Dollar Shave Club – a review

I have been a member of the Dollar Shave Club  for a couple of years. In general, I have been satisfied with the product and the price I pay for it. I don’t use the multi-blade cartridges often but there are times when I need a decent shave in a short period of time. At those times I reach for the DSC Humble Twin I received from them. My favorite cartridge razor was the long gone, much missed Wilkinson Bonded. The 2-bladed DSC Humble Twin is an acceptable replacement. DSC also offers the the 4-bladed 4X model and the 6-bladed Executive. These latter two ship four cartridges per shipment. The Humble Twin ships five cartridges.

As advertised, DSC provided me with the Humble Twin handle without charge. It is cheaply built but is durable enough to do the job for which it was designed. I don’t shave every day so five cartridges a month are too many to use. I moved to the every other month delivery but still have a stack of cartridges in my medicine cabinet.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the cartridges. It is my understanding that they are manufactured by Dorco and I do not like Dorco double edge blades. The cartridges perform well. The two blades are sharp enough to provide a comfortable shave and durable enough to last for the 5 to 7 shaves I expect to receive from a cartridge.

With shipping charges, I pay $3.00 every other month for a 5 cartridge shipment. I occasionally receive free samples of other DSC products with my shipment and always receive a copy of a small magazine titled The Bathroom Minutes. So far, I find DSC to be a good value and a most convenient way of being supplied with razors.

Hartwick Pines endangered by DNR desire to drill for oil

https://michpics.wordpress.com/2014/08/14/pure-michigan-vs-pure-greed-at-hartwick-pines/

http://www.mlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2014/08/oil_lease_proposed_under_400-y.html

 

Michigan’s largest stand of old growth pines, some 400 years old, may have oil drilling underneath them at Hartwick Pines State Park.

What does preserving Michigan’s heritage matter when some oil company can make a huge profit. Welcome to RickSnyder’sLand where all values are monetary.

Clean coal fairy

Mitt seems to think that clean coal exists.  First he would burn clean coal to solve the energy crisis and then acquire huge amounts of cash from the Tooth Fairy to settle the national debt!  If Romney believes in one he must believe in the other.

Debate alternative

I’m not watching the debate tonight. I have a hard time watching Romney speak. I keep expecting his skin to split open revealing a green scaly being straight out of the original version of “V”. I’m opting for an evening of music.

Tonight’s playlist:

• Sleep Alone – Two Door Cinema Club
• Year of the Knife – Tears for Fears
• Carry On Wayward Son – Kansas
• Midwest Main Street – Great Lakes Myth Society
• The Killing Moon – Echo and the Bunnymen
• A Matter of Trust – Billy Joel
• Ricochet – David Bowie

Weekend in “the D”

This past July, I had a long weekend in Detroit with my brother and a couple of his friends from Traverse City.  Staying in the Marriott, across the street from the Renaissance Center, we made full use of all that downtown Motown had to offer.  This included two Tigers games at Comerica Park where we enjoyed the Camacho Cigar Bar at the stadium and saw the Tigers beat Minnesota twice.  Dinners were found at the Pegasus in Greektown and at Jacoby’s German Biergarten on Brush Street.  We discovered the recently opened 1701 Executive Cigar Bar on Cadillac Square and enjoyed its hospitality one Saturday evening.

Behind third base at the Tigers game

 

During our entire stay we used public transportation in the form of the People Mover, a couple of cabs, and a lot of walking.  We saw a lot of great architecture while exploring the town on foot.  Detroit is a great place to visit, especially if you are guys on-the-town for a weekend.

Road Woes

I’ve been traveling this weekend and the shaves I’ve had on the road weren’t particularly satisfying.   My shaving setup was as follows:

• Shark Super Stainless blade
• Weishi razor
• Arko Shave Stick / Tom’s of Maine Calendula Shave Cream
• Aqua Velva Ice Sport AS

Two problems presented themselves during my first foray into DE shaving on the road:

The Shark/Weishi combination is not a good one.  The Weishi is too mild for this blade.  My shaves were smooth but not nearly close enough.  The Weishi stays home on the next trip and I’ll pack the more aggressive Feather Portable.  I will also audition some blade/razor combinations before setting out, although I already know the Crystal blade works well in the Portable.  I may also put my backup Gillette Fatboy into service as my travel razor since a Fatboy is my everyday razor and I already know which blades perform well in it.

I was very disappointed in the Arko Shave Stick.  The stick felt very hard and I wonder if mine had dried out before I received it.  I found it difficult to achieve a decent lather, even after face lathering with my boar travel brush.  Worse, as I shaved I found the Arko soap was clogging my razor to the point I had to remove the blade and manually remove the soap from the head before proceeding.

The TOM shave cream performed better than the Arko.  The lather was more generous and didn’t clog the razor.  The shave was comfortable but still not close enough.  The Calendula scent was too medicinal to be pleasant but was only a minor inconvenience.  I may find a container that will allow me to take my usual Van Der Hagen Select shave soap on the road with me.

Feather Portable travel razor – a review

Feather Portable travel razor

My Feather Portable razor arrived this week and today was the perfect time to take it out on its maiden voyage.

When I first unpacked the razor from the mailer in which it arrived, I was surprised at how small it was.  Being a travel razor, a compact size comes with the territory, but the Feather was truly tiny.  The plastic case that holds the razor and blades is only about 3 inches by 2 inches and looks like it should contain a toy.  Fortunately, the Feather Portable is a serious razor and certainly not a toy.

Assembled, the Feather Portable bears a striking resemblance to the Gillette Tech razors.  My reading about the Portable told me that, unlike the Techs, it is an aggressive shaver.  This was not a concern for me because my daily razor is a Gillette Fatboy F-4.  The Portable ships with a pair of Feather blades but because of its aggressive nature I decided to start with a middle-of-the-road blade, a Crystal Platinum.

Being a three-piece razor I knew it was easy to have the blade misaligned when assembling the razor.  Therefore, I took special care to ensure that there was the same blade edge exposure on each side of the razor head.  Another concern, for me at least, was how to ensure the even wear of the blade edges.  With my Fatboy I start with one side of the blade and shave the entire side of my face.  I then change sides on the razor to shave the other side of my face.  Fortunately, the Portable has a Feather brand name in one corner of the underside of the bottom plate.  This provides me with the convenient landmark I need.

After my usual prep, I set about shaving with the Portable.  My first impression was that the razor is much lighter than my Fatboy and the handle is considerably shorter.  After some adjustment in my technique (slowing my strokes and making sure the angle on the razor head was correct) I completed my usual, two-pass shave with no nicks or weepers.  The resulting shave was every bit a good as I would have received using my Fatboy, SuperSpeed, or Tech.

The Feather Portable razor is a lot of razor in a small package.  It’s small size and ability to render a good shave make it an ideal travel companion.  I would also be comfortable recommending the Portable as a first razor for someone new to double-edge shaving.  Selling for around $9.95 or less on eBay and some of the shaving message boards, it’s one of shaving’s great bargains.  My new Portable is going right into my travel bag.

Wesley & Scott Preshave Oil – a review

Back in the bad, old days when I used an electric shaver, I found that one of the few ways I could get an acceptable shave was to use a pre-electric shave lotion. I hated these lotions because they left my face feeling oily and unclean.  Because of this, I was not well disposed to the Wesley & Scott Preshave Oil, which I received as a sample from ShavingEssential.net, but I thought I would try it in certain situations.

The situations I chose were where my usual shaving preparations may have proven to be inadequate to the task presented by my face and beard.  Also, I decided early on, that I would not abandon my brush and bowl but use the oil as an additive to my shaving regimen.  I have now exhausted my small supply but I did use it on five separate occasions.  On each occasion I had a multi-day beard. My preparation while using the oil was as follows: a hot shower with a vigorous washing of my face, immediately applying the preshave oil to my dried face, my usual thorough lathering, and, finally, the shave itself.

Overall, I believe the preshave oil improved my shave.  The passage of the blade through the whiskers and over my skin was very smooth and I shaved without nicks or weepers.  Frequently, after shaving a multi-day beard, my face would feel irritated and I would reach for a balm to treat it.  After using the preshave oil, my face felt moisturized (but not oily, like the pre-electric shave lotions) after the shave and in good shape for the next day’s shave.

With my beard,  it would be unnecessary to use the Wesley & Scott Preshave Oil on a daily basis.  At those times when I haven’t shaved in few days it is an effective buffer against an irritating shave.  I will probably add a bottle to my stable of after shaves and balms soon.

The Weishi – Feather experience

Weishi polished gold razor

I do not like Feather razor blades.  My slight, unhappy experience with them is documented in an earlier post.  Still, I have nine blades remaining in the pack that came in a sampler I purchased and I am just too frugal to waste them.  To that end, I began to search for a razor that can tame the beast that is the Feather double edge blade.

My wife gave me a Weishi polished gold safety razor for Yuletide.  This is a beautiful, well-made razor and the only non-vintage razor in my collection.  With a reputation for being very mild and forgiving, I decided to try a Feather blade in Weishi and see if I could get a comfortable shave from the combination of the world’s most aggressive razor blade and the Weishi.

As is my custom with testing razor blades, I undertook three shaves with the Feather in the Weishi.  I used my usual preparation for each shave – a shower with a thorough soaking of the beard and a liberal application of shave soap (Ugly Mug Sandalwood amended with an additional ounce of glycerin).  After three days this is what I discovered.

The Weishi does a good job of taming the the Feather razor blade.  My shaves were much more comfortable than the ones I received using the more aggressive Gillette Fatboy (at any setting).  That is not to say that even with this combination I got the proverbial baby-butt shave.  Even with the mildness of the razor, the old problems I experienced with the Feather exist.  There is still very little “face feel” from the blade.  Maneuvering the blade around my face was like sliding on ice, not nimbly negotiating the curves and edges as happens with my usual blades (Astra Super Platinum, Crystal, Derby, Lords, Red Personna).  I escaped without injury but I did suffer some low grade irritation of my face and I found using an after shave balm to be advisable.

In summary, the Weishi makes my remaining Feather blades usable, if not enjoyable, and is probably a good choice for those who want to use these blades but find other razors insufficently mild.  As for me, once my small supply of Feathers is exhausted I will not reorder more.  The Weishi will be added to my rotation of razors and will be used to with other sharp blades (KAI, Sharp, Shark) to make them more comfortable to use.

Fort Street Brewery Beer Fantasy Camp XXIII

Fort Street Brewery

Last Sunday, January 11, I had the distinct pleasure of attending the 23rd Beer Fantasy Camp at the Fort Street Brewery in Lincoln Park. The brewery is located at 1660 Fort Street, two blocks north of Southfield Road.

Once we were comfortably seated among the brew tanks (where better to enjoy the brews then where they are created?) we began with Fort Street’s own Buckwheat Resolution ale. I can’t describe this excellent ale better than FSB does in their own words:

An ale made with toasted buckwheat and buckwheat honey. Light and uniquely refreshing with a hint of smokiness from the buckwheat.

Of the several beers we sampled that evening this was my favorite.

Speaking of the several beers available that evening. Throughout the dinner we sampled the following:

• Otter Creek Raspberry Brown Winter Ale (Otter Creek Brewing)
• Buckeye Brewing Ho Ho Ho (Buckeye Brewing Company)
• Left Hand Brewing Snowbound (Left Hand Brewing Company)
• Heavy Seas Winter Storm (Clipper City Brewing Company)
• Tommyknocker Cocoa Porter (Tommyknocker Brewery)

Each of these was a rich, winter ale which made for a heady evening’s drinking.

We also ate very well. Here is the bill of fare for the evening’s festivities:

• Gingered Parsnip and Orange Soup  –  Made with parsnips, carrots, potatoes, fresh ginger, orange zest, and cream
• Pot Roast with Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Cranberry Pecan Dressing  –  Beef rump roast marinated and cooked in apple juice, with a blend of herbs and spices
• Vanilla Spice Cheese Cake  –  Baked from scratch with real vanilla, allspice, and cinnamon

I would like to offer my thanks to Doug and Tracy for hosting the event and for the gift of the logo beer glass.  I’ve put it to good use.

Fort Street Brewery website

Beer Fantasy Camp Attendees