November 16, 2007 by ratcheer.

Since I last wrote about shaving, I have made a grand personal discovery. Thanks to my many friends at the Badger and Blade web site, I have started using and come to strongly prefer triple milled, or hard, shaving soaps. They can be quite expensive, but they last a very long time so they seem to be “worth it”. My current favorites are Mitchell’s Wool Fat, George F. Trumper Coconut Oil (both from Great Britain), and Provence Sante from France. I have a couple of others and there are more on my wish list. All of these soaps provide luxurious lather, comfortable shaves, and leave the skin feeling as if it had already been rubbed with a fine lotion.

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July 22, 2007 by ratcheer.

I had been holding back my Badger and Blade English Gentleman’s razor and finest silvertip badger brush since I bought them in January. I was waiting to use them to celebrate my birthday. So, last night, I took them out and used them.

Both have beautiful faux horn handles which range in color from light beige to deep brown. The razor has a nice, fat handle that is long and easy to grip. The hair of the brush is long lofted and quite dark looking for this grade of hair.

I used a new Swedish Gillette blade and St. Charles Shave’s Bay Rum With a Twist shave creme. I prepared my face with Pantene Pro V hair conditioner. Everything performed wonderfully and I got a close, comfortable shave. I finished it up with T. N. Dickenson’s witch hazel.

On a side note, I had lost track of my Swedish Gillettes for several weeks. I thought I had possibly thrown them away by mistake. But, I pulled out my large box of shaving supplies and found them in a separate location from all my other blades. I’m glad I found them, because they are difficult to find and expensive.

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