Monday, May 16, 2022 - tribute to a fallen classic
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Razor: Supply matte black 2.0 injector with SE plate / Supply Black Label (1st shave)
Bowl: maple/walnut by Jason
@jtspartan
Brush: burled cypress with Maggards 24mm 2-band badger knot, also by Jason
@jtspartan
Cream: J.M. Fraser's Shaving Cream
Alum and no balm or splash
I had a couple days' stubble to mow today. After showering, I lathered up with the J.M.Edwards shaving cream (more about it below). An almond-sized dollop in the bowl gave enough for my two passes with quite a bit then squeezed out of the brush or rinsed out of the bowl and down the drain.
The Supply injector was its usual efficient self. I started a new Black Label blade today so that I can accurately track how long this blade lasts.
Two passes -- WTG on the face and ATG under the chin, then across the grain on the face and WTG under the chin -- left me near BBS. Alum was virtually silent. I didn't use any aftershave products because I wanted to see if the shave cream was at all drying on my face. (Nothing noticeable.)
And now, I would like us all to bow our heads for a moment in respect for the passing of a Canadian shaving classic, J.M.Fraser's Shaving Cream. It was developed and first marketed by a Canadian barber, J.M.Fraser, in 1956. IIRC, he was from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Originally and for years, it was available in drugstores all over Canada. It came in a 450ml (1 lb) jar for the princely sum (most recently) of about $17 Canadian (about $13 USD). Which made it not quite as cheap as Arko or Williams (but then, what is?) ... but close.
It's an excellent cream, lathering quickly and easily, providing good glide and protection, and leaving a clean, not-too-dry face feel behind it. The scent is a pleasant, mild, non-industrial lemon.
This fine old classic was available from 1956 until 2021. What killed it? The Covid-19 pandemic. Apparently manufacturing difficulties during the pandemic led to the line being closed. And now, the conglomerate that owns the label and recipe has no plans to reopen it again. I suspect it was one of those products that, with its manufacturing startup and equipment costs long since amortized, contributed only a small amount to the corporate bottomline but enough to be worth making. But not enough to be worth investing in startup costs again now that it is discontinued.
My tub should be enough for about a year of shaving. Then onto the memory pile...
Click to expand...