Mike’s Rants and Raves

When I got home this evening, I took a close look in the mirror and was surprised to see how badly that Zorrick blade had beat up my neck. A year ago, I would have just skipped shaving for a day or two, to let my neck recover from the damage. But these days, I am far too accustomed to the comfort of a great shave, so skipping tonight’s shave was not part of the equation.

I’m really surprised at how poorly the Zorrick performed for me. I know several gents have had excellent luck with them. One in particular, a gent known in Web shaving circles as Leisureguy has spoken quite highly about Zorrick blades. My friend Giovanni, at Barbieria Italiana has the Zorricks available at a really attractive price, but I’m not going to be able to take advantage of the savings. No matter, Giovanni keeps my blade of choice, the Derby Extra Super Stainless in stock, as well.

So this evening, I spent a bit of extra prep time. A lot of hot water, followed by a hot towel treatment. I then grabbed my tube of Proraso shaving cream and whipped up a bowl of lather. I worked some of the menthol-eucalyptus goodness into my beard and then applied a second hot towel.

With a fresh Derby blade loaded into the Merkur 23C, I re-lathered with the Proraso and did my usual three-pass shave - North to South, a re-lather, South to North, a re-lather and then an ear to chin pass. I started looking for the possible trouble spots that might still have a bit of stubble, but my face was smooth as glass. A quick cold water rinse, followed by a generous spalsh of Pinaud Clubman and life was good again. That menthol-eucalyptus worked its magic.

I was hoping to rotate my Wadsworth straight razor in for tomorrow evening’s shave, but I’ll see how my neck is looking. If there are still signs of the Zorrick battering, I’ll just repeat tonight’s selection.

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Last evening, it was time to make a blade change in my trusty Merkur 23C.

I’ve been getting absolutely great results with Derby blades, but Giovanni at Barbieria Italiana had sent me a small blade assortment, so I looked through the offerings.  I spied a Zorrick blade, which I know some have had really good luck with, so I popped that into the razor.

I was using a tried and true Mama Bear soap, so the only variable was the Zorrick blade.

And I ended up with poor results.  The Zorrick was not doing nearly as well as the Derby with stubble reduction and the repeated passes netted me a case of razor burn.  As well as a nick.

Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.  I’m sure looking forward to getting back to a Derby blade this evening.

You’ve doubtless heard the old saw about different horses for different courses.  This is a case of different blades for different faces.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with all the shaving variables, as that is how you will learn what works best for you.  And, as last night’s result shows, you will also learn what doesn’t work for you.

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I’ve mentioned Mantic’s YouTube wet shaving channel in other entries, so you may already be familiar with his name.

The good news is that Mantic has decided to establish a blog site, called ShaveTutor.

Mantic has done a lot to educate other men about all the pleasures of wet shaving, so be sure to visit his blog.

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I guess I’ve been pretty lucky, as I’ve ventured back into this world of double-edge shaving and mixing lather with a shaving brush. I’ve met some really nice vendors that know their products well and are more interested in creating a solid business relationship than they are in simply turning a quick dollar.

We’ve all been punished with the salesperson that doesn’t know anything about the product they are selling. We’ve all been victimized by these people that don’t care how satisfied we are with our new purchases. They have their sights set on separating you and I from our hard-earned cash and little else.

Well, let me introduce you to a genuinely nice fellow - Giovanni Abrate from Razor and Brush.

Giovanni had come highly recommended to me by another gent, who urged me to visit Razor and Brush to check out the wide array of products available. What was interesting was the recommendation came to me via a Private Message on a shaving forum (that shall remain nameless). The incredible part about this recommendation was the gent told me to get in touch with Giovanni at XXXXX XXX XXXXX. It took me a bit to sort exactly what that meant, but the short story is the megalomaniac that operates this particular forum takes umbrage with anyone trying to make a living by selling shaving products. He’s trying to break into that market himself, or so it would seem. So these individuals typically find themselves banned from this particular site and their company names often end up being censored within the forum software. Lame and insecure? I’ll let you decide.

Here I had someone recommending Giovanni to me, yet Giovanni is so poorly thought of on that forum his company name was replaced by X’s? Hmmmm, how should I view this recommendation?

I took a chance and placed a small order with Giovanni. I got the products I was looking for, at very attractive prices and in a timely manner. Giovanni went out of his way to contact me about my order and when I opened the package, I was pleasantly surprised by some additional products in the package. In short, I learned that Giovanni is first cabin and that showed me what an insecure loser the unnamed forum admin really is.

I just contacted Giovanni today about purchasing an Omega badger brush. In a short time, I had a informative and friendly reply from him and that helped me make the decision to place another order.

If you’re looking for some excellent, hard-to-find wet shaving products, then get thyself across to Giovanni’s Web site - Barbieria Italiana. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to give Giovanni a phone call. Alternatively, send him an e-mail. And don’t bother getting too comfortable waiting on a response, as the turn-around time will shock you. Spend a few moments perusing Giovanni’s forums and you will immediately get a sense of how genuine this gentleman really is. He’s got a good sense of humor, but he also knows his product lines well.

What a breath of fresh air, to find a businessman that has his customers’ best interests at heart. Thanks, Giovanni, I’ll be back!

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As I’ve been looking over my choice for this evening’s lather-producing product, I’ve decided it is time to try another of the Mama Bear shaving soaps - Patchouli.

No, I didn’t just sneeze. Patchouli is the name of the essential oil in this particular soap. What is patchouli, you ask? My answer is that I have no idea! So, I paid the Mama Bear site a visit and discovered the following explanation -

Rich, sweet earthy renewing essential oil. Medicinal Properties: Antidepressant, antiseptic, aphrodisiac, antimicrobial, diuretic, deodorant, carminative, astringent, expectorant, fungicidal, sedative, tonic, decongestant, insecticide.
Safety Precautions: Non-toxic, non-irritant.
Patchouli supports the digestive and nervous systems. Patchouli is a stimulating aromatic oil, that promotes increased feelings of desire. When diffused, Patchouli help create an amorous atmosphere. Embrace the musky sweet aroma as it calms skins cells and enhances the appearance of younger-looking skin. This is well known from the ’70’s as an earthy scent and is nice when mixed with a floral or a citrus…

Hmmm, I’m not so sure an ‘amorous atmosphere’ is exactly what I’m looking for as I shave, but we’ll see how it goes. Keep a good thought for me.

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As time goes by, I’m slowly but surely working my way through what seems to be countless combinations of shaving selections, from razors to lathers.

I did put myself behind a bit with the experiment, as I was fortunate enough to score some samples of Mama Bear’s glycerin shaving soaps at a very attractive price. I’m now the proud owner of the following scents -

• Dragon’s Tears
• Hydrogen
• Sandalwood Rose
• Smokin’
• Patchouli
• Egyptian Musk

To date, I’ve only been able to try the first three, so there is still some experimentation needing to take place.

For those that enjoy producing shaving lather with a brush and soap, let me give you a hint. Stop reading this and get thyself to Mama Bear’s Web site to order some of her soap. If you get a wet brush within sight of a tub of this excellent soap, the lather begins to boil right out of the tub. And the lather is rich and the glycerine makes it super-slick, so a razor will just glide along.

I’ve been using my recently-acquired straight razors with mixed results. With a straight razor, I can produce a shave that is every bit as good as any cartridge-bladed razor can provide. But I’m afraid my double-edge safety razors have spoiled me. Because the straights cannot come close to the results I consistently get with a DE razor. I’m not going to give up on the straights, but it’s difficult to accept something less than perfection. I need to keep working with my straight razor shaving technique, to see if I can start achieving better results.

For now, I’m paying a regular visit to Shaving Nirvana with a Derby blade inserted in my Merkur 23C razor, with a satisfyingly wide array of both soaps and cremes and a quick splash of Clubman aftershave.

As a matter of fact, that is such an excellent shave that you will need to excuse me - I need to go shave.

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There is a really serious issue I need to address with the acquisition of all the wet-shaving products that seem to be popping out of the woodwork around here.

When shaving is only required once a day, I’m only able to try just so many products in a given period of time.

Each evening, there is the selection of razor - will it be my Merkur 23C, one of my Gillette Super Speeds, a Schick Krona or one of the straight razors?

Continue reading “So many products, so little time”

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OK, as anyone who knows me will readily agree, when I’m upset about something, it’s usually not long before everyone in earshot will hear about it.

But, I’m usually not too shy about praising the good things that happen along every now and again.

And one of those good things I’ve recently discovered is Mama Bear’s Homemade Soaps.

This time of the year, I’m usually slathering as much lotion onto my hands, arms and legs as I can possibly get. My skin gets excessively dry in the winter months and I’ve just always assumed that was something I was meant to suffer.

Wrong!

Continue reading “Credit where credit is due”

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This video was taken at the 1997 Federal Mogul Divisional Points Meet held at Beech Bend Raceway, in Bowling Green, KY.  This was a qualifying session and our car appears at about 8:05 into the video.

This one brought back a lot of old memories.

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This video is of a pretty good friend of mine, Brian Browell. I worked with Brian for several years and wouldn’t trade a single one of those memories for anything.

I was fortunate enough to have been a part of this racing operation for more years than Brian probably would have liked and we raced all over the U.S. and even raced a few times in Canada.

The car is an NHRA Competition Eliminator gas dragster that runs in the D/Dragster category. It is powered by a 90° V-6 Chevrolet engine, running two carburetors and gasoline. The car utilizes an air-shifted 5 speed, clutchless transmission. The chassis was built at McKinney Corp Race Cars and has earned a Best Engineered Car award. Brian now runs the car out of his own shop, Browell Bellhousings.

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