Thread: What Do You Have In The Mail Right Now?

Aloha!

I had actually forgotten that I ordered this new lather bowl from Amazon. The Bicrops ceramic lather bowl. Only $15 delivered. I'm actually very impressed. Extremely well made, good ridges built into the bottom to build a nice lather, and heavier than expected ceramic. And the presentation in the gift box it came in with some bonus shaving towels was a nice touch.



A writing pen in the photo to show scale.

-Zip

For 15 shipped you did great. Those shave bowls are a nice thing but after a while they go by the way side for face lathering. I think I have 5 bowls and a big Scuttle. Soaking the brush is about all they get used for now.

Originally Posted by Gasman

For 15 shipped you did great. Those shave bowls are a nice thing but after a while they go by the way side for face lathering. I think I have 5 bowls and a big Scuttle. Soaking the brush is about all they get used for now.

I hear that. My last few years of full time work I was 60 plus hours a week and I only did face lathering with Cremo. I was so rushed in the morning I didn't even use a brush. Just face lathering with a dab of cremo and my hand. But you can get away with that with Cremo. I also have some sticks like Arko and Polmolive and Speick and Tabac that I use, and I face lather those with a brush.

But now that I'm semi-retired, I actually use bowls and my scuttle every day. I like to whip up a lather in a bowl with a brush before application the way I like to put a hot towel on my face. I figure I've earned the time to enjoy a luxurious shave after all those years of working like a beast of burdon. I'm sure many guys here would be in that same boat.

Yes, the bowl is amazing for 15 bucks delivered from Amazon. Way better than I expected. The ONLY drawback I can think of is that it's ceramic, so you can't just throw it on a bathroom counter top with abandon. It obviously may chip or crack. This makes four shaving bowls and a hot water scuttle that I have in the den. That's enough for four lifetimes, so I'm done with buying bowls.... unless I see something else I like!

Like one of my former co-workers used to say, "If I would just stop buying stuff, I could have retired 5 years ago!"

Hi All, my Triton razor came today so I thought I would let you all know my initial thoughts.

The razor came well packaged in a zip up leatherette case. A small denim fabric only strop was included and a small crayon of some kind of abrasive, it was definitely not Cro Ox and I’m not sure it’s red oxide either, it’s brown.

The razor has wooden scales and the pins are flush with the scales rather than peened, the wedge is a different (redder) wood than the scales.

The scales have engraving or stamping halfway along them.

My first impression of the scales is that for $20 they're pretty nice.





The razor is bigger than a Gold Dollar but definitely not a Gold Dollar, The geometry looks about the same but the razor and blade are noticeably bigger. The spine is thick and the stabilizer may need some correction if it lift the heel off of the stone like my GD did. I will find out tomorrow probably.



The blade looks to be better quality than a GD and was not made in the same place.

The razor is said to be handmade and truly shave ready. Actually it does cut hair so it would probably shave well enough that if a new guy got one as his first razor he might decide that as it shaves, razors are supposed to feel like that.

I will touch it up on 12k and Cro Ox.

The razor does not close on centre but it doesn’t clip the scales either.


My first impression is that it’s nice enough, especially for the price and definitely a step up from a Gold Dollar. I have got my GD to shave very well and I don’t feel there is any reason why this won’t be a very good shaver too, even if it does take a few minutes of correcting.

I have no idea what to do with a small denim strop so I have put it away for now. I already have a pasted leather hanging strop and a leather board strop with removable canvas that has both Cro Ox and Red Oxide for if I go away for a few days.

I doubt if I will get another one. On one hand it’s a pretty nice razor for the price, $20 for a brand new razor with wood scales.

One the other hand I can get 3 Gold Dollars for $18.

Of course, I will keep this Triton to add to my rotation, the GD is for honing pinning and scaling practice.

I made some promises and intend to pay it forward a bit later as a few of you did to help me when I started. I could use a GD or two and send them shave ready, or I could get another couple of these Tritons to touch up and send. I’m ready for your howls of indignation.

I know I could pay it forward with vintage razors but to be honest, I don’t want to give mine away and this way a new guy would end up with a new razor. Nothing special maybe but new and shave ready nevertheless.

I hope this was useful but if you have any questions, I will do my best to answer honestly and without bias.

One more Photo that might be of interest.

Titon factory edge.

Great write-up! Thank you.

Originally Posted by STF

The razor came well packaged in a zip up leatherette case. A small denim fabric only strop was included and a small crayon of some kind of abrasive, it was definitely not Cro Ox and I’m not sure it’s red oxide either, it’s brown.

Whatever you do with it, keep it away from the Marines (US)... or anyone from PP3CLI!

Originally Posted by STF

Hi All, my Triton razor came today so I thought I would let you all know my initial thoughts.

The razor came well packaged in a zip up leatherette case. A small denim fabric only strop was included and a small crayon of some kind of abrasive, it was definitely not Cro Ox and I’m not sure it’s red oxide either, it’s brown.

The razor has wooden scales and the pins are flush with the scales rather than peened, the wedge is a different (redder) wood than the scales.

The scales have engraving or stamping halfway along them.

My first impression of the scales is that for $20 they're pretty nice.

The razor is bigger than a Gold Dollar but definitely not a Gold Dollar, The geometry looks about the same but the razor and blade are noticeably bigger. The spine is thick and the stabilizer may need some correction if it lift the heel off of the stone like my GD did. I will find out tomorrow probably.

The blade looks to be better quality than a GD and was not made in the same place.

The razor is said to be handmade and truly shave ready. Actually it does cut hair so it would probably shave well enough that if a new guy got one as his first razor he might decide that as it shaves, razors are supposed to feel like that.

I will touch it up on 12k and Cro Ox.

The razor does not close on centre but it doesn’t clip the scales either.


My first impression is that it’s nice enough, especially for the price and definitely a step up from a Gold Dollar. I have got my GD to shave very well and I don’t feel there is any reason why this won’t be a very good shaver too, even if it does take a few minutes of correcting.

I have no idea what to do with a small denim strop so I have put it away for now. I already have a pasted leather hanging strop and a leather board strop with removable canvas that has both Cro Ox and Red Oxide for if I go away for a few days.

I doubt if I will get another one. On one hand it’s a pretty nice razor for the price, $20 for a brand new razor with wood scales.

One the other hand I can get 3 Gold Dollars for $18.

Of course, I will keep this Triton to add to my rotation, the GD is for honing pinning and scaling practice.

I made some promises and intend to pay it forward a bit later as a few of you did to help me when I started. I could use a GD or two and send them shave ready, or I could get another couple of these Tritons to touch up and send. I’m ready for your howls of indignation.

I know I could pay it forward with vintage razors but to be honest, I don’t want to give mine away and this way a new guy would end up with a new razor. Nothing special maybe but new and shave ready nevertheless.

I hope this was useful but if you have any questions, I will do my best to answer honestly and without bias.

Excellent review, Steve. I have to get going on getting this exact model. I'm really happy with my Titan $35 model, so I really need to try the one you got for $20 to see if there is any blade difference. I've read that there is, but I have to see for myself. I do like the wood scales on the model you got. I've been more busy semi-retired here than when I was working full time, but I really have to get on the ball here and get mine ordered and start the comparison.

Mahalo!

EDIT:

I just realized your included strop was denim only. Mine was denim and leather. Just adding that, not that this alone is worth the extra $15 for a model upgrade. I don't travel like I used to, but if I did, I'd definitely take my Titan strop on the road. It's perfect for hotels being both leather and denim.

Originally Posted by JBHoren

A 10ml decant of Bentley Bentley for Men Intense EDT, another of Rasasi Al Wisam Day EDP, and a 100ml bottle of Rémy Latour Cigar EDT.

All three arrived in today's mail! Very fast shipping, given that they were sent via USPS First Class, not Priority.

First Impressions:

• Bentley for Men Intense: Surprisingly not "intense", at all. Disappointing. This is why we buy decants, first.
• Al Wisam Day: Quite nice -- the geranium → rose transition is smooth, and happens unobtrusively; the drydown is pleasant and relaxing. Unfortunately, it's not to be found for-sale in the US, and UK/EU sources are costly (and the shipping prohibitively so).
• Cigar: Excellent! Not dark or ashtray, but not overly "green", either. As the most-recent reviewer of this on Basenotes wrote, "At $15 bucks online, it's the easiest no brainer blind-buy of all time for tobacco enthusiasts." I couldn't agree more. Still, I'd like to acquire one of its "flanker" scents -- Cigarillo, which seems to be more of what I seek.

Nice review. Here's what I know about them. Made in Taiwan. Different models have different steel. Bevel angle is a bit heavier than a GD. the resident expert on these razors at B&B, rbscebu, has a bunch of them, various models, and is quite satisfied with them. He even put together a couple of 7 day sets hahaha!

Well something semi related to straight razors landed yesterday. Well it landed at my buddy Ski's place yesterday.

Awhile back I'd purchased a Skil Benchtop Bandsaw and it worked OK but the more I used it the more I disliked it. Ski and I could never get it set up like it should. It was noisy, the hardened rods to keep the blade running straight were hard to adjust and it just didn't cut it for me.

Anyway I stumbled upon this unit, it's a Grizzly G0803Z 9" benchtop. it stands about an inch taller than the Skil and weighs a little under 50 pounds.

https://www.grizzly.com/products/Gri...r-Guide/G0803Z

I got it put together fairly quickly and here it is:



Here's some of the things that I really like about the unit:

Unlike the Skil, it's metal construction.

The top and bottom doors can be opened independently.

The blade guide are sealed bearings instead the hardened rods that the Skil uses.

The bolts that hold the sealed bearings are 'cams' in that you loosen the set screw and as you turn the bolts the bearing moves either toward or away from the blade making adjustments much easier than the Skil.



The unit that holds the blade guide bearings is adjustable Up and Down so you can control some of the blade flex.

The ripping fence seems more secure than the Skil and it's easier to lock down.

It came with a plastic push stick to use when ripping stock.

There's a quick release for the blade tensioner which will make changing blades easier.



There are a couple of things that I don't like as well as the Skil:

The miter gauge for the Skil is uses a 'T' to slide in so it doesn't come out. The Grizzly is a standard bar like most.

The light for the Skil ran off of 110V power. The main light for the Grizzly also uses the 110V power.

However the light for the Grizzly's Laser guide uses two AA batteries and none were included with the unit.

The flow of air to remove sawdust from the cut line isn't much at all. I'm thinking that I could plumb in an adjustable unit that could plug into my air compressor lines.

I adjusted the blade, the guides etc, plugged it and gave it a trial run and I'm very pleased.

Now to get my youngest daughter to sell the Skil online for me. I'll have her keep whatever she gets for it. If memory serves the Skill was just under $200.