Pre-shave: Dr Bronner’s Liquid Peppermint Soap
Lather: Proraso Eucalyptus & Menthol Soap
Brush: Vie Long 14033 mixed horse/badger
Razor: Phillips Philite razor with a Astra Green blade
Post-shave: Cool water rinse, alum, and Krampert’s Finest Bay Rum
Beard care: Big Red Beard Oil (Factory) and Big Red No7 Beard Comb
Scent is slightly overpowering when sniffing the naked puck – much like sticking my nose into the bottle of Krampert’s Finest aftershave – but mellows considerable when lathered.
Not particularly thirsty soap, meaning I have to dial back on the amount of water I start out with. Not a bad thing per see, but something to keep in mind.
Upper tier as far as moisturising and slickness goes, but could in my opinion have a bit more cushioning. Added points for being easy to clean out of the brush, unlike a number of big-name offerings.
So far it’s a definite thumbs up!
Since I have gathered more than a few razors, it’s only fair that I use them all… and to give them equal time, I have set up a rotation:
A – YUMA pot metal razor
B – GEM 1912 SE
C – Ever-Ready 1914 SE
D – GEM Micromatic Clug Pruf
E – Merkur 25C Open Comb
F – Cadet TTO-11 Open Comb
G – Cadet TP-01 Open Comb
H – Merkur 39C Slant
I – Bakelite Slant (most likely Merkur)
J – Merkur 45C Bakelite
K – Gillette ’58 TV Special Superspeed
L – Cadet TTO-13
M – Parker 22R
N – Wilkinson Sword Classic
O – Lord Racer
Not in the photo is my Merkur 985CL travel razor and my Gillette Old Type Khaki – the former is in my GoBag, the later in the locker at work.
I been thinking again, and sometimes when I do that my brain gets stuck on questions I cant answer…
Given that the original Gillette blade was – among other differences – noticeable thicker and therefore more rigid than today’s blades, and that perceived blade aggressiveness is often linked to blade exposure and angle… would an old razor (like, say, a Gillette Old Type from 1918) shave and feel any different back then compared to these days?
King Gillette’s original patent do state the following:
The blade of my razors made of’ sheet steel having preferably a uniform thickness of about six one-thousandths of an inch.
Or in measures more easy to understand; 6/1000″ = 0.1524 mm.
A fair bit of digging online seems to indicate that modern blades are about 0.10 mm thick, or about 2/3rds as thick as the old blade – assuming, off course, that the original blade was as thick as the patent calls for. It’s hard to tell exactly when blades got thinner, but over on another forum I spotted one guy claiming that
[blades] became a lot thinner after that; I have seen blades from the 50’s and 60’s that went from 0.10 to 0.08 and even 0.06mm.
For all I know the increased thinness of the blades could have started sooner, the the modern shape and perforation of the DE blades seems to have appeared around 1930. Going by the patent numbers listed on a US Gillette Blue from 1935, it’s hard to tell… several references to “thin, flexible blade”, but nothing on just HOW thin it is.
When I raised this question on my favourite shave forum, the guy making my preferred aftershave pointed out that he likes SE razors due to their thicker, stiffer blades – which like DE blades used to be even thicker and therefore even stiffer – since they flexes less. I should probably get my callipers out to measure a new and old SE blade, just to see how pronounced the difference really is.
Stiffening of a blade can also be achieved by twisting it in a slant razor, and slants are often considered to be more “aggressive”… even if I personally don’t think my slants are aggressive, just efficient – perhaps aggressive is the wrong term, even if it’s commonly used to denote the opposite of a mild razor.
Making a number of wild assumptions, desperately pulling on what I learned in structural mechanics more than two decades ago, and hoping that this website have got their code right; the old blade ought to be twice as stiff as the current blades – with the biggest caveat being that the modulus of elasticity is the same for the steels used.
These guys offers three hole blades that are a dimensional match for the pre-1929 Gillette blade… and it seems that one of the thickness’s they offer match the old blades. But the blades are made for cutting plastic film, so they will probably be rotten for shaving with.
After all that searching and math, I still have no real idea how a blade twice as stiff would affect the behaviour of an Old Style Gillette… Combining what what we know about SE razors and their stiffer blades with what we know about the torsionally stiffened blades in slants, I’m leaning towards the idea that the Old Type Gillettes using the pre-1929 blades may have been more aggressive than they are with the thinner blades of today.
I may be wrong though, with all the assumptions and guestimates underpinning that idea.
Some time ago I bought some KISS Cream from Prairie Creations, and while I use it only infrequently it is not because it’s a substandard product. On the contrary it’s a very nice cream, but I ordered it with tea tree oil for those days my face needs that.
The KISS cream is simple and straightforward… just as it says on the label. And while it can be somewhat hard to get out of the jar, Krissy sent a spoon along with the jar to help dish it out.
The cream is not tallow-based but the main ingredient is aloe vera juice, so there is plenty of skincare to be had – even more so when combined with the tea tree oil, which is claimed to have antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and antiseptic properties.
Being a rather stiff cream – or possible croap – it can be a little tricky to lather, and in my experience it’s best done in a bowl. It also needs a little more water than you might expect, but once the lather is done it’s working well. Plenty of slip and cushion, and as mentioned the skin care is very nice too. It also stays fluffy – I had to leave my den once to see what the cat was up to, and the lather was just as good when I returned.
Overall I can recommend the KISS cream – it’s simple and straightforward.
PS: Some people online reports a bit of trouble shopping with Prairie Creations; that is the near opposite of my experience. Yes, it can take a bit of time from you order until it’s shipped – but it’s artisan soap, not a big company. It’s worth the wait.
There is more to taking care of ones appearance than a great shave – even if a great shave goes a long way – and one problem many have is dry scalp. Or, put bluntly, dandruff… I suffer from it from time to time – usually in the summertime – but have found a cheap way to deal with it that works wonders for me.
First step is to get some gloves out… because you should go pick yourself a big bundle of stinging nettle leaves. Fresh leaves are best – or so my sources say – and you going to need half a liter of so of packed leaves (that’s a pint or so for those who haven’t gone metric yet…). Grab an enameled or stainless steel pot and put the leaves in, then add about a half liter of water – distilled or bottled water is ideal, but tap water should work fine unless you got very hard water. Bring to a boil, then pull of the heat and let sit until it’s cool.
Once it’s cooled down to room temperature you can simply strain the leaves out and transfer the infusion to a plastic or glass container. Used as a rinse when washing ones hair should help against dandruff – I also mix a little with the shampoo to work it into my scalp. Excess infusion keeps well in the fridge by the way, so you can make a large batch early in the season and keep all summer.
In addition to helping with dandruff, nettle is also commonly held to promote glossy hair – which apparently is why some farmers adds it to the cattle-feed. Nettle tea – preferably with a sweetener – is traditionally considered to be good against many ailments, both internal and external, among them disorders of the kidneys and urinary tract, gastrointestinal tract, locomotor system, skin, cardio-vascular system, hemorrhage, flu, rheumatism and gout.. One should be careful with drinking too much though; nettle extracts can cause increased testosterone levels, and have been used by bodybuilders to achieve that effect.
I was reminded of a post I wrote last september, on the subject of walled gardens…
If you embrace traditional wetshaving, you are using what is – for all intents and purposes – an open source system of grooming: all the relevant patents and so forth is fallen into the public domain, which means anyone is free to start making razors and the blades for them. The only thing you need to achieve success in the marketplace is a good product at a good price… which means a lot of small scale artisans and manufacturers has to be in it for the sake of the customers, since the return on investment will be low.
P&G and the other big multinationals wants us to use their proprietary hardware (and software), which gives them control of the supply and therefore the cost – to the benefit of their bottom line (as should be expected, since they are in business to make money). New cartridges and other gizmos will be introduced regularly, to keep the buyers in the walled garden… by hook or by crook.
Or in other words, people who start a business to create products for the traditional crowd – and I’m thinking the hardware side of things – can often be compared to the people who write open source software. They want to create (and sell) a great product that people with special interests will use.
On the other hand the people who runs a business aimed at the ‘modern’ shaver – and again I’m thinking about the hardware – can be compared to such entities as Microsoft, Apple, and SAP AG… they are in it to make money – and there is nothing wrong about that.
One of the wonders of the internet is that your local paper can be online, giving you local news and stories for free. One of the bigger wonders of the internet is that you can check out the local papers from across the world… giving you an insight into what normal people in places you never heard reads when they have their morning coffee…
Someone over at my favorite shaving forum pointed us to such a story last week – about the local town vicar and his love of classic wetshaving.
…and now I have shared it with you too – enjoy!
Having spent a fair bit of time the bathroom most mornings, shaving my stubble off, I one morning received a revelation: I am a geek*.
Not that it’s a great shock to me; I’ve been pretty sure of my status a a geek since I was in school.
What caused the revelation is that I suddenly grasped what part of being a nerd is: A nerd will pursue an interest in depth, with great enjoyment and with scant regard for what the “normal” people think.** For example; If a “normal” person needs a computer, s/he will buy a desktop or a laptop and use it until it needs replacing. If a geek needs a computer, s/he will end up with, well:
Anyhow, back to my mornings: As mentioned, I was getting the stubble of my face while I was letting my mind drift and enjoying myself immensely. Actually enjoying shaving myself is still somewhat of a novel experience for me, since for the majority of my adult life shaving have simply been a chore at best and resulting in a bad case of razor burn at worst. Electric razors have always felt like they were ripping my beard out, and the various latests, greatest razors put out by Gillette have been like dragging a dull knife over my face – didn’t matter if it was two or five blades, nor what can of foam I used. Shaving was a chore and something I just got over with as soon as I could.
Not so no more.
Shortly before I deployed to Africa for a twelve month Tour of Duty my better half directed my interest towards the recent resurgence of classic shaving; that is shaving with a brush, some soap or cream, and a simple one-blade, two edged safety razor of the kind your grandfather used. I figured I would give it a try and ordered a starter-kit from an online retailer in Norway – at the very least I would not have to worry about charging my electric razor or getting cartridges for my system razor while in Sudan…
Remember my comment on what will happen if a geek needs a computer?
Well, these days a typical day starts with me picking out the days combo of razors, brush and lather, before doing a bit of prep: a throughout wash of my face with pure castille soap while the brush soaks in warm water. After the prep I load the brush up, make lather and starts shaving – smiling all the time.
So yes, if a “normal” person needs to shave, he’ll pick up an electric razor or whatever wunderbar new system one of the big names sells at inflated prices. If a geek needs a shave, he might end up with a new hobby and an array of kit:
Off course you don’t need so much to make shaving enjoyable again; on my recent ToD to Sudan I had only my Parker 22R, my synthetic brush and the tube of Proraso cream – but I find that having to make a couple or more choices in the morning adds to the enjoyment. And compared to some people out there my combined kit is definitely on the small side…
The actual shave itself has become somewhat of a ritual, a very comfortable and manly ritual. First I’ll wash my beard stubble with some Dr Bronner’s all natural castille soap, which helps soften up the stubble and prevents the oil on my skin from breaking down the lather. Having done that, I’ll rinse off and start laying out the tools of the trade; my razors and the combo of brush and soap / cream I’ve decided upon. After soaking the brush in warm (not hot) water, I proceed to adding wetness to the stubble with the brush. This both softens the brush some and gets the water down between all my stubble. Then it’s time to build the lather, and how I do that depends a bit on what soap / cream and brush I’ve picked. Some combos work best if built in a bowl (I started out with a cheap plastic bowl, upgraded to a cereal bowl and have just bought a cheap copper shaving bowl), some combos turn out better if built directly on my face.
Having built the lather, it is time to apply it. No reason to put on an inch of lather – the idea is to create a lubricated surface for the razor to glide over, as well as softening the stubble even more. At the end the brush is still heavily loaded with lather, which is good. Putting the brush aside, I rinse the “heavy cutter” of the day under hot water – not to clean it but to prewarm it – and starts the actual shave. Slow, short and controlled strokes does the trick – letting the weight of the razor do it’s work as I guide it. First pass is with the grain, and leaves me with a shave just as good as anything I could manage in the past. I’ll rinse and put away the first razor, rinse my face and apply lather again.
Yes, a second layer of lather for a second pass. I’ve found that my brushes will easily hold enough lather for three passes, even if I mostly stick to two. The second pass is usually with a milder razor, and going across the grain of my beard. Short, controlled strokes, letting the razor work for me again. When done correctly, and with a decent blade, you can actually hear the sharp edge cutting the stubble down to nothingness. A second rinse, check for any obvious misses and then stroke my block of alum across my neck and face to clean any minor nicks and cuts. Then it’s a simple matter of rinsing and putting away the razor, the brush and the bowl, plus cleaning all the little beard bits from the sink. Some people goes for a third pass too, usually against the grain, but I’ve found that two is enough for me.
It may sound complicated, but overall it takes about the same time as using a cartridge razor and cleaning up the resultant mess in my face. My skin is happier, I got a new hobby and gets to enjoy my mornings. And it is cheap to get started too; the initial outlay may be a bit more than using the “latest and greatest” thing from Gillette or the other Big Names in shaving, but when you look at the math it turns out that it can be significantly cheaper in the long run:
A Parker 22R – my first razor – costs 295 kroner (it is far from the cheapest DE razor around), and a pack of ten (10!) Feather Hi Stainless blades costs 40 kroner. Since each blade lasts about a week, that’s about 0.60 kroner a day for shaving.
A Gillette Fusion Power Stealth costs 185 kroner, and a pack of four (4!) cartridges costs 139 kroner. If one cartridge lasts two weeks – which is what I got out of the old Sensor cartridges that is about 2.50 kroner a day for shaving.
In other words, you pay about as much for a razor and a pack of blades independent of your choice of cartridge or DE razor – but you can shave for two more weeks with the DE razor before needing replacement blades. Start factoring in the cost of new blades, and the gap keeps increasing. Your costs may vary depending on where you live off course, but the basic premise holds true: Classic shaving can be significantly cheaper than using cartridges – if anything the cost difference should be greater in most countries. It is also better for the environment; no plastic waste, less packaging and the blades can easily be recycled. On top of that it provides a better, closer and more comfortable shave – so why not give it a try?
A basic starter kit can be pretty cheap; if you live in the US (for example), you can get a basic DE razor for less than 10 USD, a ten pack of good blades for less than 2 USD, a shaving brush for less than 5 USD and a shaving stick for under one USD.
If you’re even cheaper and buys from cheaper places, you can actually get the whole kit for ten USD – plus shipping, off course.
All told a modest outlay that will save you money in the long run, as well as providing you with some personal spa time each morning. You do deserve a bit of pampering, don’t you?
*) Or nerd, or tech-head, or whatever other description you prefer.
**) Other definitions of geek / nerd includes:
– A person who is interested in technology, especially computing and new media.
– Geeks are adept with computers, and use the term hacker in a positive way, though not all are hackers themselves.
– A person who relates academic subjects to the real world outside of academic studies; for example, using multivariate calculus to determine how they should correctly optimize the dimensions of a pan to bake a cake.
– A person who has chosen concentration rather than conformity; one who passionately pursues skill (especially technical skill) and imagination, not mainstream social acceptance.
– A person with a devotion to something in a way that places him or her outside the mainstream. This could be due to the intensity, depth, or subject of their interest.
Still I’m on the go, so still reviewing a few of the things in my GoBag…
Bottom line up front? The Body Shop brush is a perfectly acceptable brush.
The one in my GoBag is my second one, after wearing out the first – and I got my third BS brush in my nook at home, as part of my rotation. I bought the brush in my GoBag before I got into DE shaving – canned goo was never for me, so only a couple of weeks after I started shaving frequently I bought my first brush and shave cream from Body Shop. Even with my on-and-off shaving, beard growing and experiments with electrics the brush was worn out after fifteen years… so a replacement was needed. Less than a year later I started DE shaving and realised there were better brushes by far out there… anyhow, back to the brush in question:
The brush itself is simple; a turned wooden handle, a knot of white man-made fibre dyed dark on the tips (probably to imitate badger) and… well, that’s all really. The first one I had had an all white knot, and was much less soft than the current model. The current model is far from badger soft through, or even as soft as a broken in boar. If anything it’s closer to unbroken horse, so if you want a soft touch this may not be the best choice of brush.
It’s not a big brush – about the same size as my Turkish No6 – and the balance is towards the handle. It’s not particularly dense either, but if it had been denser the knot would probably been way to stiff. Speaking of the knot; it don’t really retain much water either – but then again from what I gathered only the most costly of synthetic brushes do. This can be a problem if you like to lather directly on your face, but with a bit of dipping and some pumping it can still deliver a wonderful lather in copious quantities.
What I can say with certainty is that the quality of the brush has been improved – the pair I has gotten over the last three years or so is heads and shoulders above the one I got back in ’92 or thereabouts, before I went to boot camp. The old one would shed a hair, or two or three, each time I used it – the now ones does not. The old handle had a very thin coat of varnish, the newer ones have a thicker, more durable layer.
Overall I would rate the brush as a good starter brush, even if it’s more expensive than my favoured Turkish horses, and a good travel brush considering it dries in less time than it takes me to drink a cup of coffee.
