need any more than that. The other soaps I 've tried have all been disappointing in one way or anther, so I'm not really looking any more. Creams, however....

Hmmm. The Body Shop cream is aces...I like the TOBs Rose, though I can't use it too much--the scent is STRONG. So I think...I think it's time to look at some creams. Maybe some good English creams...Oh,and there are those Indian ones, as well. And I guess I could use some Castle Forbes...What about the small vendors? Mama Bear, and Saint Charles Shave and Connaught shaving...

Hmmm.... What was that? Cutting down? Who, me?

It HURRRTS us!

Man, my face bugs me. Well, more correctly said it irritates me. Even MORE correctly said, stuff I put ON my face irritates me. I never knew how sensitive my skin was until I started smearing stuff on it and scraping it off with a sharpened piece of metal.


I've blogged about this before...but my face is a bit of a pain. It has reacted badly to quite a few products, and I can't seem to predict what or why. There's another to add to the list, TOBS Avocado Cream. Hurt like the dickens, and it makes me sad because the scent is so fresh and clean...Sigh.

Well, I'm giving up. No more new things, unless I get a sample first. Too many shattered hopes and dreams on that road...too many broken hearts and broken lives...

But at least it gave me a clean shave.

So I'm starting a list: Shit I can't use, and why.
Here it is!

Feather Blades (Too rough and sharp)
Mentholated Medicated Shave Cream (Menthol)
Milk Brand Shave Cream (Menthol)
Institut Karite Shave Soap (??)
Crabtree & Evelyn Sienna Shave Soap (??)
Musgo Real Shave Cream (Menthol)
TOBS Avocado Shave Cream (??)
Ingram Shave Cream (Menthol)


See any patterns emerging?

========

On the straight razor front, I have begun my first dive into honing, sort of. I have a strop pasted with Chromium Oxide, which is a micro-particle abrasive. This very slightly wears away the steel in a straight razor, "refreshing" an edge dulled by use. It isn't real honing, it can only make the edge a touch sharper between trips to the stone, but it definitely improved the edge of the Kropp I messed up in my ignorance.

You live, you learn! And once my REAL stones get here (BBW/Coticule Combo, and a Vintage Barber Hone) I'll be rocking and rolling, baby! I can smell another AD coming on!!!

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?

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: