Items by joel

For the gentleman who prefers plain, simple razors - yet demands the utmost in performance - let me present to you the Thiers Issard 1937 Special Coiffeur. While the 6/8 Special Coiffeur is no longer available - it's twin brother the "Super Gnome" is still readily available from most online retailers that carry the TI line for around $90. What makes this TI unique/special? Well, although it is the least expensive offering from TI, it's also the only razors in their line with a 1/2...

If this thing isn't a re-branded Wacker, than a Lexus isn't made by Toyota. They sent me the "wrong" certificate of "authenticity" (they sent me one for the less expensive "King Cutter" model) the scales are uneven, The head is unevenly ground, the pattern etched into the spine isn't straight and runs off the side of the spine towards the shank, the pivot is pretty loose, the "French Tip" isn't really a french tip, and there are scuffs on the shank and tang, and the razor is nowhere near...

Escher water hones are known far and wide by straight razor shavers as being one of the, if not THE finest sharpening stone for straight razors. Just like a Belgian Coticule, these are natural stones, which come with a "slurry stone" or small hunk of hone (made of the same natural stone as the escher) to rub against the wet hone to create a milky, abrasive slurry. These stones can be used with - or without slurry. Basically this allows 2 modes - mode 1, with slurry, which will cut much...

When I heard there was a fella making strops other than Tony, I just knew I had to have one. I bought some of Tony's strops back when he first started making them, and I haven't had a single regret since, so when I heard of the new fella in town, Damon - Proforma Strops, I quickly ordered up a 2.75 inch wide Red Latigo strop to see how it would compare. My Proforma Red Latigo strop (on left) next to my now pasted (green chrome) Tony Miller Beginner strop. (Note: The beginner strop I have...

This… is a stunning razor. A Zowada razor is a thing of uncommon beauty, something you are don’t just see, you “feel” as it truly has a soul. This is not some machine pumped out block of steel, this is no mere tool made of cold steel, this is no ground blank… this is a gorgeous piece of damascus art, made from scratch. This is a melding of 25 years of experience, 2 steels, a block of wood, and hell of a lot of incredibly skilled time/labor. Now – onto the razor…. First – the...

This is a really neat historical Thiers Issard razor, which offers a completely different shaving experience than your standard, run of the mill TI. First and foremost, when you first see this thing in person, you're stunned by its tiny, tiny size. Not so much that the blade isn't very wide, and at 3/8'ths it isn't, but more so that it isn't terribly long, and the monkey tail/tang are very small. Notice the difference in size between this little 3/8th's TI, and a 6/8ths TI... Due...

As most of you know, I have tried almost every shaving product out there, and I am VERY particular about the ingredients, and the efficacy of shaving, and skin products. I am not fond of the use of unnecessary chemicals to act as “filler” or attempt to add benefits that can be done with natural, skin healthy ingredients. As many of you also know, I am primarily a fan of shaving soaps, more so than creams, and typically do not get overly excited about shaving creams, but – as none of you know...

Norton 4K/8K This is the most commonly used, discussed and recommended straight razor hone. It is a man made hone – which is manufactured by Norton Abrasives, and created by taking abrasive powder, and creating “stone” by combining the powder with a binding agent. In layman’s terms – think of it like putting sand in a puddle of glue, and waiting for it to dry – of course Norton has this down to a science, and my example was extremely primitive, but you get the point. These stones come in 2...

Artisan 3" Horsehide on the left - Red Latigo on the right.... First - let me say, Tony makes some beautiful strops..... I mean they are really something special. Second - let me say, no one "needs" a $100 strop. Now - onto the review.... Stropping surface: The cut of horsehide is nice and thick, and there certainly is no "skimp" on materials here. The horsehide is exceptionally smooth, and the razor just glides across the strop with tremendous ease. There is pretty much no draw...

Chinese 12K This is a stone I am quite fond of… and it always surprises me just how well it works, and for such a bargain bin price. In fact, I am ashamed to admit, I wrote the stone off by and large due to them being so inexpensive – I just assumed they were nothing superlative to speak of… boy was I wrong. In my opinion, if you want a natural finishing hone – look no further than the Chinese 12K. These natural water stones are EXCEPTIONALLY hard stones, almost ceramic like, and are...

I am somewhat torn with this razor... while I do like it, and I do think it is well made, it just doesn't do much for me, and personally I feel the "Japanese Style" feather is highly overrated. While again, it isn't bad by any means, it is no better than the folding feather, and while I LOVE traditional Japanese (non-folding) straight razors, I am not overly fond of a non-folding feather. Since feather straights are so fearfully sharp - I feel you lose quite a bit of control with the...

Before I get into the swing of things and begin reviewing this razor, let me first begin with a bit of background information. RW stands for Robert Williams, who is the gentleman who hand hammer, forged this, and many other fully “custom” straight razors. Who really is Robert – and where did he come from? Well – basically he’s a fella on this, and other shaving forums, who really enjoys shaving with, and collecting straight razors, and as a result became so passionate about his hobby, he...

I had NO idea what to expect when comparing a lowly synthetic shaving brush to the gold class – silvertip badger haired brushes. Synthetic usually means cheap… but this isn’t any run of the mill $10 synthetic shaving brush, this sucker will set you back a shocking $50, which is the price of quite a few decent badger brushes! So – is it worth it? Well, of course, that depends who you ask. Personally – I think it is. While not “super-luxurious” like a Kent or the MP, this brush is...

The infamous Simpson Chubby… really the .500 Magnum of shaving brushes. If you were to pack a brush any denser, or have any greater a badger/knot size ratio it would probably change the rotational axes of the earth. This brush is 4 pounds of badger in a one pound bag. With most shaving brushes, there are subtle differences from brush to brush – however most fellas who have never used a shaving brush before couldn’t tell you the difference in feeling from a PJ3 and a 26MM shavemac... but...

This Muhle Pinsel shaving brush from Nashville Knife Shop was one of the real “gems” of the brush wars group. I found myself reaching for this brush constantly… which is surprising as Muhle Pinsel’s don’t have a reputation as being anything special… and to boot this brush is INCREDIBLY soft on your face. Now, like the kent, I would call this soft and luxurious, NOT floppy. This brush never feels weak against your face, and it has a backbone – but again, it is exceptionally soft and decadent...

This brush is somewhat of a disaster… while the handle is gorgeous, it is WAYYYY too heavy, is horribly balanced, and has a floppy brush head… which is weird, as I had this brush with a plastic handle, and it was quite nice! At any rate, this brush is somewhat “vulfix-like” in that it is quite floppy, not very luxurious, and so on and so forth. The handle is probably the biggest downfall, as when you twirl the brush in a circular motion, the weight acts as a counter-balance and it...

Ok… after seeing the pics above, hold onto your socks… this shaving brush is $250. No, that’s not a typo, nor a joke... $250 for a Vulfix. Well… a Vulfix “silvertip” that is. I guess you can probably tell this review isn’t going to go well? All right, let’s get down to business. This is the floppiest brush I have ever experienced. It’s so floppy I couldn’t even call it luxurious; it’s down right sloppy. It’s like lathering with a washrag – really, really, really unimpressive. This...

Shavemac... nuff said! Anytime you buy a shavemac, you know you’re going to get a solid brush, from a company that will stand behind it. Is it the best brush out there? Probably not – but shavemac brushes are always a close second, are always less expensive, and their quality is simply first rate. While I preferred their original silvertip badger hair their used to source, the new source Bernd uses provides a softer, more luxurious badger hair – which still makes for a superb brush...

Superior Brushes for me at least, have been a “superior” letdown. They had so much good going for them… cool handles, fully customizable (handles), neat materials we hadn’t seen in the world of wetshaving – all in all cool brushes, made in America to boot! Seemed too good to be true, and to a certain extent is. There isn’t too much I have to say about these brushes other than it was the worst in the group as far as bristle quality and lather ability. I wouldn’t recommend these shaving...

What’s in a name? Well… in the case of Plisson – everything. There is a lot of hype around this brand as a lot of fellas who have been around a long time – and post quite a bit are gaga over them… that and they are the most expensive and hardest to acquire. Well, I’ve owned quite a few Plisson’s myself because of their reputation, and to dispel all rumors… I don’t particularly care for them. Now – don’t get too far ahead of me – they are without question fine shaving brushes, and certainly...