Nice job Adam!
My QCS developed hole this morning. I estimate it will last until after Thanksgiving.
My QCS developed hole this morning. I estimate it will last until after Thanksgiving.
My Guess... 3017
- Thread starter johnniegold
- Start date
Thanks all! I was kind of pathetically giddy about it this morning, my wife (justifiably) made fun of me a bit, mostly b/c I've been talking about it daily for about a week. It was a big morning in my household!
Nice work.
I've stopped talking to my wife about shaving. She's just happy I do it and I'm happy that I enjoy it now.
I've stopped talking to my wife about shaving. She's just happy I do it and I'm happy that I enjoy it now.
Woot! Congrats on completing your maiden puck!
Thanks!!
Thanks!!
Funny you should mention that. I was spoiled with my two previous soaps (Valobra and Spieck) and came to the conclusion that Arko, legendary as I agree it is, simply can't compete with those other two sticks.
So, encouraged by all these crazy measures you guys are taking with Williams, I decided to do the same sort of thing to Arko.
Arko Velva
Turns out is shaves perfectly well and improved Arko. My only disappointment is that the lather doesn't even have a tinge of blue!
Basically, I cut the Arko into small pieces and then added a lot of Aqua Velva, and then instead of adding water I added a lot of glycerin.
I'm not sure if I added too much AV or if I added too much glycerin, but I suspect that the answer to both those questions is probably "yes"
Even if I completely overload the lather with water, it still smells like AV and the glycerin keeps the lather stable - sort of.
I call this one the Lather Rabbit of Caerbannog
I've really enjoyed Speick. To me, the scent is the best aspect (although the lather is second to none), bit I've had it smooshed into a bowl with no lid for a while, so the scent is lighter everyday.
Thanks to winning a PIF from Kent (oakshot) I'll be 3017ing a 100 gm brick of Klar beginning on Jan 1! I've also already committed to a 2015 sabbatical... no backsies!
I was traveling for three days this week so I took a break from my Tabac - packing the glass bowl seems like a disaster waiting to happen. Since Evan has been getting irritation from RR Captains Choice and I had an unopened puck, I thought I would take it and see if I have a problem too. I'm happy to report that I got three very nice shaves and no irritation.
Now, back to the Tabac which has been nothing short of amazing.
Now, back to the Tabac which has been nothing short of amazing.
Mudder Focker is plugging away at just over 2g per shave and rising.
11 shaves in to my first 3017, and I am beginning to understand what is meant about dialing in a soap. I think I've only got a great lather three times out of the 11 shaves. Not consecutively, I should add. I've never realized that I might not be getting the same lather with each use. It's an eye opening experience for sure. One I'm beginning to enjoy more than I thought I would in the beginning.
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I'm on 14 shaves on a sample puck of Stirling tea tree.
The puck weighs 1.4oz and there's still quit a bit left.
I can't imagine how long the full pucks last.
The puck weighs 1.4oz and there's still quit a bit left.
I can't imagine how long the full pucks last.
I finally broke thru the bottom of my seemingly never ending puck of Pre de Provence. I have 133 shaves so far with this and I suspect I will make it to December.
I typically load more than enough and have had nothing but great lather after the first couple of weeks of figuring it out, and getting it hydrated. I attribute the longevity to the fact that I have a water softener at home. Never had one until we bought this house, but it does seem that it makes a difference.
I typically load more than enough and have had nothing but great lather after the first couple of weeks of figuring it out, and getting it hydrated. I attribute the longevity to the fact that I have a water softener at home. Never had one until we bought this house, but it does seem that it makes a difference.
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@Strop that's impressive. I got 90 great shaves with my hard water last year.
Horrible shave last night. Not the Cade's fault, the blame is solely on me. I've been having such great shaves I tried doing three days in a row. Needless to say my neck was not amused.
I've found from my daily shaving that you'll:
A. Improve your shaves
B. Exercise restraint with respect to BBS. 2 passes and done.
As far as my 3017 update, still trucking away with Razorock KOTC Lime hard. Had a couple off days where I used I Coloniali and C&E Sandlewood, the former since it was just purchased and the later since I had an intense need to try it again for some odd reason.
I switched to a 2 pass shave quite a while ago, my face appreciates it.
WTH, ATG and I'm done. Quick, easy, irritation free and super smooth.
Victory! This was my last progress report:
Yeah . . . I was a little off on my time left. Could have been a few reasons. 1) I switched back to the (smaller) B&B Essential Boar instead of the Semogue 2000. 2) It was harder than I thought to load in the 'corners' of the bowl. 3) It was my first time estimated soap decimation. 4) I overestimated the amount of soap left on the sides.
I made it to a quarter size hole and got stuck. My lathers started suffering and I assumed it was the difficulty of loading. I smooshed it together:
Now I thought that I was getting somewhere, as my loading was better. Frustration set in again once I measured 1 cm deep of soap left. Ugh. Two more weeks went by. I finally made a lather that looked pretty decent (just a little foamy):
My last shave started with this much left (~3 grams):
I pulled out the SOC for the last few shaves. Here is a shot of the brush after the first pass:
Finally, the shave-of-the-day shot with for the finale:
I first used the Proraso many months ago and had very soupy lathers. After more reading and some videos, I resolved to try more product. No surprise, it worked. My lathers were often creamy but not consistent. I found Jim's method of removing most of the water from the brush but then I added too little water back in. This resulted in a dry lather. Finally I found the sweet spot before it was done. I averaged 2g/shave (3 passes, sometimes a cleanup pass afterward) after I started keeping track. That last one was 3g as I hit the tub twice. The SOC is still new to me and I don't think that it is completely broken in. It didn't want to release the lather from the bristles. I'm actually thankful, because it finished off the tub.
My first 3017 soap was finished within days of catching up to 'realtime' on this thread. I feel so accomplished. 
You too?
Yeah . . . I was a little off on my time left. Could have been a few reasons. 1) I switched back to the (smaller) B&B Essential Boar instead of the Semogue 2000. 2) It was harder than I thought to load in the 'corners' of the bowl. 3) It was my first time estimated soap decimation. 4) I overestimated the amount of soap left on the sides.
I made it to a quarter size hole and got stuck. My lathers started suffering and I assumed it was the difficulty of loading. I smooshed it together:
Now I thought that I was getting somewhere, as my loading was better. Frustration set in again once I measured 1 cm deep of soap left. Ugh. Two more weeks went by. I finally made a lather that looked pretty decent (just a little foamy):
My last shave started with this much left (~3 grams):
I pulled out the SOC for the last few shaves. Here is a shot of the brush after the first pass:
Finally, the shave-of-the-day shot with for the finale:
I first used the Proraso many months ago and had very soupy lathers. After more reading and some videos, I resolved to try more product. No surprise, it worked. My lathers were often creamy but not consistent. I found Jim's method of removing most of the water from the brush but then I added too little water back in. This resulted in a dry lather. Finally I found the sweet spot before it was done. I averaged 2g/shave (3 passes, sometimes a cleanup pass afterward) after I started keeping track. That last one was 3g as I hit the tub twice. The SOC is still new to me and I don't think that it is completely broken in. It didn't want to release the lather from the bristles. I'm actually thankful, because it finished off the tub.
My first 3017 soap was finished within days of catching up to 'realtime' on this thread. I feel so accomplished. You too?
I've never been in search of BBS and never do more than one WTG pass followed by some touch up. I understand that I'll never get a BBS shave and I'm ok with that.
