Repacking the GoBag

A major drawback – or benefit, depending on your point of view – of my line of work is that I sometimes gets to be away from home for extended periods of time… sometimes I know in advance, sometimes I don’t.

As mentioned before I keep a GoBag ready at all times, even if the contents vary from time to time. The newest addition now is my travel sized bottle of Thayers Witch Hazel, utilizing the space freed up by switching to a smaller bottle of body wash / shampoo. There is something of a challenge to getting the most comprehensive piece of kit into the smallest possible space; akin to what the participants in the Herioc Age of Antartic Exploration had to deal with – only less glorious and less cold.

Shave of the day 13th February

Pre-shave:Dr Bronners Liquid Orange Soap
Lather: Mike’s Orange, Sandalwood & Black Pepper Soap
Brush: Vie-Long 14033 horse-badger brush
Razors: Merkur 39C and Parker 22R, both with a Wilkinson Sword
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, alum and Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum

Review: Mike’s Natural Soaps

I’ve been a fan of Mike’s Natural Soaps for quite a while now – ordered my first soaps from him almost a year ago – but writing up a review is hard simply because it’s near impossible to do the soap justice.

I’ll admit it up front; Mike’s Natural Soap is one of my favorite soaps – if not THE favorite. Part of it is the pure performance – great glide, great cushion, don’t leave me dry… but part of it is also that all of Mike’s soaps performs the same. It don’t matter if it’s his Orange, Cedarwood & Black Pepper or his Barbershop – they are all good. Apart from the scent they might as well be one large soap – it’s just that consistent.

Whipping up some lather with Mike’s soaps is easy as pie for me – soak the brush, swirl over the soap for twenty, thirty seconds before switching to the bowl and building the lather for real. The latherbuilding is also where the scent really gets released; and while some of the samples I ordered from Mike’s isn’t my favorites, he has several really good ones – I think my favorite might be his Orange, Cedarwood and Black Pepper soap, which reminds me of orange soda…

Since I put in my first order, Mike has started selling his soaps in tins as well as twist-up shave sticks. They work as well as the bars, but with the added bonus of not having to provide your own container to keep the puck in.

Mike’s Natural Soaps gives a great shave and wont leave your face dry. It also comes in a great many fragrances, and Mike’s samples are most generous if you want to try several. What’s not to like?

Shave of the day 11th February

Pre-shave: Pure glycerine soap
Lather: Crabtree & Evelyn Sandalwood Soap
Brush: TSN 2012 LE horse-badger brush
Razors: Merkur 39C and Parker 22R, both with a fresh Wilkinson Sword
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, alum and Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum

A very nice shave, and a great way to start the week.

Superlather

The term “superlather” is sometimes used to refer to a combination of shave stick and cream. I discovered it more or less by accident a couple of months back, and have slowly been experimenting with it.

While I’m not done yet, the preliminary findings are fairly clear: using both shave stick and cream gives you a lather that is dense, rich and above all thirsty – plenty of water is needed to make it work.

Shave of the day 6th February

Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Liquid Peppermint Soap
Lather: Lea shavestick
Brush: BodyShop synthetic
Razors: Merkur 985CL with Wilkinson Sword
Post-shave: Cold water rinse, alum and Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum

On the Go, so shaving from the GoBag. Not my most relaxed shave, but can hardly put the blame on the tools – DFS.

Playing with plans for 3D printed razors

Or rather, learning the skills to describe an object in OpenSCAD.

If I can manage to describe an item – such as this simple baseplate for a DE razor – as a collection of cylinders, boxes and arches, it can in theory be made on a 3D printer or CNC machine.

Shave of the day 1st February

Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Liquid Orange Soap
Lather: Orange EO Shave Soap
Brush: Vie-Long 14033 mixed horse-badger
Razors: Cadet TP-01 OP and TTO-13, both with a “Flying Eagle” blade
Post-shave: Cool water rinse, alum, and Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum

Going orange today – got a DFS too.