SMF

Fortunately here in the UK the tallow police don't seem to have caught up with hand soaps yet - a good proportion of our soaps (both artisan and cheapo high street) still contain tallow as the main ingredient - Cussons, Palmolive, and several supermarket own brands all have tallow in their "ma...

Face wash with high glycerin soap, hot towel
Zwilling 8/8 (30 laps linen, 30 laps leather)
Simpsons Duke 3, best
Trumper Sandalwood hard soap
Trumper limes skin food
Trumper Sandalwood cologne.

Good shave, finaly starting to "get it" round my chin.

Do any of you fine fellows know which soaps still have a tallow base? I am in the market for some hand soap and would prefer some tallow soap as I find the palm oil stuff does not lather as well. Thanks in advance. P.S. I of course open this discussion to bath soaps as well,size is no barrier to cle...

I also prefer the hanging type, something like this

Clicky

Very sad, I can't offer much except my heartfelt sympathy.

Update after first shave.

Lather was slick, protective and in general, wonderful. Whipped it up very quickly and was a pleasure to apply to my face, very very impressed with this brush(Trumper Sandalwood hard soap).

These all look fantastic. If I weren't on an open razor kick at the moment, these would be winging their way to me.

Such a comprehensive post, thank you very much. I must admit, I am somewhat more attracted towards natural stones for whatever reason.

Edit; Do you know of any shops/markets in London that may carry such items? Most of the antique stores I see carry heinously expensive furniture and little else.

Just to clarify, this is not two banded hair, the tip is white, though not the creamy white one might find on a super or an HMW.

Perfect, exactly what I was looking for. At first, reading the method, it seemed mad (ruining the edge on purpose?!), but the more I read of his explanation, the more lucid the picture became. His application of tape halfway through the process is particularly ingenious. Thank you very much for all ...

Thank you all for the welcome and well wishes. The brush is unbelievably dense, comparing it to my vulfix from above, the difference is quite startling, I am beginning to wonder what exactly is in all the gaps of the vulfix knot. The bloom is also more modest, lending the brush a restrained, dignifi...

Lots to think about here. One of my reasons for trying to get away with a coticule only, is the ease of getting one, where as finding a Japanese water stone in the UK seems somewhat harder (not least because of the interference from Her Majesty's Crooks and Extortionists). Finding other natural ston...

I use Vitabath Sugar scrub every second day. When this is gone, I am looking for a better priced, i.e. cheaper version. My wife uses some stuff and I am going to try hers. Or you could mix sand (walnut shell, peach kernals, anything small, hard and a little sharp) in with your soap, there is not on...

I am thinking about embracing the natural order of things, not least because, a trip to one of Londons oldest and best barbers is very enjoyable, a trip to superdrug to buy clear nail varnish, less so.

Thanks for the input, any suggestions as to a stone to use after the coticule? Could I use the coticule and then a pasted strop(which paste though?)?

Morning gents, I was wondering if the more experienced here could lend me their brains for a dalliance into the realms of honing. I own a couple of razors (a 6/8 Timor, and a giant 8/8 Zwilling), both NOS and came to me honed. I know they need and deserve the ministrations of a sharpening stone, but...

I joined just to lend my support to this endeavour, count me in for a couple of Hamman soaps. Thank you for all the work put in so far.

And so it was that I found myself in the St James branch of Trumpers this very morning. I had shaved with my trusty Vulfix 2234 in super less than an hour before, I was smooth and unruffled on the outside, but it served only to conceal my disappointment. My 2234 was my first brush, my only brush for...