My go-to combination

I’ve been using a Fat Boy loaded with Feather blades for the past few months, and after a random trial with other razors I’d put aside (Slim Adjustable, Super Speed, etc), I realized that the Fat Boy & Feather combination is unbeatable for me.

Before I bought my first Fat Boy, I thought they were somewhat overrated, more of a collector’s item than a superior shaver. Man, was I wrong. They certainly do have collectible value, but the shaving performance is top-notch. Now I’m going to be scouting for more.

My other razors are great. I wouldn’t part with them (yet). But I’ll use them when I need a break, and be able to come back to the Fat Boy and truly appreciate how well it works for me.

’62 Slim Adjustable – WOW.

1/7 – first day with the ’62 SA. WONDERFUL. First pass at 3, second and third at 5. BBS (almost) with no irritation. Razor glided smoothly over my face. Balanced well.

Yesterday, first shave with the ’57 SS. Wonderful, but the SA has better weight and is adjustable. I think I may be putting my Merkur in the drawer in favor of these two gems.

New razors

1957 Gillette Super Speed (Village Station Antiques)
1962 Gillette Slim Adjustable (Mountain Made)

Cleaning/sanitizing:
– Place razor in Ziploc tupperware. Add Ecover dishwashing liquid.
– Pour in boiling water. Let stand for several minutes.
– Pour water out, repeat.
– Mix Bon Ami and Ecover together to make a paste. Put hot water in tupperware. Clean razor with toothbrush and paste. Rinse in tupperware.
– Soak in alcohol for at least 20 minutes.

Night shaving isn’t for me

After a recovery morning shave, I’ve decided that the night shave I did two nights ago might possibly have been the worst possible shaving experience ever.

Here are my original thoughts, post-shave from Sunday:

Night shave tonight. Just didn’t seem right.

For starters, the Gillette blade (second shave) got a little to close to that little patch under my nose. I lost a good bit of blood tonight. It also took a couple of bites out of my neck. Not sure if that was time, blade, or technique.

This just seems wrong….sure, it’s a smooth face for bed, but I feel like I’m ready to go do something. I think shaving is a morning deal for me.

I felt sort of like I was shaving through someone else’s arm, watching another person in the mirror…and then I gouged out a piece of skin right under my nose. Could have been the new Swedish Gillette blade, but I wasn’t nearly as on-task as usual. Anyway, after the shave, the post-shave experience wasn’t nearly as soothing as usual. Then I didn’t sleep well. After I shaved, I was ready to GO somewhere, not get in bed. And the pillow against my face didn’t feel right.

I get up at 5:00 and really need a pick-me-up…I usually have a morning shave to do that. No such luck. Just coffee.

By 2:00 I had major stubble. Between that and the heat outside and in the car, I was not happy.

So, it’s definitely going to be an EARLY morning in my household when school is back in session, starting next week.

Jojoba

I tried jojoba oil (a sample from AllNaturalCosmetics.com that I had from earlier experimentation) today and I really can’t say right now what I think about it. I simply don’t know. It doesn’t seem to have done any harm, but on the other hand, I can’t really find any improvements. The actual shave was OK, better than usual because I went back to Mama Bear’s unscented soap (my “control” soap for experimentation and a general go-to soap). That stuff lathers much better than the Thistle Ridge lime I have. I like the TR because of lubrication, the lather just doesn’t hold up very nicely.

Come to think of it, the reason I stopped using MB was that the TR gave better lubrication…but this time, the MB soap did great. Maybe the jojoba oil really did do well. I’ll shave next time without it and see what the difference is with the MB unscented.

The custom aftershave just gets better & better, and my Thymes Eucalyptus cologne is lovely.

Which Ilk of Wilk?

Do the tentacles of King Gillette leave no blade untouched?

Wilkinson Sword, my favorite blade right now, seems to have more faces and origins than I’m actually comfortable with. I won a pack of WS blades on eBay that had neither Germany or the UK listed as country of origin, just a contact in Milford, CT. So I asked my compatriots at Badger & Blade about this. Here’s what we know so far:

• Current blades for retail sale are either old stock from the UK or new stock from Germany.
• Some are made in India, and this branch of WS is owned by Gillette. These indicate India as the country of origin on the back of the packaging card.
• Packaging differs widely, especially considering the company changes over the years and countries of origin. Gillette and Schick have their hands in Wilkinson Sword in the US, with Energizer (yes, of the bunny variety) thrown in there somewhere.

The emerging case file: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=23188

Thymes Eucalyptus cologne

Tried C&E, Royall, and Brooks Brothers…some I liked, but Angela didn’t like them, so I decided against them. She’s my number one audience, after all. We just happened to go to The Scent Shoppe and found the Thymes line of fragrances. We both agreed on the Eucalyptus and I’m currently breaking it in. A sizable bottle costs $28.50 retail, at least from that store.

So far I like it a lot. Pretty good staying power, and it smells like clean linen. It doesn’t compete with my other fragrances (from witch hazel, aftershave, etc)

http://www.thymes.com

This is also a thread on B&B.

Warm lather

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=22439

Here’s an idea. Run hot water into the shaving mug with the soap and brush in it. Let it warm up, then dump the water. Run hot water in the sink and put the mug in there.