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Natterings of a Nasal Barbarian
- Thread starter jgreenepa
- Start date
JTSpartan
Shave Member
They've got some inexpensive synthetics now, Jeff. That Rooney isn't at the bottom of their pyramid...
I've really been enjoying reading your hardware histories lately. You must have put a few enjoyable hours into that, for sure.
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
Thanks! Since I retired from business, I’ve been teaching in my field, Jason, and that’s definitely moved me in the research direction. It’s a lot of fun!They've got some inexpensive synthetics now, Jeff. That Rooney isn't at the bottom of their pyramid...
I've really been enjoying reading your hardware histories lately. You must have put a few enjoyable hours into that, for sure.
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
Thanks, Chris, the tail length isn’t an issue for me. This inaugural shave has made me a fan of the razor. I’m looking forward to shaving with the bantam Weck next! I’m a fan of shorties, although I‘m not wild about the speckled scales on the bantam!
wristwatchb
Shave Member
Beautiful shave and nice post, as always, Jeff!
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
Thanks, Charlie! I don’t care what they say about you shaving with that awful stinky stuff you favor! You’re ok by me, metaphorically speaking, definitely not literally, especially if you’ve just shaved with that stuff!
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
SOTD THURSDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 11, 2021
Well, after yesterday’s great shave with the Tanifuji Airi, I decided it was time for a shave with the marvelously designed Saito SK3 7/8. Ryiuchi Saito had been the barber for the Emperor of Japan. In 1950 he established the “Saito Kai”, the first professional association/school under his name. Campuses were started all over Japan, and his name became associated with Japanese fashion. His razor designs were prized by big companies such as Diamond Hayashi and Kikuboshi and razors were distributed under his name. His most famous designs weren’t the Kikuboshi SK series, but rather the Diamond Hayashi Ribbon/ Rosette 40 and 80 models made for his Barber students and designed to be easy to use.
The thing I love about this little Saito SK3 razor is it’s remarkable edge. It feels really good in hand and is a pleasure to use. After my shower, the LE MrEE Knurled Aluminum Handle Hybrid knot #007 which had been soaking in warm water generated the initial thinner, slicker MWF lather I like for my mug shaves. A refreshing cold water rinse followed by Argan Oil set the stage for a superb two and a half pass mug shave for the record books. We always recommend to new straight shavers that they imagine themselves lightly sweeping away the lather, and that’s exactly what this shave felt like, leaving my mug oh-so-smooth.
After that great mug shave, I generated the thicker, more yogurty lather necessary for a great noggin shave. The tool of choice this morning was my Rex Ambassador. I had the pleasure of meeting its designer, Matt Pisarcik, and his lovely wife two years ago at the Shave Collectibles Meeting in West Chester, Ohio. Matt is an acknowledged Gillette razor historian with a large personal collection in addition to being the proprietor of Razor Emporium and Rex Supply. Following that get together, I purchased the Rex Ambassador I used this morning. It delivered its regular, excellent, two pass ATG dome shave leaving me velveteen smooth from noggin to shoulders.
RAZOR: Saito SK3 7/8 (Mug), Rex Ambassador (Dome)
BLADE: Feather DE (Dome)
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 Fine Platinum AS Splash.
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
SOTD FRIDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 12, 2021
There’s no question about it! I’m on a Japanese straight razor tear! My son, Ben, gave me this NOS Diamond Hayashi Nichiri Tokusen 1000 6/8 straight razor a few years ago. He has a huge Japanese razor collection and this was one of two NOS razors he had picked up on a business trip to Japan. He spent a day in Seki City and shipped home almost 30 razors, and it was part of that batch. This was back when I was first learning my way around a hone, so he ran it through his jnat progression. The blade is made from “First Quality Swedish Steel”, or is it says on the tang and I’ve yet to need to touch up the edge. The shave was superb!
The razor glided through the wonderful MWF lather built with the transplanted Omega Pro48 boar knot my Canuckian friend, Jason, placed in the exquisite Sapele/Resin handle he crafted for me a year or so ago. Jason’s a school superintendent who turns beautiful shave brushes and bowls as a hobby. We both share a dislike of Tabac products that a mutual Kentucky hillbilly friend of ours adores. I’ll admit that Tabac soap has a great lather and post shave feel, it’s the ‘old lady handbag” scent that I can’t abide. YMMV! Two and a half MWF passes left me dolphin smooth.
This morning’s noggin shave featured the only high end Autostrop safety razor Henry Gaisman ever produced, the silver plated model VB2. I used to have a very large Autostrop, but over the years have sold all my A and B models. This is one of my five remaining Valet Model C razors. Autostrops are fantastic shavers. And this razor didn’t disappoint this morning. I stropped the carbon steel Feather FAS-10 blade prior to the noggin shave in the razor as designed. The two pass ATG dome shave checked all the boxes leaving me velveteen smooth from shoulders to noggin.
RAZOR: DH Nichiri Tokusen 6/8 (Mug), Valet Autostrop Model VB2
BLADE: Feather FAS-10 Carbon Steel (Dome)
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: JT Sapele/Resin Handled Omega Pro48 Boar Knot
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with Krampert’s Frostbite AS Splash.
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
Thanks, Chris! He’ll be 52 in January! How the heck did I ever end up with a son that age??
Happy Friday my friend! I always love your journals - I learn so much
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
Thanks, Brian, for the kind words. I enjoy the research.
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
SOTD SATURDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 13, 2021
I decided to have another shave with my new Weck Sextoblade. The razor comes from the estate of a third party beauty/shaving supplies salesman and former barber, according to his great-granddaughter. My first shave with it featured a new Personna hairshaper blade, however, I noticed that the spine appeared to have some hone wear. So I soaked the original Sextoblade blade itself in barbicide overnight, This morning I ran it across my Swaty barber’s hone with som Smith’s Honing oil, after placing it back in the razor, until the edge looked good under my USB microscope.
I believe that the original blade had never been removed, as I was unable to remove it with my fingers when it first arrived, and needed a needle nose pliers to do so. Judging by the amount of shave residue on the original Sextoblade blade coupled with the hone wear on the spine, I believe the former owner treated it just like a regular straight and never removed it from the razor. In fact the original blade looks like it is double beveled. The shave angle on this old antique tool is virtually identical to the angle I use with my regular straight razors. My two and a half pass mug shave with it this morning was every bit as good as my first shave with a fresh blade installed leaving me just as smooth.
My friend Evan’s beautiful anodized blue aluminum handled LE SynBad knotted shave brush always feels great on both dome and mug and has become one of my favorites. Synthetic knots have become every bit as good as natural fiber over the last few years. Most of my shaves now feature synthetic knotted brushes. They don’t require presoaking and perform every bit as well as my high end badgers. My boar brushes are another story. I love them, and they seem perfectly designed for bowl lathering MWF. My bakelite Shake Sharp loaded with its two stacked Feather blades swept away the noggin stubble in two ATG passes leaving me cool, clean, and velveteen.
RAZOR: Weck Sextoblade (Mug), Shake Sharp Model 1.5 (Dome)
BLADE: Original Rehoned Sextoblade Blade (Mug), 2 Stacked Feather DE
(Dome)
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE LE #005 Aluminum Handle 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.
Great shave and great shaving story
jgreenepa
TSC's "Velveteen Shaver"
SOTD SUNDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 14, 2021
This morning I decided to change things up a bit. Instead of starting on my mug, my noggin kicked off what turned out to be an exemplary shave. Although my regular goto DE blade is a Feather, I grabbed a Wilkinson Sword blade, and fearing it wouldn’t be as sharp as I’m accustomed to, felt it was time to pull out my 2011 Muhle R41. I discarded the awful original handle that came with the razor years ago for my remaining Weber handle after selling the head off. It’s a very well-balanced pairing that sheared away my dome stubble in the usual two ATG passes, floating on a very slick, yogurty, skin rejuvenating A&E Shaving Butter lather leaving me quite smooth with a noggin shave surface my hand will definitely be returning to throughout the day.
After that great dome shave, I proceeded to dilute the the thicker dome lather until it reached that nice watery consistency perfect for my mug. Although I shaved with this lovely Manhattan Cutlery 13/16 straight razor a week or so ago, it is, without doubt, one of my finest vintage Sheffield steel shavers. David Work’s jeweler’s background provides him with the requisite attention to detail that always results in an amazingly accurate and precise restoration. If you ever get the opportunity to own one of his restored vintage razors, you won’t regret it. The heft and balance in hand are just perfect for me with this shaving tool, and two and a half passes finished with some final flatblading left me clean and oh-so-velveteen smooth.
RAZOR: Manhattan Cutlery 13/16 (Mug), 2011 Muhle R41 (Dome)
BLADE: Wilkinson Sword (Dome)
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: Alpha Shaving T-400 with 24mm Hybrid Knot Ferrule
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with A&E Post-Shave Serum.
primotenore
Shave Member
Great photo today, Jeff.