photography, shaving, shaving brush

Travel set

Recently I prepared the above shaving set for my travels. It is small, humble, not fragile for dropping, rust resistant and light.

It is based on common Polish made razor wapienica chirurgiczna. Certainly, it is not a cutting-edge product itself. Just common tool for daily shaving from the times when it was just an ordinary routing activity of any man, not limited to gentleman or extravagant dinos. Althought it is far from proper balance in the the weight (scales are too heavy), in my opinion is stil very nice and deserves appreciacion. I like its simplicity and aesthetic look. The ability to boil it in hot water might be also taken as an advantage. As you may see, I used archaic leather tight case. I bought it on street flea market with other German razor. But I suppose it is self-made, again, for daily use in the past.

Second is the brush. It is fully made by Stando Shaving Accessories, Polish maker of custom handles and brushes who is well known in the wet-shaving community. Generally I prefer to use natural knots, But for travelling this guy, which is fully synthetic (Silk Smoke from APShaveCo ), offers important advantages. I appreciate it for its look and softness. When working with Cella soap (block version) it comes very fast and efficient – as it should in travel where there might be not chance and time for soaking knots in warm water. For evidence – see the below clip.

The strap comes from my photo gear bag. It comes absolutely sufficient for in-travel stropping. 5cm wide and long enough. No need to carry anything else, unless I have my leather trousers’ belt.

What is missing on the photo is the AS and shaving soap. AS has been just delivered. For AS I use Stella Alpina from Saponificio Varesino in nice small 100 ml metal bottle. Similarly, soap comes into tiny metal snuff box as could be seen in the other picture.

That all is minimalistic but fully sufficient.

 

photography, pottery, shaving

Dog’s life

A month ago, when there still was the beautiful sunny autumn, I wanted to take some photos of the latest sets. Outdoor session with natural light, golden leaves and bit of time is not something that often comes easy altogether. For photography, I prefer and enjoy real scenery over any studio arrangements. But that may bring some surprise.

Here, my dog got interested in all these strange preparations and trials. And decided to research why these things bring so much of my attention. I managed to make a picture but could not stay still – what is visible on the picture. Just after that, she escaped with the brush experiencing even more interests on her..

Fortunately, nothing bad happened to any piece. A bit later I could finish my job properly.

The below set is made of grey clay from Witgert 116SF Anthrazit, glaze WT-11510 or 11403 (gołębie). Razor is a regular Titan remade (stabilizers taken out) and scales changed to kirinite dessert camo.

 

photography, pottery

Vintage oiler – lublicator

I enjoy old rusted machinery and mechanical parts. Now, all that stuff disappears from our houses and countryside. I remember well these things in daily use. Mainly from my childhood, the summer holidays with grandparents.

They are nice for photography, especially to stress out the texture. Here is just a sample.

The other thing is to make something like that from clay. The first attempt was not bad, but the spout was not fully functional. No glaze outside, only white glaze internal to keep it fully waterproof. Brown earthware clay C366 @1150°C.

Next attempt was even nicer. Red clay CJ4SF with Rustica Gold glaze @1230°C. Unfortunately, this time, it cracked at the bottom, so the bottom soaks.

Hence, it is not going to be the end. Next attempt is ahead.