Last mailcall of 2025
Since @djundjila posted his, let me show you the latest testament to my complete inability to control myself.
You are seeing in the top row a MRED/Le Père Lucien badger brush made of Ebony, then the matching aftershave and soap. The scent profile is vintage, and if you want to see more, check here.
In the center, a vintage Parker 51 fountain pen with an M nib from the 1950s, in excellent condition (yes, another expensive hobby), and which writes excellently.
On the bottom (and according to Gemini), a Man-Hoshi 24 (meaning "Full Star") Japanese straight razor from the 1950 or 1960s with celluloid scales. It has an asymmetric kamisori grind, and came in a very inoffensive state of honing. I honed it yesterday, and saw under the microscope that there is an area where there are slight problems on the edge. We'll see how this works out in a shave.
But now, I swear that it will be GRUYE!
15 replies
I also like fountain pens. Similar appeal I guess. I don't have any cool ones though.
I don't really know what a cool fountain should look like - this one is probably not cool - but it works well. Let's see how the latex sack holds up 😃
It's a pretty cool pen I think. I just bought the cheapest plastic pen that came with a FPR ultra flex nib EF for calligraphy practice. It's a real workhorse though. For the sack it helps if you only use gentle inks.
I like the idea of doing calligraphy, but I can't see myself practicing and putting in the work to git gud 😬
It takes quite some time indeed. I haven't been practicing much lately... I wonder if you get a bit of a benefit from being able to do straight razor shaving. Something about the fine motor skills transferring over, moving an object delicately with mostly arm movement, having a soft touch / managing pressure.
Good luck with that. Absolutely gorgeous setup there. Fountain pens and watches are two collector hobbies that I have managed to avoid, but I have others so I understand that urge :)
Well, I only have to be strong for a week or so. That should be doable, right?
Right?
That's what I keep telling myself as well :)
I'm lucky if I can make it an entire month without buying more soap!
I know what you mean! I'm storage limited at the moment. (Naturally, that's a problem I can solve if necessary 😂)
Storage limitations are really just creativity opportunities!
(I say with 7 tubs of soap sitting on my desk with no permanent home...)
You can definitively stack higher 🤔
That's right, and as I recall, being challenged creatively is important to our health :)
Yes, I do this to enhance longevity!
Very nice haul! I have that same Parker 51 in dark green, with a matching pencil. Wonderful both