SMF

What about the white box ones, with the Surrey address on them, which I found still on sale in the Canary Islands last week? "Swedes"? They sure shave like them. Are these the white cardboard box version or the plastic dispencer type with the used blade slot on the reverse side? White car...

BullGoose wrote:I was just informed that Merkur has discontinued production of the 11C and 12C razors. I do not know if this means that they have dropped all open comb razors but, it looks like that may be the case.

I note that the 985CL open comb travel razor has also gone out of stock nearly everywhere.

What about the white box ones, with the Surrey address on them, which I found still on sale in the Canary Islands last week? "Swedes"? They sure shave like them.

That, I like.

I had a poor experience with Sputniks, but this was back when I was a rookie, so concede this may have had as much to do with technique as the blade.

I work for a company that provides services by royal appointment to HMQ and rather like having the Royal Warrant on my business card. It's too commonplace a sight to elicit much comment here but my American colleagues dine out on it.

Tye wrote:My iPad makes for a pretty good e-reader.

I have an iPad and a Kindle, and while the iPad is a great mobile computer, the Kindle is incomparably better to read anything on.

I'm sure the Fire is a fine tablet, but like all LCD devices it's going to be a lousy e-reader.

I use the one that has a week-to-view diary on the left and a lined page for notes facing on the right. I've used one for reminders for years.

The first thing I do is evacuate my bowels. I'm as regular as a Kennedy funeral.

Worked there for a while. Beautiful city but ruinously expensive. And the food was so awful I ended up being like one of those ghastly American tourists permanently scouring the streets for a pizza place.

The Vasa Museum is my top recommendation for a visit.

I picked a few packs up in Cyprus a couple of years ago.

Awful. I binned them.

As in India Pale Ale? Discovered this heavenly ale at a local brew pub a few years back, and now, when I'm in the grocery store, I find myself seeking out new craft libations to try out. We have local favorites Long Trail, Magic Hat, Harpoon and Smuttynose, all pretty decent refreshments. What, if ...

There is a compound called Polywatch, which is used to remove light scratching from acrylic watch crystals. The alternative — believe it or not — is toothpaste. Try it, but be patient. It can take up to half an hour of persistent rubbing to remove even light scratches/hazing.

Big Ren wrote:Maybe it's my crude palate, but I really can't discern much difference among gins, especially in mixed drinks or a well-chilled martini.

Neither can I. I only ever drink it with tonic and buy whatever's cheapest (usually Gordons).

I'm a huge fan of the Merkur slant, and it has become my go-to razor of choice to the extent that I rarely shave with anything else these days. My question is to those who have tried the Hoffritz slant — would I notice much of a difference if I tracked one of these down? From what I can see, the Mer...

Good point well made about its efficacy in hard water. I live in a very hard water area and find nothing lathers as well as Arko. (I'm a face latherer, BTW.)

I use both. I love the sting of the splash followed by the soothe of the balm.

Good to hear from you, Gordon. In a world full of ups and downs for many of us, SMF is a reassuring constant. I hope we'll see you back again permanently before long.

I'm revisiting all the Fleming Bonds in chronological order on my Kindle. I'm about half way through — I haven't read them since I was a teenager and I'm thoroughly enjoying them. Just in case anyone's interested, all the John Gardner Bond novels are being republished on Kindle. They're a mixed bag...