Lol. I'm actually just gonna let the box sit there until tomorrow. Got disheartened by what I saw (see, I'm such a sensitive person!) and will go through it all after a night's sleep
Coming in next week a Jurgen Hempel Titanium handle with blue anodized finish, I purchased this ready in waiting for my polished Mongoose as I'm on the waiting list I have no idea when it will arrive though.
My Semogue brushes (1305 and 1438) arrived today. Can't wait to use them...though I am a little anxious about whether I should dry them bristles up or bristles down...
Received another three wedge blades from Glen / @gssixgun (in addition to the REX I had received earlier) - and they look great!
Here's my haul from the past week: The brush handle came out just beautiful, my photo does not really do it justice. Ultimately went with a shape very similar to the Simpsons Jubilee. The synthetic knot for it (same fibers as in Plisson's synthetic, I'm told, but at 24mm) just made it to the U.S. (part of a group buy) and so should be in my hands fairly soon. Had him drill it deep and I'm planning to try it at a few different lofts before I set it for good. I also received: Two bottles of Barrister & Mann's new Lavanille splash, and I'm glad I got two because I've been splashing the stuff on every day whether I've shaved or not because it smells so darn good. B&M's Latha Lavanda soap, which smells just like Black Label Lavender and lathers just like Latha.
I just had a different type of haul today. I stopped by a couple of Barbershops looking for an old strop. The first one I came to had a wide range of Parker DE s and brushes, and anything col. Conk you could want for sale. Kewl, new wet supply shop. I bought a 5 pack of Wilkinson sword blades $2. The last shop was an amazing place. I opened a door to the past. A vintage original Barbershop on the main street of downtown. 3 old chairs and stations, mirror covering the back wall, bulova clock on the wall and old coat rack in the corner. Barbercide and clubman filled the air. On the counter sat barbacide, clubman original, talc, and an old shave mug and brush from the 50s. An old white haired Barber was tending to a customer. He was lathering up the client's neck then shaved him with a shavette. He asked me to sit. I told him I was looking for a strop, and his eyes got wide. He showed me his personal strop, then opened a drawer and showed me his class SR celluloid scales with naked lady carved in them. He asked if I used an SR. I showed pics of mine. He then sat me down and showed me proper stropping techniques and proper shaving techniques for using an SR. The knowledge I received today from my visit was worth more than one person can pay. It was a great haul.
