Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Peppermint
Lather: The last of my Arko Cool Mint shaving cream
Brush: Vie-Long #13051M unbleached pure horse
Razor: GEM 1912 SE with a GEM SE blade
Post-shave: Cool water rinse, alum, and Proraso Liquid Cream After Shave
Beard care: Big Red Beard Factory Balm and Big Red No7 Beard Comb
To quote myself from a post I made over at my favourite shave forum:
If the brush whips up a good lather and it feels okay on your skin, then it’s a good enough brush in my book – a more expensive brush will feel better / last longer / look better, but it won’t shave better.
With that in mind, here is my current brush collection minus my travel brush* and shaving-at-work brush** (click the pictures to make them bigger). None of these are budget breakers, and all of them makes great lather and feels great-to-good on my face.
*) A lovely Omega 50014 boar
**) An okayish Body Shop synthetic
Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Peppermint
Lather: Mike’s Natural Pine & Cedarwood Soap
Brush: Wilkinson Sword Badger brush
Razor: GEM 1912 SE with a GEM SE blade
Post-shave: Cool water rinse, alum, and BodyShop Maca Root Face Protector
Beard care: Big Red Beard Factory Oil and Big Red No7 Beard Comb
CARE OF THE FACE AFTER SHAVING.
Most men who shave themselves seem to think that when they have removed the beard, they have nothing further to do. This is a great mistake. They undervalue the importance of a proper treatment of the face. A quick and easy way of caring for the face after shaving, is to remove the lather by a thorough washing, then to apply either witch hazel, bay rum or some other good face lotion, and to follow this with a small quantity of talcum powder, evenly applied. This is probably about all that the average man will usually find time to do.
In order, however, to keep the skin in a healthful condition, a little more elaborate treatment should occasionally be given. We recommend the following: Wash the face thoroughly to free it from the lather, and then apply a steaming hot towel, as hot as can be borne. The heat and moisture draw the blood to the face, open the pores, and set up a healthful action of the skin. Next apply witch hazel, and finally give the face a thorough massage. There is no other treatment so beneficial to the skin. With many persons the flow of blood to the face and scalp is very sluggish, because of enfeebled or slow heart action; and in consequence, the many small arteries and capillaries become clogged. Massage stimulates the circulation, and brings the blood from the inner centers to the surface, filling the many minute capillaries just underneath the skin, thus producing a tonic effect, which gives the skin renewed vigor and health.
What to do for a Cut.
If a man cuts himself while shaving, it is usually due to certain causes that are easily avoidable. The principal causes are six in number:
First—Attempting to shave with a dull razor.
Second—Using a sharp pointed razor.
Third—Shaving with a razor that is too hollow ground, so that the edge springs and bends on the face.
Fourth—Holding the razor improperly.
Fifth—Shaving upward against the growth of the beard.
Sixth—Shaving in too great a hurry.
If you will avoid these mistakes and exercise proper care, you will seldom cut yourself. But when you do, it will be well to know how to treat the wound. If it be slight, the bleeding may sometimes be checked by using pressure. Covering the fingers with a towel, simply press the cut together. If this does not stop the flow, use an astringent. The styptis pencils, made especially for this purpose, are the best, and may be obtained at any store where barbers’ supplies are kept. In case you should not have the pencils, alum may be used. In any event do not be discouraged, for such accidents sometimes happen to the best barbers.
Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Peppermint
Lather: Arko Cool Mint shaving cream
Brush: Turkish No7 ‘horse hair’ brush
Razor: GEM 1912 SE with a fresh GEM SE blade
Post-shave: Cool water rinse, alum, and Thayers Original Witch Hazel with aloe vera
Beard care: Big Red Beard Factory Balm and Big Red No7 Beard Comb
Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Peppermint
Lather: Mike’s Mixed
Brush: Omega #10048 boar brush
Razor: Yuma razor with a Super-Max Stainless
Post-shave: Cool water rinse, alum, and Thayers Original Witch Hazel with aloe vera
Beard care: Big Red Beard Factory Oil and Big Red No7 Beard Comb
A few months back I got my hands on an old soldier – thanks to a fellow gentleman over at my favourite shave forum – and I’ve put the old warrior into use again when I take to the field. He don’t live in my GoBag, but I use him when I’m away on training and when I’ve to spend the night at base.
I’m talking about my Gillette Khaki Set, off course. The serial number marks him as a mid 1918 production, and the single button enclosure he lives him is usually encountered with the first Khaki Sets manufactured for the US Army when they got entangled in the Great War.
The razor itself is a “typical” Old Type Ball End, and the handle has suffered the all too typical crack, without degrading the experience or making the razor less excellent. To me it simply highlights the fact that the old warrior is getting close to a hundred years old, and I actually decided against repairing it for now.
My kit is overall definitely “user grade”: the mirror has gone AWOL at some point, which apparently detracts from the collectors value of the kit… good thing I’m not collecting, but using it. The blade holder is still in great shape, as is the enclosure itself. The print on the inside of the flap has worn a fair bit, but is still legible with the help of a bright lamp.
The Razor itself is a reasonable mild razor, at least when paired with a blade such as the Perma-Sharp Super. The ball on the end of the handle makes it somewhat tail heavy, which could help people new to traditional wetshaving keeping a low pressure. The chequering on the handle is still sharp, which helps with gripping the razor with slippery fingers – being from too much lathering or from the mud of Flanders… even if you’re not in the marked for a Khaki Set, I can definitely recommend a Gillette Old Type.
Value – priceless, given the history.
Quality – high for the whole kit, having been around for almost a hundred years and still in great shape.
User friendliness – uhm.. it’s a three piece razor, how can it not be user friendly?
Grip – as mentioned, great after all these years.
Blade replacement – again, it’s a simple three piece razor.
Aggressiveness – midrange, despite some claims online that the Old Type is aggressive.
Balance – heavy in the tail
Overall – a good razor in a great kit.
Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Peppermint
Lather: GzD shave stick
Brush: Turkish No6 ‘horse hair’ brush
Razor: Yuma razor with a Super-Max Stainless
Post-shave: Cool water rinse, alum, and Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum
Beard care: Big Red Beard Factory Balm and Big Red No7 Beard Comb
My GzD shavestick came with no wrapper, other than a card board box. For a while I had it wrapped in parchment paper, but that got messy when I started to wear it down… so for almost a year now it has languished in a Tupperware, half forgotten. Finishing off a deodorant however changed all that:
Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Peppermint
Lather: Arko Cool Mint shaving cream
Brush: Vie-Long #13051M unbleached pure horse
Razor: Yuma razor with a fresh Super-Max Stainless
Post-shave: Cool water rinse, alum, and Krampert’s Finest 80 Below
Beard care: Big Red Beard Factory Balm and Big Red No7 Beard Comb
