SMF

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...

Gary, I would really be surprised if there is any health issue related to the use of tallow in soap. If we can eat beef, I can't imagine that smearing the fat on our skins would be in any way harmful, unless the tallow in question is rancid or otherwise compromised. - Murray Well, there was a time ...

Yes Murray, this gulf between European Portuguese (EP) and Brazilian Portuguese (BP) caught me out too, a much wider gulf than let’s say between American English or British English. As Brazil is the more populous country, most of the online courses teach BP even if they don’t say so, which is of lim...

Re: “Brutus, do you speak Portuguese?” Yes, sort of… Work in progress and every day I practice for another hour or so. I have been at it for little over 4 years and slowly it all falls together. :) They made me learn Latin in school, which makes learning languages that have Roman roots a little bit ...

Semogue brushes spring to my mind when someone asks me for a boar or badger brush for beginners. They are excellent value for money and I in particular like the S.O.C. (Semogue Owners Club) brushes with wooden handle that are very ergonomic to use and the wood is a pleasure to touch. Mine are severa...

After I retired, we moved to Portugal and I since have been paying more attention to what Portugal and Spain have to offer to a shaver like me. Some names like Musgo Real, Semogue, Viel-Long, La Toja are well known; others like Myrsol, Antiga Barbearia de Bairro, and Lea less so. I do believe, howev...

Is it just me, or do some among you agree with me that the importance (or rather lack) of tallow is largely overstated? If a manufacturer drops tallow and reformulates a shaving soap that is tallow-free it is not the end of the world for me and I am not ‘devastated’. Haslinger did a good job when th...

Alas Williams Mug shave Soap has finally bit the dust A quick check at eBay, Amazon, and Walmart online shows prices ranging from $7 to about $15, plus shipping, which means I might as well get something like MWF instead if I'm going to spend that kind of money. Absolutely. Or, to paraphrase Sir Wi...

My guess is as good as yours, but a price only slightly above the Amazon QShave and Ming Shi 2000 (but well below the original Merkur Futur) level and absence of any reference to ‘Made in Germany’ or ‘Merkur’ make me think that this is not the ‘real McCoy’. As I said earlier, the QShave that I bough...

‘IF it's as good as the original’ And that’s the crux of the matter. The price shown is closer to the QShave and Ming Shi 2000 Futur clones than to the original Merkur Futur. About 20 years ago, I regularly used a Merkur Futur for some time and became curious when the clones appeared around 2017. I ...

First, let me confirm what Chris has already mentioned, Mäurer & Wirtz does not seem to be in the habit to answer e-mails with questions regarding Tabac. I found that out about 5 months ago… Second, I am probably in a minority here when I say that I do not particularly care whether a shaving soa...

Thanks for the impressions, Tim. I'm not a face-latherer, so no reason for me to get a brush of two-banded badger. (Actually, I have one, so I know that for a fact!) My favorite brushes, however, in both badger and boar, are Semogues. Their silvertip brushes in standard density were the first silve...

Interesting experiment. I am curious to learn how it turns out. For some time now, I have been using a variation of back and forth strokes on the same side by using circular strokes on the same side, limited to coarser stones only. Initially, I did this on 1000 and 5000 Naniwas, since I added a 3000...

I'm wondering whether the bankruptcy laws in Germany are similar to the US. In the US, bankruptcy does not always mean the company will cease to exist. Chapter 11 BK in the US (so named for Chapter 7 in the US bankruptcy code) is technically called "reorganization," the purpose of which i...

Thank you for your notes, Tim. I too had noticed the new Cella soap in the characteristic 150 ml turquoise tub and am curious to try it. Like you, I do not usually associate olive oil with a good lather and it’s good to know that in this case olive oil does not seem to negatively affect the shave. I...

In my safety razor days, about 12 years ago, the Futur was initially my go-to razor. With a tool, which a razor ultimately is, I did not consider any of the versions with a glossy finish and bought the matte version that provides a more secure grip. I started with a low setting and gradually worked ...

One thing people used to do to tone down the aggressiveness of a new Feather blade was to lightly draw the edge across a cork or some matchwood, just to blunt it a little. Presumably you will be able to find a cork in the hotel, or is Dubai still awkward about those things? No, for new Feather Arti...

I tried stropping a Feather Artist Club blade several years ago and my results were disappointing too. Due to the geometry of this razor you either risk polishing the bottom edge of the Artist Club blade holder - rather than the edge of the blade - or you risk stropping the blade at a sub-optimal an...

Have been wet shaving for years, straight razor practice with a Boker and Thiers Issard. Recently I branched out with a Feather Artist Club SS. I found the shave to be closer than my European razor experience. Is the correct conclusion that a straight razor can never be honed/stropped to match a Fe...

QShave Chinese clone of the Merkur Futur that as been around for a long time. Lower weight, different balance, sloppier tolerances. How do you define “any good”? As good as the original? Clearly not. O.K. to shave with if you never knew the original? Well, maybe... But I doubt that if the original h...