Arrived from GoodWill Auction...an "El Rey de los Barberos" (The King of the Barbers) straight razor made by D. Peres Solingen (SR maker from 1890-1920s). I strongly suspect, however, this razor is more recent than the 1920s, possibly from the late 1950-60s. Added Note: Per the 'Barrilito' emblem on the blade—"Under the direction of a German coach and leadership, using Mexican and German machinery factory "Barrilito®" was established in 1966 in Chalco, Mexico at the foot of the Popocatepetl volcano." hence the Spanish text on the blade…. A 3-pinned 3/4" round-point; full-holl0w Solingen steel; upper & lower jimps. The razor actually turned out to be in better condition than shown in the auction photos. The blade edge certainly needs some help and it requires the usual clean up of the tang and pivot point.
The wife and I took a trip down to SC today: filled up on gas ($1.799/gal) and happened upon the Freight Harbor store. I found this: 6 in. digital caliper with SAE and Metric functional readings. They were having a big sale, and this was on sale for just $10, so, I pounced on it. Now I won't have to convert all my SAE to Metric.
Wednesday I received the companion stand to the JR #14 "The Barrel." :mail: Then today the postman brought JR #24 unfinished. I am yet undecided on a finish for it but will be placing a Whipped Dog Silvertip knot. I worked a deal with Jim, @Jayaruh for the unfinished handle because I wanted to try my hand at finishing a brush. Thanks Jim
Continuing my Kenneth Grange design fandom I received a Wilkinson Protector in the mail today. NIB: Well, it was NIB for about two minutes before I got it out of there - that baby will be shaved with. Fantastic feeling handle, extremely well balanced and the half-metal-half-plastic seems to work really well here. Really looking forward to shaving with it.
Received this heavy and rather large vintage shaving mug. I rather like the size of it but...well...I could do without the decoration on it Mini History It's a "Wade" from Wade Ceramics Staffordshire, England which has been around since 1810 and is still going strong. The picture carries the name "Burrell, 1897" but I would guess that the actual mug is closer to 1910-1930, Wade pottery and ceramics are rather collectible but often won't break the bank. This shaving mug is relatively common and tends to sell for around $10-30 depending on condition. Mine is in very nice condition with some crackling in the glaze and since I got it for free I guess I should at least try it out once.
The mailman also dropped off a package from Connaught containing two pair of products; 1) Two MWF Hand soaps, 2) Two Speick Men Shaving Creams I haven't tried either of the products before.
I received my CK Switchback 400! This thing has some weight to it. I also received this. A Pinaud bottle from @mrchick thank you so much Brian! For those who are wondering it's filled with The Veg!!
The 22 mm synthetic knot arrived today from Whipped Dog. It is a beautiful knot. It measured 21.28 mm on my new calipers. I had to widen the top of the knot hole so the knot would easily slide into the handle. I then sealed the inside of the hole with a coat of polyurethane in preparation for setting the knot with silicone. Here is the finished product and a link to the page for the brush. http://jrshaving.blogspot.com/2015/10/jayaruh-25-begins.html
Got this Art of Shaving, 'Genuine Badger' (I assume "Pure") brush. It came as an added bonus in a small lot where I really just wanted the razor. Turns out the brush is actually rather nice - the handle feels great and the knot was surprisingly pleasant. I think this will be my brush for tomorrow morning.
