Vintage Week 5/6-5/12

Ain't this time of year great? New life emerging, temps getting warmer but still not too hot. Another Theme Week to greet us.

This one is all about the old stuff, the vintage stuff, the antique stuff, and the discontinued stuff
Yup - Vintage week.

Many of us are already using vintage items, but how 'bout devoting the whole week to "that's how my Grandaddy used to shave" shave?

Now I know many of you may be a little reluctant to use the discontinued stuff (I'm talking soaps, creams, aftershave, etc.), 'cause once it's gone, it's gone. But why not? You can't take it with you. Some goes for you guys and/or gals that may be holding out not even trying that old soap or cream. Come on! Really? Unless you bought it as an investment, USE IT! Then we'll all cry with you because it's such a great product and we can't get it anymore.

And, as always, show us some pics.

 

I've been going through a 5 pack of Gillette Platinums which seem to be discontinued. I was going to use a slant next but I'll go with a Slim instead and join in on Vintage week. Unfortunately I don't have any other discontinued stuff.

 

Well, I don't have any vintage soaps, creams or aftershaves, so I'll start the week with this

An E2 injector, a made in USA Schick injector blade and a restored Ever-Ready 79 brush (with TGN synthetic knot)

 

I'm on vacation so I didn't bring much with me.

Today I had to test drive my wife's new '65 Pink Lady Gillette. What a FANTASTIC shave. I may have to get a blue one for myself.

 

Great shave today with the Slim on 5. These Gillette Platinums are really nice smooth blades but they're not all that sharp. I'd say they're right at the minimum sharpness I could use comfortably - just on the verge of tugging. But they do seem to keep that level of sharpness for a while. I love the Arko too. I've been using it pretty much exclusively since I pressed a stick of it into a bowl about a month ago and there's probably at least a week's worth left. Finished up with some Clubman for a nice DFS.

 

I don't have much vintage stuff, other than razors.

'70 Super Adjustable, Astra SP (first time trying Astra)
Omega 48- I guess vintage, I have had it for nearly 20 years.
Proraso Pre
Proraso green
Alum, Witch Hazel
Nivea ASB
eBarbershop Menthol (from sample)
BLACK! Coffee
Bob and Tom on the radio.

 

Discontinued Monday:
Dickinson & Gilroys boar brush
Soap: Vintage Williams
Razor: Gillette Aristocrat Jr.

 

Today was a great BBS shave from my b'day razor,the Gillette 40's style SS W-1

 

I went to turn my Slim up to 6 today and when I opened the doors my Gillette Platinum blade was all rusted. I've never had a blade rust like that after 3 or 4 days of use much less after only 1. Oh well, I have a couple more of these blades left so I put one in my Merkur 39c today. I was hoping the slant would give these blades a little boost since they're not all that sharp. It really didn't though. They seemed to work best in the Weber Bulldog so I may go back to that tomorrow.

 

Razor: Gillette Black Handle Super Speed
Blade: NOS Gillette Thin (3rd shave)
Brush: Turkish Horsehair #6
Soap: Godrej Shaving Round

In honor of vintage week here at The Shave Den I decided to pull my awesome old school Gillette Thin blade out of the EJ DE86 and throw it into my Gillette black handle super speed. I do not own any vintage brushes, so the #6 will have to do, it has that old world feel to it and is as close to vintage as I can get. Likewise, the Godrej shaving round is standing in for a vintage soap. This Indian soap just feels right for the whole vintage theme and absolutely has a vintage sort of scent. I debated between this soap and my De Vergulde Hand, but seeing as it has been a while since I last used the Godrej, it won out.

The Godrej shaving round has a very sharp and medicinal scent to it and I doubt that anyone would list it as their favorite smell, but in spite of it not being a pleasant scent it is also not an awful one. I do not mind the smell, but I could see not wanting to use it if I were feeling sick. The soap comes in a little plastic jar and is one of the smaller soaps that I have used, weighing in at only 50g (approx. 1.7oz.), but is also extremely inexpensive. The Godrej lathers quickly and easily and is easy to apply, if you're a newbie and looking for an easy, inexpensive soap to try out, then I would highly recommend this one. The soap provides good cushion, but only OK glide, if I were to pair this up with a slick cream, like Karo Classic, for a superlather then I have no doubt that this soap would work exceptionally well. I plan on using this in combination with Every Man Jack Sensitive as a sort of preshave cream next time.

I did my usual three pass shave followed by a cold water rinse and was rewarded with a DFS (I was in a hurry to get my daughter clean and ready to go to the grandparents, so my neck did not come out perfectly). The Gillette blade and razor proved to be a delight to use together and I find myself wishing even more that the Gillette Thin carbon blade was still in production. My skin felt smooth and relatively soft, but definitely not softer than usual or particularly moist. The Godrej did its job well, but does little to nothing for my skin. The scent lingers a bit, but stays in the background and does not interfere too much. Overall, a good shave that has the potential to be a great shave. I will enjoy trying a few different things next time and hopefully be rewarded with a new inexpensive combination to add to my arsenal.

 

'61 Fatboy @ 6 for a darn fine shave.

 

Vintage tuesday!

All discontinued rubbish shave (man, I love this old stuff!):

Brush: De Vergulde Hand (at least '80's)
Cream: Godrej Menthol Mist (why did they stop producing this??)
Razor: Gillette Flare Tip Rocket
Blade: Max Herder
Allegro mod. L blade sharpener


Great shave!

 

My apparently discontinued Gillette Platinums really shine in a Weber Bulldog. They were so-so in the other razors I tried but I got a great BBS on the face and near BBS on my neck today with no irritation. These blades are probably the best I've tried in the Weber so far.

 

Wednesday
Ever-Sharp Hydro-Magic/Pella Coated injector (4) great BBS shave

 

Broke out some vintage gear for my shave this morning.

Barbasol Floating head with a Wilkinson Light Brigade and some 1960's vintage Williams.

Not a bad shave.

 

Wednesday, another all vintage shave:

Travel King boar brush, vintage Williams, Valet Autostrop & Valet blade. Good shave.

 

Thursday
Yet another all discontinued shave
Dickinson & Gilroys boar travel brush, Proraso Red cream, Ugly Duckling, Max Herder blade, Allegro mod. L sharpener.

Me like vintage!

 

7.5.2013

• Prep: shower, RazoRock glycerine pre-shave soap
• Razor: Gillette Super Adjustable [7, 5, 5]
• Blade: Gillette Platinum
• Brush: Frank Shaving Faux Agate
• Scuttle: "Estremoz" V2 Green
• Soap: Speick shave stick
• Post: alum, T.N. Dickinson's Witch hazel
• Aftershave: Taylor of Old Bond Street Jermyn Street

8.5.2013

• Prep: shower, VITOS pre/post
• Razor: Gillette Super Adjustable [7, 5]
• Blade: Gillette Platinum
• Brush: Frank Shaving Faux Agate
• Soap: Wilkinson Sword shave stick
• Post: T.N. Dickinson's Witch hazel
• Aftershave: Old Spice Champion

 

Great stuff, folks!

I'm actually on vacation this week visiting my parents in Maine, so it goes without saying I didn't bring much of a variety of shave gear.

I did bring along my '61 Fatboy. Loaded it up with an Astra SP and had a super shave.

I'll have my own Vintage Week when I get home. I have some Tom's of Maine cream, Old Spice soap, Colgate mug soap, some Gillette THIN blades, and "a few" other vintage razors to enjoy.

 

This is my kind of week. I'll be using my 'New' Bar Handle this morning. Yesterday I used my British tech with Gillette 'New' Handle.