That little Chubby 1 Best is a fine little brush with a full and ample knot that has a very nice feel — and does a very good job. The lather it worked up from Phoenix Artisan’s Organism 46-B was lush, and the fragrance is one I like a lot — and one that will never be used in a mass-market shaving soap. The mass market lives on small margins that require large volumes, and competitive consideerations discourage idiosyncrasy at such volumes.
Alfie Kohn, in his (interesting and readable) book No Contest: The Case Against Competition, describes how competition stifles creativity (as observed in many studies). Of course, Phoenix Artisan also must compete, but working in small volumes means experimentation is less risky — and also encourages greater variety. (For an exceptional example of how that can work, check out the variety here.)
The razor head is either an Edwin Jagger head or a clone of same. Far be it from me to offer marketing advice to Edwin Jagger — well, not so far as that… in fact, considerably closer — I think that company made a mistake in leaving the heads without any brand identification at all. Perhaps production costs ruled, against it, but had I been marketing director I would have pushed strongly from brand identification on at least the baseplate, and I would have suggested also a small circled “EJ” in a corner of the cap (perhaps in diagonally opposite corners).
As it is, I can’t tell whethr that head is a clone or not. It does have more blade feel than I expect from an EJ head, but that might be a result of the brand of blade I have in it, since brands of blades vary somewhat in width.
Nonetheless, the shave was good, and the splash of Organism 46-B at the end was invigorating.