Blackland Blackbird Razor

Reader(s) of my blog may have noticed a new razor showing up in some of my pictures.  I have not really talked about this razor here, but I can confidently say that the new Blackland Blackbird razor is the best razor I have ever used and is definitely the coolest.  Shane over at Blackland designed and built the razor last year.  He had a hitch and start over at Kickstarter and late in the fall was able to offer up this futuristic looking tool for sale.  I purchased one of the first run - which sold out pretty quickly, btw.

I am so glad that I decided to jump in and spend some money on this stainless steel, fully machine tooled black oxide razor.  The manufacturing tolerances are perfect and the head design seems to make the razor blade have the automatic proper angle for a close and nick free shave.  

I will likely never NEED to buy another razor again.  That's not to say that I won't buy something else in the future, but I think I found the perfect razor for shaving my face and my head. 

3/16/16 - SOTD

This morning's shave was very nice.  The soap was good, the blade was smooth and the razor provided an error free 2 pass shave.  

Blackland Blackbird

Derby Extra (4)

IanS shaving soap

RazoRock Plissoft

Avon Windjammer aftershave

3/15/16 - SOTD

Easy 3 pass shave this morning.  The Blackbird razor and Derby blade agree with each other.  I finished off with vintage Avon Spicy.

Blackbird

Derby Extra (2)

RazoRock Plissoft

IanS shaving soap

Avon Spicy aftershave

I never really thought that shaving would be such a pleasant time of my day.  It is.

Shave Of The Day - March 14, 2016

Blackland Blackbird

Derby Extra blade (2)

IanS shaving soap

RazoRock Plissoft brush

vintage Avon Windjammer aftershave

Derby Extra blades are almost universally panned as a mediocre to bad blade.  I decided to try out a pack that I have and see how they perform in the Blackbird razor.  This Pakistan made blade has a reputation for being rough and dull.   I found the opposite to be true in this razor.  Smooth and effective.  I will see how long it lasts.  I hope to get at least a week's worth of shaves from the blade.  

Same as it ever was...well maybe!  I've not kept up with this blog at all, but I still shave almost every day and am still using only traditional tools and methods.  Well, not straight razors, but good old double edge safety razors.  Over the past 2 years, I've changed a little of my shave gear and think I may be settled in to what I will continue to use.    

This is a Gillette NEW Long Comb razor that I recently had re-vamped by Delta Echo Razorworks.  They do a cool razor plate using GunKote and I think it is just outstanding.

This brush is a RazoRock Plissoft I came into from a pass around box originating at Badger and Blade.  It is a synthetic brush and really makes a nice lather and is perfect for face lathering.

This photo and the next 2 are of my new Blackland Blackbird razor.  It is from a new American company that designed and made this really neat razor.  It is the best shaving razor I own.

 Finally, here is a photo of a Gillette Slim adjustable that gets occasional use.  What makes this razor important to me is that it was manufactured in the 4th quarter of 1963, the same time when I was born.

What I've learned in 6 months of traditional shaving

I realized this morning that I have been shaving in a more traditional way for 6 months now.  It has been an enjoyable journey.  I wanted to take a few minutes and write down some of the things I have learned.

I really don't need too much stuff to shave every day.

Shaving cream and a brush feel really good on my face.

Using a shaving scuttle to have warm lather does not automatically  make one some sort of metrosexual.  Pampering is good, isn't it?

Simple soap, brush, blades and an old fashioned razor will get the job done.

What have you learned?

Cutting down to the essentials

Wet shaving can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be.  I am in a phase in my life where simple is more desirable.  So I have cut down on my hardware - razors specifically - and decided to just shave with one razor for a while and see how I like it.

I decided I would use only the pictured razor.  It is a 1930's model New style Gillette razor.  It has an open comb instead of a solid safety bar but I have yet to cut myself with it.  I've been using it, or another one just like it, pretty much since the end of May and it always delivers a great shave.

I sent it off to Sport Shaving to replate it from tarnished, worn and chipped to its current shine.  Here is what it looked like before.  Not bad, but it could look better.

I'm sure its not true, but it seems to shave a bit smoother with it being all shiny.

Back to being simple.  All that is really needed is a razor, some blades, a brush and some soap.  Not 25 razors, 3,000 blades, 45 different hard soaps, 3 dozen creams, 4 pre-shave face washes and 7 pre-shave oils, alum blocks, witch hazel splash, aftershave balms, aftershave splashes and moisturizers. 

I wash my face with soap, make lather on my face using 1 shaving soap and my brush, shave, rinse, lather and repeat, then rinse off the soap and splash on some aftershave to tighten the skin and make me smell damn good.  No pampering, no metrosexual obsession with a "system" and what not.  I'm a man and if I must shave, I will do it right and not worry about anything else.

7 a.m. Plus blade shave #2

The second shave with the 7 a.m. Plus blade was an uneventful shave.

Wow, blogging about shaving is pretty boring.  I mean, I shave every day, pretty much the same way, with the same tools and its pretty much the same....

But, man, does my skin look good!  And I smell good too!

Blade Sampler beginning

I ordered a sampler of blades from Joanna at The Shave Den and decided that I would start working my way through it.  It appears to have 3 each of 6 different blades.

I will be using each set of 3 blades in my Weber razor, my Gillette New open comb razor and in one of my Gillette Tech razors for shaving my head.

I think three different razors will give a pretty fair representation of how I might use the blades.  

Today's face shave was just fine, no surprises, no blood! and best of all, the blade was a non-issue.  It seemed to be sharp and smooth.

Next up Soap - Tiki Set Sail Vegan soap

I have settled on my soap and brush for the next round of using up soap.  I received this Tiki Set Sail vegan soap (no tallow) from a new friend over on Badger and Blade and want to give it a full test.  Look for a review post in the near future.

I have an inexpensive boar bristle brush I purchased from Stirling Soap last month and have enjoyed breaking it in.  The interesting thing about boar bristle is that the tips will start to split and the brush will get softer with use.  This brush is almost there and I expect that a month of daily use will get it right where I want it.

Using Up Soaps

Amazingly, in the past 6 months, I've been able to accumulate more soaps and creams than is reasonable.  I would talk about razors and brushes, but I've bought too many and sold most of them.  I have 4 razors at the moment with plans to reduce that number to 3 in the near future.  And blades, well, I ought be good for a couple of years and regularly engage in trades and PIFs to reduce the load on the wall cabinet. But soaps, now that is another story.

I've been fortunate enough to receive at least 3 batches of soaps as the recipient of PIF's from other enthusiasts in the wet shaving community.  I have gifted some away and started playing around with the lathering arts.  However, I realized that I would not truly find out how a soap could do unless I actually used it for more than a day at a time.  You can see what I am up against here.

So, in mid-March, I joined in a group over at Badger and Blade that is committed to only using 1 soap at a time during any given month, unless you can completely use up the soap then you would start on a new one.

My first choice was a puck of Stirling Barbershop.

I forced the puck down into my Old Spice mug and started shaving with it every day.  It lasted 28 days of daily face shaving and every other day head shaving. 

Next up was a tube of Godrej Cool Menthol direct from a new friend in India.  This cream was fun to use and it made it for 3 weeks.

I worked in a sample of puck of Stirling Glacial Wintergreen for 3 days.  Then I added in a homemade sample from a member of The Shave Den.

This little guy actually made it for 3 days and did a nice job. 

Now I am into my last sample of a soap from The Shave Den store.  I expect it to make it to mid week and then I have to make a decision - go for soap or get after using up creams.  

I'll let you know what I am doing when I do it.

Update - Still Shaving and Still Enjoying it!

Yep, I'm still alive and still enjoying shaving in a more traditional way.  Pictured above is a set up I used exclusively for several weeks.  The Weber Polished Head stainless steel razor was purchased in April and has been a very nice addition to my assault on whiskers.  The Godrej shaving cream came from a Pay It Forward I received all the way from India.  The Vie-Long horsehair shaving brush is the main brush I used most days.  And Old Spice, well, I've been using it for a long time and I am comfortable with it.

I also use this Gillette Tech razor to shave my head.  I just figured out that it is a 1954 model!  That, unbelievably, is older than me.  I've started using Feather Hi Stainless blades in this razor and this makes for a great combo and always results in cue ball smooth head shaves with nary a nick to be found.

The other item I have added to my arsenal of shaving weaponry is a scuttle from Georgetown Pottery.  The idea around a shaving scuttle is to make warm lather by filling the outer chamber with hot water and making the lather in the bowl.  It seems to work quite well.  I had no idea I would enjoy warm lather, but I certainly do.

I'll try to update more often.

I've been using this old style technology for about 2 months now.  Shockingly, I'm shaving my face every day and shaving my head every other day.  Anyone who ever talked to me about time wasting habits would know that I've always considered shaving to be a massive waste of time.

Well, that has changed!  I'm not quite a traditional shaving evangelist, but I am close.  I don't really talk to people about it, but I will drop an occasional comment about getting a "damn fine shave" every so often.  I do encourage my child bride to feel my face at least once a day.

One of the constants in this new found enjoyable habit is this Old Spice Mug.  It is pretty old, older than me anyway.  It was manufactured sometime after 1943 and before the mid 1950s.  It isn't too big or too small.  It has nice crazing in the glazing and well, it just looks cool.  It was manufactured by Hull Pottery.

Trying the Parker SRB again...

What a way to start out my week!  Perhaps the best shave so far.  

I opened up the sample puck of Stirling Coniferous and pressed it down into my Old Spice mug.  I limbered up the Parker SRB and placed the Merkur 34HD in reserve.  Lathering was pretty easy and I soon detected the scent of southern pines around my face.  

I made a little more progress with the Parker, shaving both cheeks and jaws, cleaned up around my mustache and then down my neck on either side of my adam's apple.  I got a little jumpy when I got around my jugular so I put down the Parker and finished up with the Merkur.  I did 2 more passes then I squeezed the remaining lather from the brush and had it in my left hand and went chasing stubble on the back of my jaw and on my lower neck.  Much neck contortion was implemented and soon I was done.  Absolutely no prickles or missed spots anywhere!

I finished up with the Old Spice aftershave.  I've used Old Spice Cologne for years but have not used the OS aftershave for quite a few years.   It smells about the same, but the AS doesn't stay around like the cologne.  I'll have to add some cologne if I intend to seduce the Mrs.

Sterling Glacial - Mini Review

In a previous post, I mentioned that I received a huge package of soaps as the recipient of a PIF thread on the Shave Nook.  I chose the sample of Stirling Glacial to start out.  I've used the soap 5 times and have about 1 more shave to go before it is all done.

 I used it for 2 full head shaves and 3 full face shaves.

My initial impression upon peeling off the wrapping was that it smelled minty.  I also noticed that the soap was much softer than I expected, not that this was a problem.

I pressed the soap down into my shaving mug and pondered what I ought to do.  I decided to put a little water on it and let it set for a few minutes while my brush soaked.

When I took the brush to the mug, the scent of mint became much stronger.  It took quite a while to make much lather and the lather, while slick and creamy looking, seemed a bit thin.  I brushed it on my head for the first shave and my eyes started watering and my skin felt cold!  I finished up the shave in somewhat stunned cold silence.  I was impressed by how cold it was.

My subsequent shaves were very similar, however, I was able to get a thicker lather each time.  The last two lathers were augmented with the addition of a bit of Van Der Hagan glycerin soap with the thought that I might be able "thicken" up the lather.  I think it worked.  I also think that it cut the menthol and mint down just a bit as my eyes did not water as much.

All in all, the Stirling Glacial was a superb introduction to Stirling Soaps.  Stay tuned for the next installment when I review the next sample in line.

Gillette Weekender

SoTD - 2/22/14

Today's shave was not great.  Not bad, but not great.  This was my first use of this particular blade.  I can't say that I liked it.  Will try again tomorrow with better face preparation.

Gillette Tech

Gillette Super Thin

Stirling Glacial soap

Omega 31025 boar bristle

Captain's Choice Bay Rum aftershave.

Stirling Glacial Shave Soap - Headshave

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I received a massive gift box of shaving and bath soaps.  I decided to give one a try tonight for shaving my head.

Stirling Soaps makes natural, tallow based soaps.  The samples I received are nicely sized and you can tell by looking at them that they are natural and handmade.  I chose the sample of Glacial for tonight's headshave.

I decided to use my Merkur 34HD tonight.

I was impressed by the "minty" smell when I removed the package.  The soap is relatively soft so I decided to press it into my Hull Pottery Old Spice #3 mug.

I soaked my Omega shaving brush in the sink for about 5 minutes while I prepped the soap and my scalp.  I then shook out most of the water from the brush and started swirling it in the mug.  I swirled for about a minute, adding drops of water as the lather developed.  It became thick and creamy looking and the brush appeared to have plenty of lather.

I then took the brush to my head to continue developing the lather.  I swirled, painted and slapped the lather on my scalp.  The lather was slick and thick and immediately the menthol in the soap began to cool my scalp. 

The shave proceeded smoothly.  I did notice that as I shaved away hair, the resulting bare skin felt really cold, almost stingingly cold.  That's not a bad thing.  I ended up doing a 2 pass shave, meaning I shaved my head completely, rinsed my scalp, re-lathered and shaved again.  I did not nick myself at all.  

I think it turned out very well.