Lol I’m still in country. Just not sure which country...Haven't seen @Smattayu lately. I think he fled the country with my Vector
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Strike Gold Shaving Pass Around
- Thread starter dkeester
- Start date
Ok, A quick summary of my experience with Strike Gold so far.
My two favorite scents from initial sniffs were Rushmore and Old Hickory, and I have since shaved with each of those, though I will try the other three while I have them here.
Scent
Rushmore: I used both soaps before checking any description of scent notes, and Rushmore is my immediate favorite out of all of them. I get a fresh fruit blast of citrus and apple, with cinnamon and a little woodsiness(maybe some pine notes in there as well?) in the background. The pine scent came out more during the shave, and it smelled amazing the whole way through.
Old Hickory: This one was tougher to nail individual notes down. It strikes me as the most unisex out of all of them, and it has some really nice citrus and florals up front with some woodsiness at the base.
Latherability: This soap is really easy to lather, and seems to have a pretty wide water band. The lather was dense and yogurty, just the way I like it. I've only used a synthetic knot so far, but will be using both boar and badger for upcoming shaves.
Lather Stability: The lather stayed stable throughout the entire shave with no discernible breakdown.
Slickness: These soaps are plenty slick enough for a DE, though the real test will be the next few shaves with the Feather SS and traditional straight.
I used my Rockwell 6c with a Wizamet blade for both shaves. A three pass BBS was achieved both times, though I was a little heavy handed on the first shave and there was some irritation. I chalk that up to user error. I used Pitralon Classic aftershave after both, and it went nicely with both soaps, though it was a better match with Rushmore. It will require more testing to discover whether I'll pull the trigger or not, though I'm tempted to get a tub of Rushmore just because I love the scent so much.
My two favorite scents from initial sniffs were Rushmore and Old Hickory, and I have since shaved with each of those, though I will try the other three while I have them here.
Scent
Rushmore: I used both soaps before checking any description of scent notes, and Rushmore is my immediate favorite out of all of them. I get a fresh fruit blast of citrus and apple, with cinnamon and a little woodsiness(maybe some pine notes in there as well?) in the background. The pine scent came out more during the shave, and it smelled amazing the whole way through.
Old Hickory: This one was tougher to nail individual notes down. It strikes me as the most unisex out of all of them, and it has some really nice citrus and florals up front with some woodsiness at the base.
Latherability: This soap is really easy to lather, and seems to have a pretty wide water band. The lather was dense and yogurty, just the way I like it. I've only used a synthetic knot so far, but will be using both boar and badger for upcoming shaves.
Lather Stability: The lather stayed stable throughout the entire shave with no discernible breakdown.
Slickness: These soaps are plenty slick enough for a DE, though the real test will be the next few shaves with the Feather SS and traditional straight.
I used my Rockwell 6c with a Wizamet blade for both shaves. A three pass BBS was achieved both times, though I was a little heavy handed on the first shave and there was some irritation. I chalk that up to user error. I used Pitralon Classic aftershave after both, and it went nicely with both soaps, though it was a better match with Rushmore. It will require more testing to discover whether I'll pull the trigger or not, though I'm tempted to get a tub of Rushmore just because I love the scent so much.
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Nice review Eric
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Apparently he's taking a break according to his Etsy page.......
They likely moved all their selling activity to their site page.
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
I see it now, Thanks Don
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Out of stock on a lot of stuff............
Well then...maybe they are taking a break. Or maybe they are just stocking up. Either way...they have a pretty big following on Instagram.
Razor: Feather SS
Blade: ProGuard
Brush: Rudy Vey badger
Soap: Strike Gold Shave Nixon
Aftershave: CF Trade Winds
EDP: Boucheron Pour Homme
Third shave with the Strike Gold soaps. I used Nixon this time, and from the second I popped the lid until the end of the shave all I smelled was lemon. It was a good mix of tart and sweet, and my mouth actually started watering a little at the first sniff lol. This soap seemed a bit more suited to the badger, and the lather I ended up with was a step above what I've been able to coax from the synthetic. I brought my A-game with the Feather, and three passes left me with a stellar BBS. A hefty glug of Trade Winds gave me a nice face freeze for a few minutes, and a couple sprays of Boucheron brought me home with a smile. This was one of my first full bottle frag purchases, and it is great juice.
This shave definitely raised my rating of these soaps. Whether it was just that it worked better with a badger or that I have improved my lathering technique from using it a few times, I'm not sure yet. This particular scent is probably my second favorite after Rushmore, and I could see using it a lot in the summer.
Blade: ProGuard
Brush: Rudy Vey badger
Soap: Strike Gold Shave Nixon
Aftershave: CF Trade Winds
EDP: Boucheron Pour Homme
Third shave with the Strike Gold soaps. I used Nixon this time, and from the second I popped the lid until the end of the shave all I smelled was lemon. It was a good mix of tart and sweet, and my mouth actually started watering a little at the first sniff lol. This soap seemed a bit more suited to the badger, and the lather I ended up with was a step above what I've been able to coax from the synthetic. I brought my A-game with the Feather, and three passes left me with a stellar BBS. A hefty glug of Trade Winds gave me a nice face freeze for a few minutes, and a couple sprays of Boucheron brought me home with a smile. This was one of my first full bottle frag purchases, and it is great juice.
This shave definitely raised my rating of these soaps. Whether it was just that it worked better with a badger or that I have improved my lathering technique from using it a few times, I'm not sure yet. This particular scent is probably my second favorite after Rushmore, and I could see using it a lot in the summer.
Razor: Feather SS
Blade: Proline
Brush: Rudy Vey w/Shavemac badger
Soap: Strike Gold Shave Teddy
Aftershave: Speick
EDP: Amouage Sunshine Man
Shave #4 with Strike Gold soaps, and I used Teddy this time. I get lavender right up front, and some spice and floral in the background. It's a nice scent, though my least favorite of the four I've used so far.
The results I got with the badger last time were good enough for a repeat. The lather came out just as great as with the previous shave, and I'm getting more impressed with this soap. Three passes left me with a BBS, but there was a price paid in irritation and a few weepers, which had more to do with the blade than the soap. A hefty splash of Speick burned a bit at the start, but soothed everything nicely and all was well with the world. One last shave tomorrow and I'll be sending it on. There is at least one scent in this soap that I will be buying for certain, possibly two.
Blade: Proline
Brush: Rudy Vey w/Shavemac badger
Soap: Strike Gold Shave Teddy
Aftershave: Speick
EDP: Amouage Sunshine Man
Shave #4 with Strike Gold soaps, and I used Teddy this time. I get lavender right up front, and some spice and floral in the background. It's a nice scent, though my least favorite of the four I've used so far.
The results I got with the badger last time were good enough for a repeat. The lather came out just as great as with the previous shave, and I'm getting more impressed with this soap. Three passes left me with a BBS, but there was a price paid in irritation and a few weepers, which had more to do with the blade than the soap. A hefty splash of Speick burned a bit at the start, but soothed everything nicely and all was well with the world. One last shave tomorrow and I'll be sending it on. There is at least one scent in this soap that I will be buying for certain, possibly two.
dkeester
"TSC's Master of Bourbon"
Great shaves, Eric! I am glad that the soap is working so well for you.
For those of you looking to acquire some of this, WCS does stock the soap and the AS splash. All the scents in the pass around are available there. The artisan has a few other scents on his web store.
For those of you looking to acquire some of this, WCS does stock the soap and the AS splash. All the scents in the pass around are available there. The artisan has a few other scents on his web store.
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Good to know Doug, Thanks
2. ShavePastor
3. ED3054
4.
5. Dave in KY (in transit)
6. Bill In Oneida
7. bobmsp
8. Maryland998
9. dangerousdon
Razor: Ralf Aust
Brush: Stirling boar
Soap: Strike Gold Shave Kennedy
Aftershave: Pitralon Classic
Last shave with these soaps was with Kennedy. I used my Ralf Aust straight razor and the Stirling boar brush. The shave went very well, with three passes and a bit of clean up giving me a DFS+. This soap is plenty slick enough for a straight razor, and I enjoyed the scent. It actually reminds me a lot of Jeeves of Hudson Street Conservatory. I PIFed my tub of that soap away some time back, but the first sniff of Kennedy brought Conservatory immediately to mind.
All in all I found Strike Gold soaps to be of very good quality. I will absolutely be purchasing Rushmore, and possibly Nixon.
I sent them out to @Dave in KY this morning. Thanks for the chance to try these soaps, Doug!
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Arrived safely and my 1st thought was why the BIG box when we could use an $8 priority mailer. Upon opening a huge bag of containers for taking a sample, very cool as I don't know if I'll get to all 5 before the soap library arrives too. Thanks Doug for doing this.
Initial thoughts are actually different than what I expected from reading about them. I thought Old Hickory would be my top pick from reading and others thoughts but don't think that's the case. I'll let them warm up before I give an initial impression on them all. Back again soon.......well eventually
Initial thoughts are actually different than what I expected from reading about them. I thought Old Hickory would be my top pick from reading and others thoughts but don't think that's the case. I'll let them warm up before I give an initial impression on them all. Back again soon.......well eventually
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Okay Initial thoughts from the tubs.
Like and may want to buy from most likely 1st: Rushmore, Kennedy and maybe Nixon
Decent but not a likely purchase : Teddy with the one I thought would be my top pick being a dead last and no interest = Old Hickory. This is exactly why these passes are so cool and worth the entry fee of postage. It reminds me of something and it's not unpleasant but I just don't find it compelling for a soap purchase.............. WOW, did I really say that. May start with this one tommorow.
Like and may want to buy from most likely 1st: Rushmore, Kennedy and maybe Nixon
Decent but not a likely purchase : Teddy with the one I thought would be my top pick being a dead last and no interest = Old Hickory. This is exactly why these passes are so cool and worth the entry fee of postage. It reminds me of something and it's not unpleasant but I just don't find it compelling for a soap purchase.............. WOW, did I really say that. May start with this one tommorow.
dkeester
"TSC's Master of Bourbon"
I initially thought it was going to be fun to read everyone's takes on the soaps, but it is even more enjoyable than I initially thought.
This is tons of fun for me, and totally worth setting up. I may have to do another one some day.
Looking forward to your impressions, @Dave in KY.
This is tons of fun for me, and totally worth setting up. I may have to do another one some day.
Looking forward to your impressions, @Dave in KY.