A very nice shave today, with a test-run of a brush. The Parker synthetic shown is a loaner from someone who’s thinking of offering the brush. The handle is quite nice, but the knot is not. In my opinion the loft is way too short, resulting in a stiff brush with lots of backbone and almost no play, making it difficult to work up the lather. It’s interesting how shortening the loft so much can undercut both feel and performance. The brush held enough lather—I did not have to reload—but applying the lather was a chore rather than a pleasure. I vote no, and I’ll happily return the brush. It’s not for me.
The soap is from Mystic Water, though that appears on the label only at the bottom in fine print (albeit boldface) as the URL. It’s a terrific soap, with a wonderful fragrance, and I think I should be using it more often. (A tub would probably get more use, due to my shaving habits.)
The Gillette Aristocrat Junior is a British razor, and I’ve inverted the razor so you can see that it has the flat baseplate. NeedsMoreMenthol on Wicked_Edge told me that the Aristocrat Junior with the flat bottom is probably the most respected Gillette head design, shared with the legendary Aristocrat #16—and it did indeed give a wonderful shave this morning, leaving my face BBS.
A good splash of Floïd aftershave, and I meet the middle of the week with aplomb. Since I am doing a sequence of shaves for travel (and I’ll return tomorrow with a more travel-oriented kit), I should perhaps point out that this bottle of aftershave does not meet TSA guidelines and would be unsuitable in carry-on luggage.
Filed under: Shaving
