When October hits Halloween takes center stage in my house. With a four year old that loves Halloween more than any other day of the year it is a pretty exciting time. Along with Halloween comes a month where we wet shavers celebrate our Open Comb razors with #OCtober. Not that I need an excuse to use my open comb razors any more than I already do, but HEY, why not!
Along with Halloween and OCtober there was also Thanksgiving here in Canada this past weekend. This year I was in charge of cooking the turkey for the first time. needless to say I was fairly nervous and stressed out knowing the pressure was on me to have a moist turkey with crispy skin and delicious gravy to put on it. Well, the good news is that it turned out perfectly. The bad news is that I almost fell asleep at the dining table in front of our guests because I ate way to much.
The day before Thanksgiving my wife and son and I went on a little road trip to a few places around Nova Scotia to see Giant Pumpkins, Pumpkin People, and ride miniature trains….it was a blast!!
Hundreds of Pumpkin people around the town of Kentville, Nova Scotia!
Now lets talk about OC razors, or Open Comb razors. They look mean, they look aggressive and they can look nasty…….but we all know that looks can be deceiving. I wouldn’t describe Open Combs as aggressive, I would describe them as efficient. Despite the mean looking teeth these razors barks are much worse than their bites(in most cases). For myself I love using the OCs when I have a couple of days growth. That is when I find them to be most effective. Since my beard doesn’t grow in super fast an OC isn’t ideal for daily shaving…..but I do use them on consecutive days from time to time but only do two passes which result in a DFS or even a BBS usually. If you haven’t ever tried one I think it is a must try razor…don’t be frightened or intimidated by the way it looks. I myself use OC’s as much as solid bar(Like an EJ DE89) heads. They are just fantastic shavers that are super efficient.
Onto the SHAVES!!!!!!
Shave #1
Razor : Gillette Aristocrat
Blade : Feather
Soap : Reef Point Espresso
Brush : Zenshave LE
Aftershave : Barberry Coast Havanna balm
Fragrance : Thierry Mugler Pure Malt
I love the fall. And with the cooler weather comes the warmer, spicier and stronger soaps. The Reef Point Espresso is just awesome. I LOOOVE THE SCENT and the performance is great as well. I didn’t reach for this soap much in the summer as it is a heavier scent that just goes so well with fall and colder weather fragrances. The Havana was the perfect balm to blend with the soap…..outstanding stuff!!
The Zenshave brush again proved why it is my top badger. Such a pleasure to use each and every time. From loading to lathering this brush is just perfect for me.
To finish the shave I went with a couple of sprays of Thierry Mugler’s Pure Malt. An outstanding Gourmand fragrance that to me is a bit dark and rich. An intoxicating scent that I have been spraying a lot lately. It lasts a long time and my wife enjoys it. The malt and woods mixed with the slightly fruity top grabs you from beginning to end.
The Razor I chose was the Gillette Aristocrat TTO OC. What else would I chose to start off OCtober with. This is my top OC and easily in my top 2 safety razors I own. Beautiful, efficient, and a workhorse are just a couple of the great things I can say about this 90 year old razor.
Overall this was an absolutely wonderful shave that made me smile. I love every single thing I used this day and the resulting irritation free DFS was icing on the cake.
Shave #2
Razor : Gillette Sheraton
Blade : Gillette Platinum
Soap : Haslinger Schafmilch
Brush : Oscar11 with Omega boar knot
Witch Hazel : Thayer’s Super Medicated Witch Hazel
Aftershave : Bootleggers Dog Maple Bay Rum
She bites…oh, she bites. Yet again the Sheraton got me a couple of times. Not as bad as the last time, but it still made me question my technique. It’s funny how the against the grain pass felt so much easier and smoother than the initial with the grain pass.
The story behind this razor is that it is my second most expensive DE that I ever bought…..I only paid $25 for it though. When I saw it I had no idea what it was as I was still learning a lot about vintage razors and had very little experience with open combs. Since it was in great shape and had its original case(minus the mirror) I snatched it up. Only later did I find out what it was. I figured it was just an open comb version of the Milord….not very aggressive at all. Well, like you have read I was very wrong. That first shave was just brutal. Blood and nicks and weepers everywhere. Yet the resulting shave was super smooth!!!!
Fast forward to this morning and the result was a bit better with just a couple nicks. The shave though was fantastic BBS. I really want to learn the nuances of this razor as the shaves it gives are absolutely top notch. I wouldn’t recommend this to a newer shaver.
The Haslinger soap again proved why it was for a long time my number one soap. Perhaps if the scent was better it very well could still be up in that number one spot. Performance of this soap is really second to none.
The brush is lovely. The handle is as nice as anything I own or anything I have seen. Great weight and the color of it is a show stopper. The omega knot was set deeper than usual so it has tons of backbone. I am now really enjoying the added backbone. At first I wasn’t a huge fan. In time though I enjoy the different feel from my Semogue boars. It simply tears into any soap you put in front of it and whips up lather beautifully. This brush will NEVER leave my den.
Since my shave was a bit harsh….compared to usual, I decided to splash on the Medicated Witch Hazel from Thayer’s. This felt nice and relived my skin almost instantly.
Then to finish it off I used my Maple Bay Rum from Bootleggers Dog. Outstanding scent and the Maple really is reminiscent of colder weather in Canada. This is great stuff which will get more use in the colder weather for sure.
Over the next month I will feature my OC’s and talk a bit about each one. Also be sure to get in on my giveaway as I am going to announce the winner on Friday!!!
Keep it Classy everyone!! And lets see and hear about your top OC razors!
The Canuck Shaver 
Nice collection of OC’s. Doesn’t get much better than a ’34 Crat or a ’38 Sheraton, that’s for sure!
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Thanks Andrew. The ‘Crat is my top OC for sure
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I recently had my first shave with the Micromatic Open Comb. I found it easy and pleasurable to use without even the slightest hint of viciousness. Two passes. No touch up for BBS.
Last week I used the GEM 1912. also an excellent gentle razor. Three passes and slight touch up to BBS. With this razor I first tried Pace SE Blades. They would not/could not cut whiskers but might be great for scraping paint off windows.
With both razors it is imperative to use no pressure. Then they are magic.
I have been using Rolls Razors for almost three years. When properly sharpened, it and my two old/new GEM’s, are equal but the Rolls blade is forever and even longer.
Now I will be constantly switching among the three.
To be fair I used the same croap for all these shaves – First Canadian Shave Soap’s – Esther’s Peppermint and Grapefruit -Tallow, Lanolin and Silk.
Mickey Oberman
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Nice, I havent used the MMOC but it gets a lot of love from those who have used it. The GEM 1912 is a great razor as well. I ran out of SE blades(only had 3) so I stopped using them. However I found the SE razors very easy to find the right blade angle and they gave wonderful shaves. Im glad you are liking them. Try an injector if you get a chance. I have a couple schick injectors and they are really nice shavers.
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I took your advice about using Schick Injectors. Two different razors. they both felt identical and both gave excellent shaves. However there is something about the GEMs and the Rolls that I can’t describe but they are special.
Single edge blades are readily available on the internet, I have tried a few and with the exception of the Dorco they are all good. My favourite is the Gem stainless steel.
I always clean these razors immediately after I shave. I also do the blade which I then place on the heating element of my electric lather bowl. I place the clean, dry bowl on the blade and then turn off the heater. I leave the blade there till my next shave.
I guess using the Rolls Razors has made me conscious of the importance of keeping even stainless dry.
So much fun! And pleasure.
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Sounds like you have it down to a science. I’m meticulous about cleaning all my razors and blades after each shave as well. Glad your enjoying the single edge razors. They are quite fun to use. And easy to use as well
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