"Return With Me/Us To Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear..."

Love the Noxema Skin Cream! Use it every day and night. It's really great stuff.

I like to use it when I use my Proraso Green, or TOBS Peppermint Shaving creams. I really like the cooling effect on a hot Summer day. And Beamon's right. a Dab will do you. Anymore than that and your razor will clog. It will leave a film so you will have a little cleanup to do on your hardware, no big deal though.

Clayton

Thanks for posting this Beamon. I might have to pick up a tub of Equate and give this a shot.

Nice, nostalgic post, Roger. My first shaver was a Schick electric, in 1966. There was NO learning curve -- turn it on and rub it on your face -- but the shaves were crappy, and to be bearable at all you had to use Lectric Shave preshave, or some such, which was oily and felt yucky. By the time 1970 rolled around, I was into wet shaving, using DE and SE razors from my dad, Wilkinson Sword blades, and canned foam. In 1977 I used my first cartridge razor, and quickly succumbed to the Gillette marketing line -- until 5 years ago this month. Cartridge razors aren't bad, just wasteful and expensive, and my shaves became really lousy when I didn't replace the carts soon enough because, in my mind, I couldn't justify the cost. Traditional wet shaving saved me from all that. Between blades and soap/cream I think my shaves now cost about a dollar month -- but not before I spent thousands finding out what I liked. Wet shaving will save you money -- eventually. If ever.

You have a great list of future purchases lined up. The only addition I'd suggest, on the vintage side, is an Old Type. Every enthusiast shaver should own one, I feel, because that was the safety razor that started it all. And while the shaves aren't quite as smooth as with the NEW, they sure are effective. Actually, I take that back. In my experience, OTs vary in aggressiveness. Some are on the rough side, some on the smooth; but they all deliver a fine shave. My favorite is this beater, which some kind eBay seller threw in as a freebie on one of my purchases. Restoring it was a bear, but it turned out real nice. This was the eBay "before" photo:



When I took it apart -- a process involving WD40, heat, strenuous prying, and a lot of grunting -- I discovered the remains of a rusted, old blade:



With a lot of elbow grease, I eventually got it to look like this:



In the end, I found someone who had located an artisan who made replicas of OT handles, only in solid brass (and for a pittance). The final product looks like this -- top cap, base plate, neck and ball end are all original; only the handle is new:



I now use it as a devette -- sans base plate:



Gee, Rog, I'm getting all misty.  

But seriously, the Old Type a great razor -- a classic -- an' you oughta have one, IMHO.

Thanks beamon! I grabbed some of the Equate Noxzema clone when I was at Walmart and tried the pre-shave routine. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will continue to use it when I'm in the mood for a menthol shave. Nice!

Gee, Rog, I'm getting all misty.  

But seriously, the Old Type a great razor -- a classic -- an' you oughta have one, IMHO.

Yeah, Carl, the older we get the easier it is to cloud up over stuff that we never would have before.

Judging by how well my exemplar vintage Gillettes are working, and considering your comments about an Old Type, I will begin the discovery phase for a proper specimen ASAP. No collecton intended, only an homage to the days when Gillette was changing the shaving habits of so many men.

Thanks beamon! I grabbed some of the Equate Noxzema clone when I was at Walmart and tried the pre-shave routine. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will continue to use it when I'm in the mood for a menthol shave. Nice!

Great, Jeff! And it occurs to me that you could pick up the new Noxzema formulation without the camphor, menthol and phenol and enjoy the slickness and conditioning on days when the menthol kick was not desired. Boy, we can really fill up the lavatory counter space quickly, not?