What Straight Razor Did You Use Today?

SOTD WEDNESDAY MORNING, AUGUST 11, 2021

This morning I grabbed the “Edgar Allan Poe” (EAP) razor for my mug shave. This Ellis and Allan 8/8 stubtail full wedge dates to 1815 at the latest and is possibly older. It was imported by the Richmond, Virginia Mercantile Firm, Ellis & Allan as just an unfinished NOS blade by Edgar Allan Poe’s stepfather, Jonathan Allan, who had headed up the London branch of the firm. He returned to Richmond with the British inventory and young Edgar Allan Poe in tow in 1815. The firm dissolved in 1824, a victim of the Panic of 1819. Glen Mercurio masterfully clothed it in bone scales with an amber wedge and pinned it using period brass custom beehive washers. Given its size and heft, Glen built a remarkable, mirror bright edge that shaves nicely, although its huge size makes wielding it effectively a challenge. I gather that contemporary hollow grinds of this width or greater, what I like to call shave hatchets, are probably easier to use, and quite popular thanks to the work of a group of very talented razorsmiths working out of Ukraine. I do have an 8/8 on reserve from one of them. But the EAP stubtail did do the job, albeit with a series of buffing touch ups after my usual third pass, leaving me acceptably smooth.

 

Wednesday shave, back to the 1166 ERN Wald 7/8”. Enjoyable shave.
Splash Floris Turnbull and Asser. Soon time for a GT



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6/8 Brookes and Crookes, a really nice old Sheffield with nice hard steel, cast steel I suspect. Soap was the discontinued Savonnerie du bon Berger lavande orange, it’s almost all orange, the lavender is very faint. The brush was a Keyhole 3 and the AS Myrsol Limon.

 

Beautiful razor Steve, very slim appearance, almost a little bit Swedish heritage


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Thank you Hans, it really isn’t slim, it’s long! It’s a proper 6/8, that is 13/16 to the top of the spine.

 

This near wedge was smooth and sharp. I finally got around to trying a Sterling Soap sample I’ve had for a long time - not bad.

Hot water preparation
Argan Oil PSO
Savile Row 3824
Sterling Soap Sharp Dressed Man
John & William Ragg Napoleon 6/8
Castle Forbes Lavender After Shave Balm



Happy shaving - Karl

 

Shave #5 on this Filarmonica. Very Smooth 2 pass shave, that left me BBS. Zero issues. I decided to break out the Mentholated Aftershave, with extra Menthol Crystals added, mistake. 10 minutes later, and my face still feels semi frozen, and my eyes are still watering. The good news is, my sinus' are very open.

Razor- Filarmonica 13 Doble Temple "Muleta"
Brush- @oscar11 special, with synthetic knot. Very good brush
Soap/Cream- Proraso Red(Sandalwood)
Aftershave- Fines Snakebite, with extra Menthol Crystals added. Wow!!!

 

George Wostenholm & Son
Brush: Semogue
Suds: Declaration Grooming Nightman
Splash: Stirling Mountain Man
Another old Sheffield with a regrind… or two… or three. Still some meat on the bone and delivered a great shave.

Enjoy your shave.
Tom

 

Perhaps the smooth shape makes it looks more narrow than it is


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I think that is right Hans.

Nice old Wosty Tom, I’m a fan of Wostenholm.

 

Thanks Steve. I•XL is a cool mark… and I’m with you, I think they do.
I have a pipe razor on deck for this evening. Another Wosty flavor that I seem to have fallen for over the years.

 

Dubl Duck Goldedge 11/16

 

Jeff, with that brush you could use an iced tea glass for a mug!

 

Baseball bat with a brush!?!


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(Couldn’t get an image uploaded to take. Probably net congestion)
Razor: Electric Friedmann and Lauterjung
Soap: B&M Petrichor
Sandalwood Preshave Oil
Mentholated witch hazel A/S

Nice shave today!

 

A nice shave today, from an American Made razor, and well trusted company. I had a very smooth, 1 pass shave, no need for a second pass. It ended with a DFS. This is a very well made blade, and some fine steel.

Razor- Lakeside Cutlery Co. "Army and Navy"
Brush- @oscar11 Special
Soap/Cream- Speick
Aftershave- Arctic Blue(Texas version of Aqua Velva)

 

I love a sweet Army/Navy blade! Beauty.

 

Thank you.

.

 

Filarmonica 14 Sub Cero with ABC soap and balm.

 

Wostenholm Pipe razor
Brush: Razorock
Suds: Declaration Grooming
Splash: Catie’s Bubbles Le Marche Du Rasage
I have a sneaky suspicion that I may be close to a 7 day set of Pipe razors.

Enjoy your shave.
Tom