Ramblings of a MilkCrate

[MilkCrate]

So, we went on a road trip today and ended up here.



I’m sure most people have seen pics of the shop, but here are a few more.




The staff is really friendly and helped us find everything we were looking for. The restoration of the old buildings is super cool too. I failed to take any pics of the roastery(?) across the street, but we had to check it out. That roasting machine is nice! Got a chance to meet Rod (@Joe Hackett) and Mandy. They are good people, very hospitable and great to visit with. Really down to earth. We hated to take them away from work, but they were happy to give us a tour. Had a great time and will have to make another trip up there some time down the road. The great work they are doing is beneficial to both their local community and to our shaving community.

Almost forgot to mention that we scored a few things while we were there too.


Life is good!

 

[MilkCrate]

Life is good! Started the day with some fresh roasted and ground Brazilian coffee. A first for me and it is smooth. Used the hand grinder that was a gift from our Japanese exchange student.

 

[GearNoir]

Certainly made the trip worthwhile, I’ll give ya that!

 

[MilkCrate]

Certainly made the trip worthwhile, I’ll give ya that!

I got two soaps with matching splashes and two bags of coffee. Deb got everything else. She is a Stirling fan too.

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 440 SE: 9 SR: 555)

Pre Shave-
Strop: none
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Gillette Super Adjustable 84
Blade: Astra SP
Brush: Stirling Boar
Soap: Stirling Frankincense and Myrrh

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: Stirling Frankincense and Myrrh

Great late morning shave today. Giving the Black Beauty a spin to see if she will make the cut. A very nice 3 pass shave and I am BBS for the win! The Frankincense and Myrrh was a set I picked up yesterday. It’s an interesting scent, not unpleasant just different. I think it will work well for a Fall/Winter scent. Just kind of a chill day and we are going to have dinner with Deb’s eldest son a bit later. Life is good!

 

[GearNoir]

Sounds like a good day Tim! Hope dinner later is nice!

 

[Graybeard57]

I had a Frankincense & Myrrh soap that I really liked. Pretty sure it was from Queen Charlotte Soaps, who are no more.

 

[MilkCrate]

Sounds like a good day Tim! Hope dinner later is nice!

Thanks Chris!

 

[MilkCrate]

Shave Count (DE: 441 SE: 9 SR: 555)

Pre Shave-
Strop: none
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Gillette Goodwill
Blade: Astra SP
Brush: Simpson 46 Badger
Soap: Stirling Nag Champa

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: Stirling Nag Champa

Last late morning shave of the week :sad: on deck today is Nag Champa that I picked up on Friday. I wasn’t sure about this one on first sniff and wanted to see how it opened up once lathered. This has a familiar scent, but I hadn’t thought I had smelled the incense of the same name. Maybe I did at some point in the past. It has a nice strong scent throughout the shave, but I couldn’t pull any single scent notes out.

It quickly whipped up a nice lather using the smaller brush, which I think is a 22mm. I think I am also starting to lean towards the smaller brush knots. If I remember correctly, my first Omega brush was a 10019, which is 22mm also. Anyway, three easy peasy passes and I am BBS for the win! A great shave and as I mentioned, the scent lingered throughout the shave.

Wrapped everything up with a quick rinse and pat dry. Followed that up with a splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! I went a little heavy on the AS, but it’s all good. I think I’m going to dig this scent as well. I think I’m done going through my DE razors too and have found the keepers. This is the line up: Slim, Fatboy, Black Beauty, Tech and Goodwill 162. That should be plenty to work with. I am also narrowing down my brush collection. But I think my small collection of straights should be ok. Life is good!

 

[GearNoir]

Solid DE front line! No moderns though hm?

 

[BadgerFiend]

LOVE the Stirling shop visit pics! Great old building and I bet a charming old downtown.

 

[MilkCrate]

Solid DE front line! No moderns though hm?

No on the modern. The vintage do everything I need them to do.

 

[MilkCrate]

LOVE the Stirling shop visit pics! Great old building and I bet a charming old downtown.

Yes, it was very cool and they are helping to revitalize an old downtown.

 

[TobyC]

Solid DE front line! No moderns though hm?

Modern stuff is for sissies!

 

[FarmerTan]

Modern stuff is for sissies!

You are worse than me, and I LOVE it!

 

[MilkCrate]

Monday Shave-
Shave Count (DE: 442 SE: 9 SR: 555)

Pre Shave-
Strop: none
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Gillette Goodwill
Blade: Astra SP
Brush: Yaqi Sagrada Familia Badger
Soap: PAA Sangre de Drago

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: PAA Sangre de Drago



Today’s Shave-
Shave Count (DE: 442 SE: 9 SR: 556)

Pre Shave-
Strop: Tony Miller
Splash and go

Shave-
Razor: Henckels SR
Blade: none
Brush: Simpson 46 Badger
Soap: Stirling Nag Champa

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
AS: Stirling Nag Champa

A couple of really nice back to back shaves.

 

[DeepSea]

Nice shaves Tim. That Goodwill is one good lookin razor!

 

[MilkCrate]

Nice shaves Tim. That Goodwill is one good lookin razor!

Thanks John! I really do enjoy the vintage razors.

 

[Graybeard57]

Love the Goodwill razor. Great collector's item.

 

[MilkCrate]

Love the Goodwill razor. Great collector's item.

Thank you Sir!