SMF

Hello forum. New member but not new to wet shaving. Actually, I began using an old three piece my dad had back in the early 70's when I was still a youngster and then lost my way, using mostly Gillette cartridge razors for decades and going back and forth between canned foam and soap and brush. I started back with a double edge safety razor several years ago. I still have to use a cartridge when I travel, or rather I don't want to go through the hassle of arranging to have blades when I travel by air.

My preferences and practices....

Razor: Fatip Piccolo most of the time. Once in a while I use a Weber or a Edwin Jagger, but inevitably go back to the Fatip after a week.

Blades: I don't really have a favorite. I have probably a 20-year supply now of various brands and makes. I use up a 5- or 10-pack and then grab another pack out of my stash different from what I just finished.

Soap: Always MWF when home. I did very little experimentation. Tried MWF and it was wonderful for me, and now its what I use. When traveling I use Speick stick.

Brush: I have several and tend to use them all, but lately I tend rotate between an old Col. Conk pure badger that i believe was manufactured by Vulfix, a Simpsons Chubby in Super, a West Coast Shaving in pure, and a West Coast Shaving in silvertipe. When traveling I use a Kent synthetic. Truth be told, I probably use the old Col. Conk brush the most.

Aftershave: I would be using Dominica all the time if it was available. I think I have an unopened bottle, maybe two, in the back of the cabinet. Right now I'm using Grand Bay. I like the simple Bay tree oil, alcohol, and water formula.

That's it. I used to frequent another shaving forum but quit it a couple or three years ago. Every once in while I search around to see what's up or what's new, and this time decided to register here. Thanks for the forum.

Hello Ira, Welcome to SMF.
Great kit, luv the Fat.

Welcome aboard, Ira. Hope you enjoy your stay. Please contribute frequently.

Thanks for the welcome. I don't know that I have a lot to contribute. I'm not much into the gear and stuff. I know what I like, and I also know that YMMV applies to nothing else like it does to shaving. I'll be watching new threads (and keeping an eye out for info or news on Dominica).

Ira, I'm also a fan of Dominica Bay Rum. I notice that you are currently using Grand Bay. Can you provide a comparison of the two? I've been tempted to order some Grand Bay.

Welcome. I like Dominica Bay Rum too, especially the Lime, so the bottles I have are staying in my stash. We have all got to the point where we say we don't have much to offer, not because we know nothing, but by now our knowledge has spread fairly evenly over the membership. We do offer an environment free of paid reviews, paid-up preferred vendors and any other financial distortions of what works and what doesn't (cf. B&B, deliberately designed for profit), and just like any of the old gentleman's clubs (White's, Boodle's, Athenaeum, Brook's, Beefsteak, Garrick's etc) we all had a particular interest that brought us here, but having joined up, we don't necessarily talk about it all the time. It seems we have become a meeting place for remarkably well-shaved chaps who rather take for granted that anyone else they meet here will also be sporting a perfect shave. Do feel free to add, enliven, enrich our content!

Hello Ira.

I don't think I can really describe the difference between Dominica and Grand Bay. The difference is really which has the more appealing fragrance to me, and there really isn't a big difference there. When I first used Grand Bay after finishing a bottle of Dominica the morning before, I thought the fragrance of Grand Bay was a little weak, less intense. That may sound strange because the fragrance with Dominica is faint to begin with. But I guess I got used to Grand Bay and quickly I lost any notion that it was much different than Dominica. When I finished the bottle of Grand Bay and started a new bottle of Dominica my sense was that the intensity of the fragrance was more or less the same, but the Dominica fragrance was more appealing to me.

I've since repeated the experience and my opinion is the same. Grand Bay for me is an ok substitute for Dominica if one can't have Dominica. It is the same simple formula of Bay tree oil, alcohol, and water (and no coloring) but if asked which fragrance I like better I would say Dominica. Of course it may be my imagination. It's like smelling two roses and saying you think one is more appealing than the other.

Thanks, Ira. From your comments I think Grand Bay could be a suitable substitute for Dominica if they are still not in production when I run out of my last bottle.

Welcome to our little community, Ira! You should fit in quite well.

- Murray

Welcome to the forum!

Thanks again for the welcomes.

An afterthought about Dominica: If and when it does become available again, it could be different. Not a different recipe, but just different in the way Grand Bay seems a little different from Dominica now. Of course by then we will be just happy to have it, and probably wouldn't know the difference anyway.

I'm sure your introduction is going to drag fellow MWF'ers out of the woodwork to ruminate about its fine qualities

welcome to smf

clive

fallingwickets wrote:I'm sure your introduction is going to drag fellow MWF'ers out of the woodwork to ruminate about its fine qualities

welcome to smf

clive

Hah hah. I don't know nowadays, is there a shaving soap that inspires more passion among fans and detractors with no one in the middle?

Welcome home. Pull up a stump and set a spell.

Welcome Ira.

You’ll find a wealth of opinion, expertise and experience here so please feel free to get involved and search through our archives.

Gareth