It has been a while since I have made a brush. I have been thinking about this one for quite a while. Yesterday it was nice, so, I got out there and did some cutting and gluing. Yes, this is an experimental handle. It is made with pieces of plywood glued together. After it was all glued up. I let it sit over night. So, today was a nice day, and I got out there and turned this handle. I stained it and finished with Minwax Polycrylic. I set it with a two-band badger knot that has been sitting here wanting a handle to live in.

You can see all my pictures here:  https://jrshaving.blogspot.com/2023/02/jayaruh-436.html

I admitted awhile ago that I was a hypocrite, being on a SE shave forum and not shaving. In my defense the hospital I was going to for cardiac rehab required masks and have you ever tried to exercise while wearing a mask properly? It's impossible to get enough O2 and exercise. My solution was to cover my face with the useless mask and have a beard to frustrate a proper seal so that I could breathe and exercise, so no shaving. The best I could do for hair removal that made sense to me was clip everything and leave a goatee. Today was my 1st shave since the pandemic insanity started. 
Why shave now and not then? I left cardiac rehab at the hospital and joined a gym to further my rehab by doing exercise that just wasn't available at the hospital. Since the gym doesn't require masks now I can shave again. 
So sitting here contemplating my "1st" shave I wondered exactly how to go about it. I've shaved thousands of times and maybe because of that I couldn't recall some of what I used to do. But once I got in front of the shave cabinet it all came back to me. It was like riding a bicycle. The brush was one of the $1 salvage boars that I got out of a bin at the local surplus goods shop many years ago. I bought a hundred or so and passed them on at cost + shipping years ago. I figured maybe they might last a month or so, but here I was using it in the rotation many years later and other than the recent past it has been in that rotation constantly. Not bad for $1. I hemmed and hawwed over the soap. My hand reached for Krampert's Finest Bay Rum, then decided on Martin deCandre. The razor was a MicroMatic with a blade that now has 8 shaves on it. I did forget about the MDC being so water hungry and I used too much, but adjusted the water to get the lather correct (I face lather). As I was shaving I realized one thing; I actually like the sensual experience. The 1st pass was completed with no blood, the light touch was never lost, same for the 2nd pass. End of shave, get some fresh hot water on my "shave towel", actually a microfiber chamois, wipe down the face and rinse, wring it out to dry the skin and done except for the splash. Krampert's Finest Bay Rum took care of that. I saw my face for the first time w/o hair between my face, eyes, and the mirror in 2 1/2 years. It went pretty good. This shaving thing could catch on. 
So Shadows Dad the hypocrite is a thing of the past.

Just to let the forum know that over the next couple of months my family and I will be relocating to TN from ND.  I have not posted much in a while, but still pop in now and again to check if there are any IT type needs that I can help with.  Hopefully all goes smoothly, and I can get back to "normal" fairly quickly.

Got up early for us this morning (6AM). I had an early shave with my new Schick Band-Razor. After two passes, I could feel no difference. I had advanced the band, so it was a new edge, it just was tooooo mild. So, I reached for Roger Quintero's Schick type injector razor. What a difference! One pass and I called it good. So I am ditching the Schick for the rest of the week in favor of Roger's 3D injector razor.

Next, we had got up early to take the wife for her cataract surgery. It was just a ten minute drive and we arrived about ten minutes early. Got her checked in. We had just a little wait, and they took her back to the pre-op area. I will cut out all the details. She had her right eye done (going back in two weeks for left eye). The surgery only took about 15 minutes. She was in recovery for about 30 minutes, and we left. The whole experience took up about 3 hours. We are home and glad to be here. Laying low for the rest of the day. We will go to the doctor's tomorrow morning for a post-op exam.

Today I took a little drive to my closest CVS. I’m sure most of you know the “Blade For Men” single edge blades they carry. They are on sale with the card for $1.44 for 10 count vs the normal price of $5.79... I asked the lady working what was going on. She said CVS is discontinuing the single edge blades. So, if you like them you may want to run and grab as many as you can.

I hope my images attached

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Hello All!

My name is Matthew and I am from Southern Illinois. 

I started wetshaving with an unmentionable but I do have a few single edge razors. 

Currently I am posting from my iPhone and navigating seems like it would be easier on my computer. Just wanted to jump on and post a quick intro…

When I load a modern blade in my travel set 1924 ever ready it slides left to right on the blade stops It does not do it with vintage blades. Is there a fix? Thanks

Williams Wednesday's Cold Water Shave

Cold Water Rinse
Williams Mug Shaving Soap
Tom's Brush B-3 Badger
Brass TAR by Tom
Nacet Stainless
CWR
Humphrey's Witch Hazel

The Williams Mug Shaving Soap lathered well with Tom's Brush B-3 Badger brush. Two passes and touch ups with the Brass TAR by Tom and the Nacet Stainless Blade gave me a close, comfortable shave. After a cold water rinse I finished off with Humphrey's Witch Hazel. I am clean, smooth, and refreshed...

I got this Schick Band-Razor from Big W in New York. I will be having Schick Band-Razor Week next week. 

This razor dates back to 1966. Here is an ad from 1966 introducing the razor.


I made this video to compare the Gillette Techmatic with the Schick Band-Razor.

A fan of the Indian shaving community tells me about a craftsman: Mr Atul Chadha of Shavologist.
https://www.facebook.com/shavologist
https://www.youtube.com/@atulchadha1113
https://www.shavologist.com/

Simple but well designed soap formulation.
Ingredients: Stearic Acid, Water, Coconut Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Coconut Milk, Potassium Hydroxide, Kokum Butter, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Sodium Hydroxide, 
Glycerin, Aloe Juice, Lanolin, Avocado Oil, Sodium Lactate, Sorbitol, Cetyl Alcohol, Citric Acid, Multusburry Extract, Sah Silk, Comfrey Extract.
Among the usual known, two more particular functional.
https://www.myfacecosmetics.com/mulberry...-for-skin/
https://thebestorganicskincare.com/comfr...le-worker/

As we are used to, production is complete.
Soap yes, but also aftershave (both lotions, and balms) and EDC.
Through an interesting preshave soap.
Ingredients: Activated Bamboo Charcoal, Shea Butter, Kokum Butter, Mango Butter, Coconut Oil, 
Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Glycerin, Sweet Almond Oil, Jojoba Oil, Aloevera leaf extract.

For now, the site is set only on home distribution.
Formulations are not enabled to the (most stringent) European standards.
Prices are super cheap, as usually in that area.
Besides, it’s almost sold out.

But there are already many very positive experiences.
https:///www.reddit.com/r/Wetshavers_Ind...=relevance
https://youtu.be/XxTxSm6mlv4

I think it has great potential.
I wrote to the craftsman.
I stand by.