Just got a couple of things from Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements, including an unusual razor: open-comb all the way, with both guard and cap using the open comb design.
First, though, the prep. I used my Whipped Dog silvertip that I ordered in the optional ceramic handle he offered at the time, and the lather was instant and very good—the coconut fragrance is quite present. The 5″ puck is very nice, IMO, because it provides lots of room to load the brush.
The soap seems excellent, and the ingredients tell us why:
And now to the razor. The chequering on the handle is quite nice and somewhat different, but what draws the eye is, of course, the unusual open-comb cap. And in fact, during the shave, I could feel some difference—difficult to quantify, but the cap felt “different” and seem to slide easier (possibly simply because not so much of the cap contacts the skin). The razor seems well made, and with a Voskhod blade I had no trouble getting a BBS result. At the link is a fuller description of the razor, including this note:
Being a collector of vintage razors I have seen a lot of oddities from yesteryear, some great concepts and designs that never really “blew up”. I blame this mostly on Gillette’s aggressive marketing back in the day. If they couldn’t buy out a small razor company, they would bury it. And that’s what we have here…
The Phoenix Dbl OC is based on the classic Self Lubricating Grand Razor, a masterpiece in both design and concept! It is one of my favorite razors of all time, and again, I don’t think it was ever fully evolved or explored after it disappeared into wet shaving history…until now!
I took the basic design tweaked it and made some slight alterations, removed the dip in the center of the head cap, added a tad more weight to the handle for consistent fulcrum, and hit it with our special brand of knurling. Also unlike it’s GRANDfather, this razor head will fit on a number of standard handles! A perfect razor for the collector and a perfect razor for your daily driver!
It’s $35 and is not merely a curiosity but actually a good razor to shave with. And the feel of the cap is quite interesting.
A splash of Paul Sebastian, and I move into the day.
Filed under: Shaving
