Shave of the Day Jan. 31, 2011

Razor: 5/8 George Wostenholm & Sons "Celebrated IXL Best Concave Razor"
Cream: C.O. Bigelow
Brush: Vulfix 2234
Aftershave: Real Shaving Co. Moisturizing Balm
Cologne: Aramis - Tuscany per Uomo


Have a fantastic Monday everyone!

Shave of the Day Jan. 30, 2011

Razor: 11/16 Klas Tornblom
Soap: Van der Hagen
Brush: Ωmega 31064
Aftershave: Old Spice
Cologne: Old Spice

Biking at Cathedral Caverns Road, Grant by thornmoon at Garmin Connect - Details

Felt good to be able to get out and ride for a while today. Had a pretty strong head wind that slowed me down on one leg of the lap but still, it was so nice to get off the trainer and do some REAL riding again!!

Biking at Cathedral Caverns Road, Grant by thornmoon at Garmin Connect - Details

Shave of the Day Jan. 29, 2011

Razor: 11/16 Klas Tornblom
Soap: St. Charles Shave Bay Rum
Brush: Badger & Blade Essential
Aftershave: Pinaud Lime Sec + Superior 70 Bay Rum


Fantastic shave today! Temps have risen and given us a small taste of Spring! Bay rum and lime reminds me of summer so I went with it today!

Shave of the Day Jan. 28, 2011

Razor: 15/16 Henckels Friodur
Soap/Cream: Ogallala Bay Rum & Sweet Orange + Speick
Brush: Shavemac 177
Aftershave: Pinaud Citrus Musk


Great shave today!!! The Ogallala soap smells great and performed nicely with the Speick cream.

Shave of the Day Jan. 27, 2011

Razor: 6/8 Dovo Special
Soap/Cream: Mitchell's Wool Fat + C.O. Bigelow
Brush: "Clint" Super Badger
Aftershave: Clubman Classic Vanilla

Shave of the Day Jan. 26, 2011

Razor: 6/8 Wacker
Soap: Van der Hagen Deluxe
Brush: Vie-Long 13061
Aftershave: RazoRock Alum / Thayers / Masters Bay Rum

Shave of the Day Jan. 25, 2011

Razor: 7/8 Henckels Friodur
Soap: Speick
Brush: Crabtree & Evelyn Pure Badger
Aftershave: Clubman
Cologne: Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche

Shave of the Day Jan. 24, 2011

Razor: 5/8 E. Berninghaus
Soap: Ogallala Bay Rum and Sweet Orange
Brush: Penworks 22mm Finest
Aftershave: Booster Aquarius
Cologne: YSL M7 Fresh

Shave of the Day Jan. 23, 2011

Razor: 5/8 D.C.&H. Co. "Clean Cut"
Soap: Art of Shaving Lemon
Brush: Vie-Long 13061
Aftershave: Masters Bay Rum
Cologne: C.O. Bigelow Bay Rum


Not the greatest shave today. Lot of pulling with the Clean Cut. Gonna have to take it to the hones again and give it some more attention.

Have a great day everyone!

Shave of the Day Jan. 22, 2011

Razor: 5/8 Panamex Blue Bell No.99
Cream: Taylor of Old Bond Street Lemon & Lime
Brush: Vie-Long 13061 Horse Hair
Aftershave: RazoRock Alum / Aqua Velva Classic Ice Blue
Cologne: Polo Modern Reserve


Last of the Lemon & Lime cream! Taylor of Old Bond street makes some of the best shaving creams available and at around $14 for a large 5oz. tub, they're quite a bargain as one tub would last for a very long time!

Shave of the Day Jan. 21, 2011 - Warm weather dreams..

Razor: 5/8 F.H. Loeffler Co. DEMON
Cream: The Bomb Calypso
Brush: Crabtree & Evelyn Best Badger
Aftershave: Booster Island Bay Rum
Cologne: Tommy Bahama St. Barts

Another dusting of snow last night! I'm SICK of it! Bring on Spring ASAP!

Once again Al's shaving cream delivers! This has become some of my favorite and I'm primarily a soap guy! The smell is a wonderful bay rum that evokes thoughts of sandy white beaches, the salty ocean air and the sound of waves crashing on the shore! I had a chance to go to Nassau when I was in the Navy and I would love to be there right now!

Have a great day everyone!

Shave of the Day Jan. 20, 2011

Razor: 5/8 Fox Cutlery
Soap: Van der Hagen Deluxe
Brush: "Clint" Super Badger
Aftershave: Trumpers Coral Skin Food
Cologne: Polo Modern Reserve

Shave of the Day Jan. 19, 2011

Razor: 6/8 Dovo Special
Cream: C.O. Bigelow
Brush: Vulfix 2234
Aftershave: RazoRock Alum / Thayers / Proraso
Cologne: Creed Royal English Leather

Shave of the Day Jan. 18, 2011

Razor: 6/8 Dovo Renaissance
Soap: Speick
Brush: B&B Essential
Aftershave: Nivea Replenishing Balm
Cologne: Dior Homme

Shave of the Day Jan. 17, 2011

Razor: 7/8 Joseph Elliot "Fine India Steel"
Soap / Cream: Art of Shaving Lemon / Speick
Brush: Badger & Blade Essential
Aftershave: RazoRock Alum / Thayers Witch Hazel / Booster Polar Ice
Cologne: Rive Gauche Pour Homme

Shave of the Day - 1/16/2011

Razor: 11/16 George Wostenholm & Sons Celebrated IXL Best Concave Razor
Soap/Cream: MWF + Taylor of Old Bond St. Lemon & Lime
Brush: Penworks 22mm Finest
Aftershave: RazoRock Alum / Thayers Witch Hazel / Alt-Innsbruck
Cologne: Miller Harris Feuilles de Tabac

Trying to work through some items that are almost gone. The Mitchell's Wool Fat is an excellent soap and I'll be replacing it eventually but not before I've finished off some other items. So, you'll be seeing it a lot in the coming weeks/months along with Art of Shaving Lemon, Taylor of Old Bond St. Lemon & Lime Cream & a Speick soap stick.

Shave of the Day - 1/15/2011

Razor: 8/8 Frederick Reynolds
Soap: Mitchell's Wool Fat
Brush: Kent B& LE 09
Aftershave: RazoRock Alum / Floid Blue
Cologne: Floris JF

Introduction to Traditional Wetshaving, Part 2: Lathering

Shave of the Day Jan. 14, 2011

Razor: 13/16 L.W. Bradley
Soap: Mitchell's Wool Fat
Brush: Badger & Blade Essential
Aftershave: RazoRock Alum / GFT Sandalwood Skin Food
Cologne: C.O. Bigelow Elixir Black

Shave of the Day Jan. 13, 2011

Razor: 5/8 Boker
Soap: Irisch Moos
Brush: Badger & Blade Essential
Aftershave: RazoRock Alum / Brut ASB

Rushed shave today! Hate it when I wake up late. The Irisch Moos is a shave stick. Primarily used for traveling, these are very convenient to have as the take up less space and require less time because you rub the soap directly onto your face and build lather from there.

Shave of the Day Jan. 12, 2011

Razor: 15/16 Henckels Friodur
Soap: Calani "Dubai"
Brush: Penworks 22mm Finest
Aftershave/Cologne: Aqua Velva Musk



Calani makes great artisan soaps that are 100% natural and hand made in Germany. The "Dubai" scent combines sweet and spice notes featuring Citron, Amber and Sandalwood scents. The Penworks brushes are one of the best values in traditional wetshaving and can generally be bought for under $50.

Shave of the Day Jan. 9, 2011

Razor: 6/8 C.V. Heljestrand N0.9
Cream: Alraz's The Bomb "Goodfellas"
Brush: Penworks 22mm Fiinest
Aftershave: RazoRock Alum / Thayers / Booster's Jickey
Cologne: Arden Men Sandalwood

Swedish made Heljestrand is a great shver and the "Goodfellas" cream is called "The Bomb" for good reason! Some of the best I've used!

Shave of the Day Jan. 8, 2011

Razor: 7/8 Frederick Reynolds
Brush: No-name super badger
Cream/Soap: Williams Mug Soap + Kiss My Face Unscented
Aftershave: Aqua Velva Classic Ice Blue

Used my favorite straight this morning. This is a 7/8 Frederick Reynolds made in Sheffield England some time in the late 1800's. I stumble across this item online just by accident and couldn't believe my eyes when I found it. First the blade had minimal tarnish on it, just a patina but luckily no rust. Second and what was most amazing to me was the fact that it still had the original scales which were light colored horn and in fantastic shape right down to the original lead spacer. But the ultimate was the price I paid for it; only $22 shipped!

The brush I purchased off Ebay and had it restored by Tony and Penworks with a nice super badger knot. I finished up my week of local-product shaves with the Williams mug soap enhanced with a bit of Kiss My Face unscented shaving cream to create what some refer to as "super lather" and finished off with a splash of Aqua Velva Classic Ice Blue aftershave.

Shave of the Day Jan. 7, 2011

Razor: 11/16 Joh. Engstrom Frameback
Cream: C.O. Bigelow
Brush: Vulfix 2234
Aftershave: Heritage Products Rosewater & Glycerin



C.O. Bigelow cream is the single best shaving product available in the north Alabama area. It can be found at any area Bath & Body Works and is a great bargain, costing $5 for the 1.7 oz. tube and $10 for the giant 5.1oz. tube. Add to this the fact that B&BW regularly runs buy 1 get 1 free deals and for just $10 you could be set for a year or more of fantastic shaves!

The scent of the Bigelow cream is slightly medicinal and has a substantial cooling effect due to the eucalyptus oil it contains. The cream produces a very slick and cushioning lather that provides a great shaving base. In addition to the shaving cream, B&BW also carries the full line of Bigelow products for men including aftershaves, colognes, shampoos and soaps.

I stopped into Earth Fare again last night to pick up a few things and also purchased the bottle of Heritage Rosewater and Glycerin lotion. Used it this morning and it works great as a sting-free aftershave splash!

Shave of the Day Jan. 6, 2011

Razor: 6/8 Wacker
Cream: Crabtree & Evelyn Sienna
Brush: Shavemac 177
Aftershave: Nivea Sensitive Balm
Cologne: Crabtree & Evelyn Sienna



Once upon a time, shaving in the north Alabama area looked to be on the upswing with the introduction of a Crabtree & Evelyn store in the Bridge Street Town Center shopping plaza. Unfortunately, the company fell on hard times and eventually the store closed. The closest one is in Nashville, TN. A bad loss for the area because it was the only shop where one could get truly high end shave gear and their Best Badger brush at only $35 was one of the best bargains available. I hope we eventually get something similar in one day.

Sienna (and all Crabtree & Evelyn creams I've used) is a great shaving cream in both performance and scent. The website describes it as "A masculine blend of leather, citrus and spice - with just a hint of fire and herbs" and they're exactly right! It smells warm and spicy! The cream is thick in the jar with a consistency similar to Noxema cleansing cream and a little definitely goes a long way.

New razor on the way.

Just snagged this nice old 5/8 George Wostenholm & Sons straight.

Shave of the Day Jan. 5, 2011

Razor: 7/8 Henckels Friodur
Cream: Kiss My Face Peaceful Patchouli
Brush: Badger & Blade Essential
Aftershave: Thayers Witch Hazel & Nivea Balm

I began the new year with shaves featuring soaps, creams, aftershaves & colognes that I purchased locally. Although Huntsville doesn't have much, there are some good things to be found out there. Kiss My Face is marketed as a brushless cream but I've found that it does indeed work nicely with a brush. I picked it up at the new Earth Fare market on University Dr. (Kroger also carries the line although I've not seen this scent in any of them) and it's very slick and moisturizing. I picked up the bottle of Thayers witch hazel at Earth Fare as well. Witch hazel has long been a go-to of traditional barbers due to it's toning and antiseptic properties. This particular bottle contains a slight bit of alcohol and is unscented but there are others available that are alcohol free and scented (rose petal, lavender).

Introduction to Traditional Wetshaving, Part 1: Concepts

Here's a GREAT video to introduce you to the concept of traditional wetshaving!

Traditional wet shaving

I thought I'd start off the new year by blogging about one of the unlikeliest activities you'd ever believe could be enjoyable... Shaving! Up until two and a half years ago, I did what most of you probably do. I'd wake up in the morning and after a hot shower I'd grab a metal can of goo and a horribly over-priced cartridge razor and go at it. I can remember back then that I would only shave three or four times a week at the most because it was such a hassle where redness, irritation and ingrown hairs were a common occurrence.. Basically it was a chore that I did only because I had to.

Then I began searching the internet for a better way to go about it and in due course came across the concept of traditional wet shaving. Now it's a given that any shaving in which water is involved can be considered "wet shaving". Traditional wet shaving on the other hand incorporates tools and techniques that haven't been commonly practiced since the introduction of the Trac II razor by Gillette in the early 70's (and earlier considering that canned foam was introduced in the 1950's). Traditional wet shaving requires the use of items such as a shaving brush, a mug or shave scuttle and some form of shaving soap or cream. In a very short time I had acquired myself a Merkur safety razor, some blades and cream and never looked back.

Two-and-a-half years on I'm still enjoying a wonderful shave every morning. In that time my tools have changed somewhat but the core elements are still there; a razor (straight razor), creams, soaps and a brush and I am now getting the best shaves of my life! So from now on I'll post my daily shaves and comment a little about them, the equipment that I use and why I like them so much.