The Artisania Romera Manchurian Badger I was given by Phil of BullGoose is blooming nicely, it is – to dip into poetic turns for a while – unfurling like a flower of joy.

It is already soft like a fluffy cloud, and easily whips up copious amounts of lather – which it is somewhat reluctant to give up.

As part of the amazing care package Phil of BullGoose sent me, I received a Tactile Turn Slider.

It’s a pen that is a somewhat radical departure from what I usually write with, I tend to be a mechanical pencil and disposable ballpoint kind of writer… and the Tactile Turn Slider is a beautifully machined and heavy piece of brass.

Interesting points to note:

• The box it came in is the same kind of box I usually see machinist drill bits and reamers come in, which makes a lot of sense since it comes from a machinists
• The seam between the upper and lower portions of the barrel is not noticeable until you unscrew the pen
• The tolerances of the moving parts are so fine that the top cap acts as a pneumatic buffer when you close the pen, thus stopping the parts from slamming
• The clip is significantly stronger than expected, something I believe will help the pen stay put in my pocket

I’m planning to use the Tactile Turn as my my not taking pen the next few weeks as I attend a class, and will report back later with more impressions.

A little while ago I bought a cheap – really cheap – shaving kit from TGR (aka Flying Tiger Copenhagen) after spotting it while window shopping.

I’ve been using it this week… and it has some good points and some bad points.

The razor is actually pretty good, if aggressive. It’s weighting in at 34 grams with a blade, evenly split between the head and handle. The blade is kept fairly flat, and despite my initial misgivings of the way the blade is secured it’s both easy to align and keeps it from shifting around. For a cheap razor I feel it’s actually a better way to keep the blade lined up than a raised bar in the middle or two undersized pins. The only real downside I can see of the razor apart from it being on the aggressive side is the finish of the wooden handle; the thin lacquer will probably flake off even faster than the chrome of the die cast head.

The brush is indeed boar – as proven by the splitting tips and the initial scent of pig the first time I soaked it. The scent went away after the first shave, and wasn’t really strong enough to put anyone of in my opinion. The knot has good backbone, but is not very dense… so the flow-though is higher than I would expect from a boar. Overall it would have been a decent brush if it hadn’t been for one minor problem…

…well, not all that minor, really.

It’s a shedder. Brush it against your palm, end up with three to five loose bristles. Lather up, then take a minute to pick a couple of bristles from the soap. A quick guestimate is a loss of fifteen to twenty bristles per shave, and I don’t think it’ll stop any time soon… which would be a let down if it wasn’t for the low, low price of the whole set.

The stand and cup is overall OK – not bad, not great, not much to say about it.

Picture time!

Should you get one, either from Flying Tiger Copenhagen or directly from China? Well… maybe. It can be a cheap introduction to traditional wetshaving, and the brush can be replaced with another one such as my BodyShop synthetic. It can make for a half decent travel kit, no one is going to loose sleep if it’s forgotten in a hotel or your luggage is lost with it inside. I wouldn’t get it if you’re into high end razors or want a daily driver in your den though; it’s simply isn’t good enough for that.