Rockwell takes the Model T to the next level of excellence
Take a look at the video at this link. (I’ve asked if it can be made available as a YouTube video.) I’m very impressed. I was one of those writing to Rockwell to say that any product with an internal...
View ArticleWickham Garden Mint, applied with Sabini brush, removed with Feather AS-D1
I’m somehow liking summertime fragrances. The Sabini brush shown made a fine lather from Wickham’s Super Smooth Garden Mint soap, which has a wonderful spearmint fragrance. Although some Feather AS-D1...
View ArticleA great shave with a now-vintage soap and the RazoRock Old Type
The Rooney Victorian easily worked up a superb lather from Strop Shoppe Vivace, whose name now possibly should be Defunto, Strop Shoppe having closed its doors and left me with some really find orphan...
View ArticleTcheon Fung Sing Tobacco Verde, the X3, and Phoenix Artisan Alt-Eleven balm
A forum comment prompted me to bring out my Tcheon Fung Sing Tobacco Verde shaving soap, and since it’s an Italian soap, I used my Omega 20102 boar brush, now well broken in. I did the usual presoak,...
View ArticleRazoRock Black Mamba goes to auction
Italian Barber is not going to make any more Black Mambas so far as I know, and they didn’t make all that many to begin with. Here’s a chance to get a really nice present for someone (perhaps even...
View ArticleTaking the Parker Variant for a spin, with comparison to the Merkur Progress
I got my Parker Variant, close copy of the Merkur Progress, yesterday, and this morning’s shave gives me a chance to put it through its paces. The Fine Classic, a favorite brush, worked up an easy...
View ArticleMr Pomp, Asses’ Milk shaving soap, iKon 102, and Chiseled Face Summer Storm
Mr Pomp is quite a good brush, and the lather from the asses’s milk shaving soap The Wife brought me from Paris is excellent. I was thinking as I lathered that I wish I had known in high school how to...
View ArticleWhipped Dog silvertip, Le Père Lucien, and the Above the Tie R1
My Whipped Dog silvertip is a very nice brush indeed (in absolute terms, not just “for the money”), and it worked up quite a nice lather from Le Père Lucien soap shown. Three passes with the Above the...
View ArticleSimpson Duke 3, Strop Shoppe Russian Tea, and the Rockwell R4
The Simpson Duke 3 Best is a fine little brush, and I got a particularly nice and spicy-fragrant lather from Strop Shoppee’s Russian Tea. An adjustable razor, whether the usual version with a dial...
View ArticleMühle synthetic, Martin de Candre, Dorco PL-602, and Hermès Eau d’Orange Verte
Martin de Candre, for all the simplicity of its ingredients, is a truly excellent soap, at least in my experience, easily loaded and making a great lather. This is one of the early Mühle synthetics—an...
View ArticleA French shave: Plisson, Institut Karité, and the Eros slant
The Wife brought me the Plisson European Grey badger brush from a trip she made to Paris, where she went to the shop of the last Master Barber in Paris, and this is the brush he recommended for a...
View ArticleLe Père Lucien, the iKon 102, and Creed’s Green Irish Tweed
My purposes today was to compare Institut Karité shaving soap with the Le Père Lucien soap I have, and so I used the same brush. The lathers were pretty much the same in terms of quality, though the...
View ArticleQED Special 218 with Fine Classic, and the Parker Variant
The Fine Classic quickly made a terrific lather from QED’s Special 218. The puck is dark, possibly because of pine tar. I’m not sure that’s an ingredient, but the soap does have an excellent pine...
View ArticleMostly French shave—Creed GIT, Plisson—and the Maggard V3A
The other day The Wife commented that she really liked the fragrance I was wearing—Creed’s Green Irish Tweed, as it happened—and I am as alert as the next guy to things that please the Significant...
View ArticleH.L. Thäter, Van Yulay, and the Rockwell R4
I have to day that the Van Yulay soaps are remarkably good. I do add a little water as I load the brush, but the resulting lather is remarkable: dense, creamy, slick, and fragrance—and I particularly...
View ArticleH.L. Thäter and Van Yulay Achilles, with the Maggard V2 open-comb
Yesterday I enjoy the Thäter brush so much, I decided to use my other one today, and much the same is true of the Van Yulay soap. Achilles is quite a nice soap—and I highly recommend trying some...
View ArticleLuxury Shave Lounge: Classy looking razor
Take a look at these. I like the looks of the one on the right. I just heard about this site, and it looks of interest the DE people. Has anyone used one of these?Filed under: Shaving
View ArticleA perfect shave with Crown King Sun Down shaving soap and the iKon X3
I received a package of Crown King’s new Sun Down shaving soap and aftershave splash, along with a sample of Sun Down aftershave balm and Sun Down stick deodorant (which has an interesting formula...
View ArticleCrown King again: Alt-Eleven with the iKon 102
Once again a great lather. I’m beginning to realize I really like the feel and performance of Crown King soaps. This one has the tobacco-flower fragrance familiar from Alt-Innsbruck aftershave and...
View ArticleSemogue Owners Club, Nuàvia Verde, and the RazoRock Old Type
I really dislike Semogue boar brushes, and I’m puzzled by their popularity. I’ve been breaking in this Semogue Owners Club for a while, and it still will not hold lather for a three-pass shave. Omega...
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