Category Archives: DIY

Brush, Experimental, version Alpha

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Allow me to present the “Brush, Experimental, version Alpha” – or “X-A” for short.

The knot is inexpensive Chinese badger from source who seems to mostly sell budget make up brushes and wigs. The handle is a piece of two-by-two construction lumber, good Norwegian spruce most likely, that have been ageing in my shed for a few years now. The finish is a mineral oil and CA glue finish, which – if my sources online can be trusted – should be at least somewhat water resistant.

It’s a 19mm knot with a “free loft” (above the handle) of approximately 55mm. The handle itself is about 45mm tall and 40mm in diameter… perhaps a little chubby, but the main objective with “Brush, Experimental, version Alpha” is to see how the knot works. Since I fully expect and even plans to de-knot it at some point and transfer the knot to a future “X-B”, the knot is set in place with bathroom caulk as suggested in a thread on the Shave Nook.

Finishing the handle took quite some time – not because it was particularly hard to turn, but I had to procure some Forstner Bits, thin CA glue, and not at least find the time in between everything else that have been going on.

Used my punch set to stamp an A on the bottom. What I’ll do when I have not just made versions Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and so on, but also versions Ærlig, Østen og Åse… well.. I guess I have to get some punches with numbers on. Or a laser engraver… either way it’ll be a long time before that point is reached.

The actual knot itself is fairly soft, with a bit of backbone and a pretty decent face feel for not having been broken in. It honestly feels better than my Wilkinson Sword Badger did before I broke it in… but miles away from the lovely Artisania Romera Manchurian Badger that I got from Phil at BullGoose Shaving. To me it’s a pretty decent little lathererer, good for an inexpensive brush or for a beginner wetshaver who don’t want to sink too much money into a new hobby. It’ll be fun to see how the knot develops, in this handle and the ones that are sure to follow.

Gents… I’ve taken the first step on a new shaving related journey… I have NO idea where I will end up 😀

Slumming it – experiments with various types of soaps and no brush

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Last week I was running a little experiments; lathering soap without the benefit of a brush, as well as trying more common soaps – basically just put soap on face, rub to lather and shave with a BiC disposable. This was in part inspired be a comment someone made a few weeks ago on my favorite shave forum, partly inspired by curiosity (the things I do sometimes…).

First I tried with my trusty Arko Shavestick; result were a very thin layer of lather little less cushioning than when I use it with a brush, but quite acceptable – if you’re used to canned goo at least.

Second out was using Prairie Creations’ Goat Soap hand soap. Results were… okay, if you’re not used to proper shaving. Thin and patchy, didn’t want to stay put on my face. Glide but no cushioning at all. Something like a cream soap might have yielded better results, but I used the bar I had handy.

Last out was my regular shower gel… and I have to admit, the shave was slightly better than the hand soap, and almost on level with one of my brushless creams; glide but no cushion, and no post shave effect at all. I know people who shave in the shower with shower gel, and after giving it a go I pity them.

As to summarise… well, apart from the “what am I doing?”, it shows that you can shave with virtually any soap… it just wont be as good as a proper shave.
If you’re going on an extended hike and can’t find the space to pack a brush, a stick of Arko can suffice to give you a half decent shave while doubling as a general soap – while a general soap likely wont do double duty as a shave soap. But if you’re that hard up for space, why bring a razor?

Getting ready to fly – carry on shave kit for long layover

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Work is sending me on a long course far, far away.. so I figured I should be ready if I found a nice restroom during my almost eight hour layover (my job buys the cheapest tickets):

From the left: A sample-sized cologne, a sample-sized face moisturiser, one of my old BodyShop Synthetics, a disposable BiC Sensitive, what is left of my Lea shave stick, and a sample-sized Lea after-shave balsam (already half used up) – all packed in a see through plastic  toiletry bag, ready to be checked by security at the airport.

Still playing with plans for 3D printed razors

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I am slowly – very slowly – getting to grips with the skill of using OpenSCAD to describe things. So far I’ve managed to come up with a ‘parametric’ file, where I can alter a variable or two to create different versions of the same object. And while the two extremes might be way too mild or way to harsh to shave with, the one in the middle might work reasonable well…

Playing with plans for 3D printed razors

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Or rather, learning the skills to describe an object in OpenSCAD.

If I can manage to describe an item – such as this simple baseplate for a DE razor – as a collection of cylinders, boxes and arches, it can in theory be made on a 3D printer or CNC machine.