Category Archives: History

Keep HIM FIT with a “COMFYKIT”

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The ComfyKit is – or rather was – the most complete kit on the market. Or at least they claimed to be.

I have to admit one thing; I would love to have this kit today when I’m travelling for work or on the Go.

Everything a soldier (or sailor) could need while serving in the field or aboard – including space for writing supplies to write letters home. You can see some photos of an original Nathan Comfykit here.

If anyone offers quality reproductions of these – preferable filled with the gear – I’m seriously tempted to get one. It’s a more complete solution than the Khaki Kit.

Simple pleasures

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A repost from another blog of mine, from 2010 – with some pictures from other posts added

It is something very satisfying to whip up your own lather before shaving… to see a tiny bit of shaving cream and a few drops of water turn into a nice, thick, rich and nice smelling lather. The slightly cool feel as the eucalyptus and menthol lather first touches, and then covers, most of the face – and then taking it off with long, controlled strokes with my old fashioned safety razor. A quick splash of water, and then the sting of the alum as it finds the small nicks and scratches that I couldn’t see in the mirror.

It don’t matter if the lather cup I use is a bright pink snack bow from Ikea. It don’t matter if my brush is a reasonably cheap one from Body Shop. It don’t even matter that my bathroom is a ‘three toilets, three showers’ shared ablution container that – frankly – is a bit run down. What matters is that it’s five minutes of ManTime, and a link to my more or less daily routine at home. Try that with a spray can full of foam and plastic razors with five blades…

It might just be me…

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..but the grin on the guy in the old Listerine Shaving Cream advertisment screams “I was just thinkin’ about skinnin’ you like a deer!” and/or “I would wear your face like a mask as I do my little kooky dance!”.

An odd and interesting shaving bowl / scuttle

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Again a few photos I found online; this time of a glass shaving bowl/scuttle of a design I’ve never seen before. As far as I can tell it’s a vintage item, but it must have been an unusual design even back when since I’ve not seen anything even remotely like it before.

The possibility do off course exist that the site I found it on is simply wrong, and that its intended use was not shaving… but if so, I have even less of a clue what it might be for.

Going medieval

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More old brushes

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A poster / advertisement for shaving brushes I found online, age unknown. The similarities with the brushes from the US Civil War I posted last week should be obvious; high loft, a ‘neck’ between the handle and the brush proper, and in some  cases the use of string to secure the knot.

At the same time we can see the development of the modern brush; shorter loft, use of rubber cement and glue to secure the knot, and less pronounced necking.

Brushes to pasture

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Quite a long time ago – well, before mid May 2012 at least – I picked up a couple of cheap and cheerful “horse hair” brushes from a Turkish online shave shop. About one year later I PIFed the No6 to a new wetshaver and got myself the “new and improved No6“. Since then both the new No6 and the No7 have been in my rotation, and given great service despite costing about the same as a small cup of coffee each.

I have however decided to retire both… the No7 is starting to develop a bit of a gape in the middle (I’ve been accused of abusing my brushes; I twist and swirl in the soaps), and even if the No6 haven’t I feel that it has served well and deserves a rest – in part since I got plenty of other brushes I can use, and want to use.

So like my Yuma which I retired earlier this year, these will go on the shelf for now… perhaps to be taken down at some point for old times sake.

Like the YUMA these brushes prove that when it comes to traditional wetshaving, inexpensive don’t mean it’s not good enough. And for a beginner – as I was when I bought these – inexpensive can be a lot more gentle on both the wallet and the mindset of the shaver.

Razor and blade as “pocket litter”

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Been without WiFi for a couple of days, so this post is backdated
The term “pocket litter” it a technical term in military intelligence; it is quite literary the stuff you find in captured soldiers pockets. And one of the things you can find is shave gear…
I was reading a very interesting article on German WW2 pocket litter, and realized a couple of thing when I saw this photo:
In the bottom row there is a pack of razor blades, a razor and a loose razor blade. There is a possible shaving brush in the top row, and a mirror more or less in the middle of the table. Even soldiers in the field wants a shave I guess.

Aftershave for dapper men

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Find one problem

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Go ahead, I’ll wait until you spot it…

…let’s just say that I don’t think gramps was carrying that water himself, judging by the drawing.