Out with the old, in with the new…

…as long as the ‘new’ isn’t cartridge razors – they work for some, but not for me.

It is the time of year when most people gets a little introspective, wondering how they measured up to their own standards the last year and how they can improve their performance in the year ahead… the time when one is most likely to reexamine ones goals in life, and make resolutions that will be broken within a few weeks.

Unsurprisingly, it is much easier to say one is going to do something than to actually do it.

It is also – at least up here in Norway – the darkest time of the year.. the sun is coming back, but it will be weeks or even months before the sun comes back.. but as it was pointed out to me a few weeks back when I was even further north; you don’t really learn to enjoy the sun and summer until you lived through a dark winter.

So.. here I stand. The old year behind me, the new ahead of me. Looking forward to brighter times, and without any resolutions other than to keep on shaving, keep on enjoying it, and keep on telling you all about it.

Happy New Year everybody – take care of yourself and your loved ones.

Shave of the day 28th December

Razor: Yaqi Mini, red & black
Blade: Persona Platinum
Brush: Vie-Long #13051M
Lather: Mike’s Natural Soaps Orange, Cedarwood & Black Pepper
Aftershave: Myrsol Aqua De Limón
Additional Care: Alum Block, BullDog Original Beard Oil, & Pereira Shavery Boomerang Beard Comb

Turned boxes with lids

As a small Christmas present for two of the younger members of my family, I decided to turn a pair of small, lidded boxes – vaguely mushroom shaped. Very vaguely…

Norwegian spruce wood. construction lumber (4×4), sanded to 240 grit and finished with nothing more than mineral oil.

Shave of the day 26th December

Razor: Yaqi Mini, red & black
Blade: Persona Platinum
Brush: Omega #10048
Lather: Dalan d’men Energenic and a touch of Oway softening shaving cream
Aftershave: Barber No3 Marmara
Additional Care: Alum Block, BullDog Original Beard Balm, & Pereira Shavery Boomerang Beard Comb

Another Pereira Shavery crowdfunder

Pereira just finished – successfully I might add – a crowdfunder for their unbreakable shaving bowl, a crowdfunder I backed myself so I could have a second bowl in a lovely bright green.

This time Pereira is offering up a hone for cartridge razors and an optional leather sheet for storing your razor in while travelling or at home. The kit looks really nice, and looking at the size and mode of operation it should work just as well for DE and SE razors too.

Check out their video, and then check out their campaign.

Wonderful present

My beloved wife – who is the one who suggested I look into traditional wetshaving to begin with – got me a wonderful present for the holiday; a tiny, cutesy Proraso travel kit. It has the most adorable little boar bristle brush, a rebadged Omega 50068 (unless I’m mistaken – definitely an Omega though).

For comparisons sake, the last photo shows the diminutive brush next to my other Proraso branded Omega brush, my 10048. It’s sooooo tiny, and sooooo adorable!

Shave of the day 24th December – Christmas Eve

Razor: Yaqi Mini, red & black
Blade: Persona Platinum
Brush: Semogue TSN LE 2012
Lather: Pereira Shavery Orange Blossom w/ activated charcoal
Aftershave: Proraso Liquid Cream After Shave
Additional Care: Alum Block, BullDog Original Beard Oil, & Pereira Shavery Boomerang Beard Comb

Til árs ok friðar!

Yule is upon us…

Like so many others, Norwegians feels the need for a mid winter bash or feast. Today we call it Jul (a word using the same root as the English Yule), but the basic concept is in other times and places known as Midwinter blot, Yule, Mōdraniht, Dísablót, Kwanzaa, Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, or many other names. The basic concept remains the same; throw a big party at the darkest time of the year and hope that the sun takes the hint and starts to come back…

In Norway Yule is celebrated on December 24th. The midwinter celebrations are a direct continuation of the old midwinterblót, given a thin christian veneer when Norway was christianised a millennia ago – but our habit of throwing a party when the sun turns goes back way beyond our written history, and well beyond our sagas and mythology. I can easily see the very first people who settled here having a celebration when the sun turned, 8-10 thousand years ago.

I wish everyone a God Jul and a Godt Nytt År – or as they would say a millennia ago;

Til árs ok friðar!

Shave of the day 21st December

Razor: Merkur 39C Slant
Blade: Persona Platinum
Brush: Gustavo Rimano Manchurian Badger, imitation horn
Lather: CRSW Glide Morning Ghost
Aftershave: Barber No3 Marmara
Additional Care: Alum Block, Gentlemen of Sweden Original Beard Oil, & Pereira Shavery Boomerang Beard Comb

PS: For those wanting a nice, unbreakable bowl from Pereira Shavery, there is less than two days to support the crowdfunder – and there are still a few of the limited edition green bowls available as far as I can see.