Here is our first Member Spotlight, Tom, AKA tipster_621.
Name (first only is fine): Tom
Age: 49
What do you do for a living?: IT - Senior Systems Engineer
What got you interested in traditional wet shaving?: The first thing that piqued my interest in it was the Micro Touch One commercial with Rick Harrison. A little while later, I saw the Van der Hagen setup in my local CVS, and mentioned to my wife that I would be open to receiving that, or something like it, for my next birthday or Father's Day. She bought me a starter kit from Grim Blades, with a Parker 22R razor, a Rooney Pure Badger brush, a pack of Derby blades and a sample of Grim Blades Smolder soap.
How did you learn of B&B?: I started researching, through Google, about my razor, my brush, my soap and blades, and started realizing that there was a lot more to wet shaving than what my Dad had available to him, when I was a child. B&B was just one of the many sites I came across in my online travels.
When did you become a member?: Right after I bought my first vintage razor, a post war Gillette Tech, which was Labor Day, 2016. I believe I joined a day or two later.
Do you favor balms or splashes, or do you use both? Why?: I prefer splashes, but I use both. I started out using nothing, which was OK as I was only doing one WTG pass. Once I spent some time on B&B and on Reddit I started doing 2 passes, and not wanting to smell all "aftershavey", I used Nivea post shave balm for several months. I tried some modern P&G Old Spice early on, and couldn't stand it. My first splash I liked was CFG Orange Creamsicle, and that lead me to experiment with more "drug store" splashes. I tried OS again, and it's now one of my favorites.
Favorite AS?: I don't really have a favorite. Clubman and AV Musk were early favorites, but it seems to change with the weather. During warmer weather, I prefer the lighter splashes - Old Spice (modern or vintage), CFG Orange Creamsicle, The Veg!, etc. During colder weather, I like the heavier scents - Special Reserve and B&M Night Music, and AV Musk, but, it's not written in stone. All the rest of my splashes seem to work no matter what the weather. Lately, I've come to really like Aqua Velva from Spain and Stetson Cool Moisture.
Do you pair your AS with soap/cream? With cologne? Favorite combination?: I tend to pair Clubman Original or Special Reserve with CFG Ghost Town Barber soap. It works will with Clubman Vanilla, too. CFG Tradwinds soap was made to be paired with Old Spice. Most of them, I'll tend to use a light or neutral smelling soap like Van der Hagen Luxury soap, Cella, or my puck of Art of Shaving Lemon, which really has no smell.
Interests/hobbies: I love to go antiquing with my wife - she collects vintage Pyrex cookware, and of course, I collect vintage razors, brushes, Old Spice mugs and bottles, and now am looking for vintage aftershaves and bottles. I also love reading thriller novels - my favorite authors are Brad Thor, Vince Flynn, Lee Child, Micheal Connelly, Harlen Coben, and quite a few more.
Add any comments you wish: I really love the maturity level here on B&B. Early on, even after I had joined B&B, I spent a lot of time on Reddit's shaving sub-reddits. Over time, I've gravitated over to B&B mostly (about 95% of the time), as there are a lot of immature comments on Reddit. There's a TON of info here on B&B, and everyone is so willing to share their knowledge and encouragement. I learn something new about my new hobby just about every day here.
Last edited:
