Thank you Jim! Kathleen's soap dish label and Tom's brush make for good photos. I did look it up when I first bought it. Guessing late 1950's - early 1960's. I found the stick in an antique/thrift store in Westlake, LA. It was about 3/4 of a whole piece. Trimmed off the open used end and haven't looked back. Chris got a slice off the unopened other end. It lathers as well as Arko, but the scent has faded. A shot of AS of the day makes for good lather.
Thank you, Clint. I want to like it more than I do. The grooves are so deep it actually hogs lather. I bet it traps at least a pass worth of lather in there. The exact same bowl with a little milder grooving in it would be nearly perfect. It adds a little class to the back of my toilet tho....
Has your wife filled it with dried flower petals yet? "Hey, Floyd! You been arranging flowers in here?"
I like the details in the glazing on the edge. Consider reducing the texture? A bit of light grinding!
ouch ouch ouch ouch.. The thought of removing the glazing with a grinder just hurts. I mean, I guess you could do it, but you'd want to find someplace that'll refire it with new glazing.
The glaze is on the outside, and only the upper rim. Inside the bowl is raw ceramic. It's fired but left unglazed. These bowls are used in Japanese kitchens with a wooden pestal to grind seeds and spices.
Awesome. I have a homemade stick of new stuff. Works great. I also have a few cakes of early 2000 stuff. I am thinking of making one of them into a stick. Maybe s skinny one.... Hummmm. Could be fun.
I haven't used any of mine (currently have three, with one loaned out) as kitchen equipment. Strictly for making lather. There are other type around as well. Textured copper are inexpensive. Turned textured wood cost a little more. There's a company on Etsy that makes a beautiful fully glazed ceramic; Symmetric Pottery. I tried using mugs but they are too smooth, and the brush bangs the restricted sides. These suribachi bowls are palm size at around 4"- 5" across and 2" or so deep.
That one is nice! About the going price at your local Asian kitchen supply store or Amazon. My first one was a little smaller, around $12, purchased locally.
29 May 2017 Memorial Day MAYhem Blade/Soap Focus Shave 0615 Pre: Hot water, hot towel with soap from the puck Razor: GEM Featherweight '50's era Blade: PAL SE Brush: JR#161 NY Mets Special Edition Soap: Regiment Shaving's "High Speed" Post: Hot/Cold rinse, alum block, cold towelx2, Dominello Vitali Calming Post Shave Moisturizer After Shave Lotion: Canoe by Dana For today's shave I used Regiment Shaving's "High Speed". JR#161 delivered a slick, great smelling lather as usual. I am back on my blade auditions for the GEM Featherweight. This week it's the PAL SE. Right off the bat I could tell this was a much smoother blade than the Treet. 3 passes and I had a near BBS shave. We'll see how things go tomorrow on weekday stubble. After this morning, I have high hopes. A splash of Canoe by Dana and the day is under way. It's 58 and gloomy here in Central NJ on Memorial Day. Lest We Forget
May 29, 2017 ATT Calypso R1 Feather Romero Olivewood Synthetic MdC Vetyver Fine Fresh Vetiver This MdC Vetyver soap made my morning. The scent is just intoxicating and face lathering with such a soft brush just brings everything together. The shave was an anti-climatic automatic near BBS. I really can't ask for better results. A splash of Fine Fresh Vetiver and I am off to visit my mom for the day. I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day with family and friends. As we go through the day pause and remember the reason for the holiday. God bless those that have friends or loved ones that paid the ultimate price in our service.
You are correct. I have considered it. It might just need a sort of light sanding to soften the ridges.
I got home last night from a 2 day family trip staying with one of my friends across the state. What met me when I got back was a great looking aristocrat I picked up from @wchnu (thanks Fuzzy!) and a GEM I won in a PIF on B&B. I decided to jump right in and give the GEM a shot for my first SE shave (straight and Kamasuri not withstanding). Overconfidence and bad decision-making contributed to just an OK shave this morning. First of all, being excited about the new razor, I opted to shave before my shower. Mistake number one. Second of all, now being overconfident with DE's, I decided to treat the GEM the same way, and tackle it with the same speed and reckless abandon that I now use for DE's. Pass number one went without incident, but created more irritation that I am used to with a super speed or slim set on a low to medium setting. So much so, in fact that I decided to make today a two pass shave, and deal with a bit of stubble. Instead of realizing that blazing through pass number one like Usain Bolt on a mission might have been the cause of the irritation, as opposed to the GEM itself (i.e. Technique trumps tools), I elected to press on and make the shave and irritation as brief as possible blazing through pass number two. I used the alum for the first time in probably a month, and was actually surprised to find that it didn't burn as much as I expected. Now, 30 minutes after my shave, my neck is still warm and irritated. Tomorrow, I think I will go back to my slim and slowly work my way up the dial to improve technique. Ultimately I may decide that a 3 or 4 is my preferred setting, but I think the exercise may become my focus for June (with several rule breaking shaves mixed in just "because"). Happy Memorial Day, and thank you to those of you who have served to give us the protection of freedoms that requiring sacrifices that only a minority of Americans know. Shave on, gentlemen!
SOTD May 28, 2017 Blade: GEM carbon Razor: Ever Ready 1912 Brush: Artisan badger Lather: Fine American Blend Post: Witch hazel, Fine American Blend aftershave WTG This was yesterday's shave. Using the 1912 from @twhite on pass-around. Carbon blade. Just did a one-pass quick shave as we were hosting a family gathering and I was smoking some meat and had a short window to shower and shave. Nice shave albeit a little quick. The 1912 is really smooth and comfortable. I'll be trying the 1914 and 1924 over the next few days. Thank you to those who served and gave their lives for our freedoms and protections. Let's remember those brave souls today. Have a great one!
