Hey all! I kept promising that new setups were in the works and here is the next one....It only took me 7 months to find the right crafters and have them painstakingly create one-of-a-kind items. I want to extend personal thanks to the following people who made this kit possible with their custom work (clickable links provided): Kevin of Country Club for Men Josh Lindt of Desire Metal Works Doug of Doug Korn's Workshop Mervyn of Cadman Brushes/Badger & Bowl Rudy Vey of RV Shaving Jodi of HeartJCreations The first iteration of this setup is based around my favorite cologne: Fragrance - Creed Spice & Wood Aftershave - Country Club for Men - Custom Scent "Woodly Spice" (THANK YOU KEVIN!) Shave Soap - Country Club for Men - Custom Scent "Woodly Spice" (THANK YOU KEVIN!) Deodorant - HeartJCreations - Custom Made - "Spiced Woods" Pre-shave Oil - Lather & Wood "Unscented" Post-Shave balm - Retseliney Luxury Skin Care Hyaluronic Acid Serum Razor - Merkur Futur Razor Stand by RV Shaving Brush - Omega "Hi-Brush" Synthetic Brush Stand by Desire Metal Works Soap Bowl - Ceramic Jar bought from Ebay, no manufacturer name Part B: Fragrance - Terre d'Hermes EDT Aftershave - Fine "L'Orange Noir" Shave Soap - RazoRock "Son of Zeus" Vegan Artisan Soap Deodorant - My Pit Butter "Orange" Pre-shave Oil - Lather & Wood "Unscented" Post-Shave Balm - Retseliney Luxury Skin Care Hyaluronic Acid Serum Razor - Merkur Futur Razor Stand by RV Shaving Brush - Custom made by Doug Korn's Workshop with Synthetic Knot Brush Stand by Desire Metal Works Soap Bowl - Mikasa Medeterrania - Originally a vintage sugar bowl for a creamer tea set NEW ADDITION!! Fragrance - Diptyque Tam Dao EDP Aftershave - Klar "Sandelholz" Shave Soap - Klar "Sandelholz" Deodorant - Love Myself Organics "Sandalwood" Blend Pre-shave Oil - Lather & Wood "Unscented" Post-Shave Balm - Nicci Marie Anti-Aging Hyaluronic Acid Face Serum Razor - Merkur Futur Razor Stand by RV Shaving Brush - Custom made by Mervyn Cadman with Synthetic Tuxedo Knot Brush Stand by Desire Metal Works Soap Bowl - Custom made by Mervyn Cadman This is the Shave Brush Stand that was painstakingly engineered by Josh Lindt of Desire Metal Works! After 3 prototypes and testing with many different kinds of brushes, he developed a great piece for my shave kit. The Omega Hi-Brush Synthetic was a tricky bugger to make a stand for. The brush is knot-heavy, with an extremely light handle. The design of the stand intended to balance the brush at an angle which would use the weight of the 'handle' to stablize position. That is a bit of a problem. When putting the brush on the stand, the knot-heavy end is simply too heavy and it would fall off the stand. The initial prototype seemed to work with every brush except the very one I intended the stand for. This was the 1st Prototype and it worked for nearly everything, but the Omega brush forced a re-design and Josh took up the challenge: The final design kept the intended decline position that makes this stand so attractive. Josh kept re-engineering the design until worked flawlessly and stayed a fine universal brush stand for any other brush I would use. Josh took as much time as was needed to ensure I was beyond satisfied with the results. This is one beautiful piece of unique art that stands out in this setup among items that all have a stand out quality. This is the Razor Stand that was turned by Rudy Vey of RV Shaving. I found a way to polish the piece myself to add a bit more shine to it, which ended up leaving a tad bit of residue in Rudy's engraving (sorry about that Rudy) but it turned out to make the engraving stand out more. Rudy got this to fit the very 'odd' shape of the Merkur Futur Razor. Now on to the Shave Brush turned by Doug Korn's Workshop. It's a beauty! Final Spec’s: The ivory-burnt orange-ivory handle is 52mm tall and the Ubersoft Synthetic knot is 22x53mm loft. This is the originally intended design I asked Doug to duplicate, but in white, instead of silver. I think he nailed it! More pics of this fabulous brush: Here is the spiffy Omega "Hi-Brush" Synthetic Brush: NEW ADDITION!!!! This is a custom made Cadman Shaving Brush! When I saw some of Mervyn's other brushes I could not resist and had to own one of my very own! This is the stylish matching bowl custom made by Mervyn with painstaking detail and craftsmanship! A true shaver's treasure and a thing of beauty! I'm very impressed with job he did on the lid for this bowl. Look at that. Worth every penny for this. This looks like it belongs in the bathroom of a wealthy executive. As a combo they are as good as classic shaving gets. Just gorgeous! And finally, the Razor I picked for this kit, I think was an amazing match for this, the Merkur Futur Razor: The Futur Razor just seemed a logical choice for this kit. All of these items can be duplicated, so if you really like what you see here, please contact the vendors who went out of their way to make these incredible items. Yeah, the Futur razor is just as heavy as it looks. It's the heaviest razor I own. I thought about adding a scuttle. I 'might' end up buying a scuttle for this setup, but haven't decided to pull the trigger. So far in my testing of the products, a separate lather bowl is not likely to be needed. This decision may change over time. Anyway, there is the newest addition to my shaving collection. I hope you like it. **I also want to point out that Kevin of Country Club for Men, spent weeks and two experimental batches to create the matching scent for the Shave Soap, Aftershave & Deodorant of Creed's Spice & Wood (a $300 cologne for only 2.5 ounces). I believe Kevin NAILED IT on the scent! Jodi of HeartJCreations used the custom scent Kevin made to construct the deodorant. Jodi's deodorant ingredients are gentle and keep odor away. I recommend that if you want the Woodly Spice scent to be a part of Kevin's normal lineup of products, please contact him through countryclubformen@gmail.com and let him know you are interested in this stellar scent.
You have the hands of a giant. Great setup. Really like the brush holder...makes me wish I used mine more often.
That's a very regal setup. I am a huge fan of that Doug Korn brush. Orange is my favorite color and the cream colored accents look great. That Mikasa bowl matches perfectly and looks really nice too. The brush stands are very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Great kits Timothy..... my thanks for your very kind words on my collaboration with you to make your custom shaving brush. Enjoy all your shaves, Doug.
Yes! The craftspeople who worked on various projects did a great job. I couldn't find the products I wanted on the mass market, so I needed to have them made. It took real artisans to make this possible.
Yeah. I'm going to love shaving with this (and all my other setups) hopefully for many years to come. This one is a phenomenal setup.
That is pretty much what this is all about. Enjoying every aspect of my morning shave including that feeling that I am using a 'cool' setup. When I wipe up the sink afterwards I leave that setup out for the day as a decoration in the bathroom.
Really nice and we'll thought out kits...definitely class acts. Interesting read on their stories too...i very much enjoy this thread. Thanks, and happy shaving!