Aces over 8s, the dead man’s hand, is (legend would have it) the poker hand held by Wild Bill Hickock, pictured at the right, when he was shot dead in the back of his head in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, in 1876. The actual hand he held is not actually known, but tradition has generally settled on it being two pairs, the black Aces and the black 8s, with the hole card being the Queen of Clubs in the accounts that have the game being five-card stud. Other accounts say the game was five-card draw.
Be that as may — and we’ll never actually know — the 345 Soap Co. Aces over 8s shaving soap is extremely nice. I ordered mine from The Razor Company along with the razor I used today. The fragrance I like a lot: “Tobacco, Mint, Rose, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Cedar, Patchouli, Vetiver, Tonka bean.” And the soap made a really excellent lather — unusually good. I don’t know that I’ve previously used a soap that has camel milk among the ingredients:
Stearic Acid, Beef Tallow, Milks of Donkey, Camel, & Goat, Shea butter, Coconut oil, Palm oil, Potassium hydroxide, Distilled water, Castor oil, Sodium hydroxide, Glycerin, Grapeseed oil, Cocoa butter, Yogurt, Lanolin, Jojoba oil, Capuaça butter, Murumuru butter, Kokum butter, Panthenol, Allantoin, Hydrolyzed Silk Protein, Fragrance.
This soap wasn’t on my radar before, but I rate it as top-tier — really worth a try.
Now, the razor. It’s stainless steel with a bead-blasted finish. The handle is fluted at the top, which offers a comfortable and secure grip with an interesting feel. The head design reminded me in profile a bit of the Henson razor head, but the feel on the face is not the same. The Razor Company’s razor feels more like an extremely comfortable traditional head — unthreatening and smooth in action — while at the same time, it is extremely efficient at removing stubble. I got a perfect BBS result with no real effort. It is the sort of razor I like — mild in feel on the face but aggressive in removing stubble. This is a first-rate razor at a reasonable price for stainless steel. Highly recommended. (It’s currently sold out, but you can enter your email to be notified when it’s back in stock.)
A splash of 345 Soap Company’s Aces over 8s aftershave, and I’m ready for what the day offers. The aftershave, like the soap, has excellent ingredients:
Alcohol, Witch Hazel, Distilled water, Hydrovance, Rose Hydrosol, Jojoba oil, Panthenol, Allantoin, Hydrolyzed Silk, Aloe Vera, Vitamin E, Fragrance.
The caffeine this morning is Mariage Frères Smoky Sakura: “A sensory journey. This large tea is smoked in Japanese cherry wood according to an artisanal method. Its soft liquor floods the palate with its wooded notes enriched with a fragrant veil evoking incense and licorice. Coming from a family garden in the shizuoka region, close to Mount Fuji, this tea is cultivated according to a method registered in the ingenious system of the world agricultural heritage, respectful of the biodiversity of plants and animals.”
This tea is like an oolong, brewed at a lower temperature (I went with 180ºF) and for a slightly longer time (5 minutes). Extremely nice.