Extremely nice shave today, with some interesting bits along the way
The brushes, somewhat akimbo, have much the same handle. The silvertip is on the left, the high-mountain badger on the right. (“High mountain badger” indicates that it’s the badger rather than the mountain that is high.) Both brushes loaded easily with Dr. Jon’s Propaganda shaving soap, which I like a lot (vanilla, sandalwood, musk, patchouli, and mandarin: what’s not to like?). But when I put brush to face to work up the lather, the brushes showed distinct differences in feel and performance.
The silvertip brush has good resilience, with the bristles standing apart and filled with lather, and felt lively on the face. The high-mountain badger had noticeably less resilience, with the bristles tending to collapse inward rather than standing apart. The difference in feel was like the difference in play Go with slate and shell stones on a good Go board (the silvertip) or on cardboard (the high-mountain badger). Or, according to what I’ve read, the difference between painting with oil paints on a tightly stretched canvas (silvertip) or on canvas glued to a board (high-mountain badger). One is lively and responsive, the other seems inert. I think I’ll move the high-mountain badger to the pass-along pile.
The razors were both good, but I perceived the Edwin Jagger as being a bit more comfortable and smoother shaving. I certainly can use the Maggard razor with no problems and get a good shave, but I could detect some difference, though not nearly so great a contrast as with the two brushes. Both are good, but (IMO) the EJ is just a tad better: like the gold medalist and the silver medalist in an Olympic event.
A good splash of Anthony Gold’s Red Cedar aftershave, and I’m ready to celebrate the Liberal victory in Canada. Good riddance to Stephen Harper. Cf. this New Yorker article on what the election there means.
Filed under: Shaving
