A rare shave

Had a real change today. Rubbed the stick over my face, lathered up, shaved off the lather rather haphazardly, reapplied lather left in the brush and did the same again. A big difference to my usual slow, systematic four pass shave. I was in and out of the bathroom in a few minutes and off to market for breakfast. My wife was pleasantly surprised. This could be my regular Saturday morning routine as I seem to try to be out much earlier than usual - it gets busy quickly at Lymington market!

The line up today was Palmolive, Vulfix Pure shaving brush ( not the most comfortable brush in my collection ) Jagger Chatsworth/red personna and Proraso balm.

Changing tastes

I've noted several discussions on shaving forums about people starting to prefer higher lofted brushes. I've never been keen on very short lofted brushes in the mid to lower 40mms range. I prefer brushes from around 48mm  to the mid 50s depending on knot size. This is a two band I had made which has a 22mm knot set to a loft of 58mm. I've been using it recently and it really is a delightful brush to use. The two band hair ensures a reasonable backbone and it has excellent flow through. I don't have any plans to produce any more of these but I'll certainly be considering setting 22mm knots at around 52mm to 54mm lofts to assess demand. Tastes do change!

Royal Enfiel Bullet Classic EFI 500

Shaving's not my only interest!

Replating a razor

This might be of interest to anyone wishing to restore an old razor:

Replating a razor

Favourite things

A few of my favourites. Jagger Chatsworth with red personna has been my daily choice for a long time now. The mini casserole dish makes a very practical container for palmolive soap sticks - amazing value for money soap that produces lather as good as anything costing several times the price. The brush is unique, for now. A fan shape two band with a 22mm knot with a loft of 50mm - just perfect for face lathering. A New Forest brush not yet in production. Truefitt and Hill 1805 balm - finishes things off perfectly.

Guide to Gourmet Shaving

There is a mass of information about shaving on the internet. But there are very few books about it. For those who take an interest in shaving using more traditional products like double edge blade razors, brushes, creams and soaps here is a book to study and enjoy. And an ideal gift for someone you might wish to encourage to share your passion for treating shaving as a pleasure rather than a chore.

Here you will find suggestions about all the things you need to do to master traditional shaving methods. Techniques for improving your daily shave and many ideas for all sorts of different products to try. Michael Ham, self styled "Leisure Guy" is an enthusiastic blogger on several subjects, including shaving, and he contributes regularly to a number of shaving forums. This is the 5th Edition of the book - well timed to include among those early Christmas gifts to others or an early one to yourself. Now available on Amazon as a book or, soon, kindle.

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk