Damn Comfortable Shave

[Esox]

I ordered one of them a while back... but Italian Barber no longer ship to the UK (due to Brexit they said).

Huh?

Does that also mean that Canada is no longer a British colony because of Brexit? I may have felt the need to type words to them...

Something seems odd with that. I think their address has changed since I last checked and I dont remember the c/o Old World Importing Inc. part either.

 

[thombrogan]

My stuff from Italian Barber had Old World Importing or similar on the invoice.

The Brexit excuse seems implausible and I hope @Cal gets a chance to try their new razors soon.

 

[Rosseforp]

Huh?

Does that also mean that Canada is no longer a British colony because of Brexit? I may have felt the need to type words to them...

View attachment 1266387
Something seems odd with that. I think their address has changed since I last checked and I dont remember the c/o Old World Importing Inc. part either.

I believe they moved last year. My last order from them was dreadfully slow, and they offered me a ton of excuses, one of them being the move. They actually indicated I was stupid because I paid extra for expedited shipping. I felt insulted. Connaught on the other hand, responded delightfully.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I ordered one of them a while back... but Italian Barber no longer ship to the UK (due to Brexit they said).

On the bright side, at least they've saved me some cash.

@Cal These guys do all (or a lot of) the Razorock stuff...

Shaving Supplies & Products for Sale Online - Shaving Time

Buy shaving equipment online today, including shaving soap, cream, razors, brushes, fragrance and more. Free UK &EU Shipping & Free Returns Service.

shavingtime.co.uk

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Friday's shave was good, easy, fast, and simple.

I have a little area on my lower lip (below the vermillion, next to the soul patch) which has been damaged (cut and/or "weepered") and has been a bit inflamed looking. I'm babying it a bit by using the OC B baseplate and under-doing things and staying away from the spot while it recovers.

Still, a good shave.

Yummy scent.​

The Karve OC B plate is surprisingly efficient but not as efficient as the G (of course).

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Esox]

I believe they moved last year. My last order from them was dreadfully slow, and they offered me a ton of excuses, one of them being the move. They actually indicated I was stupid because I paid extra for expedited shipping. I felt insulted. Connaught on the other hand, responded delightfully.

Thats what a normal person would believe. I'm not normal lol. They're in the same place. Aurora On.

Maggard and Connaught, the two places that get my money.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I've recently received a very efficiently filled order from Italian Barber. No complaints from here. Good razors (the few I've purchased). Good quality good for the price.

I also buy from Connaught and Maggard. I consider both to be the kind of folks I want to support whenever possible.

Connaught shipping to my location has gone up a lot recently which is likely to discourage some of my across-the-pond shopping. Their low priced shipping used to be a great plus.

I buy from Phoenix (PAA), too, because I love their splashes.

There are other good vendors, too, but these come to mind.

We are so fortunate to have so many places to shop for our gear.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Rosseforp]

I've recently received a very efficiently filled order from Italian Barber. No complaints from here. Good razors (the few I've purchased). Good quality good for the price.

I also buy from Connaught and Maggard. I consider both to be the kind of folks I want to support whenever possible.

Connaught shipping to my location has gone up a lot recently which is likely to discourage some of my across-the-pond shopping. Their low priced shipping used to be a great plus.

I buy from Phoenix (PAA), too, because I love their splashes.

There are other good vendors, too, but these come to mind.

We are so fortunate to have so many places to shop for our gear.

Happy shaves,

Jim

IB has always filled my orders correctly, and I love their products, but delivery has always been sketchy. Out of 5 orders, only one came on time.

 

[Esox]

Maggard and Connaught, the two places that get my money.

Speaking of...

Connaught just got more of my money!

Under $50CAD through Paypal.

Same order from Maggard?

$54.09USD, which comes to $65.54CAD.

It seems the UK can ship to Canada without issue, inexpensively too.

Who said you cant save money wet shaving?

 

[Neilzebub]

Connaught shipping to my location has gone up a lot recently which is likely to discourage some of my across-the-pond shopping. Their low priced shipping used to be a great plus.

Jim, I think you'll find they've adjusted their shipping costs recently. More to the point, I believe Peter is taking a loss on them. And he's brought back free airmail shipping with orders over sixty pounds.

 

[Cal]

@Cal These guys do all (or a lot of) the Razorock stuff...

Shaving Supplies & Products for Sale Online - Shaving Time

Buy shaving equipment online today, including shaving soap, cream, razors, brushes, fragrance and more. Free UK &EU Shipping & Free Returns Service.

shavingtime.co.uk

Thanks Al! Ordered!

So much for the saving money idea.

 

[Cal]

Jim, I think you'll find they've adjusted their shipping costs recently. More to the point, I believe Peter is taking a loss on them. And he's brought back free airmail shipping with orders over sixty pounds.

Isn't it Paul? (Or maybe Mary. )

 

[Neilzebub]

Heh, Mr. Mayhew then I think? What do I know, I just live here.
Edit: it is Paul. I sit corrected.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Listening to this makes me cry, at least today it does. I think mine are tears of joy as I listen to Mary's beautiful voice, but also sorrow as I mourn her death and that of our youth, and then there's the subject matter. Whatever, this is a beautiful song and rendition.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Thanks Al! Ordered!

So much for the saving money idea.

Very cool vendor option. I'm in the US and can easily order from Italian Barber, but it's great to know folks across the pond can get a RR razor.

Thanks, Al.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Saturday's shave was terrific. Actually it kinda blew my mind.

The part that blew me away was the Timeless OC 95 baseplate. There was plenty of blade feel, but it was also very smooth, safe feeling, not aggressive, and yet extremely efficient. I liked it very much indeed.

It just took this one shave to convince me this is a superior baseplate.

I've ordered the cap, handle, and stand to go with it.

The handle I decided on is the regular handle. The crown handle is very appealing visually, but it's longer than I prefer, and I'm not sure if I'd like the ergonomics (although everyone seems to).

I picked the matte finish to go with the baseplate I already have.

This Zenith Manchurian is in the same superior category. The knot came to me already broken in, but it has definitely improved over time. At present it would be hard to top. It's a lather monster. It's big enough. The handle has wonderful ergonomics and looks great. The knot is what I think of as deliciously scrubby. It has plenty of presence, but it is also plenty soft.

I realize it might not be soft enough for those who value softness above everything important such as scrub, but I have no idea what planet they came from.

It occurs to me I'm at risk of buying every razor known to man and God - much like David @never-stop-learning - which is way beyond my purse and my wife's tolerance and also not something I really want to do. I'm hoping this will be my last razor purchase for a good while. This is, for me, a very expensive razor, I think it will be the most expensive razor I own. I also think it will be worth the coin.

You may know, hopefully you do, what a sweet spot razor the FOCS slant is. The FOCS seems easy as pie to shave with and achieves great balance in its qualities - not prone to biting, efficient, smooth feeling in use - which is to me the sweet spot.

I have a bunch of razors which I consider very very good, but the Timeless 95 OC baseplate is the first razor other than the FOCS which seemed to me on initial impression to be as sweet as the FOCS.

Not saying others I've used recently are lacking. Not at all.

Obviously, the sweet spot might disappear when I combine this baseplate with the Ti handle and cap. Wouldn't that be a bleah?

Not that I expect to be disappointed when I assemble and use the Ti OC 95 razor.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[thombrogan]

The bronze/ti combination looks amazing in your photo.

not something I really want to do.

 

[Bosh Hog]

Same. I'm against butterfly razors generally to be honest. They were dreamed up by marketing departments to induce people to change blades more frequently, since blade sales were 90% of revenue. Shave quality was a distant 2nd or 3rd priority. When competitors copied that, making a razor adjustable was the next inevitable solution in search of a problem, brought to you by the same minds that put electric motors in razors to make them vibrate.

That said, I broke out my Feather Popular a few days ago and I've really been enjoying it. Maybe butterfly razors aren't so bad. I also really admire the engineering that went into making razors adjustable, even if it serves no practical purpose. On top of that, I've always had an inexplicable weakness for brass. Come to think of it, with copper prices expected to double by Q4, I should just probably just be honest with myself and buy one now before copper prices push the Flexi over $100.

That's actually one of the more compelling rationalizations I've managed in a while. I think I actually talked myself into it.

I'm not sure this shave journal is a safe place for someone with my condition.

I share your pain...

 

[Cesare]

I'm a wet shaver. In other words, I've been shaving with a Gillette Fusion, and real shaving creams, and sometimes brushes for many years (well, decades if I include other iterations of Gillette's "modern" razors with multiple blades).

My shaving career began before these razors were invented, so I, like just about everyone back in 1960 began shaving with a Gillette twist to open double edge. I cut myself all the time, and was a lot better at shaving with razors like the Fusion.

Like most people, I've tried everything, and like most people, most everything works okay or great on my face, and is lousy on my neck. The best of my neck shaves have been with the Gillette Fusion.

Through reading this forum and lots of other online material I decided to give double edged razors another try. Why? Frankly I'm not sure. Certainly it is not about the expense of the Fusion blade systems because I can use one for weeks or even months. Yeah, it will tug a bit, but it still shaves well, and doesn't irritate my sensitive neck. Maybe the DE just seems cool, and traditional, and has the promise of delivering a shave which is both BBS and comfortable.

Back in the day I used to occasionally get a real barber shop shave by a real, old time, experienced, skilled barber. Those were the shaves I dreamed of, and hoped to replicate at home with a double edged razor.

BBS sounds great, and why shouldn't it, but a damn comfortable, and pretty good shave would have to come first, and be a development milestone, and be a higher priority item. After all, who cares how you look if you're hurting, and miserable?

Old timers are going to kick me here because I don't follow every direction worth a hoot, and am prone to change variables. I don't do this professionally (being scientific in my approach), but this isn't rocket science, and I can do as I like (and suffer the consequences).

Today I got what I would consider a still not perfect but close to it damn comfortable shave. I changed several variables. I took a shower first, but I still did a hot to warm towel over first lather pre-shave preparation. I used a new and different brush, a RazoRock Plissoft Monster Synthetic instead of my Semoque SOC boar. I didn't change soaps, but used, other than the towel soak, cold water, and cold lather.

My razor is a Feather AS-D2. I changed today to a different blade. Instead of a Feather I used a Personna med blade (marked "for hospital use").

Yeah, I know this is not the way anyone should do things especially not a newbie like me, but, shoot me, I'm just reporting.

My goal this morning was not to get a good, close shave, but to get a comfortable shave. I can't say the shave is the most comfortable I've ever gotten. It certainly is not as comfortable as most shaves I got with the Fusion. However, it is the most comfortable shave I've gotten with a double edged razor.

I did only only pass with a little touch up on my chin. Still, my shave is pretty good, certainly socially acceptable, and, frankly, closer than I would have expected with one pass.

What was the difference? Was it the cold shave? Was it the blade? There's no way to be sure, but it still pleases me very much to know that a damn comfortable double edged shave is possible. I suspect it will get better as I become more experienced, and listen to my face, and learn to shave better.

Oh, I bought some Dickinson's witch hazel yesterday.

What a post! Bravo!

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Really unusual razor handle found on eBay.

It's an auction item so I can't post the link, but it's called a "Pre 1930 Gillette Old Type Open Comb Double Edge DE Brass Safety Razor Austria."

Not that anyone would want it of course.

Happy shaves,

Jim