Cool Shaving Video

So I was browsing Vimeo trying to see what shaving videos are there (BTW- not near the volume of tutorials and SOTD’s as you see on YouTube).  Vimeo seems to host either most art films,oooooor people just shaving naked.  So viewer beware.  However, I did find this very wonderfully edited film of a gentleman getting a barbershop straight razor shave and had to share it.

https://vimeo.com/80474457

Cheers,

Aaron

 

Cool Patents

Hey All,

So I was doing some research for an up and coming article for the Shaving Shack blog (here) on the rising popularity of the slant bar razor.  Funny enough, the concept has been around almost as long at the safety razor as we know it today has. (hat tip to old King Gillette).  While searching for the original patent applications for the slant bar razor I found some really interesting other patents that I thought worthy of note.  ‘

Here is Thomas Wild’s slant bar patent.  Filed in 1915, and approved and patented 1916.

The Original Slant patent by Thomas Wild.

The one and only, original patent for King Camp Gillette’s safety razor, the one that started it all.  Note: the original application date is in 1901, and the patent is 1904.

The Original Patent for King Camp Gillette’s safety razor.

It was interesting to note in the research that there seems to be some debate as to whom exactly applied the first patent for the slant bar razor.  Some argue it was Merkur, some Wild, but my research is inconclusive at worst and proving Wild at best.  Unfortunately a lot of the German patent records were destroyed in the World Wars, and it seems that we will never know for sure.  If someone has any evidence otherwise please let me know!!

Patents for an adjustable safety razor!  Wow, this looks like the Gillette Fatboy bottom dial that went into production.  The patent here is awarded to two inventors Meyer Shnitzler and Michael Douglas Benedict Jr.  I could not find where or if these two gentlemen worked for Gillette, sold their patent to Gillette, or what happened with their patent beyond the application.  I would be most appreciative of information if someone does know or knows where to find it.

Last but not least and interesting for sure is a patent for a slant headed disposable (or so it seems?).  Now this is not a torqued head, but a head set at an angle.  It still provides a slanted/slicing action as many of the early slant safety razors, but in a more French Guillotine style instead of the torqued style.  It’s from 1981, and who knows if it ever hit production but it’s certainly a cool bit of history.

I hope you enjoyed these neat tid-bits of history as much as I did.  Please leave a comment if you know of any other cool patents hanging around out there or any insights to the slant origin!

Keep it smooth!

 

back from hiatus

Hey All,

Well, as it has become obvious, the blog went on hiatus for a while.  I started working two jobs, and began to also build a business in the financial services industry, which has taken significant amounts of time and energy.  So things had to go down for a while.  However, tomorrow marks the last day at one job, so I can concentrate more on the business, family, and doing what I enjoy, including this blog.  So in my efforts to regain control here I noticed the old twitter app is going out.  There’s a couple of fixes, one I embedded in this post, the other is on the sidebar.  I like the sidebar better but wanted to see what both looked like.

So here’s to more regular posts, and exciting content! Have some good stuff lined up for the next few weeks, and I hope you are looking forward to it as much as I am.

 

Aaron

 

Tweets by @

 

SOTD

Hey all, here’s today’s Shave of the Day.  I dropped a tube of Speick cream which ended up breaking the plastic lid, so it ended up squeezed out into the tin you see here.  It was a good thing, because the metal squeeze tube was getting small holes in the sides anyway.

Merkur Futur with Feather Blade

Grooming Lounge face wash (not pictured)

Kent BK4 badger brush

total Shaving Solution oil (used as pre-shave)

Speick cream (in a tin)

Speick aftershave lotion/splash

 

Enjoy the day!

 

SOTD

Today is the 7 Year Anniversary for the Mrs. and Myself, so we’re headed out for the day, but here’s today’s shave!

Merkur Futur with a Barber Personna blade (a day too long, was a little dull)

Kent BK4 pure badger brush

Pacific Shaving wash & scrub

Al’s Shaving “The Bomb”  Citrus Medley cream

Taylor of Old Bond Street Victorian Limes splash

 

Have fun and smooth shaving!

 

Mother’s Day Shave

It was a quiet day here at SYF.  The Mrs. had a wonderfully long nap while I and the boy played games, made Mother’s Day cards, and watched Avatar: The Last Airbender.  We finished the evening with a spring salad, Italian sausage, and brown rice made with herbed chicken stock.  The Mrs. also got a a neck/back/foot massage, I think she really got a good deal out of the day! =)  In any case, here’s today’s Mother’s Day Shave.

Merkur Futur with Barber Personna blade

Fuller finest badger brush restoration

the famous phoenix Coates Limited Edition Tea Tree & Rosemary cream

eShave White Tea after-shave cream/balm

 

today’s shave

Hey Everyone, thought I’d share today’s shave with you all since I took a picture of it.

Here’s the rundown:

Merkur Futur with a Barber Personna blade (use #2)

Kent BK4 brush

Taylor of Old Bond Street Herbal Pre-Shave gel

Tabac soap stick

Tabac aftershave splash

 

not pictured are:

Pacific Shaving wash & scrub

Shave Well shower mirror

 

Article published!

Hey all,

Just thought I’d share the exciting news! An article that I had written a while back has just been published in the JustWeddings.co.uk magazine!!  Here it is below!  A quick and simple narrative on a good shave, found on the far right.

Cheers!

^AW

 

Today’s Shave

It’s not often I get to take a picture and post it of my shave, but it was a nice lazy day today (relatively) and thought I’d share.  Especially since the shave contained some new goodies that had been picked up as of late.

Just noticed the pumpkin has some lather on it too.  Oh well, it probably needed a shave too! =)

What we have here:  Merkur Progress with Gillette Rubie blade (used at setting 5), butterscotch Fuller finest badger restoration brush, Mitchell’s Wool Fat shaving soap, a few drops of Drakkar type fragrance oil, Shave Secret pre-shave oil, a Bluebeard’s Revenge lather bowl, and the Proraso Pre/Post cream.

A word about the fragrance oil: I had bought it a couple of years ago to make some aftershave.  The vendor I bought it from assured me it was 100% skin safe (even thought it doesn’t say that on the bottle, nor does it say “cosmetic grade”) and unknowing at the time I didn’t ask to do a patch test.  Needless to say the aftershave burned like heck, and unfortunately after a while so did today’s shave.  If you are going to use any type of fragrance oil or even essential oil, please don’t do what I did.  Make sure you try a patch test to see if your skin is sensitive to the oil.  It makes things a lot more pleasant in the long run.

 

Interview with Andreas Muller

Hey all,

Over on Badger and Blade there is a great interview by Codfish with Andreas Muller of the shaving company Muhle.  They speak quite in length about the new R41 DE razor and Muhle’s upcoming designs and thoughts.  It’s a great read and I highly encourage you to check it out!!

Interview with Andreas Muller

 

Cheers!

^AW