Razor: Schick E2
Blade: Personna Injector
Brush: Omega #10048
Pre-Shave: O Way Softening Shaving Cream
Lather: Proraso Menthol & Eucalyptus
Aftershave: Barber No3 Marmara
Additional Care: Alum Block
Shave of the day 21st August 2023
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Author Archives: WegianWarrior
Shave of the day 18th August 2023
Razor: Schick G4
Blade: Personna Injector
Brush: Semogue TSN LE 2012
Pre-Shave: O Way Softening Shaving Cream
Lather: Asylum Shave Works Flying Mango
Aftershave: Barber No3 Marmara
Additional Care: Alum Block
A fast but fine Friday shave – my own fault for snoozing the alarm. Also marks the end of two weeks of using the vintage G4. Next week I’ll shave with the even older E2, before moving on to my pre-injector Schicks.
Quick review: Marmara Kolonya No3 Barber
It has been a while since I did a review. In part because I’ve reviewed most of my shave gear, in part because others tends to do a better job. But I haven’t seen anyone do a review of this Turkish aftershave, so I guess I have to step up to the plate.
The sharp eyed reader will have noticed this aftershave often in my Shave Of The Day posts. I picked it up at my not-quite-local barbershop just before the pandemic, and it has been my go-to aftershave ever since… it meshes well with most of my soaps, and is a safe choice if I don’t feel like picking and choosing between my other aftershaves.
It is not, in my opinion, a particularly complex scent. But it don’t have to be difficult to understand in order to be easily enjoyed. It’s a pretty clean scent, and it does put me in mind of how much I enjoy my infrequent visits to said barbershop.
The base notes are woodsy and spicy – cedarwood and rosemary. Both of which are enjoyable scents by themselves, but they goes well with the higher notes of patchouli – not too much, as it can be a little overpowering – seaweed, and juniper. There are also hits of forests and citrus. The base notes linger on my skin, while the higher notes are well gone before lunch time.
The after shave from Marmara Kolonya contains a lot alcohol, which certainly can feel a bit rough if your razor has left a cuts and nicks. But don’t blame the aftershave for that. Blame your technique. Or your razor, if you’re still using a cart…
It is perhaps not a great aftershave. But it is, to my mind, a pretty good one. A nice, solid daily driver that pairs well with most things and great with some – like a sandalwood soap. And it is inexpensive too, comparatively speaking. I paid roughly 25€ for a 500ml bottle a little over three years ago. At my current rate of consumption, I have aftershave for another five years in that bottle.
You can read more about Marmara Kolonya – both the brand and the aftershaves – on their website.
Shave of the day 16th August 2023
Razor: Schick G4
Blade: Personna Injector
Brush: Artesania Romera Manchurian Badger, imitation horn
Pre-Shave: Prep Original
Lather: Dr Selby Lavender
Aftershave: Barber No3 Marmara
Additional Care: Alum Block
Not exactly midweek madness, more like a Wednesday wonder. A big, fluffy brush paired with the right soap means big, fluffy lather. And that means a big, fluffy shave.
An overly complicated razor
Does a razor need five cogwheels, two axles, two pinion gears, a roller, quite a few pins, a guard, and a blade? I would say no. Frank X George Jr1 on the other hand… he would probably say yes. But then he was the one who filed a patent for an overly complicated razor in 1906.
And why did he do it? To make the blade rattle from side to side…
Or as the patent text puts it:
This invention … has for its principal object the production of a safety-razor or shaving device in which the blade may have a motion simulating that of the razor-blade in an ordinary hand-razor – that is, a motion oblique to the general direction. of the razor.
From US patent 850,529
Another object of the invention is the automatic production of this oblique movement oi the blade as the razor is moved over the face.
There are simpler ways to make a blade shake and rattle. Some even resulted in reasonable successful razors. Others are just gimmicky. But Frank X didn’t make things simple. He seems to intentionally have set out to make a overly complicated razor.
There is a big roller. On the end of the roller is a cog wheel. That cogwheel drives an idle wheel. The idle wheel drives another cogwheel. That cogwheel drives an axle. Attached to said axle is not one, but two crown wheels. These in turn turns two pinion wheels. The pinion wheels are connected to a crank disk with two stud shafts. On the crank disk is a blade clamp. In the blade clamp is a wedge blade – although I can see a GEM-style blade being used as well.
So when the roller is rolled over the skin, the motion is transmitted through the whole gear train and makes the blade move back and forth. Which, as I have pointed out before, is kind of pointless if the blade is sharp. After all, a razor is not a saw.
But pointless or not, Frank X got his patent for his overly complicated razor. I am unsure if it ever got manufactured though. I kind of hope not, as several simpler and less complex razors were already for sale.
You can read the full patent at Google Patents, and also at razors.click.
Footnotes:
- I don’t know what the X stands for. I therefore choose to believe it is the same middle name as Sir Terence David John Pratchett (OBE)2 mentions in the book Maskerade. As he explains it, the X stands for “someone who has a cool and exciting middle initial”.
- Better known to his fans as Pterry or Sir Terry.3
- GNU Sir Terry…
Shave of the day 14th August 2023
Razor: Schick G4
Blade: Personna Injector
Brush: Vie-Long #12705B
Pre-Shave: Proraso Pre Shave Cream
Lather: Prairie creations Walter
Aftershave: Barber No3 Marmara
Additional Care: Alum Block
Digging in the back of the drawer this week – Prairie Creations was an artisan soap maker back when I got into wetshaving as a hobby, who have sadly since closed shop. Walter was her tribute / recreation of the traditional Williams Mug Soap, and while the scent of my puck has mellowed since I bought it the performance has not.
Shave of the day 11th August 2023
Razor: Schick G4
Blade: Personna Injector
Brush: Vie-Long #14033
Pre-Shave: O Way Softening Shaving Cream
Lather: Asylum Shave Works Flying Mango
Aftershave: Barber No3 Marmara
Additional Care: Alum Block
A quick Friday shave before starting the last workday of the week.
Razor drying container
A couple of days ago we looked at a method of increasing the longevity of the cutting edge of steel cutting instruments… or a razor drying container, if you like. But this is far from the only patent for such a useful device. Or, in the case of Patrick Sassano’s invention, abandoned patent application for a razor drying container.
Like Henry in 1918, Patrick in 2013 wanted to make his razor last longer by storing it in a dry spot. Or as the patent text states:
Continue readingShave of the day 9th August 2023
Razor: Schick G4 Blade: Personna Injector
Brush: Vie-Long #13051M
Pre-Shave: Proraso Pre Shave Cream
Lather: Proraso Menthol & Eucalyptus
Aftershave: Proraso Wood & Spice
Additional Care: Alum Block
Another wonderful Wednesday shave. And sort of themed, but not planned as such.
Method of increasing the longevity of the cutting edge of steel cutting instruments
Some patents have long titles. Like this one, from 1918. And despite the mighty wordage Henry T Baker used in the title, it comes down to making your blade last longer. And he isn’t the first, nor the last, who wanted to increase the longevity of the cutting edge. Even if most of them were a bit… cranky. Or very cranky. At least Henry didn’t resort to psudo-science to increase the longevity of the blade.
Continue reading