Thread: Sun July 12th - Sat July 18th (July 12th - In Memory of Neil Miller)

~A Shave for Neil Miller~



A nice old Congreve razor fills the bill. A perfect example of threads involving Neil with plenty of banter, silliness, and historical facts, He set me straight in this one, as-usual! http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...ted-steel.html

Amedeus, the Brush, Trumper's Limes, Floid after seems proper, not to mention a good stropping on my shell strop, prepared especially for me. It is well-used now, worn with love.

Not being able to call upon Neil will be difficult for me as well as the entire forum. We all must step up.
Is what he would have wanted. Thanks for the fine tributes Gents. Neil would love it.
As he often said after being praised, in his humble way; 'I cannot fit my bloody head through the doorway!'

Hwyl fawr nawr, My Fine Friend,
Tom

RIP Neil

Razor: No Name, likely a Sheffield
Vintage Brush
Williams Puck in a Crabtree & Evelyn Scuttle/Mug
Homemade After Shave Balm
Blade was Crox, chalk on linen, linen & leather

As a tribute to Neil
A total british shave


Blade: Wade&Butcher Bow Razor 5/8
Brush: The Invisible Edge Pure Badger 22/52
Suds: Castle Forbes Cream Lavender
ASB: Castle Forbes Lavender



R.I.P my friend
Good Day Gents

July 12 SOTD:

Homemade PS Oil
WD High Mountain Badger 30 mm
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Deja Fougere
Phoenix Dbl OC
Stirling Unscented PSB
Wholly Kaw Fougere Bouquet

I don't normally shave on Sunday but I thought it was appropriate to do so today. I decided on some of my favorite items. Although I have nice shiny new razors I tend to go towards old warn ones so I thought I should keep with the norm.

RIP Neil. Thank you for sharing the knowledge.

If one thing can be said about Neil is that he was old school even among straight shavers. He was also always proud of the British achievements. Whenever somebody was stumped for lack of information or looking for something out of the beaten path of established knowledge Neil was who they would be sent to.

It was hard to select the components for today's shave because Neil had such vast range of knowledge, skills, and interests that almost anything I'd pick would be relevant in some way. I could've gone with a razor from an obscure maker with interesting history, or one from one of the most upscale makers who produced for the royalty, or one which represented the British style and industrial prowess. In the end I chose:

Razor: John Barber in pique carved ivory scales. The blade is an example of the unsurpassed Sheffield quality and precision from the early 1800s while the scales are an example of imperial luxury (they are also a reminder of an article on ivory work Neil was working on when his health suddenly deteriorated and unfortunately he was not able to complete). Finally, the razor has some tarnish and pitting, but the original factory grind, next to non-existent hone wear and 1/128" wide bevel - the time has left some superficial marks but none where it matters, just like Neil.

Hone: I thought it would be fitting to rehone the razor with a historical Scottish hone - a Tam O Shanter/Water of Ayr combo. The finisher side WoA is somewhat obscure and hard to find, right up Neil's alley.

Strop: This one was made in US, from Scottish and Irish materials. The leather is imported shell, and the canvas is imported Belfast linen. The handles are the same design that Neil used on his strops.

Soap: Mitchell's Wool Fat is as old school English as they come, easily won over the number of classic English and Scottish creams that contended briefly.

Brush: Rooney's finest - well, that's one of only two brushes I have settled on and I use it 99% of the time already, no reason to change anything.

Fragrance: There are plenty of great british aftershaves and perfumes, but Penhaligon's is the quintessential house with quirks so that narrowed it down easily and the question was selecting among the 4-5 classics. Hammam Bouquet has richness, complexity, and nonconformism with the modern world sans pareil, and that settled it.

Sunday Shave :-)

Pre: Warm Shower
Soap: Faena Orange-Cinnamon Shaving Soap
Brush: TI Basic
Strop: Dictum.de Hanging Strop
Razor: Nogent 6/8"-
Directions: With & Tangential
After: Old Spice AS

Originally Posted by jaycey

A few years ago I asked Neil what his favourite razor was, he replied "my Korff & Honsberg" a razor I had never heard of. There wasn't much information out there except for a very few photos of a striking razor. I started searching for one, during this time asking Neil if he could offer any assistance as none came up for sale anywhere.
He told me a lot were exported to South America & so I put out some 'feelers' to South American sellers. Still nothing.

2 YEARS later one came up on eBay, my heart was in my throat. I asked Neil what he thought, he said "go for it"!
I was over the moon to have finally captured one and with some TLC it came up a treat.

The shave from this razor is sublime and with it's good looks I can see why Neil enjoyed his.
Shaving with this razor will always bring me fond memories, very fond memories.
Thanks Neil.

Excellent post. This helps describe who he was. And that's how a person should be remembered.

A Charles Jaschke RestoMod inspired by Neil Miller
Rest in Peace Neil
Mike

Razor – John Heiffor - ARMY
Brush – Simpson Chubby#2
Soap – Pere Lucien
AS – ALUM OSMA Bloc & Pere Lucien

12 precursor laps on the treated Neil Miller restored vintage mahogany paddle strop. Then 100 laps with the big English wedge on a 3” Neil Miller Buffalo strop. Cleans shave’s are best! Thank you sir.
Mike