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.
Continue readingSo a while ago I picked up a NOS Gillette from the classifieds, and the knowledgeable gents over on the ‘Nook tentatively identified it as a airplane give-away kit. Which makes sense given the fact that it came with just two blades. For simplicities sake I’ll refer to it as the Airline Tech in this post.
One of the first things to look for on a vintage Gillette is the date code. Or, in the case of this razor, the lack of a date code. Which is okay, since the internet tells me that a lot of British Techs didn’t have them, and this razor is clearly made in England.
Continue readingRazor: Gillette Old Type “Khaki”
Blade: Lord Classic
Brush: Omega #50014 Travel
Lather: BEA Shavestick
Aftershave: Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum
Additional Care: Alum Travel Stick
New month, more shaves from the GoBag.
Between 1908 and 1914, Edward Weck was granted four patents which, when taken together, creates a full on shaving system centred around a shavette – a shavette system if you want. Interestingly enough, this was around the same time as another shaving system was patented. And much like Clark’s system, Weck’s shavette system contained a razor, a blade, and a way to package the blades. Weck also came up with a stiffener, to make the blade stiffer.
Continue readingRazor: Gillette Old Type “Khaki”
Blade: Lord Classic
Brush: Omega #50014 Travel
Lather: BEA Shavestick
Aftershave: Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum
Additional Care: Alum Travel Stick
Another day, another outing for the 105 year old Gillette from my Khaki Kit.
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 readingRazor: Gillette Old Type “Khaki”
Blade: Lord Classic
Brush: Omega #50014 Travel
Lather: BEA Shavestick
Aftershave: Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum
Additional Care: Alum Travel Stick
Still shaving from the GoBag at work. The military chin can’t have changed much over the years, because the Gillette Old out of the Khaki Kit still gives a smooth, nice shave.
There 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 readingRazor: Gillette Old Type “Khaki”
Blade: Lord Classic
Brush: Omega #50014 Travel Brush
Lather: BEA Shavestick
Aftershave: Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum
There is something oddly satisfying in breaking out a 105 year old khaki service set – made for a doughboy during the Great War – and have a shave at work.
As 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 reading