Wednesday October 17
Gillette Big Boy (Old Type) / Astra SP (2)
Simpsons CH2 Chubby Synthetic Bristle
Stirling Coniferous soap sample
Alum and Stirling Coniferous splash sample
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I switched soaps today to try a sample of Stirling Coniferous soap generously sent to me by Jason
@jtspartan. I picked up a sample of the matching splash at Canadian Beard and Blade Co. The soap exhibited the usual Stirling characteristics of easy lathering and great slickness. I found the pine scent of both the soap and splash quite pleasant.
Today's razor is probably the nicest of my vintage cased or boxed DEs. It's a Gillette Big Boy in its original wooden case with a matching blade bank. The razor dates to 1921 and, apart from a few speckles of plating loss on the top cap, it appears to be in perfect condition, as is the wooden box. I can easily imagine the original owner being given this razor as a gift (the advertisements suggested they were great Christmas gifts, etc.), thanking the giver profusely, and then carefully putting it away to be used on "special occasions" while he continued to shave with the Khaki Service Set that he was issued three years earlier by his loving Uncle Sam...
The Big Boy is indeed a big boy. A standard Ball End handle for an Old Type razor is three inches long, as is the Single Ring handle. The Big Boy's handle is 3/4" longer and approximately twice the diameter with a weight to match. It's a very hefty razor. However, once I figured out how best to hold the razor to balance the length and weight of the handle, the shave was very smooth. In fact, I think it is the mildest of all the Old Types I have tried -- about on a par with the NEWs. Two passes left me with an almost dolphin smooth BBS. The alum was a bit warm in places but not at all bad; the water rinse cooled it off again and the alcohol splash hardly burned at all.
The other razor in the photo is my other nicely cased razor: a New Improved dated 1925 in a Richwood model wooden box. The razor is tarnished silver plate but is otherwise in good condition, and the wooden box is in great shape apart from a few surface scratches on the lid. I will use that razor tomorrow.
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