Thanks Frank I knew you were my fav. LOL if you are ever out West, let me know and a shave is yours, Gratis
The Shaving Cadre
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Not quite Music City USA
- Thread starter fhalden
- Start date
fhalden
"Like BarberDave… I make my own fun”
I'm in Tennessee. I was born in West Tennessee, raised in the mountains of East Tennessee, and after living for 30 years in Maryland, am back in Tennessee. I'm not particularly happy about that, but it is what it is.
I know of two soap makers in Tennessee: Lakewood and Hendrix Classics & Co. I've never tried Hendrix. It just never intrigued me, and their model of an unscented base with an assortment of scent oils, looks to me like a small bottle to find a place for. I've seen it praised.
Lakewood, I collect. She's in East Tennessee, where I grew up, and her vibe is very Smoky Mountains, which is a favorite place of mine. I have 14 tubs, so I'll never run out. It's all the same base, except for one limited edition, and it's not my favorite base, but it does just fine. I'm not that preoccupied with the extreme subtleties that might differentiate bases. At least not for a while now.
So I guess Lakewood Soap Company is the only soap I bought out of solidarity with my regional heritage.
But that is not why I might actually recommend her soap. In fact, of the 14, I'll recommend one: Smokeberry. Smokeberry is exactly what its name describes - a blackberry scent, with smoke. It's one of my favorite scents, right up there with CBL Roasted Oatmeal Stout and PAA Tribute.
So, I rarely recommend anything, as tastes vary so widely, but Smokeberry, by Lakewood Soap Company, is a very good base with a great combo of fruitiness and smoke. I recommend it.
I'm cutting the size of my soap collection by 60%, but I'm keeping all my Lakewood Soap. I should probably never run out. My goal is to have a collection of 150 soaps that I'll be happy enjoying from here on out. That means Lakewood alone will be almost 10% of my collection.
I want to PIF some of this soap here, if I can figure out how and where to do it.
Cheers everyone!
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
I know of two soap makers in Tennessee: Lakewood and Hendrix Classics & Co. I've never tried Hendrix. It just never intrigued me, and their model of an unscented base with an assortment of scent oils, looks to me like a small bottle to find a place for. I've seen it praised.
Lakewood, I collect. She's in East Tennessee, where I grew up, and her vibe is very Smoky Mountains, which is a favorite place of mine. I have 14 tubs, so I'll never run out. It's all the same base, except for one limited edition, and it's not my favorite base, but it does just fine. I'm not that preoccupied with the extreme subtleties that might differentiate bases. At least not for a while now.
So I guess Lakewood Soap Company is the only soap I bought out of solidarity with my regional heritage.
But that is not why I might actually recommend her soap. In fact, of the 14, I'll recommend one: Smokeberry. Smokeberry is exactly what its name describes - a blackberry scent, with smoke. It's one of my favorite scents, right up there with CBL Roasted Oatmeal Stout and PAA Tribute.
So, I rarely recommend anything, as tastes vary so widely, but Smokeberry, by Lakewood Soap Company, is a very good base with a great combo of fruitiness and smoke. I recommend it.
I'm cutting the size of my soap collection by 60%, but I'm keeping all my Lakewood Soap. I should probably never run out. My goal is to have a collection of 150 soaps that I'll be happy enjoying from here on out. That means Lakewood alone will be almost 10% of my collection.
I want to PIF some of this soap here, if I can figure out how and where to do it.
Cheers everyone!
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
fhalden
"Like BarberDave… I make my own fun”
April 21, 2023
Today's shave:
Razor: Karve Overlander Stainless Steel
Blade: Personna Platinum Israeli Red
Brush: Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Astraleus
Lather: Floris No. 89
Aftershave: Floris No. 89
Additional Care:
Quinn's Pink Grapefruit and Orange Rind Witch Hazel Toner
Osma Tradition Alum Block
The emergence of Artisans making soap and splash, and my exploration of those wares, resulted in some purchases I wouldn't make again. In fact, I've got a drawerful of oily, greasy splashes I don't really care for. Soap makers are not necessarily good splash formulators. So there's a risk there. I think it's the same with perfumers who market a soap. It's just a chance that the soap will be perfunctory at best.
But I've settled on a few scents that I want to really enjoy for the whole process, shower onward, so for Floris #89, Caswell-Massey Number 6, and the SV offerings, I got bath gel/soap, splash, and EdT. Number 6 doesn't have a shave soap, alas.
When I first heard of Karve, all Hell was breaking loose around them, due to what I believe was a new small business owner making an offer he couldn't fulfill, due to inexperience. Things looked iffy there for a while, but over the last couple of years, things seem to be going smoothly, and they released the Overlander, which is a real pleasure to use. Every Karve has such a lovely feel when screwing on the handle.
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
Today's shave:
Razor: Karve Overlander Stainless Steel
Blade: Personna Platinum Israeli Red
Brush: Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Astraleus
Lather: Floris No. 89
Aftershave: Floris No. 89
Additional Care:
Quinn's Pink Grapefruit and Orange Rind Witch Hazel Toner
Osma Tradition Alum Block
The emergence of Artisans making soap and splash, and my exploration of those wares, resulted in some purchases I wouldn't make again. In fact, I've got a drawerful of oily, greasy splashes I don't really care for. Soap makers are not necessarily good splash formulators. So there's a risk there. I think it's the same with perfumers who market a soap. It's just a chance that the soap will be perfunctory at best.
But I've settled on a few scents that I want to really enjoy for the whole process, shower onward, so for Floris #89, Caswell-Massey Number 6, and the SV offerings, I got bath gel/soap, splash, and EdT. Number 6 doesn't have a shave soap, alas.
When I first heard of Karve, all Hell was breaking loose around them, due to what I believe was a new small business owner making an offer he couldn't fulfill, due to inexperience. Things looked iffy there for a while, but over the last couple of years, things seem to be going smoothly, and they released the Overlander, which is a real pleasure to use. Every Karve has such a lovely feel when screwing on the handle.
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
fhalden
"Like BarberDave… I make my own fun”
Today's Shave
Razor: Wolfman WR2 1.05
Blade: Personna Platinum Israeli Red
Brush: Simpson Chubby 2 Super Badger
Lather: Saponificio Varesino Stella Alpina
Aftershave: Saponificio Varesino Stella Alpina
Additional Care:
Humphreys Maravilla
Osma Tradition Alum Block
One thing about SV that's charming is the slight irregularities in the packaging. There are 12 soaps currently available. 11 come in aluminum tubs. 1 is only available as an uncontained puck. Some aftershaves are in tall bottles, some small. Some are embossed with a medal, two have a label, and one is in glass. The shower gels are consistent.
Stella Alpina touts beneficial extracts, and I love the way it smells, but it's in the Alder SV lathering bowl, so it and the bowl, and the bowl liner get rinsed and dried after use. It's an extra little task I'm not always in the mood for, so this soap doesn't get the use it might if it were with the other soaps, and similarly contained.
These aren't defects in the product by any means. It's kind of cool. And man, does Stella Alpina smell good!!
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
Razor: Wolfman WR2 1.05
Blade: Personna Platinum Israeli Red
Brush: Simpson Chubby 2 Super Badger
Lather: Saponificio Varesino Stella Alpina
Aftershave: Saponificio Varesino Stella Alpina
Additional Care:
Humphreys Maravilla
Osma Tradition Alum Block
One thing about SV that's charming is the slight irregularities in the packaging. There are 12 soaps currently available. 11 come in aluminum tubs. 1 is only available as an uncontained puck. Some aftershaves are in tall bottles, some small. Some are embossed with a medal, two have a label, and one is in glass. The shower gels are consistent.
Stella Alpina touts beneficial extracts, and I love the way it smells, but it's in the Alder SV lathering bowl, so it and the bowl, and the bowl liner get rinsed and dried after use. It's an extra little task I'm not always in the mood for, so this soap doesn't get the use it might if it were with the other soaps, and similarly contained.
These aren't defects in the product by any means. It's kind of cool. And man, does Stella Alpina smell good!!
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
Don't see these razors very often. I can remember people bemoaning how infrequently they were available. The price was enough to keep me away, never mind the scarcity. Good looking instrument.
fhalden
"Like BarberDave… I make my own fun”
Thank you! I wouldn't have been in the market for one at the price for a new one. I found this used, and worked out a trade for some soap and a couple of vintage razors that got it in my budget, although the rest of the year was mostly a sabbatical!
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
fhalden
"Like BarberDave… I make my own fun”
Today's shave:
Razor: Above The Tie Windsor SSRH w/Atlas handle
Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
Brush: Simpson Persian Jar PJ2 Manchurian
Pre-Shave: Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Cube (Mentholated)
Lather: Ethos Succes
Aftershave: Ethos Succes Skin Food Splash
Additional Care:
Humphreys Maravilla
Osma Tradition Alum Block
The Windsor is really the size razor that works best in Stainless Steel. By works best, I mean that it isn't an inertial beast like the Timeless, which was just too heavy for me. But the Windsor is a great feeling weight, and a well balanced razor overall. And I love the simple design and satin finish.
This was a very pleasant shave.
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
Razor: Above The Tie Windsor SSRH w/Atlas handle
Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
Brush: Simpson Persian Jar PJ2 Manchurian
Pre-Shave: Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Cube (Mentholated)
Lather: Ethos Succes
Aftershave: Ethos Succes Skin Food Splash
Additional Care:
Humphreys Maravilla
Osma Tradition Alum Block
The Windsor is really the size razor that works best in Stainless Steel. By works best, I mean that it isn't an inertial beast like the Timeless, which was just too heavy for me. But the Windsor is a great feeling weight, and a well balanced razor overall. And I love the simple design and satin finish.
This was a very pleasant shave.
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
GearNoir
“The Disney Princess’s Apprentice”
Hah! That’s a good descriptor for heft
fhalden
"Like BarberDave… I make my own fun”
Today's Shave, April 25, 2023
Razor: Charcoal Goods Level 2
Blade: Wizamet Super Iridium
Brush: Simpson Chubby 3 Manchurian (Faux Sapphire)
Lather: Zingari Man The Master
Aftershave: Shulton Old Spice Aftershave
Additional Care:
Humphreys Maravilla
Osma Tradition Alum Block
The Master, in the Sego base, by Zingari Man, advertises itself on the lid as a Dark Spicy Barbershop. Okay. I'm into Spice, if it's Old Spice spices, and Dark can mean anything from Smoky to Caramel to Decay. It wasn't a deal breaker. And the word Barbershop as a description of a scent, no longer conveys any information to me. So many crazy scents are "takes," on Barbershop, it doesn't mean anything. My personal true "Barbershop" scent is Pinaud Clubman, which was the powder and aftershave at my childhood barber. So the term refers to a single scent to me personally. It used to be that it could mean powder or fougére, and Old Spice, I've learned through the years, was used at countless barbershops. So Zingari Man The Master is paired here with Shulton Old Spice because of the spice connection, not the barbershop connection. There's a style of soap, broadly speaking, that's emerged in the last 5-10 years, maybe starting with Catie's Bubbles, and devoping into the almost syrupy "low-structure" lather of A&E, B&M, and Zingari Man's Sego.
To me, these soaps can be almost greasy feeling.
Zingari is the exception. Sego, on my face, rinses as clean as MdC or Cella or SV.
I appreciate the thick slickness these American soaps have sort of trailblazed, with all the fats added. It's an option I have. I'm getting rid of all but 4 A&E soaps. All but 4 B&M. I'm keeping all 20 Zingari Man soaps. As I go through this purge, here are the vendors who have made it through to the permanent collection unscathed:
SV
Pannacrema Nuavia
Lakewood Soap Company
Zingari Man.
Some soaps are in storage I haven't gotten to yet. It's a process, but I'm liking how I'm feeling about the prospects of a much smaller, deeply curated collection of soaps.
The Charcoal Goods Level 2, the only Level I've tried, is a fine razor. There isn't anything remarkable about the shaving, in my experience. It is the only razor I use primarily because it is a pretty razor. I'll peruse my razors before my shower, and every now and then, Brass will catch my eye.
There are Tik Tok shaving videos. I'm not installing that app, so I haven't seen them. Has anyone else?
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
Razor: Charcoal Goods Level 2
Blade: Wizamet Super Iridium
Brush: Simpson Chubby 3 Manchurian (Faux Sapphire)
Lather: Zingari Man The Master
Aftershave: Shulton Old Spice Aftershave
Additional Care:
Humphreys Maravilla
Osma Tradition Alum Block
The Master, in the Sego base, by Zingari Man, advertises itself on the lid as a Dark Spicy Barbershop. Okay. I'm into Spice, if it's Old Spice spices, and Dark can mean anything from Smoky to Caramel to Decay. It wasn't a deal breaker. And the word Barbershop as a description of a scent, no longer conveys any information to me. So many crazy scents are "takes," on Barbershop, it doesn't mean anything. My personal true "Barbershop" scent is Pinaud Clubman, which was the powder and aftershave at my childhood barber. So the term refers to a single scent to me personally. It used to be that it could mean powder or fougére, and Old Spice, I've learned through the years, was used at countless barbershops. So Zingari Man The Master is paired here with Shulton Old Spice because of the spice connection, not the barbershop connection. There's a style of soap, broadly speaking, that's emerged in the last 5-10 years, maybe starting with Catie's Bubbles, and devoping into the almost syrupy "low-structure" lather of A&E, B&M, and Zingari Man's Sego.
To me, these soaps can be almost greasy feeling.
Zingari is the exception. Sego, on my face, rinses as clean as MdC or Cella or SV.
I appreciate the thick slickness these American soaps have sort of trailblazed, with all the fats added. It's an option I have. I'm getting rid of all but 4 A&E soaps. All but 4 B&M. I'm keeping all 20 Zingari Man soaps. As I go through this purge, here are the vendors who have made it through to the permanent collection unscathed:
SV
Pannacrema Nuavia
Lakewood Soap Company
Zingari Man.
Some soaps are in storage I haven't gotten to yet. It's a process, but I'm liking how I'm feeling about the prospects of a much smaller, deeply curated collection of soaps.
The Charcoal Goods Level 2, the only Level I've tried, is a fine razor. There isn't anything remarkable about the shaving, in my experience. It is the only razor I use primarily because it is a pretty razor. I'll peruse my razors before my shower, and every now and then, Brass will catch my eye.
There are Tik Tok shaving videos. I'm not installing that app, so I haven't seen them. Has anyone else?
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
GearNoir
“The Disney Princess’s Apprentice”
Didn’t know that! Never seen hide nor hair of one and I go through the app fairly regularly. I guess I’ve never specifically searched for a shaving one though.
fhalden
"Like BarberDave… I make my own fun”
Please let me know what you find. I'm not installing the app, but I am interested in the format. I imagine it might be a concentrated stream of commentary from a 19 year old shaving expert influencer. But I have no idea.
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
fhalden
"Like BarberDave… I make my own fun”
Today's shave:
Razor: Carbon Cx-316L
Blade: Personna Platinum Israeli Red
Brush: Omega Evo
Pre-Shave: Proraso Green
Lather: Speick Shaving Cream
Aftershave: Speick Aftershave
Additional Care:
Humphreys Maravilla
Osma Tradition Alum Block
So there I am, all those years ago, a shaving newbie, with mantic59 on one shoulder, warning me away from alcohol aftershaves, and various others on my other shoulder, saying Speick is good for my skin. I love alcohol splashes, so mantic59 went unheeded,
...and that has made all the difference.
The quality of the lather I made from this cream was astounding. I may make May a "rediscover creams" month. We'll see if I remember!
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
Razor: Carbon Cx-316L
Blade: Personna Platinum Israeli Red
Brush: Omega Evo
Pre-Shave: Proraso Green
Lather: Speick Shaving Cream
Aftershave: Speick Aftershave
Additional Care:
Humphreys Maravilla
Osma Tradition Alum Block
So there I am, all those years ago, a shaving newbie, with mantic59 on one shoulder, warning me away from alcohol aftershaves, and various others on my other shoulder, saying Speick is good for my skin. I love alcohol splashes, so mantic59 went unheeded,
...and that has made all the difference.
The quality of the lather I made from this cream was astounding. I may make May a "rediscover creams" month. We'll see if I remember!
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
woodpusher
TSC’s International Man of Meh
Speick-tacular!!
fhalden
"Like BarberDave… I make my own fun”
It's a shame when big names in one's wetshaving journey bow out of the scene. I was sorry to see that Above The Tie is calling it quits. I admired them from afar for years, and I'm very glad I finally marked this item off my bucket list.
Today's shave:
Razor: Above The Tie Windsor SSRH w/Atlas handle
Blade: Gillette Nacet Stainless
Brush: Simpson Keyhole KH4
Lather: Saponificio Varesino Tundra Arctica
Aftershave: Saponificio Varesino Tundra Arctica
Additional Care:
Humphreys Maravilla
Osma Tradition Alum Block
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
Today's shave:
Razor: Above The Tie Windsor SSRH w/Atlas handle
Blade: Gillette Nacet Stainless
Brush: Simpson Keyhole KH4
Lather: Saponificio Varesino Tundra Arctica
Aftershave: Saponificio Varesino Tundra Arctica
Additional Care:
Humphreys Maravilla
Osma Tradition Alum Block
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk