We’ve had some discussion in comments about the use of what I’ve called “half-empty” containers of shaving soap and a commenter more tactfully refers to as containers that provide “head room.” I prefer full containers, but he suggests that some, after loading the brush with soap (which can be neatly done, with a little practice, even in full containers (aka containers without head room)), use the soap container as a lathering bowl.

Using the soap container as a lathering bowl seems to me to be a very bad idea. Once the brush is loaded, it seems best to work up the lather elsewhere rather than continue adding soap to the brush. One can work up the lather on the beard (as I do), or in an (empty) bowl, or on the palm of the hand. (You’ll note, for example, that those who do use a separate lathering bowl never feel compelled to put a puck of soap in the bottom.)

The commenter mentioned the 5″ pucks from How to Grow a Moustache (now Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements) as an example of a full (or no-head-room) container. I recalled those containers as not quite full, but in using the soap this morning I see that the rim extends only slightly above the soap. The amount is so small that I suspect that it’s due to the soap’s shrinking as it cooled. Still, that little bit of headroom might help someone whose loading skills are still under development if the loading moved to the edge—but given the large working surface of the 5″ puck one can avoid the edges if he wants.

I loaded my Copper Hat shaving brush easily and quickly—I do like the HTGAM/Phoenix soaps—with Gondolier shaving soap, and worked up a very nice lather indeed on my beard (not on the puck). In loading I found I had shaken the brush out a little too much, but it’s easy to add a driblet of water as you load, something I generally must do with soaps containing clay, which seem to load a bit more reluctantly.

The razor shown is from the new Rockwell stainless steel razor system. Rockwell uses the same approach as Above the Tie by making a series of baseplates, from very mild to very aggressive, so that you can pick the one that works best for you (and your current beard level). Rockwell takes that approach one step further: each baseplate can be used on both sides, so that 3 physical baseplates provides a choice of 6 different “settings,” as it were. Above the Tie, like every other vendor I know, uses single sided baseplates.

There are some notable differences, however. Rockwell ships the razor with all 3 of its baseplates (thus allowing 6 “settings”) for $80. Above the Tie offers 3 “settings” (M, R, and H—presumably “mild,” “regular,” and “heavy”). If you get the full set of three, together with cap and baseplate, the cost is $299, almost four times as much as for the Rockwell six-setting system.

Above the Tie does offer the M, R, and H baseplates with a bar guard (the “1” series: M1, R1, and H1) and a comb guard (the “2” series: M2, R2, and H2), so you could order a set all six, which would cost $299 + $219 (baseplates sell for $73 each—almost the price of the entire Rockwell system). That totals to $518. The Rockwell system is 15% of that price, which seems a great bargain. I should note that the Above the Tie razors are machined and the Rockwell razors are not—but still.

The only stainless steel razor I recall selling in the $70-$80 price range was the Weber, no longer made. It was $70, and it came with the usual single baseplate.  Fendrihan.com does make $40 stainless razors, but I’ve not tried them, and they of course come with one (single-sided) baseplate.

Of course, $80 for the Rockwell system is a bargain only if the razor delivers a good shave. I used the R3 baseplate “setting”—that baseplate is R1 on one side and R3 on the other. I figured the 3 (of the 6 possible) would be a safe choice: on the mild side of the middle. The baseplate number for the setting is shown on the bottom so you can easily see it when the razor’s assembled in case you want to check. I loaded the razor with a new Rapira blade and set to work.

I’m impressed. I had done my part—a good prep, to set up the shave—and the razor totally did its part: it gave a very smooth, very comfortable, and very close shave. The heft of the razor and head is excellent, which doubtless helped with the smooth and easy cutting. I had a totally trouble-free BBS result.

I’m not sure how many of the settings I’ll actually use. On my Gillette adjustables, for example, I use a setting of “5” day in and day out. However—and this is an important point in evaluating the Rockwell system—I did not always use that setting: When I first began using my Fat Boy, I used a setting of “3” and stayed with that setting for several months before I advanced to “4.” And I stuck with the “4” setting for several months before I moved to “5.” Apparently, as my skill improved, I found that higher settings became more comfortable. So novices, whose shaving skill is still in the “improving” stage, may well find that over time they move up through the baseplate “settings”: R1 for the first several weeks, then R2 for a few months, then R3, and so on, until they hit the one they . And, of course, some will find that the R5 and R6 are right for them. And doubtless those who shave at irregular intervals instead of daily (as I do) will pick the baseplate that their experience has shown does the best job for the depth of beard they have.

But even if I were to use only one baseplate, I have an excellent stainless steel razor for $80, and that’s quite good in itself.

The razor comes in a box with storage for the baseplates not in use, and I also got a coffee mug:

I’m very happy with the razor and readily recommend it to anyone in the market for a stainless razor. Rockwell went through a rocky patch in working out manufacturing problems, but they persevered, did right by their customers, and ended up with a superb system that is likely to be popular as people report on their experience with it.

I have no connection at all to the company—I wasn’t even part of their Kickstarter campaign. I’m just a customer who waited until they seem to have resolved the start-up problems before placing my order.

I finished the shave with a splash of Phoenix Artisan’s Cavendish aftershave and enjoyed the fragrance, the feel of the aftershave, and the smoothness of my face. A great shave all round, and a great discovery in how good the Rockwell system is. Right now I think it’s the best possible choice of a razor for an utter DE novice because of its quality, likely longevity, and its range of choices because of the six “settings” from the three double-sided baseplates.

It’s a fougère day. I really like the lather (and fragrance) I get with this Wholly Kaw shaving soap, and I really hate how the container is mostly empty space. I don’t think this one is even half full. I am sure it is full weight—i.e., no rip-off—but the wasted space and the extra bulk is for me a pain, especially since I stack soaps. I see no reason at all why the container cannot more closely match the amount of soap it contains. This would be much more satisfactory to me if he had used a smaller container that was filled.

So it goes. But that’s the reason I don’t pick out this soap more frequently: the feeling that I have so little left since the container is so empty.

That said, I got a very fine lather—I think his soaps are quite good—using the Fine Classic. And today I’m using the R4 baseplate on my new Rockwell razor, with the same Rapira blade I used yesterday.

I certainly experienced more blade feel with the R4 than with yesterday’s R3. Again a very smooth shave, but not quite so comfortable (or mild feeling on the face). Both shaves were BBS, but for me the R3 had greater comfort. Tomorrow I’ll try the R2. (BTW, if you get a Rockwell, note the information on the bottom of the box. I overlooked it until today.)

Three passes, perfectly smooth result, no problems or nicks. A good splash of Barrister & Mann’s Fougère Classique finished the shave in fine style, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s shave.

I haven’t used my New Forest brush for a while, but really enjoyed it this morning: a compact totally satisfactory brush—not flashy, but gets the job done, and very well, too.

The shaving soap is Standards Cement, which I believe is made by LA Shaving Soap Company. It is grey, but smell very nice and works extremely well.

I decided to compare the Rockwell R2 with the Feather AS-D2, since I expect both to feel quite mild (while still being aggressive on the stubble). Both razors did a fine job. I found the Feather seemed to cut a bit more easily, but that is doubtless the blade and not the razor: I have a Feather blade in the AS-D2 and a Rapira blade in the Rockwell R2.

In terms of feel, I did get more blade feel (and thus slightly less comfort) with the R2, but again I think this may be a blade issue. Tomorrow I’m going to try the R1 and I will use a Feather blade.

A small dot of Esbjerg aftershave gel, and I’m still feeling my ultra-smooth face. Both these razors are quite good for me, though I think the Rockwell wins on points: it costs substantially less, and while the Feather AS-D2 is limited to its one “setting,” the Rockwell offers a good range of variety.

Tomorrow’s shave—Feather AS-D2 and Rockwell R1, both with Feather blades—should be interesting.

Here’s the listing.

A very good shave today, but then I suspect that’s my opening line on most shaves. I can’t recall when I last had a bad shave.

Today I used the snakewood shaving brush I purchased from Strop Shoppe some years back, a very soft silvertip knot, and the shaving soap shown, which kindly offers a selection of names. The soap lathered quite well and I hit the right amount of water in the brush spot on, though as I worked up the lather on my beard, I did add a little more water: I needed no more water for the loading, which was perfect, but to make the right lather a small splash more water helped.

I put a fresh Feather blade in each razor. I was surprised to see that yesterday’s smooth and efficient performance from the AS-D2 was achieved with a seemingly new Astra Superior Platinum blade that it held. I normally use only Feather blades, but I think someone asked about whether Astra Superior Platinum blades would work as well, and the answer seems to be yes: I thought it was a Feather blade.

Yesterday, using the R2 baseplate in the Rockwell, I got a bit more blade feel from the Rockwell than from the AS-D2, though I hasten to add that the Rockwell still was perfectly comfortable. It was a difference in feel, not a difference in comfort or efficiency. Today, with the R1, I could not really detect any significant difference between the two razors: they were both extremely comfortable and extremely efficient, and there was no difference in blade feel: three passes to a BBS result.

A splash of l’Occitane Verbena, and the weekend gets underway. I meeting another shaving enthusiast this morning, and I’m looking forward to it.

An extremely good shave today. My Wet Shaving Products Monarch brush created a wonderful lathr from Meißner Tremonia’s Moroccan Rhassoul, which has an unusual and very attractive fragrance. As is typical when using a soap containing clay, I had to add a bit of water during the loading to get the brush fully loaded, but the resulting lather was everything one could want

The Holy Black’s slant did a superb job leaving my face BBS with no nicks or other problems. I do think the razor would be better if the handle were 1/2″ longer, giving it a total length of 3.5″.

A small splash of Chantillon Lux’s La Forêt de Liguest: cypress, juniper, coriander, atlas cedar, rose, tuberose, geranium, bergamot, vanilla, vetiver, benzoin, cedarwood, patchouli, musk, oakmoss, and grapefruit. It’s an unusual fragrance, but I like it.

This is not the three-razor shave described by Bruce Everiss in three posts: first post, second post, third post. This was simply testing three iKon open-comb razors (or, in the case of the iKon Shavecraft #101, open-comb-ish): the #101, the iKon Shavecraft Short Comb, and an iKon open-comb stainless purchased a few years ago.

But first, of course, the prep. Meißner Tremonia’s Strong ‘n Scottish shaving soap has a strong ‘n Scottish fragrance and makes a dynamite lather. I let any lather formed during loading just dry in the jar, and this time there was a large nodule of firm, dried brownish lather. (With Strong ‘n Scottish, the loading results in a brownish lather, but when the lather is fully worked up on the beard (or in a bowl or on your palm), it becomes white. I added a small driblet as I loaded the Rooney Style 2 Super Silvertip brush, then more water while working the lather up on my beard. This soap does make a very nice lather indeed, quite apart from the pleasing (to me) fragrance.

I tried all three of the razors, and so far as I can tell, they all give a similar shave: very comfortable and also very efficient. No nicks or cuts, no burn, and a BBS result. Any of these would be a good choice.

A small splash of Bon Vivant, another of the samples I purchased from Chantillon Lux:

caramel, birch tar, black pepper, maple syrup, vanilla, patchouli, neroli, petitgrain, yuzu citrus, ginger, anise, juniper berry, white grapefruit, wormwood, and coriander.

I have no hope of picking out the individual notes, but I did like the overall result. A fine finish to a fine shave.

The Omega 10048/Pro 48 came up in discussion, and I realized I had not used mine for a while, so I brought it out for today’s shave: wet the knot well under the hot-water tap, let it stand while I showered, then (after washing my beard at the sink) wet it well again to reheat it, shook it out, and started loading Meißner Tremonia’s Indian Flavour shaving soap. The Pro 48 is, as you see, a large brush, so during the loading I did add a little more water simply to get more soap into the brush.

The resulting lather was excellent, and I do like the fragrance of Indian Flavor: coriander, mint, and lemongrass, according to the label (as you see). The Mißner Tremonia soaps are excellent.

The iKon razor shown is one that came with two baseplates: one with a comb guard and the one I used today, which has a bar guard. Here is the head (slightly out of focus):

You’ll see a couple of rust “tea stains’: cosmetic damage only, but I think that sort of thing is what led iKon to standardize on their B1 coating for their stainless razors. (The Shavecraft line, made from an aluminum alloy, doesn’t have any rust problems, obviously.)

My recollection is that the comb-guard baseplate is quite comfortable and efficient. The bar-guard baseplate is still reasonably comfortable, but is noticeably aggressive in its feel: I would rate it around the R4 baseplate on the Rockwell system. The aggressive feel of this baseplate is doubtless why I keep the razor assembled withe comb-guard baseplate.

Still, no nicks and a very close and very smooth finish.

The aftershave is Gratiot League Square from Chantillon Lux, and this one is (for me) worth buying in the full bottle. The other two I tried this week were quite pleasant, but they did not grab me the way this one did: (Obviously, this is very much a YMMV issue.) The fragrance is composed of tobacco, leather, rose, clove, nutmeg, sandalwood, vetiver, vanilla, musk, bergamot, and amber.

It’s amazing to me, in the light of my high-school experience, that every day I think, “What a pleasant shave!” I hated shaving in high school; it was a chore more or less as attractive as mowing the lawn, which I suppose it resembles in some respects. The idea that a shave could be enjoyable was beyond my imagination at the time.

Today’s Meißner Tremonia soap is Himalayan Heights, whose ingredients include Himalayan salt, though I can’t imagine that contributes much to its pleasant and tantalizing fragrance, which probably comes from the Himalayan cedar oil. Ingredients (with “*” denoting “organic quality”):

Stearic Acid, Cocos nucifera oil*, Aqua, Potassium Hydroxide, Orbignya Oleifera oil*, Sodium Hydroxide, Macadamia terifolia oil, Cedrus deodora oil, Glycerin*, Citric Acid, Talc, Kaolin, Simmondsia chinensis oil*, Himalayan salt, C. I. 77007.

The lather, worked up by the Omega S10005, was really excellent.

The Blackbird is a razor I’m still getting used to. I found that I needed a shallower angle (handle farther from my face), which helped with the feel. The razor has excellent acoustics—a very distinct and audible cutting sound. I think I’ll try a different brand of blade next time, but I am growing accustomed to the razor. It’s not quite so natural for me as some others, but it’s by no means a bad razor. I don’t yet find it fully comfortable.

Today’s Chantillon Lux is Delor de Treget: bergamot, cedarwood, orange, lavender, and labdanum. It’s a good fragrance, IMO. Their aftershaves so far are all quite interesting.

A fine day for another walk. (I’ve been doing a 30-minute walk, so far for two days in a row. I’m going to stretch the run to a third day.)

Gretchen Reynolds reports in the NY Times:

The benefits of mindfulness meditation, increasingly popular in recent years, are supposed to be many: reduced stress and risk for various diseases, improved well-being, a rewired brain. But the experimental bases to support these claims have been few. Supporters of the practice have relied on very small samples of unrepresentative subjects, like isolated Buddhist monks who spend hours meditating every day, or on studies that generally were not randomized and did not include placebo­ control groups.

This month, however, a study published in Biological Psychiatrybrings scientific thoroughness to mindfulness meditation and for the first time shows that, unlike a placebo, it can change the brains of ordinary people and potentially improve their health.

To meditate mindfully demands ‘‘an open and receptive, nonjudgmental awareness of your present-moment experience,’’ says J. David Creswell, who led the study and is an associate professor of psychology and the director of the Health and Human Performance Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University. One difficulty of investigating meditation has been the placebo problem. In rigorous studies, some participants receive treatment while others get a placebo: They believe they are getting the same treatment when they are not. But people can usually tell if they are meditating. Dr. Creswell, working with scientists from a number of other universities, managed to fake mindfulness.

First they recruited 35 unemployed men and women who were seeking work and experiencing considerable stress. Blood was drawn and brain scans were given. Half the subjects were then taught formal mindfulness meditation at a residential retreat center; the rest completed a kind of sham mindfulness meditation that was focused on relaxation and distracting oneself from worries and stress.

‘‘We had everyone do stretching exercises, for instance,’’ Dr. Creswell says. The mindfulness group paid close attention to bodily sensations, including unpleasant ones. The relaxation group was encouraged to chatter and ignore their bodies, while their leader cracked jokes.

At the end of three days, the participants all told the researchers that they felt refreshed and better able to withstand the stress of unemployment. Yet follow-up brain scans showed differences in only those who underwent mindfulness meditation. There was more activity, or communication, among the portions of their brains that process stress-related reactions and other areas related to focus and calm. Four months later, those who had practiced mindfulness showed much lower levels in their blood of a marker of unhealthy inflammation than the relaxation group, even though few were still meditating. . .

Continue reading.

Yet another razor will be leaving the collection. Here’s the eBay listing.

I have to say that Meißner Tremonia Lavender de Luxe (with essential oils from lavender, geranium, and cypress) has to be one of my favorite lavender-scented soaps. This one is terrific, and it also makes a terrific lather, today with the Vie-Long horsehair brush shown. Horsehair, like boar, requires wetting the knot some minutes before you shave and letting the wet brush stand and absorb. But then the lavender is wonderful and the feel of the brush is very pleasant: a kind of coarse grain, unlike the total smoothness of an angel-hair synthetic or silvertip badger.

The razor is the iKon X3, due out sometime next month, and this morning it rides atop a UFO handle. In shaving with it I began to entertain the idea that I like this razor better than the 102. It feels, obscurely, disloyal, but the total absolute comfort—it’s hard to tell that the razor has a blade in it except for the otherwise mysterious disappearance of every trace of stubble—combined with extreme efficiency impress me. I imagine that I will buy one of the production X3s to compare, and one of the two will go to my son or a grandson.

A good splash of Chantillon Lux’s Vide Poche: amber, sweet orange, geranium, honeysuckle, lavender, and bergamot. I like this one, too, and perhaps will order it in the full (2 oz) bottle.

Great start to the day. I’m sleeping much more soundly now that I’ve started taking a daily walk.

A wonderful shave once more. Man, I do like my morning shave as much if not more than my morning iced coffee and roasted bacon.

The Wolf Whiskers handle shown is both attractive and extremely comfortable, and the Plissoft knot does a fine job while feeling luxuriously soft on my face. Meißner Tremonia’s Exotic Elemi has a wonderful fragrance that indeed seems exotic, and the lather it makes is extremely nice.

Above the Tie’s R1 baseplate is just right for me, and I very much like the knurling on the Atlas handle shown. I have tended to bemoan the handle’s shortness, wishing it were 1/2″ longer, but today I thought, “The handle is what it is. Get over it and learn to use it.” The revised attitude—accept the handle and make the most of it—enabled me to enjoy the handle, and I find that it works fine. The fly in the ointment was not the handle, but my internal attitude.

Three passes and a perfectly smooth (and trouble-free) result: the R1 will not work for everyone, but by God it works for me.

Today’s Chatillon Lux Champs de Lavande sample is one that I probably should have used yesterday, with Meißner Tremonia’s Lavender de Luxe shaving soap, but there will be more shaves and more opportunities to pair the two. It has a simpler scent profile than the others—lavender, ylang ylang, rosemary, bergamot, and black pepper—and has a very nice fragrance indeed.

A superb shave today: two-day stubble makes for a fine shave. (A three-day stubble might be even better, but I can’t bring myself to go two days without shaving.)

Strop Shoppe, I’m sorry to hear, is closing its doors. Strop Shoppe was a big force in the recent renascence of artisanal shaving soaps, and their soaps are among the very best, IMO. Maggard is buying the remaining stock, so pick up a tub while you can. They had a good four-year run, and I hope the proprietor does well in her future endeavors.

The soaps, as usual, produced a very fine lather with the Fine Classic brush, a favorite brush. And today I tried (again) to compare the iKon X3 prototype and the iKon #102. It turns out it’s hard in fact to tell the difference shaving side by side, the reason being that both of them are so very good: extremely comfortable, extremely efficient, and altogether what I want a razor to be. I got one very small nick (on the 102 side, but I wouldn’t read much into that: the 102 normally gives me nick-free shaves), too small to require styptic.

If any of you do get an iKon X3 when it is released next month and can do your own comparison shaves with the iKon 102, I’d very much like to get your impressions. For me, it’s a toss-up. (If you’re wondering, given the closeness of the two razors, why anyone would want both, I’ll point out that some men have sons or even grandsons, and they want to be able to hand down a razor at the appropriate time. (Free rationalizations always available.))

A splash of a Chatillon Lux new aftershave, not yet on the site: Colonia Balsamica. This is one I would buy in a full bottle: very nice. (Up until this weekend I was misspelling “Chatillon” as “Chantillon” (sample). My error, now corrected in the previous posts: it’s “Chatillon Lux,” and their About page explains the name.

A fine way to start the week.

A very fine shave today. The Maggard 22mm Plissoft brush is just $9.95 and is an excellent brush. Although I like the size of the Fine Classic 20mm Plissoft, the 22mm is still quite comfortable. The handle shape is one I like, and it’s a solid brush and a good bargain (half the price of the Fine Classic).

Unsurprisingly, I got a superb lather from my Martin de Candre shaving soap, and I enjoyed applying it with the new brush. This brush has a very short break-in—taking it out of the box does the trick.

I decided I really should try the higher ranges of the Rockwell razor system, and today I mentally prepared myself for the R5 baseplate—but, big surprise, the R5 is just as comfortable as all the rest. I could tell that this baseplate was doing more, and yet it was totally comfortable. I did exercise some care, and I got the tiniest nick on the XTG pass on my upper lip, but I could tell at the time I had the angle wrong. My Nik Is Sealed closed the nick instantly.

I have to admit that I’m very much impressed by the Rockwell’s comfort. I’ll try the R6 tomorrow, and I am actually looking forward to it. I think this must be the ideal system for the “money is no object” novice, who can start with the R1 or R2 and gradually advance to find his best fit as his skills improve (much as I gradually moved from “3” to “4” to “5” over a period of a year or two on the Fat Bay). And when you’ve skipped shaving a few days, the higher-numbered baseplates offer greater efficiency for heavy stubble with no sacrifice of comfort.

A good finish using one of the Chatillon Lux Champs de Lavande aftershaves, this one the splash. (Each of their aftershave fragrances is available in three formulations: aftershave splash, aftershave toner, and aftershave salve (balm). The balm gets high praise in this Wicked_Edge thread from a couple of people. For example, Chuck Falzone writes, “The performance of the Chatillon Lux salves is better than any balm I have tried aside from L’Occitane Cade balm, which is better by maybe a hair but much more expensive.”

Altogether a great shave.

Via this Wicked_Edge post, I learned of the Kraken 248 Slant Bar Safety Razor, which you can order at the link from Shapeways, a print-on-demand manufacturing and fulfillment center. (That’s why you must provide your own machine screw to assemble: see the video at the link.)

I’ve ordered one and will use it as soon as it arrives.

The brush is one of Maggard Razors 24mm synthetics, and for $12 it’s a great bargain (as is the 22mm for $10). I thought the 24mm would feel a bit too large on my face, but again expectations were contradicted by experience: it felt fine, though indeed a bit larger than the 22mm. The handle is comfortable as well as distinctive, and the lather from Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Otra was really excellent.

When I reversed the baseplate from the shave, going from the R5 side of yesterday’s shave to the R6 size I used today, I was stunned to see that the blade was a Feather. I has used a Feather blade the for the R2 and the R1 tests, to compare those Rockwell plates to the Feather AS-D2, in which I always use a Feather blade. I had forgotten that it held a Feather, so just used the same blade when I switched to the R5 baseplate.

I was surprised because my experience has been that, though the Feather blade works well for me in some (mild) razors, making them quite efficient—razors like the Gillette Tech, the Wilkinson Sticky, and the Feather AS-D1/2—in most razors I have found a Feather blade leads to a certain number of nicks. That was not true with the R5 and it was again untrue for the R6. Either my skills have improved, or the Rockwell head is very well-designed—or both, I suppose, though I’m inclined to credit the Rockwell design for taming the Feather. (This also shows that I can get at least 4 good shaves from a single Feather blade.)

Three passes, zero problems, zero nicks, and a BBS finish: who could ask for more?

A splash of the sample of Chatillon Lux’s La Quatrième Ville (vetiver, cypress, violet leaf, nagarmotha and incense), which will become available on their site on 5 March. I had thought this was an aftershave, but as it turns out, it’s not: it’s a toner—an aftershave toner, it’s true, but Chatillon Lux uses “aftershave” to refer only to one of their three aftershave formulations (splash, toner, and salve), even though in the ordinary sense they are all aftershaves (or “post-shaves,” the phrase Chatillon Lux prefers).

A great shave, an interesting discovery, and my esteem for the Rockwell system increases even further.

I haven’t used my Tabac shaving soap and aftershave in a while—to the extent that the puck has become quite dry and cracked—so when Tabac arose in a Wicked Edge discussion, I decided to bring it out. I have read comments from some in colder climes who report that they find it drying in winter air, but we don’t have that sort of climate; here Tabac is a year-round soap.

H.L. Thäter brushes—at least the two I have—are really first-rate: wonderful performance and feel, and to my eye they are quite handsome. The spiky appearance of the brush in the photo is because of the hooked tips, which give the brush a wonderfully soft “tacky” feel when it’s wet. The brush can easily resume its normal (rather than spiky) appearance by simply brushing the dry brush across your hand, which frees the tip entanglements and makes the brush look smooth again, but I rather like the punk appearance.

The lather was excellent and absolutely no pre-soaking of the soap was needed (or done): a dampish-wet brush, firm pressure, and brisk brushing loaded the brush instantly and easily. The lather was quite good and I took my time working it in.

The razor today, the Dorco PL-602, is currently my top recommendation for a frugal beginner: it costs but $3.50 (including shipping) on eBay, and it is very comfortable and also very efficient. It’s quite light, but it definitely does an excellent job, and it has a good design: the threads are large, since it is made of plastic, and look to be durable. The cap has small flanges that cover the protruding ends of the blades, a nice touch. I learned of the razor in this review by Victor Marks in Sharpologist, and at the price it was an easy impulse purchase. I’m glad I got it.

Three passes to a BBS finish, a good splash of Tabac aftershave, and I greet the day with anticipation.

This one has the new (2010) head:

Mike’s Natural shaving soap was once a challenge for me: the lather would not endure. At the time I was using a sopping, dripping-wet brush and brushing the soap briskly, holding the container on its side over the sink so the excess water could spill away. This worked for some soaps, but for some the resulting lather was disappointing.

I’ve switched to using a dampish-wet brush—wet the brush well under the hot-water tap, give it a couple of good shakes, then start brushing the soap. This method works extremely well even with thirsty soaps: you can see if a little more water is needed. You can add a driblet of water and work it into the brush, and repeat if more is needed. Today, the initial dampish-wet brush loaded fine, with no extra water required, and the lather was really excellent.

My trust iKon Shavecraft #102 did its usual superb job, leaving my face baby smooth with no problems at all. (I’m still feeling my face with pleasure.)

A good splash of Chatillon Lux’s Gratiot League Square finished the shave in fine style.