Col. Conk was held in very low esteem some years back as artisanal shaving soap vendors began to arise, and yet withal it makes a very nice lather indeed, which seems to be a characteristic of glycerin soaps (at least when the water’s reasonably soft). The fragrance falls short—certainly not unpleasant, but not very present—but the lather is as good as Mama Bear or Kell’s Original, though the later clearly are leagues ahead in scent.
My Maggard 22mm synthetic easily loaded and made the same fine lather as my Mama Bear shave sticks, but without the magic feeling of brushing a wet stubble and having lather spring up as did the original Spartan soldiers when Cadmus sowed the dragon’s teeth Athena gave him.
The Holy Black’s SR-71 slant somehow ended up in the back of my razor drawer, found only now when I am working through all the slants. It will now be up where I can use it more often because it is indeed a very nice slant. It is a Merkur 37 clone—think “37B”—and the stocky handle is hefty because it’s made of brass. Like the Merkur, this is a two-piece razor—twist the base to unscrew the cap—and the SR-71’s handle is the same length as the Markur 37 handle, though the larger diameter and greater heft make it feel as though it were stubby.
The SR-71 handles quite well, and it feels good on the face. Three passes produce a BBS result. This is a very nice little razor, and I’ll not let it slip away again.
It’s always a good thing to use Anthony Gold’s Red Cedar aftershave, and its woody fragrance made up for Col. Conk’s lack of presence.
Altogether a fine shave to start the weekend, and I’m glad to have the SR-71 in rotation once more.