I just received some Barrister & Mann soaps, and the Dickens is the first I tried. Very nice lather indeed, requiring a bit more water than I expected. The Omega 20102 boar brush worked well, as always. Wet the knot before the shower and the brush is ready to go when the shower’s over.
The razor looks like the Sodial, but it’s not. For one thing, the handle is solid, and the butt cap does not unscrew: it’s part of the solid handle. For another, it’s quite a harsh razor. The head profile is not the same as the Sodial—which I’d show in the photo, except that I can’t find my Sodial right now.
After the first pass I removed the blade, discarded the head, and kept the handle for possible later use. I believe that this is the Apache A2001, but I can’t be sure. For example, I ordered the Honglong HL-023, which has a blue handle, but received instead Shenglong SL-818, with a red handle. That’s the razor I used yesterday, and it’s excellent for the price and not a bad razor regardless of the price. The Apache: not so much.
I finished the shave with my black bakelite Eros Slant. A final rinse, dry, and a splash of Speick.
Obviously, ordering from DealExtreme.com is a bit of a crap shoot, but I do like the Shenglong, and I might try again to order the Honglong. The RiMei razors all seem to have a new solid handle—not the design of the handle shown above, but a new design. I’ll use one tomorrow.
Source:
http://leisureguy.wordpress.com/2014/01/08/another-inexpensive-chinese-razor/