If you ask the average person around where I live what Colgate makes, the answer will be toothpaste. A hundred and eleven years ago the answer might have been shaving cream. Or shaving powder. Or even shaving stick – Colgate did all three according to this 1912 advertisment.
Continue readingRazor: Parker 22R
Blade: Astra Green Brush: Semogue TSN LE 2012
Pre-Shave: O Way Softening Shaving Cream
Lather: Crabtree & Evelyn Sandalwood
Aftershave: Barber No3 Marmara
Additional Care: Alum Block & Barbossa Organic Sandalwood Beard Oil
A mighty midweek shave with wood tones. A woody Wednesday, if you like.
Recently I’ve been enduring a major bathroom renovation. As in tearing the bathrooms down to studs and redoing everything – pipes, wiring, walls, the works. Which was needed – the old waste water pipes were cast iron and almost rusted out – but still left me shaving out of the GoBag for several weeks.
Now, I do change out what goes in the GoBag ever so often. But even so it is a limited palette. Doubly so when comparing to the fairly big rotation I normally have – 25+ razors, sevenish brushes, and I don’t even want to count how many soaps and creams. But, to harp on the point, for several weeks my palette was a single razor, a single brush, and two soaps. Oh, and an aftershave and a preshave.
Continue readingRazor: Parker 22R
Blade: Astra Green
Brush: Artesania Romera Manchurian Badger, imitation horn
Pre-Shave: O Way Softening Shaving Cream
Lather: Taylor of Old Bond Street Peppermint
Aftershave: Krampert’s Finest 80 Below
Additional Care: Alum Block
A rather minty Monday shave, using the very same razor that started my journey into traditional wetshaving.
Razor: Gillette Old Type
Blade: Astra Green
Brush: Vie-Long #12705B
Pre-Shave: O Way Softening Shaving Cream
Lather: Pereira Shavery Baron’s Choice
Aftershave: Epsilon for Men Scottish Spirit
Additional Care: Alum Block
A quick Friday shave 🙂
In 1887, Mr Arthur Henry Wallace of Houghton, Michigan came up with what he described as a new and useful improvement in shaving apparatus. And by shaving apparatus, Wallace clearly meant a doodad to hold and heat a brush.
Wallace’s doohickey was compact enough to be carried in a pocket or stowed away in a satchel. It would, he claimed, fulfil all the requirements for which it is intended. As long as the requirements is limited to forming a water reservoir, having a lamp to heat it, and having a built in shaving brush that wouldn’t touch the table when you put it down…
Continue readingRazor: Gillette Old Type
Blade: Astra Green
Brush: Vie-Long #12705B
Pre-Shave: O Way Softening Shaving Cream
Lather: Asylum Shave Works Frankincense & Myrrh
Aftershave: Asylum Shave Works Frankincense & Myrrh
Additional Care: Alum Block
Another enjoyable shave. Life is grand, y’all!
At about the same time as the original Gillette safety razors were offered for sale, Henrie Clauss filed a patent for a spring loaded hoe razor. It was a reasonable straight forward razor, using a single edged Christy-style blade. So let us have a look at what made it stand out from the crowd.
Like so many razor patents, the patent text describes the invention as containing “new and useful improvements”. And while it might have been novel – or at least novel enough for a patent – I’m unsure of the usefulness.
Continue readingRazor: Gillette Old ca. 1921
Blade: Astra Green
Brush: Vie-Long #13051M
Pre-Shave: O Way Softening Shaving Cream
Lather: Pereira Shavery Orange Blossom w/ activated charcoal
Aftershave: Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum
Additional Care: Alum Block
First shave in redone bathroom!
Memorial day is upon us, and while I’m not in the US I do realise that a lot of my readers are.. and Memorial day is both the start of summer and a log weekend. So to help y’all pass the time in the sun, I’m offering free copies of my second book.
From May 26th and until May 30th you can go to Amazon (US, UK, or wherever) and grab a free Kindle copy of
