Extremely velveteen! Love the description.
The Shaving Cadre
Welcome to The Shaving Cadre, a forum dedicated to gentlemanly discourse about wet shaving and other topics of common interests. Membership is always free so register today and join in the fun
Natterings of a Nasal Barbarian
- Thread starter jgreenepa
- Start date
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
I’m not quitting straight razors, Chris, I just wont be shaving with them regularly. Fortunately, my oldest son is a straight razor shaver, and he says he will strop and hone my razors when needed. I’ll most likely be shaving with my Feather SS and Monsieur Charles barber’s razors more frequently. I enjoy my safety razor collection much more than open edge stuff.
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
I'm with you on this for sure Jeff. Same here
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
SOTD SATURDAY, JULY 18, 2020
Today I had planned to originally do the entire shave with just my Seki Feather AS-D2. however, my new barber’s razor, the Monsieur Charles was beckoning me from the straight razor shelf. And quite frankly I was interested in why users raved about this quite inexpensive barber’s razor. I traded a Viking Chieftain TTO which I’d never used for it. The recipient had not used the Monsieur Charles(MC) either.
What is immediately apparent upon picking up the MC razor is its heft in the hand. The blade and tang are much beefier than the Dovo Shavette’s and a few other comparably priced barber’s razors. Heftwise, it felt almost identical to my straights, if not even a bit heavier than the Dovo Special in hand. But what I like most about this razor is that it uses injector blades of which I have many. The shave was a delight. The result was a DFS++ which I’m more than content with for a first bloodless run with a new open edge razor.
I was initially concerned with the length of the blade, but it actually works well. One of my issues when I first started down the open edge journey was the length of the blade on my Dovo Special which led to some minor nicks around the ears. The MC blade design avoids this entirely! I found that housing the blade at the toe end is quite clever. Three passes (WTG, ATG, XTG) were a breeze, and trimming around the goat a piece of cake! I like this razor, and the replacement cost is nominal.
The Feather AS-D2 sheared through my dome stubble in its usual effortless, muted manner. A shave brother who doesn’t use Feathers in his AS-D2 describes his shave experience with the razor singing the “buttered toast” song as it did it’s work. My usage is always silent due to the sharpness of the Feather blade. Itsusual two pass (WTG, ATG) always feels like I’m just brushing away the lather. This razor is definitely one of the stars of my 27 actively used safety razors. I justlove the skin feel of a freshly shaved dome after using a great safety razor! Thefeeling can only be described as refreshed, cool, clean, and oh so velveteen!
RAZOR: Monsieur Charles (Mug), Seki Feather AS-D2 (Dome)
BLADE: Schick B-20 Proline (Mug), Feather DE (2) (Dome)
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Rabid Banana Preshave Cube
BRUSH: Rearden Razor 316L SS Synthetic
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat w/ 6 drops of M-Bomb
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Humphreys Lilac WH and Osage Rub. Finished with Cremo Cooling Post Shave Balm.
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
Thanks, Tim, it was a pleasant shave. I didn't push it, but maybe after a few more shaves, I'll be comfortable enough to go for velveteen land!
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
SOTD SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020
Today, I’d like to dedicate my shave to three people. Most importantly, to our own TSD shave brother, the supremely talented Tom White (@twhite), who made the shave possible by restoring a badly damaged Schick Type F I sent him. And secondarily to Captains Robert McKeever and Oscar Greene, USMC. The razor, a college graduation gift, belonged to then Second Lieutenant McKeever who took it off to the war in the Pacific against the Japanese. Both he and my father were discharged as Captains, my father after the surrender, and Captain McKeever during the battle for Okinawa where he was severely wounded. His life was saved from grenade shrapnel by his mess kit which contained this razor and other toiletries. He died from his wounds 17 yrs after discharge in 1958. To the end of his days he kept both the mess kit and this razor.
His daughter is married to my neighbor, and this last November, I helped the two of them clean out the remainder of Captain McKeever‘s possessions from the attic above their garage. In doing that we came across the mess kit and this razor. Knowing I’m a shave nerd, they asked me if I wanted it even though, as Chloe, his daughter said, it’s damaged beyond repair, which is apparently what the Schick company informed her father when he sought to have it fixed. This is what the razor looked like when I received it. One can see that both the baseplate and the brass razor retention spring were damaged. See below:
Tom, graciously agreed to take a look at it. So off it went. He asked for permission to disassemble it which I readily agreed to. The restored Type F that Tom Returned to me shaves like a dream. The restored razor delivered an effortless VBBS in three passes (WTG,XTG, ATG). See below:
As the former owner of collector cars, I can talk about patina till I'm blue in the face. Whatever that is; this razor has it. I cherish every nick and scratch for what it represents, my very small piece of WW2 history. I’ll happily shave with this razor, which by the way is an excellent whisker reduction tool, to the end of my days. I feel refreshed, very cool, quite clean and oh so velveteen.
RAZOR: Restored Schick Type F Injector
BLADE: Schick B-20 Proline
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Rabid Banana Preshave
BRUSH: Viking Silvertip Badger
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat w/ 6 drops of M-Bomb
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Humphreys Lilac WH and Osage Rub. Finished with Fine Accoutrements Snake Bite AS Splash.
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Amazing story Jeff and nice piece. I've hunted an "F" for awhile. Chased one in a lot recently up to @$180 before bowing out. Enjoy it in good health.
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
I was the same way, when this one fell into my lap. Unfortunately, it wasn’t shaveable until it was restored.
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
SOTD MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020
Really enjoying the restored Schick Type F. It delivered a beautiful VBBS dome shave on its MWF cushion of slick, yogurty lather. The Mug shave went well also. A three pass (WTG, ATG, XTG) DFS++ with two weeps on the third pass. I’ve discovered that the most challenging pass for me is that XTG third pass. One of the guys on the SRP forum mentioned how the consistent use of MWF seemed to minimize nicks and weepers because of the amount of lanolin in that soap versus other soaps. That’s definitely been my experience this morning.
I’ve also learned that stopping a stroke can easily result in a nick or weep. The hold for the XTG is still not fully ingrained in my muscle memory yet. Thus my stopping mid stroke when my non-dominant right stretching hand slipped off my left earlobe resulted in a nick on the right cheek. When I finished the left side (non-dominant) there was another very slight weeper. A regular part of my shave process is to wash my face with the MWF brush squeezings and leave it on my face for about a minute while I clean up the shave area before applying WH.
After rinsing the MWF off, I reached for the styptic gel only to discover that there was no longer any bleeding. Intrigued, I did some brief research only to discover that lanolin can elicit allergic reactions in some people, but also has well-known healing occlusive properties, in other words it prevents the evaporation of water and helps skin heal in non-allergic subjects. It’s a prescribed treatment for rashes and raw skin. So maybe there is something to it. Of course, both my cuts were very minor, so who’s to say definitively, not me! What I can say is that in this case it appeared to work! I feel refreshed, cool, clean, and on my dome and my cheeks, oh so velveteen.
RAZOR: Lord 6/8 (Mug), Schick Type F (Dome)
BLADE: Schick B-20 Proline
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Rabid Banana Preshave Cube
BRUSH: JR #343 Synthetic
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat w/ 6 drops of M-Bomb
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Humphreys Lilac WH and Osage Rub.
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
I've been a MWF user for at least two decades, and was not aware of its blood muting properties. But I rarely if ever cut myself when shaving with a safety razor. Great advice to keep the open edge moving.
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
SOTD TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020
Review of the Fine Accoutrements SS New LC Homage Safety Razor
Yesterday I received the new SS Safety Razor from Fine Accoutrements. It arrived in a plain padded paper mailer with each of the three parts of the razor in its own plastic bag. See below:
Initially, I was surprised by the basic nature of the packaging, but upon closer examination I noticed the fine Guilloche knurling on the handle along with the polish and evident quality of the build. See below:
Since it was touted as mimicking the head geometry of the Gillette New LC, one of my favorite shaving safety razors, I looked for an open comb baseplate and instead found a safety bar baseplate reminiscent of the Muhle R41’s. Notice I said reminiscent, but with more distinctly rectangular lather channels that when viewed from the blade edge perspective did indeed bring to mind an open comb.
According to information later provided on the DFS forum, Todd, the owner of Fine Accoutrements explained that the packaging simplicity was all about attempting to control costs, while offering a SS razor designed to compete with SS razors from competing modern artisan safety razor providers, most of whose offerings are well north of $200 with some rare exceptions. As an admitted fanboy of Fine’s Marvel Safety Razor, I was eager to try this new offering. This new razor weighs in at 97.2 grams, and has a comfortable heft in hand. The guilloche knurling is remarkable, and much finer than that found on the Christopher Bradley razor handle from Karve Shaving. It almost seems to latch on to one’s fingers, providing an extremely secure, non-slip grip. See below:
For this shave I selected the last blade from a tuck of Sharp Stars of which only 4 five blade tucks remain. These blades are quite sharp, but also unbelievably smooth shaving. Loading the blade was uneventful. It seated evenly with precision. Other parts of the shave included Mitchell’s Wool Fat shaving soap, the PAA Rabid Banana Preshave Cube, and my Viking Silvertip Badger Brush.
Prior to my shower, I bloomed the MWF and soaked my shave brush in warm water. I began the shave with the usual cold water rinse and then scrubbed both mug and dome with the Rabid Banana Preshave Cube. The MWF delivered its usual yogurty, shiny and slick lather which was then applied to both face and head. I turned up my hearing aids and was rewarded with that delightful ‘buttering toast’ refrain as the Fine razor tore through the 24 hours of shave stubble in that first WTG pass. The second XTG pass continued the whisker reduction process to such an extent that I could have easily quit With a very respectable DFS++.
However, my friends at TSD who know me, know that I just can’t help but chase the baby! So, after lathering up for the third and final ATG pass I had at it and put the baby to bed. I feel refreshed, cool, clean and unbelievably velveteen!
In summary this razor shaved every bit as well as my modern artisan offerings. It felt well-balanced in hand, and easily held its own and even out shaved some of my other SS modern artisan offerings $50 to $100 or more. I like this new razor and would recommend it unhesitatingly to anyone who asked. It’s well-engineered and easily lives up to the “Worlds Finest” assertion printed at the base of the handle. See below:
RAZOR: Fine Accoutrements SS New LC Homage Razor
BLADE: Sharp Star (1)
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Rabid Banana Preshave Cube
BRUSH: Viking Silvertip Badger
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat w/ 6 drops of M-Bomb
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Humphreys Lilac WH and Osage Rub. Finished with Cremo Cooling Post Shave Balm.
Very nice review! It is definitely a handsome razor!
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
From disappointed and unimpressed on arrival to recommending it's purchase even with finish quality issues ?
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
Dave:From disappointed and unimpressed on arrival to recommending it's purchase even with finish quality issues ?
I never had concerns about the finish. It's every bit as good as my H&S No75 or Blackland Blackbird. My initial concern had to do with its packaging. But I do get it now. Todd saved on packaging costs to allow him to provide a top quality SS razor. He, of course, said it was worth $500. I might take issue with that, but the razor is definitely the equivalent of SS razors sitting well to the north of $220.
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
Not only that, Don, but it's a crackerjack shaver! It truly delivered an amazing shave, but then again there's always the argument that technique trumps tools. In my case I've been shaving with DEs and SEs since the mid to late 60s. I do tend to get excellent shaves with just about any safety razor. It's all about angle, pressure and the flatness of the shave surface.