Search found 493 matches

by Brutus
Sat Feb 10, 2024 10:40 am
Forum: Shaving Creams & Hard Soaps
Topic: Review of the "new" Mitchell's Woolfat
Replies: 12
Views: 819

Re: Review of the "new" Mitchell's Woolfat

Oh, I do like my piece of lamb, most of the time with mint sauce. :-D I must have picked the habit from someone else outside of my immediate family, as my mother, of German descent, never touched lamb. Her idea was that the meat “smelled’, but I suspect she may have confused lamb with mutton. She wa...
by Brutus
Fri Feb 09, 2024 2:34 am
Forum: Shaving Creams & Hard Soaps
Topic: Review of the "new" Mitchell's Woolfat
Replies: 12
Views: 819

Re: Review of the "new" Mitchell's Woolfat

Phil (BullGoose Shaving) posted a write-up that I saw on my FaceBook feed - a positive mini-review. Non-tallow, but no loss of performance. When the tallow-free version came out, I ordered some from the UK, where it had become available first, since I wanted to see for myself how the two compare. I...
by Brutus
Sun Jan 14, 2024 7:41 am
Forum: Straight Razors
Topic: Straight razor vs DE razor...
Replies: 15
Views: 1397

Re: Straight razor vs DE razor...

I've recently reached the inevitable age when the old worn out muscles and bones just don't work like they used to. While I love my straight razors, I don't love the tedious process of maintaining the edge. Example: endless hours of honing (straights) vs. the absolute zero - 0 - time spent on safet...
by Brutus
Sun Nov 19, 2023 10:31 am
Forum: Shaving Creams & Hard Soaps
Topic: Cream versus Soap?
Replies: 19
Views: 2270

Re: Cream versus Soap?

Interesting theory… I never had the impression that lather from shaving soaps made for a closer shave. I do have the impression, however, that lather from shaving stick tends to be inferior to lather from the shaving soap of the same brand (e.g. Tabac) even if the list of ingredients should be the s...
by Brutus
Tue Sep 19, 2023 4:44 pm
Forum: Straight Razors
Topic: Straight razor vs DE razor...
Replies: 15
Views: 1397

Re: Straight razor vs DE razor...

As well as the shave being perfect and longer lasting than a safety razor shave, there's the satisfaction, which cannot be matched. C. You’re so right. What started as a quest to prove to myself that I could master a straight razor, eventually morphed into something that I look forward to inpoiutre...
by Brutus
Mon Sep 18, 2023 5:25 pm
Forum: Straight Razors
Topic: Straight razor vs DE razor...
Replies: 15
Views: 1397

Re: Straight razor vs DE razor...

There are only a few safety razors that can match a straight razor. By design, most safety razors have the razor blade slightly recessed (the so-called negative blade exposure). The fact that the blade is “hiding” a fraction of a millimetre back in the razor head produces a comfortable shave, but al...
by Brutus
Thu Jul 06, 2023 4:44 am
Forum: Shaving Brushes
Topic: simpson's have improved
Replies: 27
Views: 17046

Re: simpson's have improved

You’ll be the judge whether this makes sense… In 2006, while based in London, England, I bought two Taylor of Old Bond Street branded shaving brushes that I believe were made by Vulfix. They turned out to be horrible shedders, Taylor was nice enough to replace them, but unfortunately they turned out...
by Brutus
Fri Jun 30, 2023 9:52 am
Forum: Shaving Brushes
Topic: Aerospace grade magnesium shaving brush
Replies: 7
Views: 1164

Re: Aerospace grade magnesium shaving brush

Be that as it may, magnesium alloys are frequently used in aerospace and other applications where the weight advantage is just too tempting. They are usually magnesium alloy castings, often for gearboxes or transmissions. Here is a somewhat dated (just like me 8) ) presentation from the 2007 trienni...
by Brutus
Tue Jun 27, 2023 2:20 am
Forum: Shaving Brushes
Topic: Aerospace grade magnesium shaving brush
Replies: 7
Views: 1164

Re: Aerospace grade magnesium shaving brush

Aluminium? Maybe. Titanium? Definitely. But I never would have thought of magnesium as a material for shaving brushes. :idea: Maybe that is because (despite being trained as an aeronautical engineer and having worked for many years as an airline pilot) I still associate magnesium with chemistry clas...
by Brutus
Tue Jun 13, 2023 10:43 am
Forum: Shaving Creams & Hard Soaps
Topic: A visit to the past
Replies: 2
Views: 1077

Re: A visit to the past

Colonel Conk Bay Rum? That reminds me. I must have tried the the Colonel’s Bay Rum shaving soap about 17 years ago. At the time I thought it was a pleasant scent, but the soap never made it into my regular rotation. After that, I mainly used glycerine soaps (e.g. Ach. Brito Glyce) to wash my face be...
by Brutus
Sun May 28, 2023 9:15 am
Forum: Shaving Creams & Hard Soaps
Topic: Mitchell's Wool Fat soap no longer contains tallow
Replies: 12
Views: 1671

Re: Mitchell's Wool Fat soap no longer contains tallow

Seems to me that as long as we drink cows' milk, and eat beef, there will be tallow that ought not be wasted. I've written before about the silly people who want to save the cows, but don't seem to mind the clear cutting of New Guinea forests to make palm plantations, and which have driven the oran...
by Brutus
Sat May 27, 2023 9:01 am
Forum: Shaving Creams & Hard Soaps
Topic: Mitchell's Wool Fat soap no longer contains tallow
Replies: 12
Views: 1671

Re: Mitchell's Wool Fat soap no longer contains tallow

There are some interesting theories floating around as to why tallow is disappearing from shaving soaps’ list of ingredients. Some might even contradict each other. One theory has it that the demand for biofuels reduces the amount of tallow that is available to soap makers. Looking at the price of a...
by Brutus
Fri May 26, 2023 11:13 am
Forum: Shaving Creams & Hard Soaps
Topic: Mitchell's Wool Fat soap no longer contains tallow
Replies: 12
Views: 1671

Re: Mitchell's Wool Fat soap no longer contains tallow

I really do like Mitchell’s Wool Fat and I do not belong to the crowd that believes the end of the world is near :( when a manufacturer drops tallow from the list of ingredients. That tallow craze is way overblown IMO, as Haslinger demonstrated when they dropped tallow in 2017 and their shaving soap...
by Brutus
Tue Mar 14, 2023 9:59 am
Forum: Safety Razors & Blades
Topic: TOP FIVE DE BLADES in 2023
Replies: 9
Views: 1777

Re: TOP FIVE DE BLADES in 2023

Astra blades (I prefer the blue ones by a small margin) are hard to beat for their price. Nacet, Rapira (Platinum Lux) and Permasharp work very well and I very much like Feather blades, although some complain that, while possible the sharpest blades out there, they don’t last that long. I have have ...
by Brutus
Thu Jan 12, 2023 11:16 am
Forum: General
Topic: Sad news here
Replies: 10
Views: 1657

Re: Sad news here

Conquering heroes are celebrated when they come home.

Those who were sent out to serve in an unwinnable war are easily forgotten, because people do not like to be reminded of the costs of failure…



B.
by Brutus
Tue Jan 03, 2023 2:13 pm
Forum: Shaving Brushes
Topic: Zenith B15 boar
Replies: 6
Views: 6600

Re: Zenith B15 boar

All these positive comments about Zenith boar brushes have piqued my interest. Wherever I looked, I found it near impossible to find negative reviews from owners. Having said that, I also found it a bit challenging to find suppliers that stock an extensive range of Zenith shaving brushes. Besides ba...
by Brutus
Sat Dec 31, 2022 2:55 am
Forum: General
Topic: Sad news here
Replies: 10
Views: 1657

Re: Sad news here

Such a senseless loss of life.
My condolonces.



B.
by Brutus
Sun Oct 23, 2022 1:15 pm
Forum: General
Topic: Coming home and seeing the changes after two years…
Replies: 12
Views: 2740

Re: Coming home and seeing the changes after two years…

+1 on Fendrihan. Haven’t bought anything in a store front since my last purchase of Palmolive classic shave sticks at Tesco on one of our trips to the UK well ahead of Covid circa 2017 if I recall correctly. Yes, Italian Barber is good, but I like Fendrihan better, although I don’t spend a fortune ...
by Brutus
Sun Oct 09, 2022 10:59 am
Forum: General
Topic: Coming home and seeing the changes after two years…
Replies: 12
Views: 2740

Coming home and seeing the changes after two years…

Most of you may have experienced something like this: When you see the neighbour’s kid every day you hardly notice the changes as she or he is growing up, but if you haven’t seen the kid for two years the changes are quite obvious. I have had a similar experience in the last few days. In March 2020 ...
by Brutus
Fri Oct 07, 2022 10:55 am
Forum: Safety Razors & Blades
Topic: Gillette Silver Blue vs Platinum
Replies: 9
Views: 2997

Re: Gillette Silver Blue vs Platinum

Was cleaning out my office and found a bunch more supply that I didn’t realize I had so so good for the foreseeable future. It was - especially since in realizing the manufacturing country, I am not sure I'll purchase more in the future so nice to have a bit of a stash for a few more months. Notice...