WSO Stock Update 4/18/2014

WSO Stock Update:

Ultimate Pre-Shave Oil is currently out of Stock. It will be restocked hopefully by Tuesday. In addition to the regular Pre-Shave Oil I will be adding and offering a new Ultimate Skincare Mentholated Version as well.

Premium Shave Soap-
In Stock -
Baywood (Bay Rum & Sandalwood Scent)
Bay Rum
Green Irish Tweed

Very Low Stock-
Bill the Barber (1 left)
Vanillawood (2 left)
White Lightning (3 left)
Tommi (tommy hilfiger) (1 left)
Lime (1 left)

Out of Stock-
Zaro
Signature
Louie's Coconut Lime
The Naud
LD Spice
Cucumber Melon

Aftershave Balm & Blash-
Signature - Low Stock
Bill the Barber - Low Stock

I will be working hard all weekend to replenish Soap Stock. They will be filled in the following order:
Zaro
Coconut Lime
Signature
The Naud
LD Spice
Cucumber Melon


Thank You all for your patronage and support. It is sincerely appreciated!
I promise to work as hard as possible to be able to restock as quickly as I can. That being said I will not cut corners or compromise quality while doing it so please bear with me and I should be able be fully stocked again by next weekend.
I am also increasing my base batch sizes so my next runs will be even larger and stock can be more quickly replenished. For those of you that do not know what I am referring to you can read about my Premium Shave Soap and an overview of the process I use on my website ( http://www.WetShaveObsesssion.com ). It is a Triple Hand Milled (or triple batched) Soap so there are 3 full cooking steps in the process. Each results in a reduction in water content of the soap. That is one reason why my pucks are so hard and not soft like many other soap offerings. The actual volume of the product is reduced by over 1/3 from the first hand milling through to the end if the 3rd and final hand milling. That volume difference is all water. Water you are paying for in a non Triple Hand Milled Soap. Thats just one mall detail that I feel makes a difference in the quality of the product provided to the customer. It is also the first thing people suggest I change when they see how busy I am and try to think of ways to save me time. It, however, is not open for discussion. The question asked is How much difference does it really make? My answer is always the same, "It doesn't matter because any difference that is not moving the product towards being better is not a change I am willing to make".
Sorry for rambling on there. I just had the pleasure of meeting with my accountant so I am a little fired up at some of his suggestions. I know he is only trying to help but he should stick to number crunching and I will stick to soap making LOL...
Enjoy Your Shaves!
Regards,
Jim@WetShaveObsession

WSO Shave of the Day!

Thursday 4/17/2014

Merkur 45 Bakelite

Feather

Vulfix 28 Boar 21mm

WSO Ultimate Pre-Shave Oil

WSO White Lightning Soap

WSO Lime Blash

                   So todays shave was with my Merkur 45 bakelite razor. Well it really isn't bakelite, but it is modern plastic made to look just like a bakelite vintage de safety razor. I chose this razor because a thread was recently started in a shaving forum about it and I posted in the thread. That got me thinking I havent used this razor in quite some time. So today is the day I dusted it off and took it out for a spin!

                    My prep was pretty standard for me if I do not get a hot shower pre-shave. I washed my face with a new pre-shave soap I have been working on. I patted it dry leaving a slight bit of moisture. I then put about 4 drops..thats it...4 drops... of  WSO mentholated pre-shave oil.while I allowed that to absorb into my skin I commenced lathering. 

                    The brush I chose today is a vulfix 28. It is a 21mm boar knot brush and this would be my first actual use  for a full shave. I have done about 4-5 test lathers with it while I was mainly testing the soap, nit this brush. The entire reason I got this brush is I wanted a boar around 20mm. I didn't want an Omega or a Semogue, not because they aren't good brushes, they most certainly are, just because I wanted something different. I have a vulfix 2234 in super badger and it is one amazing brush. I saw this vulfix boar and picked it up figuring why not. It turns out this is an excellent little boar brush that I believe will only continue to serve me better and better the more I use it. 

                    My Soap today is WSO White Lightning.  I had put a bit of hot water on top of the soap which i had in a plastic ziploc twist top container (like gladware but with a twist on lid). I had a very small amount of White Lightning left at the end of the last batch so i reached for whatever was close and this happened to be there. Man it was a good score! It worked great to lather in!. It was then I realized I was moving towards quite the travel set up with the Merkur 45, the soap in the ziploc plastic container, the small Vulfix boar, etc. At any rate I lathered my soap and well Ill just show you a pic of the result:

                    

                    Some absolutely beautiful, Thick, rich , and slick lather today. So much so that when I put the brush in the plastic ziploc container full off lather I notice it stood straight up. Then I decided to dump some lather on a plate and see if it could hold the brush up without anything all around the sides being pushed in so to speak. The result is the pic above and I think it speaks for itself!

                  All lathered up I began the shave. The Merkur 45 is a small, lightweight (obviously) razor. That does not mean it is timid. It is not super aggressive but I would call it medium aggressive. It is definitely more aggressive than the Merkur head on say the 38c or the 43c. I think the fact that this is such a light razor throws people off on the aggression factor. I have heard many say it is very aggressive but I think perhaps that is due to the tendency to apply unnecessary pressure when using such a light razor. This could give the false impression of aggression in a razor.

                  I did my standard 3 pass, WG,XG.AG and got an excellent shave. There are a couple keys with this razor and if you follow them it is a winner in my opinion. First no pressure. Apply no pressure even thought it is a light weight razor. Second a very sharp blade. This ties in with the above. I think you need a very sharp blade with this razor or again it can come off as more aggressive than it truly is. Also being so light, if a blade is tugging, the tendency may be to again apply pressure. I used a feather blade and had no issues.

                    All in all todays shave was excellent. I really like this razor and I think I picked it up for like $19 or something. You can t beat it. It would make an excellent Gym Bag or Travel razor but by no means dismiss it from a role in a regular rotation. This plastic razor shaves that well if all  else is in order.

                   Post shave I finished up with WSO Lime Blash which I very much like and cannot wait for full time spring and summer weather when I think it may become my go to scent in soap and Aftershave. My skin felt and still feels fantastic and upon inspection it was a fantastic shave.

                   Solid prep, Quality Pre-Shave, Good Razor, Sharp Blade, Nice brush, Great Lather, Quality Aftershave = Great Shave. Thats a formula that works right there! I hope you all have or had a great shave today!

Enjoy Your Shaves!

Regards,

Jim@WetShaveObsesssion

WSO White Lightning Lather

White Lightning Lather

Thick, Rich Lather! 

WSO Vintage Razor Review:The Schick E-3 Injector

Schick E3 Injector

          The Schick Type E Injector was made from 1935-1945. It has a bakelite handle and a spring mechanism that rotates to the left to allow for cleaning. This Particular razor is most easily identified as an E3 as the guard bar has parallel grooving. The razor is 3.75" long x 1.5" wide. It weights 1 1/8oz or 32 grams. The Type E was the first Schick Injector with a bakelite handle. You can tell the handle on a Schick Injector is bakelite as opposed to plastic as there is no seam down the center of the handle. Quite often on auction sites Schick Type G Injectors are misrepresented (often unintentionally I am sure) as Type E Injectors. The Type G has the plastic handle with the seam down the center. So if you are looking to buy a Type E or a bakelite handle look for the seam, if it is not there then the handle is most likely bakelite (unless someone sanded out the seam).

                    The Schick Injector is one of the longest production run safety razors ever. It was manufactured from 1935-2003. The very same blade can be used in every Schick Injector and they are still available for purchase to this day. 

                    Schick Injectors are fairly plentiful and can be located readily on auction sites. There are a select few that demand high dollar values and for the most part even pristine NOS Schick Injectors can be had for under $100. The exceptions are some limited edition models made using precious metals and a few of the De Luxe Versions if they are complete with case and original injector with blades in it.

                    All in all the Schick Injector is about as close to a cartridge razor shave as you can get while still being a safety razor. Like many long production run razors the general rule of thumb is the older the razor the more aggressive it tends to be. This is a fairly early Injector and I would categorize it as Medium Aggressive.

The Razor

                      As stated above this razor is as close as you can get to a cartridge razor shave yet still be a safety razor. Pretty ironic considering it has been around for 80 years! To install a blade you purchase injector blades. They come in an injector loaded with blades with a metal guide that actually slides into the razor head that is known as a key.

Loading Blade

Type E with Injector

                    The entire mechanism and procedure of loading a blade is a simple yet rather impressive process if you think about it. The key inserted into the razor ensures perfect alignment. You then slide over the metal tab on top of the injector. This loads a new blade while pushing out the old blade at the same time.
                       As far as the shave goes as I said I would categorize this as a medium aggressive   razor. It provides a fine shave. I was using the schick injector blades that I recently purchased for about $5 . The razor is very small and very maneuverable. It is very easy to get the sometimes hard to reach areas such as under the nostrils etc. The shave performance is excellent. I did my typical 3 pass, WG,XG,AG shave but in all honesty I could prob do a 2 pass with some touch up and be fine. Below was my shave set up:

                    The Schick Type E Injector is a fine razor. It performs fantastically. If it has one drawback (or 2) it is the size and weight. It is very small and very light. The weight does not bother me, the short handle does a bit but it in no way prevents achieving a good shave. M shave today was fantastic. Super smooth, super easy and very fast.

                     If you have never shaved with a Schick Injector Type E I strongly recommend picking one up. They are fairly easy to come by, relatively inexpensive, and very fun to shave with from time to time. I would almost say it is a great introduction to Safety Razor Shaving but I hesitate as I feel starting with this will not promote or foster the learning of proper form and technique. That being sad it is great, fun razor to use, that is definitely worth having. Also it is an integral part of Safety Razor history. In production for 70 years and quite ahead of its time when it came out the Schick Type E Injector has a firmly established place in safety razor shaving.

                    I personally have a fairly extensive Schick Injector collection and this is one of my "user" razors. I have many that are in the case and a few NOS that I really do not use but more display. That being said for every one I have on display I have the corresponding razor in my "user" rotation. I thoroughly enjoy using them and the Type E is one of my favorites. Dare I say it is "just right" on the aggressiveness scale for me.

                     I hope you enjoyed this Vintage Razor Review and found it informative. If you wish to discuss the Schick Injector Type E more in depth please post on my facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/WetShaveObsession ) or hit me up on twitter ( https://twitter.com/WetShaveObsess ) .

Enjoy Your Shaves!

Regards,

Jim@WetShaveObsession

WSO Stock Update 4/16/2014

Soaps
Vanillawood
White Lightning
Bill the Barber
Baywood
Green Irish Tweed
Zaro - Low Stock
The Naud - Low Stock
Lime - Very Low Stock

Aftershave Balm
Full Stock

Aftershave Blash
Full Stock

Pre-Shave Oil
Out of Stock. Will be in stock by Saturday 4/19/2014 if all goes well. Also will be offering a Mentholated Pre-Shave Oil at that time as well.

RazoRestore
Low Stock

RazoShine
Low Stock



Thank You!
Enjoy Your Shaves!
Jim@WetShaveObsession

Stock Update, 4/14/2014

Pre-Shave Oil- Ultimate Pre-Shave Oil is out of stock. Will be back in stock by the end of the week. I will also be offering a mentholated version at that time as well.

Soaps- I have White Lightning, Vanillawood, Bay Rum are in stock. The Naud, Zaro and Lime are in stock but very low. Baywood, Bill the Barber & Signature will be back in stock soon.

Atfershave Blam & Blash- Fully Stocked

Enjoy Your Shaves!
Regards,
Jiim

WSO Shave of the Day!

Sunday 4/13/2014

EJ DE 89

Feather Blade

Omega 46215 24mm Synthetic

WSO Bay Rum Premium Shave Soap

WSO Bay Rum Shea Aftershave Butter (Prototype)

           So todays shave was a very pleasant one. I used the good old EJ DE89 with a feather blade. I honestly think the DE89 is the most versatile, finest quality modern razor head in production today. It just performs exceptionally well under all shaving conditions for me. Heavy Growth, light growth, you name it.

           The brush is a new acquisition for me. It is an Omega 46215 24mm Synthetic. While Omega is not necessarily know for their handle quality this is an obvious exception. This handle not only looks beautiful it has nice heft to it and somewhat of a beehive shape minus the ridges. The tip of this brush are among the softest I have ever used. Its ability to hold water and lather is up there with the upper echelon synthetics. Still not like a nice Badger or well broken in boar, but as far as synthetic go this one does it with the best of them. It is slightly lacking in backbone. In fact it has just enough to make it passable for me personally. If I had to equate this to other synthetics I would say it is in the calls of the Plisson when it comes to softness (just slightly less soft but VERY close) and just below the Franks Shaving as far as backbone. For around $30 shipped this is an excellent synthetic brush and as is the norm with Omega , a fantastic value.

          The WSO Bay Rum Premium Shave Soap performed as I have become accustomed too. The lather was thick and slick. In fact here is a pic of just how thick and rich the lather is:

Fantastic!

          The shave itself went extremely well. My typical 3 pass WG,XG,AG. Plenty of lather to spare. No nick or weepers. Super smooth. Very enjoyable!

         The Aftershave Product is a brand new concept and this is the first one like it. In fact it is in an empty "Working Hands" container! It is an Organic, Unrefined, Shea based Aftershave butter. It has an organic astringent incorporated along with several other ingredients. It is super soothing and calming to the skin. It still needs a bit of tweaking as although it works fantastically, I need to play with some ingredient ratios. It is just a tad too greasy. I think with some formula refinements this has the potential to be an excellent product offering. It would be extremely useful for straight razor shavers as well as people who have bad skin reactions to aggressive or multi pass shaves.

          All in all, a great shave today. I hope you all can say the same! Have a great Sunday Night and join me tomorrow here for the Vintage Razor Review.

          Enjoy Your Shaves!

           Regards,

            Jim@WetShaveOnsession