I'm still trying to decide what the next 3017 victim will be. I've narrowed it down to 4 choices. RR XX, Mikes Peppermint-Rosemary, Mikes Orange-Black Pepper, B&M Lavanille. The Mikes Peppermint has about 10 lathers on it, the other 3 are unopened. I also have a Wilkinson Sword stick I am looking forward to trying, but I'd like to get these other four out of the way first.
My Guess... 3017
- Thread starter johnniegold
- Start date
I really like XX. It is the argan formula and has a nice scent.
shave 6 on sharp dressed man
good 3 pass ccs+
good 3 pass ccs+
I think this is a record for you.
I said I was going to try to 3017 this puck
6 in a row? lol Give in to the Dark Side of The Soap Empire. Use a different one every day.
I vote for the XX. I want to hear your thoughts on the performance of the RR vs the C&S. Of course I also want to hear your thoughts on the C&S vs both of the other artisans so it's a tough call.
Ha, I'm no help! You can see why I'm always asking in here when I'm choosing my next soap too.
Whoa, I totally missed that you are attempting again.
Welcome back! I know you can do it buddy. Just stick to the program and remove the temptations. If you really need to you can send them to me for safe-keeping. And I mean that in all seriousness. We are here to help.
About 30 shaves into my brick (If you imagine a brick the consistency of Velveeta!) of Valobra Menthol. There is a decent concavity in the MWF dish. Might get 3 weeks more. Shaves are consistently good.
Appreciate the offer but I can restrain right now. I want to finish this puck. I will not travel with it next month if it is not done by then.
What caused me to stop was 1. Did not want to 3017 over many months one soap. 2 was having lackluster shaves and thought it was my soap.
Today I used A Gillette 7oclock sterling razor (Indian version of the Rubie razor) Doro 301 blade and had one of the closest shaves in a long time. Will use same setup tomorrow. I think my issues came from dry skin and giving away razors and blades that worked for me for following bigger and higher regarded items. I love my Slim but sometimes an Indian Tech is what the job needs.
Word of wisdom to all. If you find a nice setup. Keep it and don't pif or trade it even if you never think you will use it. It will cost more to replace it than to keep it on hand. Also a low cost razor and blade can do the job as good as a high end razor.
What caused me to stop was 1. Did not want to 3017 over many months one soap. 2 was having lackluster shaves and thought it was my soap.
Today I used A Gillette 7oclock sterling razor (Indian version of the Rubie razor) Doro 301 blade and had one of the closest shaves in a long time. Will use same setup tomorrow. I think my issues came from dry skin and giving away razors and blades that worked for me for following bigger and higher regarded items. I love my Slim but sometimes an Indian Tech is what the job needs.
Word of wisdom to all. If you find a nice setup. Keep it and don't pif or trade it even if you never think you will use it. It will cost more to replace it than to keep it on hand. Also a low cost razor and blade can do the job as good as a high end razor.
I've used a fair amount of RR tallows, I can't recall if I've used a RR with Argan before or not. So I am quite curious about it. I'm sure it will be a fine soap. Mikes compared to C&S....Mikes is a great soap, my favorite artisan. For me...all of the usual ymmv disclaimers duly noted...Mikes falls short of C&S. C&S has a slicker, more protective lather. C&S also has a somewhat wider sweet spot. I can get a fantastic lather out of Mikes, but I have to load it like I hate it most of the time. C&S I can lightly swirl my brush for 15 seconds and get an excellent lather every time. When I try to load light with Mikes I often have to go back to the puck. No shame for Mikes though. He has some great scents, they are mild enough to enjoy but not cause irritation, post shave feel fantastic, and unlike many artisans Mikes is consistent. Consistent in quality, consistent in scent, (tho not consistent in availability). All of the good qualities one looks for in a shaving soap....but for me C&S does everything just a touch better. If it wasn't for 3017ing both Mikes and C&S I never would have discovered the differences. I dunno...maybe ignorance is bliss.
I really like Mikes and will continue to enjoy it from time to time. In fact I quite admire an artisan that can consistently put out a soap that rivals the best of the best. If I had to rank purely on performance...1) C&S 2) Haslinger 3) Mikes 4) RR tallows. Tell ya what though...just a frogs hair difference between some of them and I could happily live with any of them.Only if you become a Darth lord again and join us in purchase freedom with a soap order
Welcome back to 3017. What do you think of the Stirling after a week?
I noticed this as well. Granted, it's only been 4 days for me. But after coming from PdP and now Valobra (same base as C&S?), the Valobra can be made with a damper brush or drier brush and the lather is always consistently creamy and slick.
I've all but stopped selling, trading or PIFings hardware for this vary reason. If it doesn't work now, I just put it away and box it up. Hardware doesn't take up much room, spoil or decrease in value. Software on the other hand, I don't mind getting rid of or tossing if it doesn't work out after a while as it's more easily replaceable.
Snowman, thanks very much for that.
I wonder if the loading difference between Mike's and C&S has to do with the latter's milling process basically concentrating it.
Have you used B&M soaps yet? I've read they're very close to Mike's in terms of performance (scent being wildly different, it seems).
I will say, after reading your thoughts as well as others I'm feeling pretty stoked about having one representative of each of these soaps in my stash. I'm just missing the fabled Haslinger. Someday.
T&H Trafalgar sample this morning, thoughts coming on Thursday.
I wonder if the loading difference between Mike's and C&S has to do with the latter's milling process basically concentrating it.
Have you used B&M soaps yet? I've read they're very close to Mike's in terms of performance (scent being wildly different, it seems).
I will say, after reading your thoughts as well as others I'm feeling pretty stoked about having one representative of each of these soaps in my stash. I'm just missing the fabled Haslinger. Someday.
T&H Trafalgar sample this morning, thoughts coming on Thursday.
I love reading the transformation of this thread. The members who 3017 and post reviews here are pretty knowledgable about the soaps they use. You may not find a specific soap review quickly, but chances are someone has 3017 already and has great insight to that soap. This thread is probably more informative (and enabling) than the rest of the soap forum. I have purchased more soaps due to the reviews here, which is odd because it all started with Johniegold wanting to use his soaps.
I'm digging the Mike's Rosemary Mint.
AOS measured at 229g before the shave, which is 12g remaining. For today's shave I used my 24x54 Shavemac 2 band. It's kind of stiff so I ended up building lather on the puck of the soap. Decent lather but not great. This brush is just too dang stiff, and it sucks because the 26x58 is absolutely perfect aside from being beastly huge.
I'm mulling over whether I want to buy a pair of 24mm TGN fan shape knots (silvertip and finest) and a pair of WD handles drilled extra deep, and play around with those. I've literally done this once before except with 22mm knots. I'm face lathering 99% of the time now so I'd like some fan brushes, and my TGN Finest fan is set a bit too high. Plus I could get both brushes for about $90 shipped, play with them, and then sell if I get bored at $50-60.
Or should I invest in a trap bar so I can start lifting weights at home again...hmm...
I'm mulling over whether I want to buy a pair of 24mm TGN fan shape knots (silvertip and finest) and a pair of WD handles drilled extra deep, and play around with those. I've literally done this once before except with 22mm knots. I'm face lathering 99% of the time now so I'd like some fan brushes, and my TGN Finest fan is set a bit too high. Plus I could get both brushes for about $90 shipped, play with them, and then sell if I get bored at $50-60.
Or should I invest in a trap bar so I can start lifting weights at home again...hmm...
11th January 2015 - 28th April 2015
105 shaves.
This certainly was a character building exercise and one I'm happy to have performed. I feel more disciplined now and know that the smaller pucks will be a cinch in comparison.
I enjoyed this soap a lot, even though it had a very small window for water additions. Sticking with it helped me dial it in perfectly. The scent was sublime and the post shave feel top class.
I'll be using up some local flavours over the next couple of months. A partial tube of Indian Palmolive will start of proceedings from tomorrow.
The kill list -
2014:
Sept 1st-28th :Speick Shave stick -The soap that started my journey.
Sept 29th-Oct 6th :Arko
Oct 7th-Oct 15th :Amway Dynamite Shaving cream
Oct 16th-Oct 22nd :Haslinger Schafmilch
Oct 23rd-Nov 14th :Biotique Biopalmyra
Nov 15th-Dec 14th :RR KOTC Lavender
Dec 15th-Dec 25th
roraso E&M Green tub
Dec 26th-Dec 31st :Godrej Rich Foam contd...
2015
Jan 1st-Jan 10th :Godrej Rich foam
Jan 11th-April 28thre de Provence
105 shaves.
This certainly was a character building exercise and one I'm happy to have performed. I feel more disciplined now and know that the smaller pucks will be a cinch in comparison.
I enjoyed this soap a lot, even though it had a very small window for water additions. Sticking with it helped me dial it in perfectly. The scent was sublime and the post shave feel top class.
I'll be using up some local flavours over the next couple of months. A partial tube of Indian Palmolive will start of proceedings from tomorrow.
The kill list -
2014:
Sept 1st-28th :Speick Shave stick -The soap that started my journey.
Sept 29th-Oct 6th :Arko
Oct 7th-Oct 15th :Amway Dynamite Shaving cream
Oct 16th-Oct 22nd :Haslinger Schafmilch
Oct 23rd-Nov 14th :Biotique Biopalmyra
Nov 15th-Dec 14th :RR KOTC Lavender
Dec 15th-Dec 25th
roraso E&M Green tubDec 26th-Dec 31st :Godrej Rich Foam contd...
2015
Jan 1st-Jan 10th :Godrej Rich foam
Jan 11th-April 28th
re de Provence
