Extremely fine shave today. You’ll note that after one use the label of the QEDman Mint Zest (spearmint, orange, and lavender) is more like an Impressionist painting than text: beautiful in its own way, but scant in the information department.
I did contact Charles at QEDusa.com and he said that this is deliberate. The tin in which the soap arrives is, in his view, merely a nicer wrapper than paper would be, and he expects the soap to be transferred to a mug that the purchaser already has. Since the tub/package is to be discarded, the label’s durability is irrelevant. Thus no waterproof label. He said that he didn’t expect the container to be used as a lathering bowl.
I think by “lathering bowl” he refers not to building the lather but simply loading the brush. A lathering bowl, as I understand the term, is a separate bowl, holding no soap, that is used to build the lather by working the loaded brush vigorously and adding water as needed. The lathering bowl (in that sense) is one of the three primary ways of building lather, the other two being palm-lathering (working the loaded brush vigorously on your open or cupped hand, adding water as needed) and face-lathering (taking the loaded brush directly to your beard and working up the lather there, adding water as needed). In all three methods, the brush must first be loaded, and that is done on the soap in whatever container holds it.
I pointed out that collectors of soap probably don’t have a lot of mugs around, and mugs have the disadvantage of lacking a label. (I have two mugs containing soaps, but I no longer recall what soaps are in them.) Thus it’s common for soaps sold in containers (tubs, bowls, or jars) to remain in those containers, with the brush (naturally) loaded on the soap.
That’s not how he sees it, and he seemed firm in his conviction that a waterproof label is simply not needed since the container will be discarded. So it goes. If you do get the soap and plan on keeping the container, I suggest using a strip of wide transparent packing tape to cover the label and protect the printing.
Once again I added small amounts of water as I loaded the brush, doing this several times. It’s my impression that soaps containing clay are particularly thirsty and require a fair amount of water to be added, the water worked well into the brush with each addition.
The resulting lather was extremely good: thick, slick, and having a very nice fragrance. And I do like this brush.
This is an all-Maggard razor this morning: the Maggard open-comb head and a Maggard handle. It is both extremely comfortable and extremely efficient—and I’ll add that it’s extremely cost effective: the head is $16 and the handle is $14. The total price of $30 is $1 more than for the Parker 24C, but for that extra $1 you get a better handle (stainless instead of plated brass) and standard threading on both head and handle, which makes swapping the handle or head simple. (Parker’s threading seems to have drifted off standard.) The Maggard combo would make a fine first (or additional) razor—and a great gift, IMO.
Carrying the citrus them along, a small splash of Mickey Lee Soapworks Italian Stallion aftershave milk (a discontinued product, alas) finished the job.
A great shave to start a new day.
Filed under: Shaving
