I'm going to make a Haslinger stick soon. I have a couple shave stick twist up tubes from WCS. I have 2 pucks of Aloe I was thinking of using.
My Guess... 3017
- Thread starter johnniegold
- Start date
I'm going to make a Haslinger stick soon. I have a couple shave stick twist up tubes from WCS. I have 2 pucks of Aloe I was thinking of using.
I can't bring myself to try a soap described as smelling like the bottom of an old lady's purse. As for Haslinger, great stuff and I'll certainly be adding to the stockpile, but I hesitate to do so when the scents are so mild in the first place, and they stand a good chase of sitting in the box for awhile before use. That and the Sabbatical are keeping me from jumping into the Haslinger love fest with you and the rest of the crazy kids.
I would say the two scents are similar but not quite the same. The SCS has a much more natural scent to it, much like pumpkin pie spice I was accustomed to smelling my mother bake with around the holidays. HTGAM Pumpkin Pi was more artificial to my nose, along lines of what I would expect a pumpkin pie Yankee Candle to smell like, if that makes sense.
The SCS base is great IMHO, and I much prefer the post shave feel compared to HTGAM. I wouldn't throw away my Pumpkin Pi, and will use it from the time I finish SCS until Thanksgiving, but SCS wins in all categories for me!
New DE shaver and first post on B&B, but after reading this WHOLE thread over the last two and a half weeks, I'm convinced. You guys are good propagandists!
My (short) story: I started DE shaving about a month ago. Began with Proraso cream (really random choice for very first attempts). Stuck with the cream for about 10 days. Long enough to realize that this DE shaving was for me long-term: I was getting good (not great) shaves, virtually no irritation for the first time since I was a teenager, and (honestly) not a single cut, nick, or weeper. So, I decided to jump in a little more. I ordered a Stirling soap and scented witch hazel. Love the witch hazel (Coniferous, which reminds me of camping in National Forests), but during the next week and a half I had trouble getting consistent lathers from the soap. I started reading this thread and about halfway through ordered DRH Malborough. I'm about 10 days into that now. Shaves are getting closer and better -- only weepers have come from switching to a Gillette NEW LC, which is much closer than the Superspeed I started with. I've had only one day with iffy lather with the DRH, otherwise face lathering it has been effortless and easy.
Tonight, I've (finally!) finished reading this gargantuan, inspiring thread and am committed to 3017-ing the DRH, which should also let me dial in my shaving technique without worrying about the soap as a variable. Probably won't have lots to contribute for awhile (I'm sure I'm loading fairly lightly as I only do two-pass shaves at this point), but simply posting to say 3017 is not only for old hands with an accumulation of soaps anymore, but even drawing in us new shavers too. (After the Malborough, I may move on to Arlington or Windsor or Haslinger or try one of the other reliable stick soaps from this thread: Valobra, Palmolive, La Toja. But that's a long ways off, I'm sure.)
And finally, I know Stirling gets a rather tepid reception by most in this thread, but I'm happy to PIF the abandoned Stirling: an unused Sharp Dressed Man sample and slightly used (~10 times) Coconut and Lime full tub (5 oz) -- it's a lovely (especially summertime) scent to my nose. It lingers gently for a long while (several hours). Just send me a PM and if there's multiple people I'll do a random number generator. (If a PIF is out of place in this thread, let me know and I'll start a new one for this.)
My (short) story: I started DE shaving about a month ago. Began with Proraso cream (really random choice for very first attempts). Stuck with the cream for about 10 days. Long enough to realize that this DE shaving was for me long-term: I was getting good (not great) shaves, virtually no irritation for the first time since I was a teenager, and (honestly) not a single cut, nick, or weeper. So, I decided to jump in a little more. I ordered a Stirling soap and scented witch hazel. Love the witch hazel (Coniferous, which reminds me of camping in National Forests), but during the next week and a half I had trouble getting consistent lathers from the soap. I started reading this thread and about halfway through ordered DRH Malborough. I'm about 10 days into that now. Shaves are getting closer and better -- only weepers have come from switching to a Gillette NEW LC, which is much closer than the Superspeed I started with. I've had only one day with iffy lather with the DRH, otherwise face lathering it has been effortless and easy.
Tonight, I've (finally!) finished reading this gargantuan, inspiring thread and am committed to 3017-ing the DRH, which should also let me dial in my shaving technique without worrying about the soap as a variable. Probably won't have lots to contribute for awhile (I'm sure I'm loading fairly lightly as I only do two-pass shaves at this point), but simply posting to say 3017 is not only for old hands with an accumulation of soaps anymore, but even drawing in us new shavers too. (After the Malborough, I may move on to Arlington or Windsor or Haslinger or try one of the other reliable stick soaps from this thread: Valobra, Palmolive, La Toja. But that's a long ways off, I'm sure.)
And finally, I know Stirling gets a rather tepid reception by most in this thread, but I'm happy to PIF the abandoned Stirling: an unused Sharp Dressed Man sample and slightly used (~10 times) Coconut and Lime full tub (5 oz) -- it's a lovely (especially summertime) scent to my nose. It lingers gently for a long while (several hours). Just send me a PM and if there's multiple people I'll do a random number generator. (If a PIF is out of place in this thread, let me know and I'll start a new one for this.)
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Welcome and glad you found B&B's greatest thread
Very generous offer and will surely make someone happy. PIF's happen all the time inside this thread, so no worries there.
Very generous offer and will surely make someone happy. PIF's happen all the time inside this thread, so no worries there.
Welcome. Great first post. I think the 3017 approach to soaps and creams is a fantastic idea for gents new to DE's. As you said, it takes one variable out of the equation as your technique develops. Enjoy the NEW LC. I still think those NEW's, SC or LC, are one of the best designed heads in all of shavedom.
Welcome to B&B and welcome to 3017 country. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on DRH as you work through it.
Welcome to B&B and welcome to 3017 country. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on DRH as you work through it.
Haslinger Honig. 31 fantastic shaves!
Great post! You really get it. I'm not in for the PIF, but that's very nice of you.
Welcome, lishijia. Great first post.
I can't bring myself to try a soap described as smelling like the bottom of an old lady's purse.
Don't believe the anti-hype. Like a good whiskey it gets better with age. Buy a puck/stick and forget about it for six months to a year. Thank me later.
I still have a stick of Irisch Moos, so I'll stick with that.
lishijia, welcome!
@lishijia - welcome. My first 3017 was DRH Arlington. DRH is a bold first 3017 but also very rewarding. I've been 3017'ing since and have never looked back.
Reporting in on my sample 3017-a-thon. Been working the stash since 6/10 3017 style.
Take away so far -- there's some really good soap being made today. I haven't hit a dog yet. I've hit a few I could go without, but there's been nothing that wasn't workable. 2nd take away -- WAY WAY WAY too many samples to go through. I miss the meat of 3017'ing a great product where you have it 100% dialed in and just cruise for a month or 2. For a reminder, this is the absurd mess I'm working through. I'm documenting it here if you're interested.
Reporting in on my sample 3017-a-thon. Been working the stash since 6/10 3017 style.
Take away so far -- there's some really good soap being made today. I haven't hit a dog yet. I've hit a few I could go without, but there's been nothing that wasn't workable. 2nd take away -- WAY WAY WAY too many samples to go through. I miss the meat of 3017'ing a great product where you have it 100% dialed in and just cruise for a month or 2. For a reminder, this is the absurd mess I'm working through. I'm documenting it here if you're interested.
I can't bring myself to try a soap described as smelling like the bottom of an old lady's purse. As for Haslinger, great stuff and I'll certainly be adding to the stockpile, but I hesitate to do so when the scents are so mild in the first place, and they stand a good chase of sitting in the box for awhile before use. That and the Sabbatical are keeping me from jumping into the Haslinger love fest with you and the rest of the crazy kids.
Ha! Whilst I wouldn't push Tabac upon you in summer, it is certainly worth a try and a soap which I would recommend in the cooler parts of the year. Don't worry... us Euros have had Haslinger for a while
RAZOROCKtober 2015 has begun. This year I will be using SoZ.
For RAZOROCKtober 2015 I was planning on burning through the last RR Soap I have in the stash, XX. Fortunately...or unfortunately depending on your perspective....on Sept 2 I happened upon a magically regenerating puck of Haslinger Coconut that I've been using every day for a month. So...I will be holding my own little HASLINGseptober fest 2015.
Lots of talk about artisan soaps lately, so after a few years of 3017ing, I have a statement to make. I didn't want to start a thread and make a big deal of it, as the non-3017ers would go crazy and thing I'm nuts...heck, everyone here may think that already or come to that conclusion after I say it.
All of the top tier soaps are pretty much identical. Aside from scent, packaging, price, the difference between them is so minute, we probably wouldn't be able to tell them apart if they were packaged and smelled the same. I'm not talking fly-by-night artisans that come and go, change their formula 3X a year and won't be seen or heard of in a year. I'm talking about Valobra, Harris, Haslinger, MWF, LaToja, Speick, PdP, Provence Sante and the like. To me, they are all 4 STAR soaps with no flaws after you dial them in. Another forum has a thread on what controlled/Blind tests do to a market and think most would be shocked by the results if they were able to do a proper one with Shave Soaps.
I only mention Hard soaps as that is pretty much what I have the most experience with. There are plenty of top-tier, well established artisans and makers of soft soaps. Valobra, Vito's, QCS, SCS, RazoRock to name a few and all perform excellently as well. Again, many of these feel the same to me, aside from scent, packaging and price.
Some have minor difference that react better with peoples skins in terms of how much and what type of Fragrance is use. Whether there is Shea or Lanolin in them also come into play.
Bottom line, you can't go wrong with a tried and true, proven soap that 3017ers are using. It's the reason I keep using these soaps, don't feel like I'm missing anything by not even wanting to try all the new artisan soaps and will continue my use of the 3017 method and trust you guys.
All of the top tier soaps are pretty much identical. Aside from scent, packaging, price, the difference between them is so minute, we probably wouldn't be able to tell them apart if they were packaged and smelled the same. I'm not talking fly-by-night artisans that come and go, change their formula 3X a year and won't be seen or heard of in a year. I'm talking about Valobra, Harris, Haslinger, MWF, LaToja, Speick, PdP, Provence Sante and the like. To me, they are all 4 STAR soaps with no flaws after you dial them in. Another forum has a thread on what controlled/Blind tests do to a market and think most would be shocked by the results if they were able to do a proper one with Shave Soaps.
I only mention Hard soaps as that is pretty much what I have the most experience with. There are plenty of top-tier, well established artisans and makers of soft soaps. Valobra, Vito's, QCS, SCS, RazoRock to name a few and all perform excellently as well. Again, many of these feel the same to me, aside from scent, packaging and price.
Some have minor difference that react better with peoples skins in terms of how much and what type of Fragrance is use. Whether there is Shea or Lanolin in them also come into play.
Bottom line, you can't go wrong with a tried and true, proven soap that 3017ers are using. It's the reason I keep using these soaps, don't feel like I'm missing anything by not even wanting to try all the new artisan soaps and will continue my use of the 3017 method and trust you guys.
As usual, you are right in so many ways.
First, this statement would cause a flame war if in its own thread. Thank goodness, that won't happen here.
Second, most of us in this thread can get great shaves with any of the top-tier soaps because we spend the time to dial them in and really get to know them.
I would add that most of the guys here have expressed the sentiment that if a soap doesn't meet their standards, it gets set aside to be pif'ed or relegated to shower duty. If it ain't top tier - its out-a-here.
Looking at my soap drawer, there are several artisan soaps to go. I like the variety and am still finding out what the market has to offer. But, I have to admit... if I had to settle on a small handful of brands, most of the keepers are established brands - the tried and true ones you are speaking of.
Bruce, I couldn't agree more with your post. The only artisan soap I have left to try is B&M. We'll see how that goes. Otherwise, everything else I have is established, top tier stuff.
Bruce, no argument from me, but I have to ask...
Was that comment before or after you shaved with MWF today?
Was that comment before or after you shaved with MWF today?
After of course, it's what sparked my thought.
But even the soaps that haven't been my cup of tea for whatever reason (Harris), I know they are proven and work.
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