Five Thousand Formulas for Druggists

Before I start, and I shouldn’t even have to say this, a druggist isn’t a fellow (ab)using drugs. A druggists a US term for what the rest of the world would commonly call a pharmacists. So the title of this book – and this post – really ought to have been Five Thousand Formulas for Pharmacists. Except that the Era Formulary was indeed printed in the US back in 1893, so druggists it is.

And the reason I bring it up – in addition to, y’know, cool old book – is that among the five thousand formulas are some shave related ones.

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Shave of the day 21st June 2023

Razor: Gillette Slim

Blade: Shark Super Chrome

Brush: Brush Experimental Alpha

Pre-Shave: O Way Softening Shaving Cream

Lather: Arko Shavestick

Aftershave: Barber No3 Marmara

Additional Care: Alum Block

SOTD 2023 06 21

A quick midweek shave, with a shavestick moshed into a tub and a brush I made myself. I should get the lathe out again and make some more.

BullGoose being sued – a new danger to the community

I recently received a slightly unusual update from Phil. Normally he sends out offers for new soaps, news on new razors, and all the fun stuff. This one is a lot less fun… double so since this also seems to be why the ShaveNook – my favorite shave forum – suddenly disappeared.

I’ll quote the newsletter in full:

A parasitic low life is trying to sue us for $25,000 claiming that the Bullgoose website is not ADA Compliant. He apparently makes his living by shaking down businesses and as of last week, he had 188 open ADA cases against other businesses.

Rather than settle, we have decided to fight this legalized extortion. Someone needs to draw a line in the sand and stop this scoundrel. Please help our fight for justice by placing an order. Anything helps in this crazy time.

From Phil’s newletter

While I am all for making websites accessible, this do not appear to be the goal of the plaintiff. As a matter of fact, my own cursory research using a free online tool seems to indicate that the BullGooose Shaving Supplies website is ADA compliant or mostly so.

There is a wider danger here though. Most shops and forums catering to our hobby is small operations, usually run on a shoe string budget and by people who isn’t up to dealing with a lawsuit. So litigation like this pose a real risk – small shops, artisans, and forum administrators may well opt to shut down rather than try to fight a legal battle.

The state of the shave den

Every so often, someone will post a photo of their shave den. Shiny tile, elegantly laid out shaving accoutrements, tasteful decorations… the whole nine yards. Usually the only things missing is a tastefully pastel towel and some antimacassars artfully hung over the back of the toilet.

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