January 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

We used to play Snow Golf when I was in university. I don’t remember all the details anymore but it sometimes required wearing snowshoes and I think we were using something like a tennis ball teed off using a cut down hockey stick or a field hockey stick as the club. Needless to say, beer was also involved (which might be part of the reason I don’t remember the finer points of the game anymore...)

 

Lots of little tourney/fundraiser/city festival type games around. Myself, I tend to prefer the fish house, a deck of cards, and a bottle of brandy.

 

What's a focus without something to distract you? Meet the new guys, courtesy of @Herm 's recent sale. The little Gillette Travel Tech is NOS and the GEM 1912 Damaskeene may as well be. The brush is one I found in a local antique store and cleaned last night. Gonna give it a shot before trying to re-knot it, as I really like the size of the handle. The Tabac puck/bowl and the Clubman Special Reserve are also new to the den.



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I join you as a TSD Lanolin soap fan.

 

Always a good performer!

 

I guess anywhere on the snow is "out of bounds", eh?

 

I'm a fan & user of Clubman S.R.
Been seeing Tabac quite often. Can you describe the scent?

 

Tabac...Glorious, distinguished old man's shave cabinet. Musty, spicy, a little stodgy, a tad bit floral (but not bright, feminine floral), a tad bit tobacco. A lot of people describe it as smelling like the inside of grandma's purse. I get where they are coming from, but my grandma's purse smelled amazing. I understand why it is a love it or hate it too. My grandpa used it so I associate it with a strong, manly, confidence. Old school for sure. But dang, it is my favorite scent in all of shaving thus far.

If you like Special Reserve, you are getting somewhat in the ball park.

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Get ready to hear everything from Grandma's closet to your great aunt's purse.

 

Hahaha, not to me! My grandpa was a strong, old pipe-smoking farmer who played cards in his sweater with a bunch of other old ex-WW2 guys while they smoked pipes and drank coffee. That is what I associate it with.

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My grandmothers closet smelled like moth balls and my great aunts purse smelled like fruit flavored Certs. If Tabac smells like that, I'll pass.

 

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Elite Razor Ironwood Tres Amigos with Envy White Two Band
Saponificio Varesino Stella Alpina
Wolfman WR1-SB with WRH7 Titanium
Feather HS #1
Saponificio Varesino Stella Alpina Aftershave
Chatillion Lux Colbeck


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There might be a little mothball in it. If I was being mostly serious, I would say:

Earth, a LITTLE powder, tea tree??, a little musk, and something that could be mausoleum or mothballs, or maybe hot aspirin????

All that said, I do like it. It does have a bit of an old smell to it. Not like "Clubman smells like old man" old, but kind of just old.

 

Dirt and mausoleum. So more like a morticians closet.

 

Well played....

 

As many folks that use Tabac soap it must be a good performer. I've seen a few AS, EDT or EDC bottles, too. Downside of my little Mayberry metro - we'll not have a real men's shave shop anytime soon.

 

So...Today was a shave from the past. I have been wanting a GEM Damaskeene for a while based on looks alone. This one is in fantastic shape.


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Then, the Gillette Travel razor. 1962, I think? And totally new old stock. Still had the paper wrappers around the head, and the original Gillette super stainless steel blade was still sealed in the box. This thing is TINY.


For size reference (the back is my Gillette Slim):


I shaved one side with the GEM, the other with the Gillette just to get a feel and compare. The GEM was strange at first. I could HEAR it cutting but it didn't feel like it. I had a full 24 hour growth and the face was rough going in. I reached up to feel, and man...It was mowing through. I did three passes: WTG, XTG, ATG. All went well.

The Gillette was also strange because it was so small. But man, it did the job. It really wasn't that awkward as I went along with it, and I found myself especially appreciating it around the jaw line. Same three passes, very similar results. This will be my travel razor of choice, as was my intent when I bought it. It is smaller (much smaller) than I thought, but I like it all the more for it. It's like the Hobbit of razors. Small, unobtrusive, sometimes barely noticeable. But carries a big punch and bows to no one. It isn't aggressive, but it sneaks in and takes stuff while you aren't looking. All in all, I am really excited about these two. I will continue my shavette focus, with these two on deck for February.

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