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SHAVEWIZARD'S THOUGHTS
- Thread starter Shavewizard420
- Start date
Yea Don their marketplace is a cool idea. Donald Younger from Wet The Face has a similar marketplace where he sells soaps he used for reviews. Have bought used soaps from both and have yet to have any issues.
The Celtic graffics are neat and is actually what brought them to my attention. Saw someone's SOTD post and figured it was worth trying.
Just wait Chad, your wishlist will continue to grow lol. Tons of great artisans out there, so little time.
1-27
Prep: Pre Shave Soap Mix
Razor: Wilkinson Sticky
Blade: Gillette Black
Brush: Maggard 30mm Synthetic
Soap: Grandstaff- Amyris
Post: Pinaud Special Reserve
pretty imbarassed it took so long to get to these next 2 artisans. perhaps its cause i saved the best for last as their customer service is way above and beyond expectations.
Grandstaff Soaps come in a huge 8oz tin sinilar to the old HTGAM tins or Soap Smooth War Blend. Nice big film reel tins that are easy to stack and are a nice chunk of soap.
Scent of Amyris is very complex. Woodsy floral, i detect the benzoin or Petitgrain something along those lines. Its a nice scent and the nice thing about Grandstaff is that his scents are pretty original (similar to Ballenclaugh or B&M) and he uses a few interesting notes to make something a bit different.
Performance is very good. Whips up a thick lather with no issues, not overly thirsty but did not break down either. Shave went well and was refreshing. Finished off with Special Reserve. Had to change my shirt a few hours later as the scent was way overpowering just from a few sprays hahaha.
1-28
Prep: Occams Crushed Lime pre shave soap
Razor: Wilkinson Sword Classic
Brush: Maggard 24mm Synthetic
Soap: MER Shaving- Duck Sauce
Post: Stirling Arkadia balm
Excellent shave this morning with Duck Sauce. MER Shaving is a Etsy store ran by Dave who is a great guy who aparently watches the fourms quite closely. He offers any scent in menthol and offers a Duck Fat base which is this particular one.
Duck Sauce is a Orange Ginger scent, mostly Orange IMO with a light Ginger background. Scent strength is about a 7.5/10 and is quite strong.
Soap lathers easy and quick. not too thirsty even less so than the Grandstaff, so not much water required for a decent lather. In fact MER seems to perform best when it is not flooded (same with Wild West) which is just my simple observation. Managed a decent shave but did get a papercut slice on my neck from a bit of carelessness. The Stirling Arkadia smells exactly like L'Orange Noir and helped seal things up a bit. Hope everyone is in good health and getting great shaves!
Prep: Pre Shave Soap Mix
Razor: Wilkinson Sticky
Blade: Gillette Black
Brush: Maggard 30mm Synthetic
Soap: Grandstaff- Amyris
Post: Pinaud Special Reserve
pretty imbarassed it took so long to get to these next 2 artisans. perhaps its cause i saved the best for last as their customer service is way above and beyond expectations.
Grandstaff Soaps come in a huge 8oz tin sinilar to the old HTGAM tins or Soap Smooth War Blend. Nice big film reel tins that are easy to stack and are a nice chunk of soap.
Scent of Amyris is very complex. Woodsy floral, i detect the benzoin or Petitgrain something along those lines. Its a nice scent and the nice thing about Grandstaff is that his scents are pretty original (similar to Ballenclaugh or B&M) and he uses a few interesting notes to make something a bit different.
Performance is very good. Whips up a thick lather with no issues, not overly thirsty but did not break down either. Shave went well and was refreshing. Finished off with Special Reserve. Had to change my shirt a few hours later as the scent was way overpowering just from a few sprays hahaha.
1-28
Prep: Occams Crushed Lime pre shave soap
Razor: Wilkinson Sword Classic
Brush: Maggard 24mm Synthetic
Soap: MER Shaving- Duck Sauce
Post: Stirling Arkadia balm
Excellent shave this morning with Duck Sauce. MER Shaving is a Etsy store ran by Dave who is a great guy who aparently watches the fourms quite closely. He offers any scent in menthol and offers a Duck Fat base which is this particular one.
Duck Sauce is a Orange Ginger scent, mostly Orange IMO with a light Ginger background. Scent strength is about a 7.5/10 and is quite strong.
Soap lathers easy and quick. not too thirsty even less so than the Grandstaff, so not much water required for a decent lather. In fact MER seems to perform best when it is not flooded (same with Wild West) which is just my simple observation. Managed a decent shave but did get a papercut slice on my neck from a bit of carelessness. The Stirling Arkadia smells exactly like L'Orange Noir and helped seal things up a bit. Hope everyone is in good health and getting great shaves!
SteveChuckFrank
Close Enough*
Nice couple of shaves there Brad! You seem to have an endless supply of soaps I haven’t heard of before ???
Nice couple of shaves there Brad! You seem to have an endless supply of soaps I haven’t heard of before
Lol thanks Steve! Yeah there are tons of artisans that don't get the airtime like more common ones such as B&M or Stirling, but the performance of some of them can compete with the best of em.
I love QCS. I'm down to my last puck of Queen Charlotte. I may use it next.
I love QCS. I'm down to my last puck of Queen Charlotte. I may use it next.
Its great stuff Bruce, although if your down to yur last puck you already know the deal with WCS. What is the scent like on Queen Charoltte? Isnt that their Bay Rum scent?
1-30
Razor: Wilkinson Sword Classic
Blade: Gillette Black
Brush: Maggard 24mm Synthetic
Soap: Summer Break Soaps- Back To School
Post: Florida Water
Excellent shave this morning. Summer Break Soaps has a great soap base and it provided for a swell shave. Plenty of slickness and the lather took a ton of water without breaking down.
Scent of Back To School is described as dry leaves with ozone type notes. certainly canenvision that, my GF says it smells like Paste but to my nose it smellsalmost like Play-Doh but can detect the Elmers Glue she mentioned. Its different from most other Fall scents and is one that has grown on me over time despite not liking it at first. Scentstrength is mid and not overpowering.
Managed a decent shave with no nicks or irritation. Finished off with Florida Water (with added menthol) which paired well with thesoap. Could still detect the FW a few hours later which is a good thingIMO.
Razor: Wilkinson Sword Classic
Blade: Gillette Black
Brush: Maggard 24mm Synthetic
Soap: Summer Break Soaps- Back To School
Post: Florida Water
Excellent shave this morning. Summer Break Soaps has a great soap base and it provided for a swell shave. Plenty of slickness and the lather took a ton of water without breaking down.
Scent of Back To School is described as dry leaves with ozone type notes. certainly canenvision that, my GF says it smells like Paste but to my nose it smellsalmost like Play-Doh but can detect the Elmers Glue she mentioned. Its different from most other Fall scents and is one that has grown on me over time despite not liking it at first. Scentstrength is mid and not overpowering.
Managed a decent shave with no nicks or irritation. Finished off with Florida Water (with added menthol) which paired well with thesoap. Could still detect the FW a few hours later which is a good thingIMO.
SteveChuckFrank
Close Enough*
Haha Play-Doh with a hint of Elmer’s. Sounds...interesting.
An elementary school scented soap...whatever floats your boat Bruce! Lol
Hahahaha yeah its a bit different thats for sure. This scent is actually a lot better than i made it sound lol, perhaps its the leaves that are bringing out that comparision.
I would call it their version of a Barbershop scent. A rich, complex blend of I don't know what, but I like it.
What about WCS? I'd better go check them out.
Oops sorry meant to say QCS instead of WCS. I believe the WCS soaps r made by Oleo and the creams are CB.
Very interesting indeed! Not sure this is in my wheelhouse...but interesting nonetheless. I love picking up "novelty" scented soaps from time to time!
Oops sorry meant to say QCS instead of WCS. I believe the WCS soaps r made by Oleo and the creams are CB.
2-1
Prep: Occams Crushed Lime Pre Shave Soap
Razor: Wilkinson Sticky
Blade: Gillette Black
Brush: Razorock BC Plissoft
Soap: Stache Soapworks- Mystery Men
Post: BW Peg Leg Nichols A/S
Stache Soapworks is a company ran by Erica out of Boston. She has a utube channel discussing various products, and seems like a really cool person.
Scent of Mystery Men is very complex. Notes of: Musk, lemon, lime, bergamot, vanilla, orange, eucalyptus, black amber, clove, nutmeg, agave, rose, peach, cinnamon, gardenia, violet, patchouli, and Pine. What exactly does that smell like you may ask? for my nose it reminds me a bit of Tiki Davey Jones Locker but more complex, i detect the lime and citrus notes but it is pretty well blended and hard to pick out individual notes. Another comparision that comes to mind is WK Lav Sublime Concerto, it is fresh clean and deep. Most of the Stache Soapworks scents are fairly complex and use notes that are not as common with other artisans.
Performance is decent. Whipped up a thick lather that likes a lot of water. Soap is loaded with skin friendly ingredients and butters. Shave went well with no major issues. Finished off with Peg Leg Nichols which is almost empty and should be done after 1 more use. The bottom of this bottle is very concentrated, thick and oily with a nice menthol kick!
Prep: Occams Crushed Lime Pre Shave Soap
Razor: Wilkinson Sticky
Blade: Gillette Black
Brush: Razorock BC Plissoft
Soap: Stache Soapworks- Mystery Men
Post: BW Peg Leg Nichols A/S
Stache Soapworks is a company ran by Erica out of Boston. She has a utube channel discussing various products, and seems like a really cool person.
Scent of Mystery Men is very complex. Notes of: Musk, lemon, lime, bergamot, vanilla, orange, eucalyptus, black amber, clove, nutmeg, agave, rose, peach, cinnamon, gardenia, violet, patchouli, and Pine. What exactly does that smell like you may ask? for my nose it reminds me a bit of Tiki Davey Jones Locker but more complex, i detect the lime and citrus notes but it is pretty well blended and hard to pick out individual notes. Another comparision that comes to mind is WK Lav Sublime Concerto, it is fresh clean and deep. Most of the Stache Soapworks scents are fairly complex and use notes that are not as common with other artisans.
Performance is decent. Whipped up a thick lather that likes a lot of water. Soap is loaded with skin friendly ingredients and butters. Shave went well with no major issues. Finished off with Peg Leg Nichols which is almost empty and should be done after 1 more use. The bottom of this bottle is very concentrated, thick and oily with a nice menthol kick!
2-2
Prep: Pre Shave Soap Mix
Razor: Razorock DE1
Blade: Gillette Black
Brush: Maggard Blue & White Synthetic
Soap: Turtleship- Te Java
Post: Mickey Lee- Italian Stallion A/S Milk
Amazing top notch shave this afternoon. I have spoken about my love for Turtleship Grooming before but have no problem repeating any of it. Their soap comes in one of the best plastic tubs available IMO (along with B&M and a few others) and is a very sturdy clear plastic tub with excellent threads. Plus they sell for around $16 which is a great deal for a product of this callibur IMO.
Scent of Te Java is a Honey Tea scent. I detect more of a Honey vibe from it but does not smell like Honeysuckle. its on the sweet side and not what you would expect from a Tea scent, but is smells great anyways. The main complaint from Turtleship seems to be concerning their scents, but i really like their scents, especially Bay Rum and Pine although you cant go wrong with any of them.
Performance is top notch tier 1 IMO. Turtleship has one of the best ingredient lists i have ever seen: Tallow, Mango Butter, steric acid, shea butter, caster oil, jojoba oil, abyssinian oil, sweet almond oil, avacado oil, glycerin, goat milk, lanolin, raw honey, tussah silk, aloe vera, water, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, essential oils and/or fragrance. I think about the only thing missing would be Babasu oil and allatonin hahaha just kidding. These ingredients have just about everything you could ask for and provides a rediculous slickness and skin conditioning. I completely flooded the lather on the last pass, over the top too much water and it still didnt break down, very surprising. Shave was incredibly close BBs with no nicks or irritation. Finished off with MLsW Itallian Stallion Milk which is a great post shave product, can still detect hints of the scent hours later, skin feels wonderful and super stoked from the results of todays shave and hope you had a similar experience!
Prep: Pre Shave Soap Mix
Razor: Razorock DE1
Blade: Gillette Black
Brush: Maggard Blue & White Synthetic
Soap: Turtleship- Te Java
Post: Mickey Lee- Italian Stallion A/S Milk
Amazing top notch shave this afternoon. I have spoken about my love for Turtleship Grooming before but have no problem repeating any of it. Their soap comes in one of the best plastic tubs available IMO (along with B&M and a few others) and is a very sturdy clear plastic tub with excellent threads. Plus they sell for around $16 which is a great deal for a product of this callibur IMO.
Scent of Te Java is a Honey Tea scent. I detect more of a Honey vibe from it but does not smell like Honeysuckle. its on the sweet side and not what you would expect from a Tea scent, but is smells great anyways. The main complaint from Turtleship seems to be concerning their scents, but i really like their scents, especially Bay Rum and Pine although you cant go wrong with any of them.
Performance is top notch tier 1 IMO. Turtleship has one of the best ingredient lists i have ever seen: Tallow, Mango Butter, steric acid, shea butter, caster oil, jojoba oil, abyssinian oil, sweet almond oil, avacado oil, glycerin, goat milk, lanolin, raw honey, tussah silk, aloe vera, water, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, essential oils and/or fragrance. I think about the only thing missing would be Babasu oil and allatonin hahaha just kidding. These ingredients have just about everything you could ask for and provides a rediculous slickness and skin conditioning. I completely flooded the lather on the last pass, over the top too much water and it still didnt break down, very surprising. Shave was incredibly close BBs with no nicks or irritation. Finished off with MLsW Itallian Stallion Milk which is a great post shave product, can still detect hints of the scent hours later, skin feels wonderful and super stoked from the results of todays shave and hope you had a similar experience!
SteveChuckFrank
Close Enough*
Nice shaves Brad!