SMF

As I peer over the edge of the mortal coil I have given my son many of my treasures. These inlude an ivory Chubby 3 purchased many years ago from Trumper, and an unused #24 Plisson HMW (black collar) set in plexi which may actually be too big to use. I retained my #22 with which I may be buried ...

I never understood why the Mamiya C33s didn't get more respect. If you ask me, they outpaced Roleis in almost every way.

Buzz

Murray--

If you have any Leica gear, Sherry Krauter at Golden Touch is still in business.

Buzz

I sold off most of my film cameras, retaining a Nikon F6, two Hasselblads, some OM-1/OM-2 bodies and and some Pen FVs, all with lenses. But since moving house I don't have a darkroom and I've had to get used to digital cameras with some reluctance. Currently using a Nikon D850 and an Olympus E-M1 ...

I am 75 years old and in relatively robust health. Nonetheless, I have revisited my urge to collect shaving gear and other things. My son was visiting from the midwest last week and I decided it was time to let things go. I gave him my ivory handled Chubby 3, my NOS #20 Plisson HMW in plexi, my ...

I got a freebird for $44 shipped. Half the price of a Pitbull. Some reviews says it is the Remington Bald clippers with different labeling. 30 day money back guarantee. If it does not work then either the Braun 9 or Andis if I feel like electric will do. Otherwise will just stick with a Leaf razor ...

I am fortunate to have Colonial Drug in Newton, Massachusetts, as my local shave (& cetera) shop. Their stock remains marvelous, wide and deep. Some items are not the same as years ago...the formula on Trumper's shave soaps is different, Plisson brushes are pathetic...but there is much to buy and ...

How shall we classify LEitz CAmera? A Pithy Partial Portmanteau, or PPP?


Yes, Chris, well, of course... While Leica did start out as an initialism, I think the universal opinion today is that Leica has become a proper noun defined as "The finest photo/optical equipment ever made," and thus an ...

For the purists among us, YMMV and LOL, & cetera, are not acronyms , they are initialisms . An acronym , strictly speaking, is an accepted word that is spelled out by the first letters of a title, phrase, or saying. An initialism , while possibly pronounceable, does not result in a word. However ...

Fort might have been more appropriate than castle, especially as it served as a British garrison for the slave trade. For reasons I no longer remember...this was about fifty years ago...the residents of Dixcove referred to it as "the castle."

Many years ago I was staying in the slave castle at Dix Cove on the coast of Ghana. The place hadn't changed in about three hundred years; no running water, no electricity. There were five of us male travelers there. We set up a barber shop on the parade grounds and we shaved one another, lathering ...

My son will get my two Plisson HMWs set in plexi, one of which is enormous and just south of display size. I got the smaller to replace my first HMW when I learned there was no more of that exceptional...perhaps finest ever...badger. I have no earthly idea why I bought the larger one except the ...

I recently turned 72, a significant birthday among Jews, as 72 represents quadruple Chai. Chai, the number 18, is the symbol for life.

Anyway, I took this milestone to signal that it is time to use all of those shaving goods I have been saving for decades. I should enjoy them now while I still can ...

Cathy and B.J. have moved thje shop from Harvard Square to Newton. Remarkably, they have maintained the zeitgeist of the old shop and it is piled from old wood floor to pressed tin ceiling with the most marvelous things and scents. This is a "must-see" stop if you love shaving and are ever in New ...

I have a Plisson HMW brush with a Plexiglass handle in my rotation of 27 badger brushes. It’s a damn fine brush, but from Buzz’s description of the Golden Age HMWs, mine isn’t one; it has a white collar and the tips are not brilliant white. Nevertheless, it performs excellently and I like it ...

Buzz, I agree. A few years ago I got lucky on ebay and scored one of the gentle plexi giants - 24 or even higher if there is such a thing. It's an heirloom brush I rarely if ever remember to use and I don't count it among my other more common everyday brushes. I'm extremely lucky to have it.

You ...