Legendary Saxon Cigar Carrier

Legendary Saxon 1For a while I’ve been seeing these great looking leather cigar carriers from Legendary Saxon and was considering picking one up. They were kind enough to contact me and I chose their Premium Oil Tanned Leather 3 Finger Carrier in a tan color. (In addition to the cigar carrier they make loads of other great leather products.) From there the creation progress began. Total production time was only a couple of days and then was shipped.

The packaged was shipped USPS Priority and arrived quickly. I opened the package and was immediately met by the smell of rich leather. I think I stood there just smelling it for about ten minuets, it was… amazing. After getting over that I decided to take it for a spin since I was headed out that evening anyway. I quickly loaded the carrier with three sticks in the main pouch and tossed a lighter and cutter into the small front pocket. The leather feels heavy but soft in the hands but the way it is stitched together I felt confident that my cigars would be protected well. I wrapped the ties around it and off I went. When I reached my destination I opened it up and as expected my cigars were in perfect condition. As I sat there smoking I began wondering where the idea for it came from. I’ve seen leather carriers before but nothing like the looks of this one. So to find out I asked. I had the pleasure of speaking with Scott and this is what he had to say:IMG_1347

“I got into leather working in fall of 2013 as an art therapy for combat stress from Afghanistan and Iraq. I was hand sewing everything and just giving stuff away to my friends and family. Someone suggested I try to sell it, and I very skeptically put something online and it sold. As it started to grow I invested in an industrial sewing machine. I’ve since expanded and have my college friend Philip as a business partner. I do all the leather selection, ordering, designing, cutting and tooling. I also do all of our digital brand management. Philip does all the sewing, finances, packing and shipping. Our shop is very small and is his garage. I can’t tell you how many leather samples I have ordered from different wholesalers and tanneries in order to find just the right leather I like. My design philosophy is simple. I design the types of things that I would like to have myself. The rustic and rugged nature of my cuts, incorporating the asymmetric edges and natural flows of the hide, the original cattle brands and barbed wire scars, comes from how I see myself as a combat veteran. Scarred yet resilient. I look for the absolute best quality leather, combined with a IMG_1352unique rugged luxury look, in order to tell my story.  My satisfaction comes from customers loving their cuts, and from knowing that my cuts support the customer’s lifestyle aesthetic.”

I’ve had this carrier no for about two months and it has taken over as my everyday carrier this thing goes everywhere with me and has started many conversations due to its uniqueness. The leather continues to hold up well and any bumps or bruises that it acquires only gives it more character. If anybody is in need of a one of a kind custom made cigar carrier I highly recommend making the small investment in one from Legendary Saxon. At $55.00 it’s truly a steal.

 

Website: www.legendarysaxon.com

Cost: $55.00

Rating: 5 out of 5 pints.

Beard 101

You want to grow your beard and/or you’ve started. Well congratul-fucking-ations and welcome to the club. I am a 28 year old man whose had a beard for the better part of 7 years and been growing a good thick one for the past 2 years. To you beard newbies I say welcome to the club, and to you beard veterans I say cheers. On my beard campaign I’ve tried to amass a good amount of information for you beard growers, new and old alike.

IT’S GENETICS AND AGE
Nothing else. How old you are and what hair growing genetics are bred into you will determine your beard growing capability. Let no one ever fucking tell you otherwise. The older you get, the more likely you are to grow a nice thick beard, but if you couldn’t when you were in your mid 20’s, chances are you won’t ever have an epic thick beard. I couldn’t grow a decent beard until I was about 21, so for you late blooming teens, there is still hope.

KEEP GROWING IT
A lot of questions get asked, like does this look good? What do you think? Should I keep it going? FUCK YES. Keep growing it. At least for 6 months. See how she grows and see what kind of personality your beard will take. It will be the best thing you can do for both of you. Everyone’s beard is different. And everyone’s will grow in different shapes and sizes.

BEARD PRODUCTS ARE YOUR FRIEND
No, it’s not a trend. Even the Vikings traveled the seas and conquered everything with beard oil, and you, as a male in 2015, NEED to take care of your shit and make sure it’s presentable. Beard oil is honestly like crack for your beard and she will thank you for it. Don’t look too much into brands or even what goes into it, most of them have worked well enough for me. I use oil and balm. I put balm in before I go to sleep for deep conditioning and oil in the morning. This may seem backwards to most, but it’s what works for me and you need to figure out what works for you.

DON’T WASH YOUR FUCKING BEARD
I mean you can, but avoid it. Maybe if you get clam chowder in it or something and you don’t want to smell like Red Lobster. Shampoo will dry that shit out, and make it frizzy. If you shampoo, use conditioner as well to help.

THE DAVID BECKHAM EFFECT
My wife is a hair stylist. She has to deal with 100 dudes bringing in pictures of David Beckham, male perfection, and demanding their hair too look like his. Well, tough shit Jr, you don’t have the same hair type as Mr. Beckham. You can’t make your hair type change to EXACTLY match what he has. The same will happen with your beard. You will see 1000 pictures of a ‘sick beard’ when you type that shit into google but it won’t be what yours will look like. Which leads me to…

FIND YOUR BEARD SHAPE
EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE has a different beard. Find your shape. This is something that even as a beard veteran you will have a hard time coming to terms with. I rarely have beard envy and when I do, it’s usually over someone who has a comp
letely different type of grow/hair type as me. I have a curly, coarse, thick, red beard. So when I see joblo with a slick, straight, shaped beard, of course I get envious. But this was the card I was dealt and I have to deal with them.

DO NOT BE AFRAID TO TRIM
Should you trim? Yes. After a good amount of time some of your hairs will be like FUCK THIS FACE, I’M OUT and leave the rest of your beautiful beard high and dry. Well, say peace out those hairs and cut. them. Once you think you found a shape you like, don’t be afraid to trim that beast. Get the fly-always and split ends, both of which are going to be impossible to avoid. Finding a good beard shape and length will help your beard fill in on spots you may have thought weren’t going to originally. I always used scissors and never use my clippers, I’ve always felt it was a safer route than facing a potential fuck up for being a huge spaz.image1-2

 

Hope some of these tips help you newbies out and cheers my bearded brothers!

Review by Distinguished Ruffian member @Whiskeyfe

McClelland Tobacco Company’s Blackwoods Flake

McClelland1Blackwoods Flake… This is a very interesting smoke, it is complex but at the same time it is simple… I know, I know oxymoron. Here’s what I mean you can taste all sorts of things as you smoke it, but by the end of the smoke and the aftertaste is straight up creamy butter (and it is great!)

Ok so opening the tin up it is the standard ketchupMcClelland2 vinegar smell of this brand. The first light was of hay and nuts. The second light was even better it was a buttery nut kind of taste. I sat back and started my relaxing session. This entailed some reading, and stopping here and there to get taste of what the smoke was like. By ten minutes in I was experiencing pecans and butter; it reminded me my childhood and my love for roasted pecans.

Half way through it was like having a bowl of nuts, stone fruits, and raisins it was just continuing to get better and better as time progressed on. The baccy does tend to smoke a little hot but this is because of the sugar content, if you go slowly it won’t bite at all. I also noticed that the slower you went the more complex the smoke was. The last bit of the smoke was reminiscent of dates and cream; it was a really nice way to finish off the smoke. I did end up with a little bit of tongue bite but it wasn’t too serious at all. I think everyone who like Virginia based tobaccos should try this.

McClelland3

Pipe used- Old School pipes Oval Shanked stubby Billiard

Tobacco age- 2 months

Notes

Tin- Standard ketchup vinegar

Room note- mild

Nicotine- low to low medium

I give this smoke a 4.5 pints of 5.

Website: McClellandTobacco.com

 

Reviewed by- @scottishruffian13