West Coast Canadian Pass-around Box

[imcndn]

Loading samples is not as fun as a puck. B & M is known for it's easy lathering. Possible suggestion: next sample you use, use a cheese grater and grate a small amount of soap into a bowl, then press it firmly to the bowl with your fingers. Load on that.

Load it like you hate it !!

The B&M was soft enough that I didn't need to grate it to press it into the bottom of a small bowl. It seemed to load up well and the first pass was pretty good. The lather just didn't have the legs to make it through the second pass.

I'm sure its "user error". As you guys mentioned samples are different to use. This is my first pass-around box so I've never used sample sizes before. I'll learn, eventually.

imcndn

 

[Nick_O]

Try the press into bowl method for the old spice as well. Maybe that'll work.

 

[Snidely]

I've had the same experience lathering from small samples--not very satisfying results even with the best of soaps.

Some of the soaps are melt-and-pour (Ogallala is melt and pour). With these, I just cut off a chunk, put it in a bowl and nuke it for a few seconds, until it liquifies. When it hardens, it is ready to use like a very thin puck, or maybe like the very last few shaves from a puck.

Some of the soaps, are quite soft (First Canadian is in this category). I can use my thumbs to mold a small sample to the bottom of a bowl to get a puck sized surface.

When the east coast box came to me I found myself avoiding the hard soaps unless they were melt-and-pour. Will probably do the same with the west coast box when I see it.

 

[imcndn]

Try the press into bowl method for the old spice as well. Maybe that'll work.

I'll give it a try. I'll have to grate it or something though. It's hard stuff.

 

[imcndn]

...Some of the soaps, are quite soft (First Canadian is in this category). I can use my thumbs to mold a small sample to the bottom of a bowl to get a puck sized surface.

It's strange. I used a couple of the First Canadian soaps when I had the East cost box and both of them lathered up well. I used the same method of pressing the sample into the bowl. The First Canadian is pretty soft though... almost a cream.

 

[imcndn]

I shaved on Saturday for a wedding the wife and I were going to but I didn't use anything from the box. I wanted to be sure I got a good, clean bloodless shave so I used all my own stuff.

Yesterday I did some test lathering with some of the soaps. I'll make another post for that. For today's shave...

-- Shave 3 --
I used my own:
Merkur 34C HD
Gillette Silver Blue
Omega 10066
Pre Shave Oil

From the Box

Shaving Cream:
Park Avenue Cool Wave
This cream had a light sporty scent. It was really faint and when the shave was completed there was no lingering scent. The cream face lathered very easily and provided lots of protection. An almond sized amount produced more than enough lather for three full passes.

Aftershave:
Old Spice
Even though the scent isn't as strong as I may like, it's different enough from my Old Spice knock-off to warrant a purchase. It doesn't hurt that it's budget priced either... especially if you catch a sale. I really like the face feel this aftershave leaves. It's now been almost 3 hours since using the Old Spice and the scent is not strong... but it is still there.

Impressions:
Today's shave was really great. I always get a good shave with the Silver Blue blades. Lately I've been using Noxzema in the shower as a face wash. The last few shaves I've been leaving it on longer and longer before rinsing. I even face lathered over it once. These last few shaves have been fantastic.



imcndn

 

[Pepin]

Thank you for the review.

The cream sounds very nice, almost like a good summer cream.

 

[imcndn]

I didn't shave on Sunday but I did get the chance to lather up a few of the soaps. I've been having such a hard time lathering lately I figured I could use the practice. Although not always the best lather I've whipped up, it was much better than it had been in the last week.

Otoko Organics
I scraped a bit off the top of the puck and pressed it easily into a small bowl. It loaded Easily and lathered really well. There is no scent.

Stones Shaving Butter - Muskoka
It has a light Musky scent. It has a very buttery texture. It's similar in consistency to the Body Shop Moca shave cream. It loads very easily and lathered very well. The lather was thick and stable. When lathered I didn't notice any scent at all. I am going to try this shave butter with tomorrow's shave.

Mystic Water - Jeff's Lavender
I liked the floral scent. The scent was present when lathered. I couldn't get a good lather with this soap. I sliced off a sample to press into the bowl. I couldn't get it to load very well. The lather I did get was stable and not airy, but it was a little thin. It has the consistency of lather I think straight razor shavers use. It's probably much better than I can give it credit. I think my sample lathering technique failed this soap.

Sterling - Glacial Wintergreen
I believe this is a tallow based soap. The sample loaded easily and provided a good amount of thick lather. The scent was very fresh and pepperminty. If I get the chance I may give this soap a try as well.

Smoky Bacon Shave Soap
I had to try this soap. The smell reminded me a lot of bacon flavoured dog treats. To be fair it did lather erally well, even with my lack-luster technique. The scent was good and strong even when lathered. But the scent is not for me. Besides... I would drive my dog nuts if I used this soap.

Tiki Bar Soap - Surfs Up
I believe this is another tallow based soap. As with the Sterling the sample loaded easily and provided a fair amount of thick stable lather. I was not a fan of the scent though. It had a real salty scent... I could almost taste the salt. Not for me.

Lader Brush
Is this a Boar brush. It had a bit of a smell so I thought I would try this bush a couple times to help work out the funk. I found it to perform similar to my Omega 10066. It's similar in size as well.

Simpson 46 - Best Badger
I have an Omega Pure Badger brush that I don't like. It's bigger than this Simpson and has very little backbone compared to any of my boar brushes. This brush seems to have much more backbone, probably due to the low loft. I may give this brush a go. However I'd like to try it face at lathering. How does the group feel about face lathering one of these pass around brushes? Obviously the brush would be cleaned before and after I use it, but I definitely get it if someone isn't comfortable with someone face lathering with the brush.



imcndn

 

[i_dont_bite]

Whether you face lather or bowl lather the brush will transfer skin cells from your face. Unless you bowl lather then transfer to your face with your own brush or hand. Go to town I say. Just shampoo it when you are done.

Also that brush seems like a pure face latherer by its specs. It would be an injustice to use it only to bowl lather. Let it shine.

 

[imcndn]

-- Shave 4 --
I used my own:
Merkur 34C HD
Gillette Silver Blue
Liojuny 22mm Boar
Pre Shave Oil
Clubman Musk


From the Box


Shaving Cream:
Stones Shaving Butter - Muskoka
I love the scent of this cream. It has a musky, woody, very manly scent. Even when lathered the scent is amazing. I was able to lather it up really easily. A small scoop in my brush produced tons of lather. I will say the lather was a little thinner than I prefer, but with any luck I'll be able to correct that down the road.

Impressions:
I think I'll take a small sample of the Stone's Shaving Butter. On Sunday the test later was much thicker. I was using a different brush, and I bowl lathered on Sunday. The lather on Sunday was much better. I'd like to try lathering it again and then probably grab a jar. I really like the scent. Just as an FYI the web address on the jar has a typo. It should be www.soapstones.ca.

I didn't end up using the Simpson's 46 Badger brush this morning. I was running a little late and didn't bother digging the brush back out of the box. Unfortunately I probably won't try the brush. It wouldn't dry before I pack and ship the box. It's probably for the best. I'd probably like it and want to buy one... and who needs another brush? Right?




imcndn

 

[imcndn]

-- Shave 5 --
I used my own:
Merkur 34C HD
Gillette Silver Blue
Omega 10049
Noxzema
Clubman Virgin Island Bay Rum

From the Box

Shaving Cream:
Dettol Fresh
I thought I would give this cream a try on its own since it saved the day earlier on when I had lather issues. Also I found this cream fairly cheap on ebay. It has a clean, soapy scent with a hint of lemon. I used a large almond sized amount in my 10049. I had tons of lather. Even with the big brush there was more than enough for three full passes. The cream lathered easily with a little extra water added. It was slick and protective. I'll be grabbing a tube of ebay sometime I am sure.



Impressions:
Its been another great week of shaves. It's been a real pleasure trying all the different soaps/creams. Thanks to the guys for getting these boxes moving across the country. Its been a lot of fun and I'll happily participate in the next box.

I took a sample of the Stones Shaving Butter and a tuck of Rapira Lux blades. I didn't try the Rapira blades but I've read so many good reviews and I typically like the Russian blades.

Into the box I've added 4 Wilkinson Sword and 4 Blue Bird blades. I've also added a bottle of Brutal Grand aftershave. This is one of the aftershaves I picked up at Starsky's. It performs really well and has menthol. My wife actually likes the scent, but it's not for me. I've used it maybe three times... it's almost full.



I shipped the box off to i_dont_bite this morning on my way into work. It should be there in a couple days. Have fun i_dont_bite!



imcndn

 

[i_dont_bite]

I've had the same experience lathering from small samples--not very satisfying results even with the best of soaps.

Some of the soaps are melt-and-pour (Ogallala is melt and pour). With these, I just cut off a chunk, put it in a bowl and nuke it for a few seconds, until it liquifies. When it hardens, it is ready to use like a very thin puck, or maybe like the very last few shaves from a puck.

Some of the soaps, are quite soft (First Canadian is in this category). I can use my thumbs to mold a small sample to the bottom of a bowl to get a puck sized surface.

When the east coast box came to me I found myself avoiding the hard soaps unless they were melt-and-pour. Will probably do the same with the west coast box when I see it.

I've had this same issue with small samples of croaps/hard soaps. I've found if I rub the sample on my face after the shower (like a shave stick) then bowl lather the remnants and apply that lather I have the best success. Trying to bowl lather a small sample always leaves me with a very airy bubbly lather (although a melt & pour is different). I typically face lather which is impossible with small samples. Creams are much easier to sample as I just put them in the breach of a badger brush and face lather.

 

[imcndn]

Looks like the box was delivered in time for the weekend. Have fun i_dont_bite!



imcndn

 

[i_dont_bite]

That's a lotta soap! Should get a shave in tomorrow with any luck.

 

[i_dont_bite]

Shave #1 -
Razor - Diane Shavette (box) & Gillette Aristocrat Deluxe (personal)
Blade - Derby half DE blade & Treet Platinum (1)
Cream - Castle Forbes Lime
Brush - Simpson Berkeley 46
Aftershave - Alum, Old Spice Classic, Nivea Sensitive ASB

I started out with a shower while the brush was soaking in a mug. I applied a sample of the cream to my face and put some in the breach of the brush. The cream was a waxy texture and smelled a lot like Proraso Preshave / Vick's vapo rub, a tad overpowering at first but died down quickly. The brush was a tad scritchy, and quite small. It reminded me of my Semogue 610 but is even smaller. It has a ton of backbone but doesn't hold a lot of soap so my second pass was a bit thinner then I'd like. Overall I liked the brush and I think I'll use it for the week to see if I can dial it in a bit more.

I've never tried a Shavette so being adventurous I thought I'd give it a go. I liked the cartridge system for loading the blade although the shavette feels cheap and flimsy compared to the Gold Dollar straight I tried from the East coast box. I did like the fact that the blade was sharp and didn't need any stropping or work. I used it for a partial first pass and I found it did a better job then the Gold Dollar did. Closer shave and smooth. The Gold Dollar I found quite harsh. I finished up a WTG first pass with a Treet blade in my go-to razor (Gillette Aristocrat Deluxe). The blade was quite smooth and did an excellent job. Seems similar to a Red IP or Gillette Silver Blue although I've heard they sometimes have QC issues so they aren't always consistent. I reapplied lather for 2nd pass (XTG cheek and ATG neck) and lather was a tad thin. It took some effort and adding water a few times but it thickened up and was salvageable without adding more cream to the brush/bowl. I'm going to blame the small knot not being able to hold a lot of lather but it compensates with the firm backbone and lack of floppiness. I'll use this brush for the week and see where the shortcoming may be.

Alum reacted on the right side near my ear and neck. I'll blame my inexperience with the shavette. I think I'm going to stick with DE/SE's going forward as they seem to be the best of both worlds and leave the straights to the barbers. The old spice was overpowering at first. A lot of cinnamon and spice smells but I found it faded off nicely after about half hour. I now seem to be smelling lime on occasion and the old spice (about 3 hours post shave). It's a nice mixture but I'm not in love with old spice. All in all it was a good DFS shave.

 

[alexmc545]

Kudos on trying the Diane Shavette. Good to hear your experience was more pleasant than mine.

 

[i_dont_bite]

I didn't consider putting in the effort to get a thorough first pass with the Diane. I think that would have required at least 30 mins of careful work and it wasn't worth the effort. My aim was more to the effect of can I move it around most of my face without slicing myself to ribbons. Alex, did you use the Permasharp blade or Derby? My thoughts were the Derby would be the lesser of two evils. I won't be going back to prove this theory though.

 

[alexmc545]

I just broke a Shark blade in half. I do equate Shark blades to Derbys though, and I agree that a Permasharp would've been disastrous in my unskilled hands.

 

[NRAM]

Glad you gave the Diane a whirl! I felt the same about it. Felt a little cheap, but gave a very close shave. I was just a little shaky with it so moved back to the DE's before I hurt myself...

 

[i_dont_bite]

Shave #2 -
Razor - Gillette Aristocrat Deluxe (personal)
Blade - Gillette Wilkinson (1)
Soap - B&M Vetiver / Heather / Clary Sage
Brush - Simpson Berkeley 46
Aftershave - Witch Hazel, Nivea Sensitive ASB

The soap smelled earthy and was a nice texture. It's harder then Cella or a Croap but softer than a triple mill. I tried rubbing a small amount on my face but little seemed to stay on. I also tried to bowl lather a small amount but the lack of surface area on a small sample didn't help. Still after working it on my face with the brush for awhile and going to the bowl it came to life and provided a thin sufficient layer.

The blade was medium aggressive. Reminded me of an Astra or Voskhod. Perhaps a tad smoother/sharper than an Astra. Not quite a Red IP.

2 passes left me with DFS although I did an XTG on one cheek without cream by mistake. I paid later with some irritation and discomfort in the morning. Could have been a combo of blade and too thin on the soap.

The smell of the soap was earthy with traces of sandalwood and maybe a tinge of cinnamon/cloves but ever so subtle. Reminded me a lot of the Cyril Salter Sandalwood but with a bit more spice or character.

I chose to avoid an aftershave with much scent to preserve the soap scent which lasted about half the day although always subdued.