Saturday, October 29, 2011
Old School Shaving Startup Kit
Like most men, I have been throwing money away for a long time on cartridge based shavers like Mach 3, Fusion and others. While never being impressed, they have always been a good enough solution outside of the ridiculous cost of the cartridges.
Every time I had to buy more I found myself thinking about just buying the cheap old single blade disposable “bics”. Instead I ended up getting a very nice Panasonic Wet/Dry Shaver, which while working great and including a nice automatic cleansing/charging base, I never really got into the habit of using it enough to acclimate my skin or facial hair so that it worked its best.
During my most recent search for a solution, which started out as just searching for a cheaper way to order cartridges in bulk, I ran across many sources talking about the renewed interest in old fashioned shaving using either “straight” or “safety” razors. My interest piqued, I looked into some commonly suggested “safety” razors and started reading through comments on Amazon to see what people thought of them.
While I frankly don’t understand the name “safety” razor, as they seem fairly unsafe if you don’t take a slow and steady approach, the overall impression I developed was that men are very much enjoying the return to old ways. Many cite the comforting feel (and smell) of brushing on thick warm lather with a brush and the closer shave that is easily attained without having a plastic frame keeping the blade away from your skin.
I spent hours digging around to find a good starting place as there are actually a daunting number of choices for someone completely new to this method. While I am sure I will find some better products over time as I try different things out, I managed to luck into a very satisfying setup which I’ll share with you now to hopefully make it easier for anyone interested in returning to a simpler, and just maybe more enjoyable shaving experience.
Merkur Model 180 Long Handled Safety Razor
The heart of any shaving kit of course has to be the razor (handle) itself. While many models from Merkur are highly rated, this long handled model is widely considered a great starter. Plenty of grip and easy manipulation make for easy maneuvering and the weight helps greatly to provide a good sense of balance to ensure that you keep the proper angle for a close shave.
“Derby Extra” Stainless Steel Double Edge Razor Blades
Second most important of course are the actual razor blades themselves. While there are quite a few different choices that sound good, only a few companies seem to have a great reputation for quality. Derby blades seemed to be one of the highest recommended without getting into pricing that would make you rethink getting away from cartridges.
Standard blades like this are a good choice for beginners particularly, while “feather” blades are popular for closest shaves with more experienced users.
Van Der Hagen Select Shave Soap, 2.5-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 12)
My initial thought was that soap is soap, so I wasn’t too concerned and was just planning to order the cheapest stuff I could find. After reading reviews I quickly realized that doing so would lead me to being less satisfied than I could easily be. This soap smells very nice though it is a subtle scent instead of seeming like a perfume. Just the nice smell of fresh soap. It lathers up quite easily without too much care for having just the right amount of water like some products I read about.
Escali 100% Pure Badger Shaving Brush
I almost passed on buying a brush entirely and am so happy I decided to give it a try. Brushing on a good lather is really the nicest part of this return to old fashioned shaving. Not only does it feel very soothing, it also really helps to immerse you in the scent of the soap and get you into a nice relaxed mood to take your time for a nice shave. While many women love hot baths with candles and bath beads, this is how a man can get right with himself. One caution though is that these badger hair brushes can hold an amazing amount of water when you rinse them out. Make sure to keep this in mind when shaking out the water like a paintbrush and aim into the sink. Unless of course you have small kids who will find it nearly as enjoyable as you do when you splatter them with it.
For all of this as a total package cost of around $80 it might sound like a fairly steep outlay to get started. I expect it will suffice easily for 6 months or more of shaving daily or near about. For a similar time period in cartridges, the cost would be approximately the same or worse. Going forward though will require only more blades and soap for a continued cost of maybe $20-50 per year.
I’ll likely be trying out a few additional soaps and maybe even a sample pack of different blades in the not too distant future so as to have something to compare in deciding what works best for me. Next on my list however is a razor and brush stand along with a lather cup or bowl. Hopefully I can find a stand and bowl combo that is to my liking.
My initial impression is that not only is it a better shave, old fashioned shaving provides a nice relaxing time of comfort to what most usually consider a hectic time of getting ready. The scent and sensation of lathering up some nice smelling cream (I’m looking forward to trying out sandalwood soon) and brushing it on is quite different than slapping on some barely lathered gel from a can and spreading it around with your hand. While it is certainly a good idea to take your time while getting use to this method of shaving, I would suggest enjoying the experience and taking your time (whenever possible at least) even after getting it down well. Most of us are rushed enough throughout the day so having a little time to just go slow and relax is probably a good idea and something we have more than earned.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Top Shot Season 3 “Jake Targets”
For anyone who watches Top Shot on History Channel, particularly Season 3 which just ended, you might like some of these great targets for your next trip to the shooting range.
Sold by the company of Mike Hughes, who was one of the great competitors on “Season 3”, you can purchase true “bad guy” targets depicting the ultimate “bad guy” example from the show: Jake Zweig!
No affiliate commission for me, just a great concept for anyone who is a fan of Top Shot and not a fan of Jake!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Monster Hunter International
For anyone who likes stories like “Interview With a Vampire” but found themselves thinking they would love to see a hardcore S.W.A.T. team or some S.E.A.L.’s come in and stomp the ever loving darkness from the creatures of darkness, have I found the perfect book series for you.
When I got this book in hand, I nearly became a zombie myself as I would hardly put it down. Fortunately I managed to read through it so fast that my family, and personal hygiene, were only minimally impacted.
The official description is:
Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a fourteenth story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer.
It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Officially secret, some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. On the other side are the people who kill monsters for a living. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.
It’s actually a pretty sweet gig, except for one little problem. An ancient entity known as the Cursed One has returned to settle a centuries old vendetta. Should the Cursed One succeed, it means the end of the world, and MHI is the only thing standing in his way. With the clock ticking towards Armageddon, Owen finds himself trapped between legions of undead minions, belligerent federal agents, a cryptic ghost who has taken up residence inside his head, and the cursed family of the woman he loves.
Business is good . . .
Welcome to Monster Hunter International.
If you like nearly non-stop action, dark humor, guns (lots of guns), or just plain prefer to see evil creatures of fiction being put down like the dogs they are, instead of romanticized and made to “sparkle” as is the common theme in recent years, you should absolutely love this book and series as much as I did.
I made the mistake of loaning my first copy out to a friend who lost it without ever even getting around to reading it so have subsequently re-purchased it when ordering the third book in the series as I know I will be re-reading this series till the pages simply crumble to dust like a Vampire in the sunlight.
Then I’ll get an e-book version of course ;)
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Great Starter E-cigarette package
After jumping into the E-Cig pool after years of smoking and hating the cost and health impact I tried what was commonly suggested as a good starting point, the “Joye 510”. While this was sufficient to get the wife and I off normal cigarettes (called “analog cigarettes” often by the “digital” e-cig users), it was only barely good enough.
We quickly researched for a better product and were able to find a lot of suggestions pointing towards the “eGo” product line which was reported to have much better quantity and quality of vapor (”smoke”) and better “throat hit” (the feeling in your throat that you have received a good “drag”) and a rather amazing increase in battery life which is one of the most annoying failures with early and/or common e-cigs such as often sold in mall kiosks still today.
We (the wife and I) ordered a single eGo starter kit and were able to get a good impression right away and decided this was the e-cig for us and have since bought additional kits for rotation and backup purposes.
The following is the basic starter kit which I feel is perfect for a smoker to order as a first measure to get off normal “analog” cigarettes and off to a satisfying start with “digital” e-cigarettes with a “cost of entry” of approximately the same as a carton of normal cigarettes:
eGo MEGA Starter Kit
2x Atomizers
2x EGO 900mAh rechargeable li-ion batteries
(over four times the capacity of a 510 battery)
5x Filled Cartridges
1x USB & A/C Plug Charger
1x Carry PouchClick Here to Purchase for $54.95
This price is great for a package like this which should last approximately a week or more depending on the amount you smoke.
A wide assortment of juices are available as well HERE!
Once you have a starter kit like this, you would just purchase bottles of “e-juice” to refill the cartridges when they run dry, and occasionally a new pack of filled or “blank” cartridges as the filler material (like a synthetic cotton ball to absorb the liquid) within the cartridges gets a little ragged after a while and it is easier to replace the cartridge than deal with the ragged filler. Cheaper alternatives exist such as buying a bag of similar filler material and replacing the filler in your original cartridges, but I haven’t found a need to go that cheap so far. Especially with how much we are already saving.
Between my wife and I, our cost per month for normal cigarettes was around $300-350 and initial cost of changing to e-cigs was probably around $200 including the first step to the unsatisfactory “510” model and extra bits to try to make them better such as low resistance attomizers and higher quality e-juice which some said would help. The second month including the change to the much more satisfying “eGo” model and extra parts for rotation/backups cost around $150. Now our cost is around $30-50 per month for e-juice refills and occasionally a new batch of cartridges, though we haven’t actually used up all the cartridges from the 3 starter sets we purchased.