Off to Florida for a couple of days, facilitating a conference on health care for a client. Sunny Isles, at the Trump hotel. Funny, didn’t go to Florida (Disney World doesn’t count, right?) for 56 years and then twice in a month. This promises to be very shi-shi….right up my alley…should look good in my elastic-waistband shorts and Alden cordovan brogues!

One of the brushes I ordered from Fendrihan is the Vulfix #28 boar. A very inexpensive brush at CDN $19.95. Looking at it didn’t leave me hopeful. A skinny patch of bristles that, once wet, resembled my dog’s tail after she came in from the rain…limp and soggy looking. I decided to pit it against the Mitchell’s Wool Fat shaving soap, a formidable puck of lanolin-based splendor that is nevertheless a challenge even for great badger brushes. In fact, I have discovered that this is one soap that seems to perform better when worked up with a boar brush and had very good results from my Semogue and Omega Pro 48. But these were denser and larger brushes…could the wimpy Vulfix even come close?

To my utter surprise and amazement this little brush is a demon! Incredible “pick up” from the puck, and a spectacular and voluminous lather. Better than either the Semogue or the Omega. Talk about not judging a book by its cover! Paired up with a three-day old Gillette 7 O’Clock from Russia, the combo produced a very easy shave and a perfectly smooth face.

This from archaeologist daughter during lunch yesterday at L’Express bistro:

She: “So I read your blog entry on Elements of style”.

Me: “How did you like it?”.

She: “I found it a little strange coming from a guy who spends his days in elastic-waistband shorts and a t-shirt”.

I finally scored an Omega Pro 48, and from a local retailer to boot. Vasco’s in Montreal is probably the country’s biggest gourmet shaving store. And speaking of big…..this brush is a monster! I’ve never seen it in a comparative photo, so assumed it would be about the same size as my Semogue and Vulfix boar brushes. When the clerk at Vasco’s took it out of the box, I thought she must have made a mistake and was showing me the brush barbers use for brushing hair clippings off clothing!  But, like my other two boar brushes, the Pro 48 was wonderful at pulling shave soap off a puck of Mitchell’s Wool Fat soap, producing a much better lather than I’ve ever been able to get with a badger and this particular brand of soap. And this with the brush not even broken in. Thanks to Leisureguy for showing me the way on boar brushes.

Mr. Italo and I were having an email chat about the launch of Leica’s Hermes M7. For those unfamiliar with this camera, it is one of an ongoing series of commemorative and special edition Leicas intended to fleece the collector or status seeker with tons more money than good sense. While these cameras are a travesty, Leicaphiles have tended to turn an embarrassed blind-eye on them, acknowledging that a company like Leica can only keep doing all the good stuff it does by an occasional venture into high-end prostitution. But the M7 Hermes is a weird camera from the get-go because  it’s a film camera. Yes, you heard me right, a film camera! Clearly intended as an instant collectible rather than a “user” since, let’s face it, film is dead (kept on life-support by a handful of “crsftsmen” and dinosaurs). The camera will retail for $14,400 USD including one lens (oh, yeah, they’re also throwing in the light hood for that price).

It was however, Mr. Italo’s last response that piqued my fightsomeness. He wrote:

“It’s all about vintage fashion not technology. Similar to some of your 10 essential items from today’s blog [italics mine]“.

Vintage fashion? While that’s a pretty cool term, I really can’t agree that the items in my list qualify (well, maybe a couple). Vintage fashion would be a gold slide-rule. Perhaps a buggy-whip made from silk. You get my drift…vintage fashion is something technologically obsolete that one uses and clings to because it connects them with a real or imagined past. Maybe the Parker ‘51. I’ll grant you that one (although it still writes better than most modern pens…it does tend to leak in an airplane).

But every item in my list represents products that while certainly traditional in some elements of their design or construction, are completely capable of competing with their more modern counterparts on a variety of dimensions including, design, style, build-quality, durability, and even, yes, performance. The Aeron chair for example, remains the benchmark of modern office comfort. The Leica M9 is the world’s smallest full-frame digital camera. Look under any corporate boardroom table and I’ll bet you that 80% of the shoes will be “old men shoes”.  And Rolex watches….what can I say…..vintage style, Bah!

And oh, yes, I agree with Mr. Italo…the Leica Hermes M7 is a great example of “vintage fashion”.

While researching the topic of the status of men’s shoes for one of my posts last week, I came across GQ’s web site. It featured a section called 10 Essentials, which turned out to be ten celebrities’ opinions of 10 items that are “essential” to a man’s possessions. So, I figured, “Hey, I’m a legend in my own mind, why don’t I develop my own list of 10 essentials?”. Here it is: Steve’s 10 Essentials (featuring photos of my personal choices for each item):

1. A good mechanical self-winding watch

No batteries. Waterproof. Shockproof. Winds itself. Lasts forever. Can be passed over to the next generation. Used to be great value for money (bought mine new for $185 in 1971)…not sure if that’s still true since most of the best brands have become “luxury” goods. Buy the best you can afford even if it means a financial stretch (1971 Rolex Air-King Date).

2. A double-edge razor (DE)

Nothing shaves better. Cartridge razors do their thing by tugging at the beard and cutting it above the surface of the skin. A DE shaves the beard at skin level taking a micro-thin layer of skin cells with it. Women pay big bucks to do this every day with all kinds of fancy-shmantzy products (It’s called exfoliation). DE shavers get it for free. Supposed to keep your skin looking younger too. Who knows? Feels better than cartridge shaving and leaves you with a real sense of accomplishment in addition to a better shave (Edwin Jagger Chatsworth razor).

3. A comfortable work chair.

My friend Jens used to say, “A man should spend the most money on the two things in which he’ll spend the most time: His mattress and his shoes”. I’d add a chair to that list, since most of us will spend 6-8 hours a day sitting on our duffs. Fully adjustable, reclining so you can put your feet up on the desk, firm and supportive in the back and thighs. Contoured to fit. Available in different sizes to accommodate different sized bodies and butts (Aeron Chair by Herman Miller).

4. And speaking of shoes…at least two pairs of great classic leather shoes (two because you should never wear the same pair on consecutive days).

Goodyear welted. Leather uppers and soles. Keep them in cedar shoe trees so that they can dry back to their natural shape. Polish occasionally. If you can afford it, get one pair in cordovan leather (horsehide). Take reasonable care and they will last your lifetime. Take really good care and your son will be wearing them once he “wakes” up somewhere around age 30. They will be supremely comfortable and always look great (Alden Genuine Shell Cordovan Model 975).

5. A Leica M camera.

Look I could have said “A good quality camera” but why beat around the bush? There are cameras and then there is the Leica M. If you’re a serious photographer you owe it to yourself to own one in your lifetime. Life is short. Cut back on other useless shit. It’s a lot less expensive than psychotherapy and much more effective (Leica M9 full-frame digital camera).

6. A badger shaving brush.

Boar is great too. Either way, a good shaving brush will prepare and set up your beard for an amazing shave. And the sensual pleasure of the brush is just so much better than slathering on gloop from a spray can (Dan Capshaw brush in Cocobolo wood).

7. A handmade leather bike seat.

Once your butt breaks it in it will be the most comfortable seat you’ll ever own, allowing painless riding for many hours. Like a great pair of handmade  leather shoes, a bike seat like the ones Brooks makes, will last a lifetime (or more), and will link you to a past when things were made by craftspeople who cared about their work and things lasted forever rather than being disposed and filling up the landfill sites (Brooks B-17 Titanium).

8. A custom made bike.

Fitted to you like a bespoke suit. The bike feels like an extension of your arms and legs. Amazing pleasure. You could ride forever. Lasts for generations. As current today as the day it was built. Timeless (1981 Leonard set up for winter on a Tacx indoor trainer).

9. A fountain pen.

I’ve owned a few, including a couple of Mont-Blanc, but none come close to my Dad’s iconic Parker 51.  Still in pristine condition although it’s actual manufacturing date is 1948 (from the date code). It writes with a smoothness that puts roller balls and even felt-tipped pens to shame. You may only occasionally use it to sign your name to some important document, but it will make you feel far more important than you really are. Like MacArthur accepting the Japanese surrender. No wonder it’s in the Museum of Modern Art’s design collection and has a whole book written about it. A couple of years ago, Parker reissued a commemorative version of the ‘51. Garbage. Like writing with a chicken’s foot. The good news? There’s thousands of original ’51’s on the market in great shape. Just be prepared to pay a hefty dollar (Parker ‘51 with blue diamond clip).

10. A patient and long-suffering wife with strange hobbies of her own (Alpaca for spinning and weaving).

The love affair with my Semogue boar brush continues unabated. I’ve never been a real shave soap lover, mainly because I was never able to get a good lather from soap in the shower. But the boar is particularly well-suited to this task; the stiff bristles scraping generous quantities of soap molecules onto its tips and translating this into a very copious and lubricating lather. And, the scrubbiness…marvelous!  Who would have thought I could find such pleasure in something so inexpensive and banal?

Today’s shave was with the Tabac soap in its wonderful ceramic bowl (or it it really glass?). The four-day old Sputnik blade continued to produce a phenomenally smooth shave, I suspect at least partly due to the outstandingly rich lather from the boar brush. The alum block revealed no sensation of irritation whatsoever. Finished off with Tabac cologne….mmmmm….memories of youth. Tabac was my first real-man’s aftershave and the scent is embedded in my libido!

I’ve been a serious photographer since the age of 16, which would mean that I could celebrate my 40 years in this amazing pursuit, were I so inclined. For most of those 40 years, I’ve owned a Leica (or two, or three, at various times!). The actual inventory is quite impressive when I come to think about it:

• IIIf (which I sold in 1974 so that I could take a new girlfriend on a date…a true waste that I regret to this day!)
• IIf converted to a IIIIf
• M4P (stolen from my home with all its lenses during a break-in)
• M2
• M3 (bought “new” in 2005 from the estate of a collector who had bought it and died before he could actually use it. I was so afraid to scratch it that I couldn’t bring myself to use it! Finally sold it in 2007 for a very tidy profit)
• M6
• M6TTL
• MP
• M8.2 (a painful story. Bought new three months before the release of the M9 earlier this Summer)
• 10-12 lenses of varying focal lengths

This inventory does not include a couple of digital point-and-shoot models, which really don’t count because they were made by Panasonic leveraging the Leica name in a sad example of brand-marketing.

I was brought to these musings by the arrival a couple of days ago of Mr. Dario, our intrepid New York City correspondent and veteran maestro of the camera. Mr. Dario came bearing gifts…two boxes of astonishing cigars….and the latest Leica family-tree poster (including the M8) showing the evolutionary chronology of the brand since the first camera ever rolled off the craftsman’s bench. The poster is an incredible find, a result of Mr. Dario’s recent pilgrimage to the New York Camera Show.

I’m off to Costco this morning to get it laminated before putting it up on my office wall.

There are some delicacies that many people eschew because of their cost. And certainly if you look at the cost/weight of certain foods and compare them to others, they easily appear to be outrageously expensive and very poor value-for-money. For example, one can buy a top quality Fillet Mignon for about $40/kg (about $18/lb). Compare this to a piece of tuna bottarga (dried, salted tuna roe) at $800/kg, or a white truffle at about $2000/lb, and you may well exclaim, “You’re outta your mind!” with some apparent justification.

But consider this. One ounce (app. 30g) of tuna bottarga grated onto pasta will easily bring both satisfaction and a beatific smile to the faces of four people with relative ease. That translates to $24, or $6 per person. The same value of Fillet Mignon would leave two people craving for more and two with nothing on their plates! Truffles are not too far off that mark either. My point is that some of the greatest culinary experiences need not be prohibitive if taken in the context of how much is needed to produce great pleasure and satisfaction.

Of course, from a nutritional standpoint, these delicacies are definitely not great value for money…the steak will provide lots more protein and other essential nutrients (a lot of extra fat too though). And one doesn’t need to eat Fillet Mignon either…the same money will buy quantities of lean pork to feed a small army at current low prices.

But for occasional forays into wonderful culinary experiences, one needs to keep the cost/volume relationship in mind…it may just enable some of the most pleasurable (food) moments you will ever have.

Tonight’s dinner was simplicity itself. Spaghettini with a grating of tuna bottarga, tossed in a mixture of hot olive oil, garlic, and chili flakes. A salad of endive, radicchio, walnuts, and shaved Reggiano, tossed with some olive oil and Greek Musto Balsamic vinegar completed a very satisfying, healthful, and inexpensive meal (about $10/person).

Echoing my wife’s food philosophy: “Eat better…eat less”.

Another shave today with the Semogue 1520 boar brush, purchased from Fendrihan.com (an excellent on-line vendor, based in Canada). It’s breaking in very nicely, developing a “feathering” at the tip ends which gives it a much better latherability. The bristles are also getting a little softer, although still very stiff compared to a good badger brush. But here’s the rub (pun intended): The stiff bristles are amazing at generating a great lather from a soap, presumably because they are capable of scrubbing off much more soap onto the brush. I used the Semogue with my all-time favorite soap, the Gold-Dachs Spezial Razierseif. An outstanding lather; dare I say it?; better than with my best badger brush. The G-D has the most amazing scent, and the final pass resulted in a super-smooth visage that feels good even 12 hours later at the time of writing.

I find that the interest in boar brushes has rekindled my explorer’s spirit when it comes to shaving. Thanks to Leisureguy for the lead into this very interesting area.