Thread: Hi from a kent /london forge

firstly hello!
I am a kent london based bladesmith and have only recently been re introduced to the straight razor when one of your modds came along to my forge for a couple of days tuition on bashing and grinding steel . It was a great 2 days and I learned quite a bit as well as passing on some forging grinding and ht info ( thanks Stuart for a great couple of days)
As a result I am now the proud owner of one completely hair free arm and am looking to move onto my face.
I have straight shaved in the past in my 20's and early 30's but must admit to being more of a beardy tash monger than a clean shaven man....
however the idea of shaving with a razor of my own making does appeal especially for shaving well grown stubble. and looking around here it seems the Razor is a form that has many possibilities for a bladesmith.....they are an elegant tool.
I was wondering if there were any recommendations of uk based high quality shaving cream /oil and brushes?

Welcome to SRP Bushfire. I have use Truefitt and Hill creams and soaps before and really enjoyed them both.

Looking forward to seeing some of your steel on the forum.

Stu

Hi and welcome to SRP!
Creating your own tools and using them for shaving afterwards sounds like great fun
Good luck with it. I hope we will see pictures of those "homemade" razors once they are done!

When it comes to shaving creams and brushes, you are in luck.
London is pretty much the Mecca of wet-shaving!
There is a ton of different high quality products available to you just outside your doorstep.
Truefitt&Hill, DR Harris, Floris, Penhaligon's, Geo F. Trumper and so on and so on
Those outfits will also sell brushes, bowls and everything else you might need for a good shaving setup.
Check out the St. James's street and surrounding area. All you would ever need can be found there

bushfire,

Welcome and hello from Hastings

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

Hi Owen,

Welcome to SRP, it's great to have you with us!

I really enjoyed the course and I learnt loads, so thanks again for that, it was a really enjoyable couple of days!

I'll be doing a thread on it soon and posting some pics of the blades we did, and of the finished blades took away once I get round to scaling them...!

I must confess to browsing eBay for grinders and looking around at heat treatment ovens over the weekend. Maybe not a power hammer though as I don't think the Mrs would appreciate me sticking one of those at the bottom of the garden!

There are myriad places that sell excellent soaps and creams in London, like trumpers, Penhaligons and Taylors of bond street.

I highly recommend Trumpers and Penhaligons, their soaps and creams are excellent and Trumpers also do old school wet shaves with an open razor which are well worth it if you're ever in the neighbourhood!

I also picked up my brush from trumpers for a pretty reasonable price. The best badger brushes are slightly stiffer than the silvertips, which I personally prefer as they seem to be a little less mop like and work better for whipping up lather.

Thanks again for all the advice and tuition, it was a really great course!

All the best mate,

Stu

Welcome,
It sounds like you both learned a lot. Its great when the STUdent can also teach the master (sorry for the bad pun)
Enjoy it here, lots to learn.

Oh well, there goes the neighborhood...

So much for your firey beard then Owen. You're most welcome here my friend. Thanks for showing him the place Stu.

Originally Posted by Mike Blue

Oh well, there goes the neighborhood...

So much for your firey beard then Owen. You're most welcome here my friend. Thanks for showing him the place Stu.

nothing wrong with a little firey trim.....

G'day Bushfire, I'm surprised StuBear didn't put you straight onto Penhaligons. The bugger sent me a tube of their shave cream thats bloody great stuff. Got me addicted to it I think. Hey Stubear, I'm running low mate...


Mick

Originally Posted by deighaingeal

Welcome,
It sounds like you both learned a lot. Its great when the STUdent can also teach the master (sorry for the bad pun)
Enjoy it here, lots to learn.

I have had a couple f students recently who were both very much into their fields of kitchen knives and in this case razors .
there is so much to learn , its one of the things that keeps the craft interesting for so long .