Obie's humble shave den for 2014

[Obie]

Gentlemen, my space limited, so the shave den must stay on a diet. Here is the 2014 version. I keep the seven razors on the left in the rack for newbies at a small price.

[Razorfeld]

How many in your rotation on a steady basis? There are days when I need a road map to find my way around my shave area. I do know where everything is, I just forget to update on occasion.

[Obie]

How many in your rotation on a steady basis? There are days when I need a road map to find my way around my shave area. I do know where everything is, I just forget to update on occasion.

I have trimmed my rotation to 20 razors, including three custom and one Feather DX. The first six on the right are 7/8 and 8/8, the rest 6/8. The customs are 8/8 — I'll have two more customs by summer's end. I do not use the six on the left in the rack; rather, keep them at a low price for newbies to get them started.

[JimmyHAD]

Obie, what your shave den has, that mine lacks, is organization. Probably safe to assume that extends to other areas of life as well.

Love the two tone Moss scuttle/bowl combo. The razor racks are great as well, but I keep my accumulation outside of the bath area. Mostly on a counter top, or in drawers.

[Obie]

Jimmy,
Thanks for the kind words. Living in a condo leaves me little space. The dearly beloved was sweet enough to give the second bathroom for my kingdom. She uses the bigger bathroom. The racks along the counter wall hold 12 razors each and were custom made for me. The customs are in the in the individual stands. I am quite fond of the Moss scuttle/bowl set, although I face lather. The seven strops are hung on the back of the bedroom door outside the shave den. The soaps and creams are kept in the open closet to the right of the shave den counter — I have trimmed them, too, to a select few, and when finished, some of them will not be replaced.
Yes, I like things organized, and clean. The razors, brushes, bowls all sparkle. What fun.

[Hart]

Judging by the picture we can see what style of brush you like, over two dozen straights of varying design but only six brushes, all exactly the same shape.

[Obie]

Hart,

Interestingly enough, I have gone through dozens of brushes and styles through the years, at a considerably cost, I might add, and eventually settled on these — for now.

I think at one time or another, I have owned almost every model of Simpson brush, from Polo to the basic Commodore, and sold all. Because of an extremely sensitive skin, I dislike prickly brushes. The Simpson best badger has been unpleasant. I have liked the supers, but not enough to hold on to the Simpson brushes. And so on with many others brands: Plisson, Rooney, Muhle, Edwin Jagger, Vulfix, Semogue . . . Also, there is always the question of space in the shave den.

I plan to stay with these six brushes, at 24 mm and 25 — my sweet spots. The travel brush, a Muhle fiber silvertip, is in my wet pack. The brushes are from left to right:

Vie-Long 25 mm silvertip; shavemac (167) 24 mm silvertip; Thater 2-band 24 mm silvertip; Vie-Long 24 mm silvertip; Savile Row (3124) 24 mm silvertip; and Thater two-band 24 mm silvertip.

I do like these brushes a great deal, especially the Thaters for their silky tips.

[Leatherstockiings]

I admire the vintage aftershave dispenser, Obie. Did it come from a barbershop?

[Obie]

I admire the vintage aftershave dispenser, Obie. Did it come from a barbershop?

That was a gift from one of my former radio listeners whose father had been a barber. I love that dispenser, and keep it filled with witch hazel.

[evnpar]

Thank you so much for sharing your shave den. I enjoy your SOTD photos, and have always thought that day in, day out, you have the hardware that I admire the most. I never would have guessed your limited space, but that does limit one to products one finds most useful. I started shaving in 1962 when I purchased a slim, and later a Fat Boy, and for the next 50 years shaved with those razors, a puck of Old Spice as long as it was available, and either Mennen or Old Spic AS, because those were the products my father and grandfather used. Then I discovered the forums and tried nearly every DE and SE, until discovering straights about six months ago. Your advice on the forums has been invaluable to me in gaining the knowledge I need. Thanks again.