Sink issues?

My wife complains that since I started using traditional creams and soaps. the sink is getting clogged up and water is running away slowly. It gets sorted by "Mr Muscle"   a product for clearing blockages in showers, baths and sinks. Is this a common problem I wonder?

Someone else has concerns:

Clogging the sink?

Enchante online

Someone asked me recently if I had tried any of the products available at Enchante online. I confess I haven't. The UK has very low limits on the value of items that can be imported from outside the European Union without the addition of customs and other charges. Combine that with the cost of shipping and you can understand why Brits are reluctant to stray far in their buying habits.

With a daughter in Texas who I visit regularly, I will look closely at what Charles Roberts has to offer at Enchante. She's always on the look out for gifts to send me!

Mad but funny!

One of the more amusing threads on a shaving forum:

Slick adventures?

Not sure about the lather!

The full monty.

The full daily routine on display. All my "stuff" is kept in a bedroom drawer. The team selected goes on my IKEA tray for transfer to the shower room. That's MWF soap for the final wash and rinse before applying lather. Used the Kent BK4 today. Surely the floppiest of the popular brushes. Best for lathering creams in a bowl then painting on in sweeping to and fro motions with the tips - a delightfully luxurious experience. And I'm giving my old Gillette slim twist an extended run. It could become my go to razor, it's so good.

Pre shave

 This is all I do now. And neither is me!

Nanny's Shaving Soaps

The lather from Nanny's Yushu soft shaving soap is truly stunning - it is among the finest of the many, many creams and soaps I have tried. The old Gillette Slim Twist still gives a very smooth close shave. Another illustration of the way I like to vary the combination of products I use each day

Simply the best

The soap I mean. Bought over two years ago, Martin de Candre is without doubt the best of many soaps I've tried. It lathers so easily, produces a fine creamy texture, smells delightful and leaves your skin feeling extra soft. I face lathered today with a 24mm New Forest Two Band. My little old Shavex and 1805 balm completed the team.

Back to the past - almost.

This is an old Shavex razor - look very cheap but very effective in providing a close comfortable shave. I'm still working my way through some pots of the old Coates Shaving cream - it's lovely stuff. And that's a New Forest 2213 Finest Silvertip - I do enjoy my own brushes!

Back to the future

An interesting shave today. I soon relearnt that you don't need a thick creamy lather with a 5 blade cartridge. So a quick swirl over the Cade and a thin coating of lather was quite enough for the Wilkinson Hydro to do its job. Three really quick passes without feeling anything was coming off gave me a very close smooth and comfortable shave rounded off with a low cost Wilkinson Balm. Shave over in half the usual time and off out for an early breakfast. I still prefer my more leisurely DE shave with a thick creamy lather but if time is a bit short the Hydro is an excellent alternative. The brush is a real buffalo horn silvertip from Trumpers.

Open comb razors.

The razor is a 1918 Gillette Single Ring originally bought by the father of an old friend. Used with a feather light touch it gives a superb shave still. In the Le Creuset dish I have stuffed palmolive soap sticks and it works well as a soap lathered up with a New Forest 24mm 2 Band. Treated with respect, open comb razors are fine. Apply too much pressure and you are in trouble!

Lathering

Face lathering seems to be the preferred method among wet shaving enthusiasts. I quite enjoy it from time to time. But for a relaxed luxurious shave it doesn't beat lathering in a bowl and then painting the lather on in long sweeping motions with the tips of a soft tipped silvertip or two band brush with a medium to high loft. Today it was with a 20mm Plisson High Mountain White with a 51mm loft. Perfect!

The Soap Bar

Another interesting blog I came across:

The Soap Bar

A guide to buying and caring for vintage razors

This is an example of a great post on a shaving forum which will be of interest to anyone considering the purchase of a vintage razor. Well worth a look.

Buying and caring for vintage razors.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all my most welcome visitors. I've taken a break over the festive season. Three daughters and their families stayed with us for over a week - from Dallas, Guildford and Bournemouth. With laptops, mobile phones and other devices, my broadband usage rocketed!

I'm looking forward to this year. Particularly my visit to the London Olympics on the last night of the athletics for which I have a great seat.

My shaving stash continues quite large so I don't have any need to add to it - but like many others I'm still tempted to try new things.

New Forest Brushes continues to thrive despite my attempts to keep it low key by declining offers to expand through selling through on line retailers and manufacturing for other brands. I will be introducing more brushes - some smaller, some larger. My next new brush will be a little Super Badger Two Band for just £25 delivered worldwide - I'm taking no advance orders and will post details here and on my New Forest Brushes Blog when they are ready. I also plan to make a Tubby 3 with a 28mm fan shaped knot, perhaps in the spring.

Meanwhile, I'm now off to my local Apple Store to attend workshops on iCloud and OSX Lion. So much happening in the world of technology!