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Natterings of a Nasal Barbarian

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SOTD SUNDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 3, 2021

Today I pulled out what I like to call the Edgar Allan Poe Stubtail for my mug shave. It's a Sheffield Ellis & Allan blade that sat unhoned and unscaled for at least 205 years. This lonely big honkin’ piece of steel was imported to the Ellis & Allan Mercantile Firm of Richmond, Va around 1815 by Jonathan Allan, the partner who managed their London branch. The other being Richard Ellis who handled US operations.

In any case the blade ended up at the Sandpoint, Idaho razor beauty spa along with another of similar vintage. The proprietor didn’t remember the particulars, but did transfer ownership to yours truly after honing it and clothing it in bone scales with an amber wedge all of which were affixed with period brass pins, along with beehive caps and washers.

It is an unusually sized stubtail at 8/8. This was the largest straight razor in my collection until the arrival of the Gipson Katsumi smiling blade at 14/13. Despite its girth, Glen Mercurio put an amazing edge on it that’s a joy to shave with. Although cleaning up my neck did require some additional buffing beyond the usual three passes along with some final flatblading, a technique I learned from BarberDave of the Shaving Cadre Forum to achieve my desired smoothness.

After yesterday’s shave with my Gem MMOC, I decided to give it another go. The MMOC was one of the first TTO designed safety razors. It is well-balanced enough that this old geezer with his arthritic joints is able to wield it comfortably and achieve an amazing level of smoothness, and everything worked just as well this morning. This efficient little razor sheared away my noggin stubble and left your happy narrator porcelain smooth from the shoulders up.

RAZOR: Ellis & Allan Stubtail 8/8 (Mug), Gem MMOC (Dome)
BLADE: Pella PTFE Gem
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: JT Sapele Resin Handled Omega Pro48 Boar Knot
SOAP: Fine Snake Bite
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with Fine Snake Bite AS Splash.
 
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SOTD MONDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 4, 2021

Welcome to the fourth day of Open Comb October. The mug shave on this rainy Monday morning featured my Dovo Special. This was my first straight razor, purchased six years ago. The edge when purchased was anything but shave ready. My oldest son reset the bevel and finished it for me, as I did not know my way around a straight razor in those days. After an initial severe mishap on that first shave that revealed my underlying Parkinson’s diagnosis, courtesy of Agent Orange fifty three years ago, it went into a drawer where it stayed for several years, but that’s a story I’ve already told. These days, it serves as a reminder, and is an excellent shaver. Three passes with some additional buffing and flatblading to smooth out the swirly stubble on either side of my Adam’s Apple, and my mug was smooth as glass.

I am so grateful for the three wonderful aluminum handled brushes produced by my friend, Evan (@MrEE) for my use, the latest of which has rapidly become my nominal favorite. Synthetic knots have come a long way, and the 24mm SynBad knot seated in this LE Blue aluminum handle #005 is just an awesome lather generator. My regular MWF pairs beautifully with it. After generating the thinner, more watery face lather, it went on to produce a lovely yogurty texture that was perfect for my noggin. My dome shave featured my favorite Gillette safety razor, the New LC. This little safety razor is one of several New series models, my favorite of all Gillette models. It swept away my noggin stubble in two ATG passes, leaving yours truly glassy smooth from the shoulders up.

RAZOR: Dovo Special 5/8 (Mug), Gillette New LC (Dome)
BLADE: Feather DE
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE LE Aluminum Handle #005 with 24mm SynBad Knot
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with PAA Frost Byte AS Splash.
 
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SOTD TUESDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 5, 2021

This morning OC October continues with something old and something new. The 1840ish Boker & Co. with its cast steel French Point 5/8 Sheffield blade has always been one of my favorites. This little razor dates to about 40 years prior to the German Tariff Act of 1879 encouraging Boker & Co. to switch from English (Sheffield) to German (Solingen) steel. It’s sweet little Sheffield steel blade always holds a buttery smooth, yet sharp edge. Three mug passes left me oh-so-smooth!

Although I termed my Karve “Christopher Bradley” razor new, I’ve owned and enjoyed shaving with it for several years. I prefer the OC baseplates because I like the way they feel on the dome. This morning for a slight change of pace, I loaded a Kai blade. These blades sit on the sharpness continuum in the realm of Feather, Nacet and Bic, but happen to be a smidge wider than standard DE blades. I enjoy the blade feel they provide. Two ATG passes left your truly glassine smooth from the shoulders up. Just the way I like to end a shave.

RAZOR: Boker & Co. French Point 5/8 (Mug), Karve E_OC (Dome)
BLADE: Kai DE
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: Alpha Shaving T-400 Tribute with 26mm Tuxedo Synth Knot
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with PAA Frost Byte AS Splash.
 
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SOTD WEDNESDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 6, 2021

Well, here I am, late to the party on this fifth day of OC October. This morning’s mug shave featured my Hoshi Tombo 8000. These razors have been increasingly difficult to source in recent years, and this particular razor had its tang shortened, for whatever reason by a previous owner. Some might consider it unsightly, but you don't shave with the tang, and the supposed disfigurement was money in my pocket. The edge on this silver steel razor popped styrofoam indicating it was Feather Super sharp. Two passes with some buffing and flatblading on my troublesome neck whiskers put the baby to bed.

My OC dome shave starred one of my favorite Gillette New models, the New Standard. This little silver plated beauty never fails to deliver a highly efficient, very close shave, and that was certainly the case this morning. I really enjoy the feel of the OC on my scalp. The Razorock Rubberset replica with its very efficient synth knot easily generated the two types of lather I prefer for my shaves. Thin, slick, and watery for the mug, and thicker and more yogurty for my noggin. Two ATG passes closed the deal leaving your happy narrator very smooth and clean from the shoulders up.

RAZOR: Hoshi Tombo 8000 (Mug), Gillette New Standard
BLADE: Kai DE (5)
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: RazoRock Rubberset Replica with Synth Knot
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse withHumphreys Lilac WH. Finished with Pre de Provence Bergamot & Thyme Balm.
 
GearNoir said:
RR did a nice job with the Rubberset replica. Is it a softer knot than the orange handled 400? That one can be a little scratchy for me some days.
Click to expand...
I have no experience with the orange handled 400. But I can say that this aluminum handled black synthetic nut is soft and very effective. I really like it.
 
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SOTD THURSDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 7, 2021

After using the Hoshi Tombo 8000 yesterday, I was in the mood to pull out the Saito SK3 for this morning’s mug shave. Ryuichi Saito established a barbering confederation throughout Japan in the 50s and 60s. In that process he designed a host of different razors, many of which were manufactured by Kikuboshi. Each of the smiling Saito SK series of razors corresponds to a matching Kikuboshi number. The Extreme smiling SK1 to the K. 165, the SK2 to K. 145 & 155 (two variants) and the SK3 to K.135. The razors were all extra hollow ground and sub-brands of the Ribbon Company. The blades were constructed from imported Swedish silver steel.

The mug shave went well. The extra hollow ground SK3 sheared away my mug stubble in three very pleasant passes. For a change of pace I used Mike’s Hungarian Lavender, a very nice soap that lathered up beautifully, producing the thinner, slick lather I like for my mug shaves as well as the thicker one for the dome. Colonel Schick’s third version (Type C) of his repeating, magazine loading injector razor design, cleared away the noggin stubble, but did take three passes and some buffing to do so. While not as efficient as some of the later designs, it finally did the job.

RAZOR: Saito SK3 (Mug), Schick Type C Repeating Razor (Dome)
BLADE: Schick Proline B-20 Injector
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE LE Knurled Aluminum Handle Hybrid Knot #007
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with RR 888 Eucalyptus & Tea Tree AS Tonic.
 
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SOTD FRIDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 8, 2021

This morning felt like a frameback mug shave day. The LeCoultre RT&Cie Frameback 6/8 was manufactured in Switzerland between 1850 - 1860 by the forebears of the great Swiss watchmaking firm of Jaeger & LeCoultre. In a sense framebacks with their replaceable blades foreshadowed the shavettes/barber’s razors of today. The blade steel for this particular razor was quite hard, but did take a very nice edge. Two passes with some additional buffing and flatblading left your happy narrator delightfully smooth.

And since it is OC October what better vintage safety razor for my noggin shave than the incredibly efficient Eclipse Red Ring. This little Sheffield built British razor, while not strictly an OC, but more like a hybrid with the stabilizing bar beneath, was quite innovative for its time. One of the early handle adjustables it also features a magnet at the base of the handle for safely picking up dropped razor blades. I like it because it’s incredibly efficient, and never fails to deliver a very close two pass ATG shave as it did this morning leaving me porcelain smooth from the shoulders up.

RAZOR: LeCoultre RT & Cie Frameback 6/8 (Mug), Eclipse Red Ring (Dome)
BLADE: Feather DE
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: Rooney Ebony Pure Badger
CROAP: A&E Shaving Butter
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with A&E Post-Shave Serum.
 
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SOTD SATURDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 9, 2021

On this 9th day of OC October, a rainy Saturday morning, I decided on one of my favorite Japanese razors for the mug shave. My son was most gracious in gifting this DH Nichiri Tokusen 6/8 silver steel razor to me from his collection of well over 100 Japanese razors. I’ve maintained the magnificent edge he put on it with his jnat progression. The mug three pass shave was a pleasure with the Traveling Wilbury’s “Handle with Care” playing in the background. In fact, it was really a two pass shave with some minimal neck buffing and flatblading making up the third half pass to level smooth the recalcitrant, swirling neck stubble on either side of my Adam’s Apple.

My mug shave yesterday was superb and featured the Swiss LeCoultre Rt & Cie 6/8 frameback straight razor. So in keeping with that Swiss theme I grabbed my Leresche 51 safety razor, a simply top flight whisker destroyer, for this morning’s noggin shave. LeResche razor production spanned 76 years from 1894 to 1970. They manufactured straight razors and safety razors. The safety razors included a hoe style SE entitled “LeFrancais”, and many DE razors, the stars of which were their 77 and 51 models. My hefty 51 Luxe model weighs in at 79 grams, comparable to a Gillette Fatboy, and always delivers a very smooth two pass ATG dome shave as it did this morning. I feel velveteen smooth from the shoulders up!

RAZOR: DH Nichiri Tokusen 1000 6/8 (Mug), Leresche 51 Luxe Model.
BLADE: Feather DE
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: Blue Resin Badger made by my son
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with Cremo Cooling Post Shave Balm.
 
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