A wonderful care package

As the sharp eyed reader might have spotted, the last couple of my SOTDs have featured the Williams Mug Soap, which I got as part of a care package from a friend and gentleman from my favourite shave forum.

In addition to the soap – which he offered to ship since I haven’t had the opportunity to try it previously – he put a lot of other welcome items in the box as well.

A lovely bevy of samples – allegedly taking up space in his drawers, but a windfall for me.

  • Four samples of Saponificio Varesino after shaves; Cubebe, Dolomiti, Tundra Artica, and Manna Di Sicilia
  • A sample of Esbjerg shaving cream
  • A sample of Stirling Soap Co’s Barbershopw shampoo bar
  • four B&M aftershave samples; two Reserve Cool, one each of Reserve Classic and Reserve Spice

Add to the soap and the samples a nice selection of blades; Med Preps, Lab Blues, Israeli Personnas and Crystals. From what he tells me the Med Preps and Lab Blues might be similar, so I’ll be sure to do some compare and contrast between the two – perhaps load up my Gillette Old from the my Khaki Kit with one and my Gillette Single Ring with the other and use them on opposite sides of my face?

And in addition to all that – which was already beyond what I was expecting – my friend found it in his heart to add a GEM G-bar, also known as the Heavy Flat Top. I do enjoy GEM and other vintage Single Edge Razors, and I am beyond excited to add the G-Bar to my rotation.

So a big thank you and shout out to Charlie – both for his friendship and for the box filled with joy!

Shave of the day 22nd June

Razor: Schick “Lady Eversharp”
Blade: Schick Injector
Brush: Vie-Long #12705B
Lather: Williams Mug shaving soap
Aftershave: Barber No3 Marmara
Additional Care: Alum Block & Gentlemen of Sweden Original Beard Oil

Shave of the day 19th June

Razor: Schick “Lady Eversharp”
Blade: Schick Injector
Brush: Wilkinson Sword Badger
Lather: Williams Mug satsing soap
Aftershave: Barber No3 Marmara
Additional Care: Alum Block & BullDog Original Beard Balm

The Williams Mug Soap is gift from a gentleman shaver over on my favourite shave forum, generously sent to me after I mentioned that I had never given it a go. My initial impression is that the soap isn’t nearly as hard to lather as I’ve been led to believe, although my soft water might have something to do with that.

Shaving patents, advertisements, history, oddities, reviews, book, and more…

Just a reminder; if you enjoy reading my snarky commentary on old shaving related patents, old (and some newer) advertisements, shaving history and other shaving related oddities… I have collected the vast majority of links on a separate page here on my blog.

I also have a page that acts as a very basic introduction to the various styles of safety razors for those who are new to the hobby, and a page where I got almost all of the reviews I’ve done over the years collected.

And if you enjoyed my writing on patents, I have also committed a book you can read offline that is available both on Kindle and as a paperback.

Shave of the day 17th June

Razor: Schick “Lady Eversharp”
Blade: Schick Injector
Brush: Vie-Long #14033
Lather: Palmolive Sensitive w/ aloe vera + Prep cream
Aftershave: Barber No3 Marmara
Additional Care: Alum Block & BullDog Original Beard Balm

A new blade for a new razor – but not the blade we use today

Advertisement that ran in the United Farmers of Alberta, Vol. 9, no. 7 (Apr. 1, 1930)

In 1930 Gillette’s new blade – the one with the slot – went on sale, and looks almost like the one we use and love today. Almost, but not quite… since today’s blade is the descendant of the blade that originated with the Probak razor. There differences are slight, and the lawsuit, counter-lawsuit, and corporate takeovers were… complicated. In the end Gillette bought AutoStrop (who owned Probak), but the real story on who gained control of who is something I have not dug into too much.

Luckily Glenn Conti over at the Gillette Adjustable Razors site have done just that, writing a wonderfully detailed analysis of the whole thing. Well worth a read.

In the mean time, enjoy the advertisement for the New Gillette Blade that didn’t quite make the cut.

Shave of the day 15th June

Razor: Schick “Lady Eversharp”
Blade: Schick Injector
Brush: Vie-Long #13051M
Lather: Crabtree & Evelyn Sandalwood
Aftershave: Barber No3 Marmara
Additional Care: Alum Block & BullDog Original Beard Balm

Shave of the day 12th June

Razor: Asylum Shave Works Evolution
Blade: Feather Hi-Stainless
Brush: Omega #10048
Lather: Arko Shavestick
Aftershave: Barber No3 Marmara
Additional Care:   Alum Block & BullDog Original Beard Balm

Tatara Masamune – a review

As I mentioned a little while ago I was lucky enough to receive a open comb Tatara Masamune stainless razor as a gift from Tatara Razors, and – as the ones who have kept track of my SOTD posts will know – used it continuously for three weeks with three different blades. Given that experience, and some time to think, what follows is my opinions and review.

Continue reading

Shave of the day 10th June

Razor: Asylum Shave Works Evolution
Blade: Feather Hi-Stainless
Brush: Semogue TSN LE 2012
Lather: Wet Shaving Products Pre-production Sample
Aftershave: Barber No3 Marmara
Additional Care: Alum Block & BullDog Original Beard Balm