Razor: Gillette 1958 TV Special
Blade: KAI stainless
Brush: Vie-Long #13051M
Lather: CRSW Glide Morning Ghost
Aftershave: Myrsol Formula K
Additional Care: Alum Block Big Red Beard Oil
Shave of the day 26th March
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Shave of the day 23rd March
Razor: Parker 22R
Blade: KAI stainless
Lather: Aubrey Organics North Woods
Aftershave: Body Shop Macau Root Energetic Face Protection
Additional Care: Alum Block & Big Red Beard Oil
The patent for the Goodwill – or rather; the Probak
Have a look a this Gillette Goodwill razor (picture found at Mr Razor’s site), paying special attention to the top cap:
Now; look at what Mr Henry Jaques Gaisman patented and later transferred to Gillette Co LLC, covering both the shape of the blade and the manner in which it was secured in the razor:
Look at the top cap, with the square cut-outs and corner posts. Look at the Goodwill again. Looks remarkable similar, do they not?
I do believe this is the patent that gave rise to the Goodwill – well, technically to the Probak.
Probak, I hear you say?
Turns out that the DE blade we know and love today isn’t really a Gillette blade, but the result of an attempt to work around Gillette’s patent on the three hole blade.
Mr Gaisman designed a blade that would work in his proprietary Probak razors (with oddly shaped studs – there was at least eight different base plates and top caps with different shaped studs) as well as in Gillette’s razors; but none of his razors could not accept a Gillette three hole blade, thus neatly sidestepping the patent.
With Gillette working on a similar concept at the time – using a slotted blade – the resulting patent conflict ended when Gillette bought out Probak Corp (and their parent company, AutoStrop Co). The stock of Probak razors were given away or sold cheaply (sources differs) as the Gillette Goodwill, and that is the name they are known under today.
To wrap things up, lets look at a Probak advertisement and compare to today’s DE-blade:
Apart from the shape of the middle hole – the X-shaped hole creates a lot of corners that ‘trap’ stress in the metal – the blade design is unmistakably Mr Gaisman’s, and not Gillette’s. And I only learned the story behind that because I found an old patent online… funny how things work sometimes.
Shave of the day 21st March
Razor: Parker 22R
Blade: KAI stainless
Brush: Omega #10048
Lather: Prairie creations Walter
Aftershave: BullDog Oil Control Moisturiser
Additional Care: Alum Block & BullDog Original Beard Balm
An interesting old Ever-Ready brush advertisment
One thing is the neat looking vintage packaging shown in the advertisement, another and more intriguing thing is the cross sections. The “less honest” brush with the plug shows a way of using less hair in a brush of a given diameter that I’ve not even imagined before… I just assumed less dense brushes were simple less well packed.
Makes you wonder about the ‘glue plug’ one sometimes sees in cheap grocery store brushes over here… is it big because manufacture and quality control is sloppy, or to hide the fact that it’s a loosely packed brush?
Shave of the day 19th March
Razor: Parker 22R
Blade: KAI stainless
Brush: Semogue TSN LE 2012
Lather: Prairie creations KISS
Aftershave: Nivea Cooling After Shave Balm
Additional Care: Alum Block & Big Red Beard Oil
Blade: KAI stainless
Brush: Semogue TSN LE 2012
Lather: Prairie creations KISS
Aftershave: Nivea Cooling After Shave Balm
Additional Care: Alum Block & Big Red Beard Oil
Shave of the day 16th March
Razor: Cadet TTO-13
Blade: KAI stainless
Lather: Rise Shave Gel
Aftershave: Proraso Liquid Cream After Shave
Additional Care: Alum Block & BullDog Original Beard Oil
European vending machine safety razor
Some weeks ago I was made aware – through a post on my favorite shave forum – of the fact that you used to be able to buy double edged safety razors in vending machines in Europe up until the early 1980’s. Despite living in Europe – well, Scandinavia – this was news to me. Granted, I didn’t start to shave until the late eighties, but still… possible they were only available in Germany; at least that is the one place I can find references to actually seeing one.
Sadly, apart from some pictures I found online, I know virtually nothing about this one apart from that I can gleam from the photos.
So what do the pictures tell us?
- It’s cheaply made, for starters – both the top cap and base plate is stamped sheet metal.
- Top cap have a riveted screw to secure it to the handle, pressed ridges for added strength, as well as half punched out “hanging chads” for locating the blade.
- The base plate is likely made from a simple stamping die – one punch and done.
- The handle seems to be the one part that has any ‘real’ machining done to it – it’s likely made from hexagonal stock, with one end rounded off, the other turned down to a cylinder and tapped for the screw thread.
- The handle is likely the most durable part of the razor – found one shaver online who like to use it with modern heads due to the weight of it.
I wish I know more about it… or even had one. If I had access to a half decently equipped metal workshop I could probably make some – as could any semi-decent machinist with a small press and a lathe – but there is no marked for a semi-disposable DE razor in this day and age.
Shave of the day 14th March
Razor: Cadet TTO-13
Blade: KAI stainless
Brush: Gustavo Rimano Manchurian Badger, imitation horn
Lather: Crabtree & Evelyn Sandalwood
Aftershave: Myrsol Aqua Balsamica
Additional Care: Alum Block Big Red Beard Oil
Cold River Soap Works’ Glide Morning Ghost Cream – initial thoughs
Recently I got PIFed a tub of CRSW Glide Morning Ghost Cream Soap – thank you again Ricardo, for thinking of a European cut off from american artisan soaps by steep postage and import fees – and so far I’m pretty impressed. The scent is unique among my soaps; it’s my only vetiver soap so far.
If my fellow shavers on my favourite shave forum is anything to go by, Larry at CRSW have pretty much nailed it with the formulation for his GLIDE base – everyone seems more than pleased by the soaps qualities as a shave soap – the scents are more of a VMMW, but I can say with confidence that as far as my nose goes (and my Better Half’s too) he nailed it with Morning Ghost – I can’t speak for his other scents.
My first attempt with it taught me two things; load sparingly, and it’s a thirsty soap. Thick, heavy, slick lather, almost like putting toothpaste on… great post shave feel though, so thumbs up there.
Second go around was with more water and less soap, yet the lather was still thick, heavy and veeery smooth as I painted it on. The scent really opens up when it’s on the skin by the way.
Third time I think I dialed in the water fairly nicely, and loaded lightly too. Still got an explosion of creamy, lovely and smooth as cream lather.
So… is CRSW Glide worth getting? I would say a definite yes – it’s different than any of my other soaps, but in this case it’s good to be unique. If you can get your mitts on some, do it.
Is the Morning Ghost worth getting? Scent is definitely one of those Your Mileage May Vary things, but both my Better Half and myself agree that Morning Ghost is a pleasant scent. Not to heavy, not to light. Down to earth wood and citrus. I like it, and you might too.