Some early birthday gifts from my GF. Early because she wanted me to open them now. Two shave creams by Taylor of Old Bond Street, Lime Zest and Lemon & Lime. Along with some Super Hero mugs.................

cool bd gifts Jim..

Thank you Gary.

Mail Call: NOS Art of Shaving badger brush, still has that funk, Ever-Ready 191 badger brush. Star razor case and Gillette Gold Tech (NDC) in great shape................

cool scores Jim.

Thanks Gary.

I’ve been going a little nutty on eBay lately. My only defenses are that I’m new, have very little gear, and want to try different things. Also, all of this was pretty inexpensive.

Nice starters actually. Well done!

Looks beautiful! Love to see a good restoration like this

I used a Star three-piece like the one you now have and got something like 17 to 20 shaves out of one Voskhod blade.

I was just at the Willow Grove Mall today and I picked up 2 aftershaves at a store called Scentsational. I grabbed Christian Dior’s Fahrenheit and Jōvan Sex Appeal both in the aftershave format. I bought these aftershaves at less than what Amazon would sell them for.

And you "shipped" them home for free .

Yes. Plus the total for both aftershaves after taxes was $85. I’ve since learned that Fahrenheit sells for well above that; I paid $60 for Fahrenheit and $20 for Sex Appeal.

That’s great to hear! Yeah, it seems like a very nice little razor.

Wardonia razor case and Made Rite #64 brush.................

I'll have to see how much Jovan sells for at CVS....I think it's among the aftershaves in the glass cupboard behind the cashiers.

I haven't branched out into using many different soaps, one because I think that I just don't need a large variety and two, because I have been happy with what I have. I have been using Proraso Red and Cella, both being easy to lather and just generally good mass-market options, especially for me just starting out. I have used the green tube of C.O. Bigelow (aka repackaged Proraso Green) and am not a huge fan of the menthol. I also have a tube of Cremo and one of Van Der Hagen Shave Butter, whatever that is. Both were bought by my well-meaning wife because they were on clearance. Both of them are latherless and neither my cup of tea however they do make decent pre-shaves.

I had a particularly bad shave with a GEM Featheweight and, while it was my first shave with a GEM razor, I also had some issues with slickness or lack thereof. The head seemed to be sticking to my face rather than gliding. Part of the problem I believe is dry lather, possibly because I exclusively face lather and possibly because the mass-market soaps don't perform as well as their artisan cousins. To fix this, I am going to try a wetter lather and I did decide to order some better soap.

My first foray into artisan soaps was a no-brainer.



I decided to get three samples because I just wanted to test things out before getting a larger tub, one each of Sheep, Stirling Gentleman, and Baker Street. Also, their 1oz samples are big enough to use like a regular puck of soap. I also bought three of the 4oz sample tubs which at $2.75 a pop seems silly but fortunately, they seem durable and the type of thing I'll be able to reuse indefinitely. I also received a free sample of their Executive Man bar soap which is always nice. There was also a nice handwritten thank you on the invoice which is a touch of class on their part.


I'm excited to give them a try. Hopefully I can tell a difference. I'm particularly interested in trying Sheep to see if it's as smooth as I hope it is.

I have Sheep and really like it.

Just got the following from grujoski.us today. The Goodfellas Smile Abysso shave soap and aftershave, Dermacol Men Agent Hydra Care 2 in 1 moisturizer and aftershave, Barbus Active aftershave balm sample and Barbus Prestige sample. Thank you Melonne Džangista for the awesome products and quick shipping.