Without Ink

Helping people learn about wet shaving, coffee, fountain pens, technology & many other cool things.

Pulling a Shot of Espresso on the Vinate La Pavoni Europiccola

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Here is a low-level view (looking up at the portafilter) of me pulling a shot of espresso on my vintage La Pavoni Europiccola.

Just noticed a spelling error in a note within the video, sorry! Infusion! not Infussion!

SOTD – Barrister & Mann – Fireside 12-31-2014

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Today’s SOTD and Scent Review:

Soap – Barrister & Mann – Fireside
Razor – Vintage – Gillette Black Beauty
Blade – Feather
Brush – Omega Boar
After Shave – Fine – American Blend

Nicked myself again on the Adams Apple… Ugh… Feather didn’t like me today. Anyway on to the scent. Fireside is a rich and complex scent. I had trouble figuring this one out. It’s warm, sweet and comforting, yet it is also a bit mysterious. The cognac is definitely identifiable… I smell some sort of citrus and wood. There is a peppery note, that I cannot figure out. I smell a bit of fennel or something like that, this is a complex soap. I think it will grow on me as I continue to use it. It smells much better on the face, then it did when I first smelled the puck. When I received it, the scent seemed to disappear, that is not the case once the soap is lathered and applied to the face itself.

As far as performance, William does a great job as always. It lathers well, and provides great protection and post shave feel.

SOTD – Catie’s Bubbles – Three Wiseguys 12-30-2014

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Today’s SOTD and Scent Review:

Soap – Catie’s Bubbles – Three Wiseguys
Razor – Vintage Checker Wedge
Brush – EverReady
After Shave – Aqua Velva – Ice Blue

All in all the shave was very nice, aside from two nicks… Nicked my Adam’s Apple. Which sucked. But rub some dirt on it and all will be well. Aqua Velva was selected as an AS because I just bought it a couple days ago, and I have been without it forever. Didn’t really go great with the soap, but I didn’t care much about that. It reminds me of Grandpa, and I enjoyed using it for that reason.

On to the Catie’s Bubbles – Three Wiseguys. This stuff was interesting. I was first thinking this was a Christmas type scent, I didn’t really listen to any of the previous reviews of the soap, and I probably didn’t even read the description on the CB site. Anyway, the scent is still amazing. It is rich, dark, old, sweet and mysterious. It reminds me of what a really really old church might smell like. To me, I smell something like amber, but I do not believe that is in there. The scent profile is old, very old school scents. Frankincense, Myrrh, Cedar, Rock Rose are what Chris has on his description on the site. I was right about the Frankincense, Myrrh and Cedar… didn’t smell rose, but that may have been the sweet component I was smelling.

All in all, it is a great soap. As per usual, Chris does a great job. The soap is an amazing performer.

SOTD – Barrister & Mann Dickens 12-24-2014

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Christmas Eve 2014 – SOTD

Today’s shave of the day consisted of:

Brush – Simpsons – Duke
Razor – Vintage Gillette Aristocrat
Blade – Polsilver
Soap – Barrister & Mann – Dickens (Limited Run)
After Shave – My homemade Bay Rum.

Wow, I love Dickens… The scent is amazing.

Razor Collection

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razor-collection

For all those that are interested, here is my razor collection in list form. I will eventually create some content for each of these razors. I will link to the content from here.

Current Razor Collection (DE/SE)

Check out my Top 5 DE Razors as of 2015-05-31.

  • 1920 – Gillette Old Type Serial M414651
  • 1931 – Gillette New
  • 1940’s – Merkur Slant (Not sure of exact age)
  • 1940’s – German Field Razor (Nazi)
  • 1940’s – GEM “Bullet Tipped” Micromatic (w/Safety Bar) – 1940’s – On its way
  • 1946-8 – Gillette Aristocrat
  • 1954 – Gillette Super Speed Flare Tip – Date Code Z3 (3rd quarter of 1954)
  • 1955 – Gillette Super Speed Blue Tip – Date Code A1 (1st quarter of 1955)
  • 1956 – Gillette Ball End Tech Travel – Date Code B4 (4th quarter of 1956)
  • 1959 – Gillette 195 Adjustable “Fat Boy”  – Date Code E2 (2nd quarter of 1959)
  • 1960 – Gillette Super Speed Flare Tip – Date Code F1 (1st quarter of 1960)
  • 1964 – Lady Gillette – Date Code J4 (4th quarter of 1964)
  • 1965 – Gillette Ball End Tech – Date Code K3 (3rd quarter of 1965)
  • 1968 – Gillette Super Speed Black Handle – Date Code N3 (3rd quarter of 1968)
  • Feather Portable (NOS)
  • Gillette Techmatic
  • 2015 – Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements – Double Open Comb Razor
  • 2015 – Wetshave Club Razor

Straight Razor Collection

  • 1800’s – Wade & Butcher Barbers Point (restoration pending)
  • 1800’s – Wade & Butcher Spike (restoration pending)
  • 1800’s – Joseph Rodgers & Sons “Thursday” from a Seven Day Set (needs some love as well)
  • 1920’s – #222 Shumate
  • 1920’s – Checker Wedge
  • Vintage – CV Heljestrand #66

Razor Wish List

  • 1904 – Gillette Double Ring (Gillette’s first safety razor)
  • 1930’s – Gillette Aristocrat Open Comb
  • 1972 – Gillette Black Handled Adjustable – Date Code S3 (3rd quarter of 1972)
  • IKon Slant – (a modern razor)
  • RazoRock – Stealth Slant (a modern razor)

Sold / Traded / Pif’ed

  • Gillette Super Speed 1940’s
  • Gillette Super Speed 1960’s
  • Schick Krona -1970’s
  • Gillette Super Speed Flare Tip – Date Code F1 (1st quarter of 1960)
  • Merkur Vision 2000 ( a modern DE razor) – Sold on eBay for $185.00
  • Vintage – NOS Filarmonica #13 6/8 Light Green Doble Temple – Sold on eBay for $350.00

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