Gilbert Henry Bay Rum

I received this bottle of Gilbert Henry Bay Rum from Chris Paczewitz, co-owner of the Gilbert Henry Company. I found it waiting for me at home and couldn't wait to give it a try. The company has the kind of start up story that I love to hear - he couldn't find what he was looking for, so he made it himself; some trial and error later, and we have the final product above.

This morning I went through my regular shave routine, but substituted the GHBR for my regular Art of Shaving Sandalwood Aftershave. The scent was perfect - not overpowering, not too sweet, just the right balance of bay rum and citrus.

The application was a surprise. It went on smoothly, but there was zero greasyness to it, and my skin felt very clean afterwards. It was almost a sort of powdery feel when I put it on.

My original attraction to theArt of Shaving was not only for the quality of their products, but the story of the companys creation, very similar to Gilbert Henry. The difference is that AoS was bought out by Proctor and Gamble. I don't have a problem with that, but I enjoy supporting a small business with a great product.

It looks to me like the Gilbert Henry Company is just that.

For more information on the company or their products, check them out at

http://www.gilbert-henry.com

Shaving in space

I was fortunate enough to make it to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum the other day. I made my way to a section displaying a bunch of Apollo 11 mission equipment, such as suits, survival gear, video equipment, cameras, and even a few personal items.

Among those personal things, donated by Astronaut Michael Collins, was this:

That is a Gillette Adjustable Razor and a tube of Old Spice Shaving Cream.

The Adjustable is a single edge safety razor; it was available in any drugstore at the time, as was the Old Spice.

I was pretty surprised to see a safety razor in the Air and Space museum; just thought I'd share a bit of shaving and aeronautical history.

Edwin Jagger Best Badger Shaving Brush

I had heard a lot of chatter about how much of a difference a good shaving brush makes. I didn't know first hand, since most of my shaving was done with a boar hair brush someone gave me.

I received an Edwin Jagger for Fathers Day. It's a Best Badger with a faux ivory handle, and it is all I have used since I took it out of the box.

Imagine the difference between driving a Maserati and a Pinto. That's about the feeling.

The brush lathers so much better than my boar brush that it isn't even possible to do a fair comparison. The lather these guys on the shaving vids on Youtube get? I can do that now. With far less effort, I get way better results. I can stir up a mountain of cream in no time, and it stays ready until my last pass. Plus, it's much softer and comfortable on my face.

One problem I have with this is that I need to reevaluate all my soaps with the new brush. So far I have only used Lavanda and Mikes.

Honestly, though, this isn't a problem I mind having. I'm looking forward to trying everything again and seeing how it all works under new circumstances.

Mikes Natural Soaps

Sorry it's been so long since I posted last. I've not tried too many new things, but I have been working with a tin of Mikes Natural Soap (Orange, Cedar and Black Pepper, although I have a tin of Lime as well).

This stuff is handmade by the proprietor in Brooklyn, NY. According to his website, he started doing this because he was tired of buying sub-par shaving creams.

It is made with tallow, vegetable glycerin, lanolin, and a host of other ingredients that are really good for your skin. For more information, just google Mikes Natural Soaps - you'll find it.

At first I was using my Boar hair brush. The lather was decent as long as I didn't over/under hydrate it (if its underhydrated, you will see a lot of bubbles in the lather. Add a little more soap and lather up until that stops). But the results I was getting weren't near what I'd read about, or seen in videos on youtube.

Then I got an Edwin Jagger Best Badger Brush for fathers day, and tried the soap with that. Apparently a good badger brush was the missing link.

Lathering is now on par with what I expected when I first received the tin. The soap gets very slick and creamy, which is what you want, of course. I don't pick up much of the cedar or black pepper in the scent - mostly just the orange. The shaves are great, but I have to be sure to use a decent blade, as always.

After using this for about a month my skin is looking healthier and smoother. The ingredients in the soap are largely to thank for that, I think.

So, in conclusion, I give this soap my highest reccomendation. It will be really hard for me to switch up soaps; I really like Mikes. I suppose when the first tin runs out, I'll give a month to another brand, then come back to my Mikes Lime tin. That should give me a good basis for comparison.

Shark Super Stainless Blades

My latest trial from the sampler pack was Shark Super Stainless Razor Blades. I think there are several varieties of Shark blades - these were the ones in the yellow box and wrapper.

They do the job and do a reasonable job of it. I found that the second and third shaves are the best, for some reason. But I hadn't found the shave to be as smooth as some of my favorite blades; the usual problem areas seemed to be even more problematic, and my neck was irritated more than with other blades.

I'm going to give these ones a down vote. There are quite a few people out there who will swear by them, but not this guy... so it's off to the next blade.



Resources

There are a lot of sites on the internet that you can go to for information on wet shaving.

One site I really enjoy is Badger and Blade. The forums there are so full of good information, good links, good supplies and good people that I haven't been able to scratch the surface after more than a year.

If you have a question, it's likely been answered there. If not, ask! Someone (several someones, in all likelyhood) will be along shortly with some clarification.

If you want to get started in wet shaving, B&B has advice, tutorials, vendors, reviews, links, and a buy/sell/trade marketplace where you can find absolutley anything you'd need.

Check it out at http://badgerandblade.com/

There are plenty of other fine shaving forums that I haven't explored yet, so I can't give any recommendations for them. But you should be able to find one or several that suite you.

Another great site is Youtube. There are so many videos on wet shaving I don't even know where to begin. The subjects cover the entire range of knowledge, including face, bowl and palm lathering; shaving creams vs sticks vs soaps; badger (and grades thereof) vs boar vs horse vs synthetic; straight, single edge and double edge razors; blades and strops and hones and techniques and...

Well, you get the idea.

Once you have decided on what you want to get, some vendors I have used include BullGoose Shaving, The Italian Barber, West Coast Shaving, and Mikes Natural Soaps. I have had great experiences with each of them, and I am affiliated with none. I get no kickback for guiding anyone to them, I'm just telling you how it went for me.

One thing there doesn't seem to be a lot of is brick and mortar stores (as opposed to internet storefronts). The area I live in is an absolute barren wasteland as far as B&M stores go. I did get to go to Merz Apothecary in Chicago, which has so much stuff geared toward wet shaving that it's almost overwhelming.

If you are in an area where you can find a shop like that, by all means check it out - the advantage of being able to see, touch and smell the things you are thinking of buying is incomparable. Especially if it's colognes, aftershaves, scented soaps, etc. There is no way to know how you will like a scent based on someone elses review.

Mikes Natural Soaps

I have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of my shave tins from Mikes Natural Soaps. Everything I've read about Mikes products have been positive. The ingredients are like a whos-who list of skin replenishment, including tallow, lanolin, shea butter and glycerin, among others.
His soaps are made the old fashioned way, and he makes them in his (limited) spare time.

To learn more about Mike or his products, go here:

http://www.mikesnaturalsoaps.com/Mikes_Natural_Soaps/Welcome.html

Obviously I have yet to try it. My Lime and Orange, Cedarwood & Black Pepper tins were waiting for me when I got home. Needless to say this will be part of tomorrows shave (sorry Musgo Real).

I am also looking forward to using this with both my boar hair brush as well as the badger brush that should be arriving soon. A soap like this should be a pretty good sounding board for how different the brushes themselves lather.