Razor: Gillette Fatboy on 3 (Rhodium revamp from Razor Emporium)
Blade: Gillette Nacet
Brush: Yaqi Cashmere Synthetic
Soap: Stiriling Soap Co Hipster
Aftershave: Stiriling Soap Co Hipster
Other: Thirsty Badger lather bowl
It has arrived….. finally, after over 7 months, I got my 2 razors back from Razor Emporium. The first, I’m using today is my Gillette Fatboy (G1, 1961) that was revamped in Rhodium. The second razor, the Gem Jr Bar that I had revamped in nickel. Both look amazing, I’m extremely happy with the results. I have included a few close ups below. I will rail on Razor Emporium for a second though. I hate to call out vendors and artisans, especially when they do excellent work, but the process was painful and took entirely too long. At the time I sent it in, I believe the website said 4-6 weeks turnaround. Even now it says 6-8 weeks turnaround due to covid. That is a far cry from 7 months. And in that time, communication was spotty, often ignored or with timelines not met. I was honestly worried that I would never get my razors back. I know this in the times of covid but that isn’t an excuse for not staying on top of communication. If I someone asked me about me experience I can say they do great work, but honestly, I doubt I would send them anything again.
But I digress…. the software I’m using today with this beauty Fatboy is Hipster from Stirling Soap Co. I received a sample of this a while ago and liked it so much I needed to get the set. Scent notes on this are amber, coffee, musk, leather, wood, citrus, floral and vetiver. I believe this is an original scent by Stirling but if not, please correct me if I’m wrong (because adding a matching fragrance would be sweet). This scent is very fresh and clean. The darker and complex notes of leather/musk/wood to my nose are quite subtle. I am getting more of the fresh floral and vetiver along with the sweet amber/citrus. Scent strength is about a medium or slightly less.
Performance is good old consistent Stirling Soap Co. This base is tried and true, very dependable. Over time I have learned to get more out of the base. Cushion is excellent, slickness very good, and post shave is above average. I find every time I use Stirling my experience gets just a little bit better. Got a fantastic shave today. I was worried the revamp might change the performance of the Fatboy but even with the redone thicker plating, no issues, everything was aligned right and it was as good as I remember it.
For the post, I used the matching splash. I found the splash to be a bit heavier in the grassy vetiver side of things. No complaints, it still smelled great but definitely a change from the soap. The aftershave doesn’t have a lot going for it in the skin food side of things but it does the job and smells great. A great start to the day.
All for now – J
