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Natterings of a Nasal Barbarian

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SOTD FRIDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 19, 2021

Wilbert Cutlery was a house brand used by Sears Roebuck & Co. for their upscale knives and razors from 1908 - 1921. Sears developed a reputation for well-built quality tools that started with the Wilbert Cutlery brand and later transferred to the broader “Craftsmen” brand of tools which first appeared in their catalogue in 1927. The brand was finally acquired by Stanley Black & Decker from Sears Holdings in 2017 for that very reputation.

The razor I shaved with this morning is the Wilbert Cutlery ‘Regal’ model. Friends who owned this particular model extolled its edge-holding and great shaving effectiveness. My friend Sean (@Purvis) introduced me to the model about a year or so ago with one of his beautifully photographed SOTD images featuring it. Sears offered personalized name engraving on the blank side of the ‘Regal’ blade. Since I was already well down the RAD rabbit hole at that time, I began my search for one in decent condition.

Sears sold a lot of ‘Regal’ model razors as I discovered, many of which were in very well-used condition. After over a year’s search, I finally found an unengraved model for $19.99 with free shipping on the big auction site from a reputable seller that looked to be in decent shape. I won it as the sole bidder, and it arrived yesterday. The scales were dirty, but cleaned up with whitening toothpaste. The blade was tarnished, but no rust was evident. A little Autosol metal polish cleaned that up nicely.

The razor appeared to possess a serviceable bevel under the USB microscope along with some minimal spine wear. The Naniwa 12k with a finish by the 9 Ball Slate soon had the blade popping styrofoam all along it length. I always do a first mug shave with my regular MWF shave soap. I grabbed my MrEE LE #005 Aluminum handled SynBad knot and built the thinner, slick lather I enjoy for my mug shaves.

And what a shave it was! This beautiful little full hollow belted out the “Buttering Toast” through all two and a half passes leaving me dolphin smooth as a good Scot shave buddy likes to say. There’s no doubt in my mind that this little razor was well-cared for over its century or so of use. Originally a 5/8, it comes in now at about 9/16. This little razor’s a keeper that delivered a spot on inaugural mug shave!

Returning to my shave bowl I proceeded to whip up the thicker, more yogurty MWF lather I like for my dome shaves. Fine Accoutrements is better known for their shave software rather than their razors, although their little $40 aptly named “Marvel” safety razor is the exception. While I ditched the original handle for an IB ‘Barber Pole’, the angled safety razor head design never has failed to deliver an awesome two pass ATG dome shave as it did this morning. I feel refreshed, clean and supremely velveteen from noggin to shoulders.

RAZOR: Wilbert Cutlery Regal 9/16 (Mug), Fine ‘Marvel’ Safety Razor (Dome)
BLADE: Kai DE (4)
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 Thayers WH. Finished with Aqua Velva 5 in 1 AS Balm
 
jgreenepa said:
View attachment 67571
SOTD FRIDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 19, 2021

Wilbert Cutlery was a house brand used by Sears Roebuck & Co. for their upscale knives and razors from 1908 - 1921. Sears developed a reputation for well-built quality tools that started with the Wilbert Cutlery brand and later transferred to the broader “Craftsmen” brand of tools which first appeared in their catalogue in 1927. The brand was finally acquired by Stanley Black & Decker from Sears Holdings in 2017 for that very reputation.

The razor I shaved with this morning is the Wilbert Cutlery ‘Regal’ model. Friends who owned this particular model extolled its edge-holding and great shaving effectiveness. My friend Sean (@Purvis) introduced me to the model about a year or so ago with one of his beautifully photographed SOTD images featuring it. Sears offered personalized name engraving on the blank side of the ‘Regal’ blade. Since I was already well down the RAD rabbit hole at that time, I began my search for one in decent condition.

Sears sold a lot of ‘Regal’ model razors as I discovered, many of which were in very well-used condition. After over a year’s search, I finally found an unengraved model for $19.99 with free shipping on the big auction site from a reputable seller that looked to be in decent shape. I won it as the sole bidder, and it arrived yesterday. The scales were dirty, but cleaned up with whitening toothpaste. The blade was tarnished, but no rust was evident. A little Autosol metal polish cleaned that up nicely.

The razor appeared to possess a serviceable bevel under the USB microscope along with some minimal spine wear. The Naniwa 12k with a finish by the 9 Ball Slate soon had the blade popping styrofoam all along it length. I always do a first mug shave with my regular MWF shave soap. I grabbed my MrEE LE #005 Aluminum handled SynBad knot and built the thinner, slick lather I enjoy for my mug shaves.

And what a shave it was! This beautiful little full hollow belted out the “Buttering Toast” through all two and a half passes leaving me dolphin smooth as a good Scot shave buddy likes to say. There’s no doubt in my mind that this little razor was well-cared for over its century or so of use. Originally a 5/8, it comes in now at about 9/16. This little razor’s a keeper that delivered a spot on inaugural mug shave!

Returning to my shave bowl I proceeded to whip up the thicker, more yogurty MWF lather I like for my dome shaves. Fine Accoutrements is better known for their shave software rather than their razors, although their little $40 aptly named “Marvel” safety razor is the exception. While I ditched the original handle for an IB ‘Barber Pole’, the angled safety razor head design never has failed to deliver an awesome two pass ATG dome shave as it did this morning. I feel refreshed, clean and supremely velveteen from noggin to shoulders.

RAZOR: Wilbert Cutlery Regal 9/16 (Mug), Fine ‘Marvel’ Safety Razor (Dome)
BLADE: Kai DE (4)
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 Thayers WH. Finished with Aqua Velva 5 in 1 AS Balm
Click to expand...

Fantastic Fat Friday shave lineup and report Jeff. Bravo.
 
jgreenepa said:
Wilbert Cutlery was a house brand used by Sears Roebuck & Co. for their upscale knives and razors from 1908 - 1921. Sears developed a reputation for well-built quality tools that started with the Wilbert Cutlery brand and later transferred to the broader “Craftsmen” brand of tools which first appeared in their catalogue in 1927. The brand was finally acquired by Stanley Black & Decker from Sears Holdings in 2017 for that very reputation.
Click to expand...
Just wild how far the mighty Sears has fallen since those glory days. The very last Sears store in Illinois just closed this past Sunday.
 
jgreenepa said:
It’s sad how many of the great old catalog stores are gone. I had quite a collection of Craftsman tools, before I sold them about 9 yrs ago. I still remember Montgomery Ward!
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Obi-Wan-Kenobi.jpg


I haven't heard about Ward's in a long time! Do you remember Service Merchandise? I was a kid but thought having your purchases come out from the storeroom on a conveyer was the COOLEST thing!
 
jgreenepa said:
It’s sad how many of the great old catalog stores are gone. I had quite a collection of Craftsman tools, before I sold them about 9 yrs ago. I still remember Montgomery Ward!
Click to expand...
As a young 17 year old gent who was beginning to earn his non-fortune in the craft of ink on substrate, the meager earnings were only able to initiate Power Kraft tools acquisitions.

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Those of east coast vintage may also remember E.J. Korvettes.
 
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SOTD SATURDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 20, 2021

Woke up to a brilliantly sunny 28° F morning, here in the Philadelphia suburbs. With Thanksgiving and the holiday season in the offing, I grabbed my Wade & Butcher 7/8 and my Cooper Monobilt, both dependable, stalwart shaving tools. My 19 year old grandson, Kevin, is moving in tomorrow to watch the three cats while SWMBO, Gromit and I wend our way to Las Vegas for our regular Thanksgiving celebration with SWMBO’s brother’s family. This is the second year Kevin is house sitting until the rest of my family arrives Tuesday. They’ll be staying through Saturday when I return. My daughter-in-law hosts at my house, for our extended family, and I’ll join virtually on Thanksgiving day, and will celebrate again there with Turducken with them on Sunday. After losing half a fifth of 25 yr-old Macallan last year, I’m locking my good Single Malts in the gun safe this year, to which only I have the combination.

I realize that I’m a terrible example to new wet shavers with the way I switch up shave equipment daily. The only consistency in my shaves is my daily use of MWF. The key to success in wet shaving is sticking with the same razor, brush and soap for at least 30 days. In fact one of the better known online shave forums has a process called the thirty day concentration with a corresponding thread called the 30DC dedicated to helping newer wet shavers master wet shaving, or even a newer piece of shave hardware or software they may be struggling with. Mentors on that thread provide guidance and direction to the struggling newbie. Yours truly shaved with the same Schick Krona originally purchased in a PX in 1968 for almost 5 decades. So I give myself a pass.

In any case, back to the shave. I’ve shaved with this W&B 7/8 for quite a while. I’ve refined the bevel to my liking and really enjoy this razor’s heft and balance in hand. I credit my son’s honing mentor, Howard Schlecter, of the Perfect Edge up near Boston with truly upping my straight razor maintenance process. His constroption, a four sided pasted stropping device, with 4 levels of stropping pastes, has dramatically improved my edges. After every shave, I run the razor through the constroption and then to my roo-skin bench strop before putting it away for the next shave. The two and a half pass mug shave this morning with this razor just reinforces my commitment to using the constroption regularly.

I first learned about Cooper Monobilt shortly after joining the Shave Den several years ago where I came across the Cooper Razor Owner’s Club. Cooper Razor of Brooklyn, NY introduced both the Monobilt and the Kant Rust safety razors among others in the early thirties. The Monobilt is made of brass which is chrome plated over a base plating of nickel. There are two models of Monobilt with identical heads, but different handle knurling. Regardless of the handle, the shave this little razor delivers is nothing short of phenomenal. The problem is there are also a fair number of Monobilts floating around with bent heads. As you might imagine, these damaged models don’t shave well. But mine shaves magnificently, as it again delivered a very smooth noggin leaving your happy narrator velveteen from shoulders to dome!

RAZOR: Wade & Butcher 7/8 (Mug), Cooper Monobilt (Dome)
BLADE: Feather DE (Dome)
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE Monster Tuxedo Synth
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Thayers WH. Finished with Alt-Innsbruck AS Splash.
 
jgreenepa said:
View attachment 67663View attachment 67664
SOTD SATURDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 20, 2021

Woke up to a brilliantly sunny 28° F morning, here in the Philadelphia suburbs. With Thanksgiving and the holiday season in the offing, I grabbed my Wade & Butcher 7/8 and my Cooper Monobilt, both dependable, stalwart shaving tools. My 19 year old grandson, Kevin, is moving in tomorrow to watch the three cats while SWMBO, Gromit and I wend our way to Las Vegas for our regular Thanksgiving celebration with SWMBO’s brother’s family. This is the second year Kevin is house sitting until the rest of my family arrives Tuesday. They’ll be staying through Saturday when I return. My daughter-in-law hosts at my house, for our extended family, and I’ll join virtually on Thanksgiving day, and will celebrate again there with Turducken with them on Sunday. After losing half a fifth of 25 yr-old Macallan last year, I’m locking my good Single Malts in the gun safe this year, to which only I have the combination.

I realize that I’m a terrible example to new wet shavers with the way I switch up shave equipment daily. The only consistency in my shaves is my daily use of MWF. The key to success in wet shaving is sticking with the same razor, brush and soap for at least 30 days. In fact one of the better known online shave forums has a process called the thirty day concentration with a corresponding thread called the 30DC dedicated to helping newer wet shavers master wet shaving, or even a newer piece of shave hardware or software they may be struggling with. Mentors on that thread provide guidance and direction to the struggling newbie. Yours truly shaved with the same Schick Krona originally purchased in a PX in 1968 for almost 5 decades. So I give myself a pass.

In any case, back to the shave. I’ve shaved with this W&B 7/8 for quite a while. I’ve refined the bevel to my liking and really enjoy this razor’s heft and balance in hand. I credit my son’s honing mentor, Howard Schlecter, of the Perfect Edge up near Boston with truly upping my straight razor maintenance process. His constroption, a four sided pasted stropping device, with 4 levels of stropping pastes, has dramatically improved my edges. After every shave, I run the razor through the constroption and then to my roo-skin bench strop before putting it away for the next shave. The two and a half pass mug shave this morning with this razor just reinforces my commitment to using the constroption regularly.

I first learned about Cooper Monobilt shortly after joining the Shave Den several years ago where I came across the Cooper Razor Owner’s Club. Cooper Razor of Brooklyn, NY introduced both the Monobilt and the Kant Rust safety razors among others in the early thirties. The Monobilt is made of brass which is chrome plated over a base plating of nickel. There are two models of Monobilt with identical heads, but different handle knurling. Regardless of the handle, the shave this little razor delivers is nothing short of phenomenal. The problem is there are also a fair number of Monobilts floating around with bent heads. As you might imagine, these damaged models don’t shave well. But mine shaves magnificently, as it again delivered a very smooth noggin leaving your happy narrator velveteen from shoulders to dome!

RAZOR: Wade & Butcher 7/8 (Mug), Cooper Monobilt (Dome)
BLADE: Feather DE (Dome)
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE Monster Tuxedo Synth
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Thayers WH. Finished with Alt-Innsbruck AS Splash.
Click to expand...
Safe travels, Jeff.
You’ve inspired me to grab the MonoBilt for Monday. Awesome shaver!
 
JTSpartan said:
Safe travels, Jeff.
You’ve inspired me to grab the MonoBilt for Monday. Awesome shaver!
Click to expand...
They really are! You and I are fortunate to have functional Monobilts. A friend on FB was just complaining about not being able to find a good one! Do you remember Primo’s experience a year or so ago?
 
jgreenepa said:
View attachment 67663View attachment 67664
SOTD SATURDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 20, 2021

Woke up to a brilliantly sunny 28° F morning, here in the Philadelphia suburbs. With Thanksgiving and the holiday season in the offing, I grabbed my Wade & Butcher 7/8 and my Cooper Monobilt, both dependable, stalwart shaving tools. My 19 year old grandson, Kevin, is moving in tomorrow to watch the three cats while SWMBO, Gromit and I wend our way to Las Vegas for our regular Thanksgiving celebration with SWMBO’s brother’s family. This is the second year Kevin is house sitting until the rest of my family arrives Tuesday. They’ll be staying through Saturday when I return. My daughter-in-law hosts at my house, for our extended family, and I’ll join virtually on Thanksgiving day, and will celebrate again there with Turducken with them on Sunday. After losing half a fifth of 25 yr-old Macallan last year, I’m locking my good Single Malts in the gun safe this year, to which only I have the combination.

I realize that I’m a terrible example to new wet shavers with the way I switch up shave equipment daily. The only consistency in my shaves is my daily use of MWF. The key to success in wet shaving is sticking with the same razor, brush and soap for at least 30 days. In fact one of the better known online shave forums has a process called the thirty day concentration with a corresponding thread called the 30DC dedicated to helping newer wet shavers master wet shaving, or even a newer piece of shave hardware or software they may be struggling with. Mentors on that thread provide guidance and direction to the struggling newbie. Yours truly shaved with the same Schick Krona originally purchased in a PX in 1968 for almost 5 decades. So I give myself a pass.

In any case, back to the shave. I’ve shaved with this W&B 7/8 for quite a while. I’ve refined the bevel to my liking and really enjoy this razor’s heft and balance in hand. I credit my son’s honing mentor, Howard Schlecter, of the Perfect Edge up near Boston with truly upping my straight razor maintenance process. His constroption, a four sided pasted stropping device, with 4 levels of stropping pastes, has dramatically improved my edges. After every shave, I run the razor through the constroption and then to my roo-skin bench strop before putting it away for the next shave. The two and a half pass mug shave this morning with this razor just reinforces my commitment to using the constroption regularly.

I first learned about Cooper Monobilt shortly after joining the Shave Den several years ago where I came across the Cooper Razor Owner’s Club. Cooper Razor of Brooklyn, NY introduced both the Monobilt and the Kant Rust safety razors among others in the early thirties. The Monobilt is made of brass which is chrome plated over a base plating of nickel. There are two models of Monobilt with identical heads, but different handle knurling. Regardless of the handle, the shave this little razor delivers is nothing short of phenomenal. The problem is there are also a fair number of Monobilts floating around with bent heads. As you might imagine, these damaged models don’t shave well. But mine shaves magnificently, as it again delivered a very smooth noggin leaving your happy narrator velveteen from shoulders to dome!

RAZOR: Wade & Butcher 7/8 (Mug), Cooper Monobilt (Dome)
BLADE: Feather DE (Dome)
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: MrEE Monster Tuxedo Synth
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Thayers WH. Finished with Alt-Innsbruck AS Splash.
Click to expand...
Beautiful shave, as always, Jeff! Safe travels and Happy Thanksgiving!
 
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SOTD SUNDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 21, 2021

I rarely return to the same straight in the same week, but I must say that the new-to-me Wilbert Regal 9/16 just feels great in hand and boasts a fantastic edge thanks to my marvelous 9 Ball slate. I was always satisfied with my Naniwa 12K as a maintainer/finisher, but must say that the 9 Ball along with Howard Schlecter’s constroption has shifted edge maintenance on my straights into a entirely new category. I don’t know what kind of steel is in the Wilbert Cutlery blade, but it allows for the production of an amazingly clean, scratch-free, mirror bevel under the USB microscope and also revealed in the attached photo.

And what a mug shave it was! Two and a half passes that literally felt like I was just scooping the MWF lather away! Me likee this razor! This vintage straight razor represented a true Cinderella story! What appeared as a blackened possibly rusty blade was apparently just a dried oil coating. Whoever owned this razor over the last hundred years obviously cared for his or her tools. They apparently oiled the blade after its last use before putting it away. The oil dried to a blackened tarnish, easily removed by the Autosol Metal polish revealing the beautiful blade beneath. Every now and then one happens across an amazing vintage straight razor find. This beautiful Wilbert is mine!

After another incredibly good Wilbert mug shave, I knew I needed a comparable tool to take care of my noggin. After shaving for approximately five decades with the Schick Krona DE razor, I purchased the Christopher Bradley razor from Karve Shaving. That first purchase was a C_SB plate. Over the years I've migrated to the D_OC as my preferred plate. After experiencing the Gillette LC and the Leresche 51 OC plates, I’ve become a confirmed OC safety razor fan. I particularly like the OC feel on my noggin during the stubble reduction process. The two pass ATG noggin shave with the D_OC plate was splendid, leaving yours truly velveteen smooth from shoulders to dome!

RAZOR: Wilbert Cutlery Regal 9/16 (Mug), Karve D_OC (Dome)
BLADE: Feather DE
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: IB Rubberset 400 Black Synth Knot
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with Lilac Vegetal AS Splash.
 
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