You guys are killing me with the Holy Black stuff! My wallet and my wife are not going to like you guys!
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The wonderful excesses of acquisition disorders...and wet shaving
- Thread starter Dagwoodz
- Start date
Oh Don... she'll understand!
I enjoyed your review of this soap over in the review section...good stuff.
The koolada that is used for the "creeper" effect is available as a vaping juice (get it without nicotine) but it takes a good amount of it to do the job because it is typically mixed with propylene glycol or some other diluent. Interesting thing about Koolada and its cousin formulas, they were originally developed by Wilkinson Sword in the 1970's. Wilkinsons Sword is responsible for at least 3 formulas currently in commercial production. Each of the three formulas produces a different kind of response ranging in how long it takes for max effect and how intense or how long the effect lasts. If i recall correctly, Koolada is made with WS-23. The better formula (slowly developing, high intensity and more longevity(like 15minutes)) is W-5. I tried to get some W-5 last year but couldn't find a source that didn't expect me to buy in too large a quantity to easily afford.
The koolada that is used for the "creeper" effect is available as a vaping juice (get it without nicotine) but it takes a good amount of it to do the job because it is typically mixed with propylene glycol or some other diluent. Interesting thing about Koolada and its cousin formulas, they were originally developed by Wilkinson Sword in the 1970's. Wilkinsons Sword is responsible for at least 3 formulas currently in commercial production. Each of the three formulas produces a different kind of response ranging in how long it takes for max effect and how intense or how long the effect lasts. If i recall correctly, Koolada is made with WS-23. The better formula (slowly developing, high intensity and more longevity(like 15minutes)) is W-5. I tried to get some W-5 last year but couldn't find a source that didn't expect me to buy in too large a quantity to easily afford.
Thanks Chris!!
They're great shavers! I'm upset it took me this long to get one!
Thanks Chad...finally figured out what TWSBI is, and they're nice! Just not too interested in a reservoir system while deployed.
Thanks Dave, and have to agree...the only soap that compares is DG Pure Lavender for performance and scent together.
Thanks Don! Not sure if it's worth the secondary market prices, but it's a phenomenal soap!
LOL
Thanks Chris! Great information on the Koolada...I would think that you would make a mean cooling soap concoction if you got your hands on some!
Thanks Craig! The red spot looked like a little mole where there wasn't supposed to be one. A finger wipe was all it took to clean and close it up.
Thanks Don! The equipment associated with the teaser will be here in a few weeks....
dkeester
"TSC's Master of Bourbon"
Check out the Pilot Metropolitan line of pens. They are great writers and really affordable.
Nice. Amazon has one under $10
They are on my list. I think the one I am most interested in at this time though is a Nemosine Neutruno.
Edit: Doesn't seem like they are available any longer. Will have to look some more.
Sorry for the late entry, everyone...it's been a horrible network day today for some reason.
SOTD - Friday, 25 May, 2018
Stirling Iced Pineapple | Friodur 472 6/8” square point
Currently on Shave #505 | Straight shave #303
This morning I got to break out my new toy, the Friodur 472 that was impeccably restored by an eBay seller. He really did do a good job in the restoration, with the only blemish being what looks like some staining on the show side of the scales by the pivot pin. He also honed the razor, but I’ll touch on that later on in the post. This is pretty much the exact model I was hunting for, with the worked spine just looking phenomenal, a large but not unwieldy blade, and a square point (muted by the manufacturer). Just a very well built razor, and it’s very evident why these are rated as highly as they are.
Another shave, another cooling soap, this morning with Stirling’s Iced Pineapple. The lather was typical Stirling. There’s a reason I use this soap as my baseline, as if a soap can perform as good if not better than what Stirling offers, then it deserves to be in the den. This morning’s lather was actually a little different, (possibly because I started with a slightly drier brush), super yogurt-y, having all the properties that I’ve come to love in a good shaving soap. The resilience and elasticity of the soap was something to behold once it was lathered…I was able to get about 4” of tail when pulling the lather from the bowl…quite impressive. Very slick, lots of cushion…it took about 16 sprays of the bottle (over 3 tsp), before it was ready for application. The cooling on this iteration of IP is not overpowering, and the menthol smell does nothing but complement the sweet pineapple.
The edge on the Friodur, done by the seller on an Ozuku JNAT, was a bit keener than I’m used to and a little bit of adjustment in technique was necessary. I still paid for using a bit more pressure than necessary with some irritation/feedback from the alum and aftershave, but truth be told, it wasn’t any more than I was expecting. I’ll probably use this once more before settling it into full rotation. Anyways, the shave was the normal three passes, with the sensitive spots ATG taken care of by the ‘Jectah, and I walked away DSBBS as I check about 90 minutes later. This is a perfect set-up for the Club de Nuit Intense Man, as the only thing missing from this frag to be a complete Aventus clone is the pineapple top note…well, with this being a pineapple only note soap and aftershave, I’m walking around in an Aventus cloud after some liberal application of the EdT. Excellent!!
EDIT: So I guess I wasn't quite as close on the chin as I initially thought, as I felt some micro stubble there about 3 hours after the shave, so the shave will have to be downgraded to just a BBS.
In other news, after browsing a couple of sites, it looks like Declaration Grooming is gearing up for a mid-June release of three new soaps in their incredibly performing Icarus formula. Sweet Lemon, Shore, and Contemplation, (no information on the scent notes for these soaps, though the Sweet Lemon is pretty self-explainatory, and I’m guessing that Shore will be an aquatic). I’m not sure if I’m going to go in on any of these…the soap base is absolutely incredible from a performance standpoint, but there is a very animalic scent that it gives off. Hopefully they’ve allowed these soaps to cure for an extra-long period of time prior to release to help diffuse that smell. DG will be doing a pre-release sale at the big Maggard meet-up in Michigan on 2 June for those up in that region. The one thing I will say, is that if they go bold on the scenting of the soaps, it can cover up the smell of the soap base. With this being just a soap, that might be a saving grace for these products as most don’t expect the smell to last much beyond the shave. Judgement will be reserved until I find out more.
Have a great day everyone!
SOTD - Friday, 25 May, 2018
Stirling Iced Pineapple | Friodur 472 6/8” square point
Currently on Shave #505 | Straight shave #303
This morning I got to break out my new toy, the Friodur 472 that was impeccably restored by an eBay seller. He really did do a good job in the restoration, with the only blemish being what looks like some staining on the show side of the scales by the pivot pin. He also honed the razor, but I’ll touch on that later on in the post. This is pretty much the exact model I was hunting for, with the worked spine just looking phenomenal, a large but not unwieldy blade, and a square point (muted by the manufacturer). Just a very well built razor, and it’s very evident why these are rated as highly as they are.
Another shave, another cooling soap, this morning with Stirling’s Iced Pineapple. The lather was typical Stirling. There’s a reason I use this soap as my baseline, as if a soap can perform as good if not better than what Stirling offers, then it deserves to be in the den. This morning’s lather was actually a little different, (possibly because I started with a slightly drier brush), super yogurt-y, having all the properties that I’ve come to love in a good shaving soap. The resilience and elasticity of the soap was something to behold once it was lathered…I was able to get about 4” of tail when pulling the lather from the bowl…quite impressive. Very slick, lots of cushion…it took about 16 sprays of the bottle (over 3 tsp), before it was ready for application. The cooling on this iteration of IP is not overpowering, and the menthol smell does nothing but complement the sweet pineapple.
The edge on the Friodur, done by the seller on an Ozuku JNAT, was a bit keener than I’m used to and a little bit of adjustment in technique was necessary. I still paid for using a bit more pressure than necessary with some irritation/feedback from the alum and aftershave, but truth be told, it wasn’t any more than I was expecting. I’ll probably use this once more before settling it into full rotation. Anyways, the shave was the normal three passes, with the sensitive spots ATG taken care of by the ‘Jectah, and I walked away DSBBS as I check about 90 minutes later. This is a perfect set-up for the Club de Nuit Intense Man, as the only thing missing from this frag to be a complete Aventus clone is the pineapple top note…well, with this being a pineapple only note soap and aftershave, I’m walking around in an Aventus cloud after some liberal application of the EdT. Excellent!!
EDIT: So I guess I wasn't quite as close on the chin as I initially thought, as I felt some micro stubble there about 3 hours after the shave, so the shave will have to be downgraded to just a BBS.
In other news, after browsing a couple of sites, it looks like Declaration Grooming is gearing up for a mid-June release of three new soaps in their incredibly performing Icarus formula. Sweet Lemon, Shore, and Contemplation, (no information on the scent notes for these soaps, though the Sweet Lemon is pretty self-explainatory, and I’m guessing that Shore will be an aquatic). I’m not sure if I’m going to go in on any of these…the soap base is absolutely incredible from a performance standpoint, but there is a very animalic scent that it gives off. Hopefully they’ve allowed these soaps to cure for an extra-long period of time prior to release to help diffuse that smell. DG will be doing a pre-release sale at the big Maggard meet-up in Michigan on 2 June for those up in that region. The one thing I will say, is that if they go bold on the scenting of the soaps, it can cover up the smell of the soap base. With this being just a soap, that might be a saving grace for these products as most don’t expect the smell to last much beyond the shave. Judgement will be reserved until I find out more.
Have a great day everyone!
Thanks Doug!
Thanks Dave...I'm definitely intrigued by the upcoming releases, but not sure if I'm going to be willing to pick up one. I might wait to see what the reviews are coming out of the meet-up before making a decision.
EDIT: to be completely fair to Declaration Grooming, they did state that the Icarus formulation did have a pretty strong anamalic scent coming off of it. This is not a knock on the company at all...their products are the top performing soaps in my den, bar none, and the Icarus is top of the heap. But it does have a very gamey smell to the soap base since it incorporates three different types of animal fats. (Bison, sheep and goat)
