Every invention seeks to solve a problem. In the case of John T East’s shaving mug, the problem was that of unsanitary shaving mugs. Or, to use a less technical term, icky soap.
According to John, the soap would fit snuggly in a regular mug, and thus get moist and soft, and, well, icky. Or in the words of the patent;
Continue readingThere has been a great many travel brushes thought up throughout the years. They range from simple ideas like my Omega 50014, via oddities like Michel Charles Blondin’s plurality of flat elements, to neat ideas like Marcus B Berhman’s collapsible lather brush. So Archer G Jones was in good company when he patented a retractable brush suitable for shaving and make-up.
Continue readingAs you might have gathered by now, I am the lucky owner of both a Type A and two Type B Schick Magazine Repeating Razors. And given that the Schick Type D was the first Schick that were like today’s injectors, in that it used an external magazine with a key, you might wonder how to load a Type A or a Type B (or even a Type C).
Well, no worries.
Continue readingWhat if you had more readily access to a brush or a suitable soap while shaving? And what if this more readily access was in a form that was convenient, compact, water proof, and adapted to be carried in your pocket or traveling bag? Well, fear not. William H C Taylor have you covered, with the shaving kit he got a patent for in 1925.
Continue readingAs mentioned last week, I just received a Type A from down under. And I already have a Type B (two, actually). And as I pointed out when I posted pictures of the Type A, the square hole didn’t align neatly with the head as it does in the Type B.
Which means, logically, that there has to be a difference in the head geometry between the two models. In the Type B, the blade has to be parallel with the sideway of the razor. In the Type A, it ought to be inclined somewhat. And that should be possible to see in a side-by-side comparison.
Continue readingRazor: Schick Type A
Blade: Personna Injector
Brush: Artesania Romera Manchurian Badger, imitation horn
Pre-Shave: O Way Softening Shaving Cream
Lather: Pereira Shavery Shaving Cream w/ Activated Charcoal
Aftershave: Barber No3 Marmara
Additional Care: Alum Block
Taking a new-to-me razor for a spin is always exciting. The Type A should be fairly similar to the Type B, but the head geometry is subtly different. More on that tomorrow.
No, not that G-man. Not those G-men either. The other one you never heard about before today.
Some toiletry kits are small. Some are so big they can double as a pillow. But the combination traveling case and toilet table patented by Roberta R Thornhill is the first I can recall that came with its own table.
Continue readingAs I mentioned last week, the self-feeding shaving brush is an idea that won’t die. But while most of them, from 1849 onwards, have used a piston to force soap into the knot, Richard Burton Waterman’s soap-feeding shaving brush was different.
I mean, the idea of pushing soap straight into the knot is the same. But he did it differently. Possible even better.
Continue readingThe fountain brush – or self feeding brush – is one of those ideas that just won’t go away.
Previously we have looked at a 1849 self feeding shaving brush, another self-feeding shaving-brush, a shaving brush suitable for travel and home, a soap-dispensing shaving brush, a fountain shaving brush, the Warner self-soaping brush, and more.
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