OCtober 1, 2017 Wolfman WR1 OC Feather Rudy Vey Rover with TGN Finest CRSW Jeff’s Soap Floid Blue Open Comb OCtober is one of my favorite themes of the year. In general I prefer OC DE razors to the SB DE razors. I will be using the little RV Rover with the Jeff's Soap over the next two weeks since it is a smaller knot and works better with the container. The TGN Finest has good backbone and scrub with little to no softness. The bulb shaped knot serves to amplify the backbone and scrub. Three passes and touchups ended in a near perfect shave. A splash of Floid Blue and I am off to visit Mom for the day. I hope everyone has a great Sunday.
I'll play but it will most likely start tomorrow. 30 days for OCtober is how I was able to learn that open comb razors weren't scary. I have a few vintage ones I will break out this month. Old Type, New Improved, New Deluxe, LC New, Sheraton, and the OCMM. I may give the OCMM a break as I have used it regularly for the last two months playing with SE razors.
I was referring to the one with scales, but either one of them looks like something a drunk lumberjack adapted for shaving. Apparently he consulted a flooring company to make it work properly. Sounds like a bad idea kind of shave that is best suited for video.
I’m not sure what to focus on this month. I think I’ve done them all. All I know is that it will involve straight razors and very tasty cookies Let me think about it. In the mean time here is today’s SOTD. Route 66 Sweeney Todd Soap Wolf Whiskers Brush RigaRazor Thayers WH Ogallala Bay Rum After Shave Have a blessed Sunday!
Thanks Brian, that's a nice offer. It wouldn't get any use though, other than once or twice this month. I appreciate it though. And I do have a couple actually, but they are "loaned" out to my son and father. I only have a handful of safety razors left anymore, and except for a couple of DE's, they are all SE's of one sort or another. I will be good with my off handed focus for the month. I need to work on my ATG on my jaw line with my weak hand. If I can end the month with no new scars, I will call it a success.
The straight razor version of the Durham Duplex was actually something of a success in its early days. Notice I didn't say it WAS a success, but "something of a success". They actually enjoyed pretty good sales as it was an early try at introducing a straight razor that was safer to use. There were quite a few different models of the razor, mostly different materials and design on the scales and the packaging. The safety version is the DuBarry model. Based on the case my DD is in it was produced sometime after 1920, likely prior to 1925 but that isn't a total certainty. The DuBarry showed up around 1923, so both are probably contemporaries. The Durham Duplex eventually morphed into a dog grooming razor as it fell out of favor with human shaving. My own take on its fall into obscurity would simply be the popularity of safety razors led by Gillette and his marketing machine. Sleek, cool looking Gillettes were cheap as were the DE blades that fed them. Straight razor shaving as a whole fell out of favor due to the rise of the safety razor. The DuBarry couldn't compete with the shaves a Gillette razor could give, and that proprietary blade didn't help. Using a Durham Duplex today isn't impossible but blades are the issue as the only modern blade I can find is the Personna blade that is actually a pathology blade. So the shaves can be a challenge, but getting to use something like this is still fun every once in awhile.
Thanks for the interesting razor history lesson. Only in the 30 DC can you find someone shaving with a dog grooming razor which loads with a pathology blade and no one bats an eye.
And even better - if I would suggest using one with an original blade (I have some) while standing on my head in a tub full of ice - I could get four to eight guys to try it with me. I love this group.
On my choice of Sandalwood(WSP) soap and A.S. yesterday, I thought to go with it because it was going to be chiller than recent days. But I forgot to realize that with my emotional reaction to that small service that honored my Mom(and others who died recently at the facility where she finished out her life), I was physically not up to par. Thus, I didn't have my usual "loading" speed. I look forward to getting back to the gym next week to regain some physical(and mental)strength.
