Hard Soap review: Classic Shaving

What is your opinion on fine shaving creams and hard soaps? Do you like Trumpers, Coates, Taylors, Truefitt & Hill? Post your reviews and opinions here!
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Sam
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Post by Sam »

Todd: I kinda experienced the same thing with ray's soap, that it was cutting "thin" compared to say the trumpers cream. but today, i shaved with ray's citrus spice, the only one i have used, with my new kent brush. well, i made a good lather in the mug and it was just as rich and dense as the trumpers cream. i had never had this before. maybe it was my old brush. i am getting some joris soap from gordon and will post on that, but i can see me using soaps and creams until i get as good a shave with the soaps, then i would only use those.
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Gramps
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Post by Gramps »

First... let me apologise for bringing this older post back to the top, but I had to make a comment....

A few weeks ago, I ordered a leather strop and a stone from Classicshaving.... great service and fast shipping compared to other shipments I have had from the USA... in this order, I also got a cake of the 'Citrus Spice' soap (I ordered it because the adv. said it was similar to Old Spice).
You all know me a little by now, I am not a 'newbie' with wet-shaving.

The first thing was the cake did not (to me) smell like Old Spice, but it does have a citrusy smell, hence the name I suppose.
I was almost to the end of a cake of my usual, Williams... so I waited till this past week to use the new soap.
Like Chris' original post I felt a 'burning' sensation when I applied the lather to my face. I thought it must be "just a new soap".
The shave went no better than I was used to with the Williams, but I still had the burning sensation. I did not apply the Old Spice as is my habit, but some Aloe gel to ease the uncomfortable feeling of my face "on Fire"!!
The next day (Monday) I woke up with not razor burn, but a real RASH on my neck and chin. I thought it was razor burn though and figured I had got a bad blade or something.... (used the DE for the trial shave)
Soooooo... stupid me, I lather up again with the Citrus Spice and shave with the Str8.......... not a smart thing to do.... burn burn burn Within a couple of hours my face looked like it had been attacked by red ants and only now, Thursday morning, is starting to look like it is healing. I skipped shaving the last couple of days.

I think I will melt this crap outta' my mug and toss it!! I will wait for my order of Taylors to arrive from Charles.... other than that, I am back to the Williams which has served me well since Old Spice quit making their cake soap.

Hope I didn't bore anyone,

Gramps
~~ Larry ~~
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Post by rschul2 »

Sounds like whatever the burning sensation is is also causing an allergic reaction (at least in Gramps' case). I was planning on purchasing a travel tin from classicshaving so I could travel with my shave soap. I noticed that you get a free shave soap and I was wondering if this is a common reaction to all of his shave soaps, or only certain types. Any info would be appreciated.
Randy
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VinceFX
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Post by VinceFX »

For awhile it seemed like this shaving soap had about a 50% success rate....meaning that if you bought some you would have a 50/50 chance as to whether or not it would work with your skin type.

Generally I perceive that one will either love this soap or hate it completely due to irritation.

I'm not sure what the ingredients are but lately, based on consumer feedback, it seems these soaps are starting to decline in quality. I would recommend staying away from them unless Ray changes the formula or specifically addresses the possible cause of the burning.

Vince
:::Vince:::
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clownjuggles
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Post by clownjuggles »

Randy,

I would suggest maybe get a saddle soap container and take the soap out for a cheaper container. If you do decide to go with a classic shaving container i would suggest the unscented soap. It seems to me that I recall people having fewer reactions with the unscented.
Peter
"Attend the Tale of Sweeney Todd
His skin was pale and his eye was odd,
he shaved the faces of gentlemen who never
there after were heard of again. He trod a path
that few have trod, did Sweeney Todd,
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
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VinceFX
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Post by VinceFX »

Gentlemen,

I just received some interesting information from Ray at classicshaving.com about their line of shaving soaps.

Before I get into it I must say that Ray is blunt. Actually, he kinda ripped into me and this forum for exhibiting some "irresponsible behavior" and posting comments without being fully informed...blah blah blah. Once I got past filtering out some of his more emotional comments I was left with some key take aways that actually do make sense. Being the objective and reasonable guy that I am, I think it is only fair to follow-up on my previous post about his soap.

First of all it turns out that about 6 months ago classicshaving.com went through the effort of completely revamping their shaving soap formula. They also changed raw materials providers as a means to making the soap more compatible with users. Apparently the very few reports of burning and irritation were taken very seriously so they took the approprate steps to achieve maximum customer satisfaction. According to Ray only 0.001% of customers reported irritation. He is of course basing this on the ratio of negative reports to total amount of soap sold.

I do consider Ray a genuine and credible guy so I do take his word for it on the estimated percentage of negatively impacted users.

I therefore retract my recommendation to stay away from this soap. Statistically speaking your odds of having a great shave seem pretty damn good after all. Well...at least better than 50/50 as I stated earlier :-P

I will add that I now plan on trying this soap for myself. However, if I do experience any burning :oops: you can bet your asses you will all hear about it!!!

In closing, let it be known that shavemyface.com is all about "community" and sharing opinions. If you guys think a product is great then say it, if you think it sucks then scream it! I honestly don't care what you base you opinions on. We as readers will judge for ourselves if a post is credible or not. Even now I'm really only retracting a portion of my post because 1) I haven't tried the product and 2) I run this site so I guess I should be a little more objective.

For all you busy bodies who want to know exactly what Ray said, here is a link to the email transcript. Viewer discretion is advised =;
:::Vince:::
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Post by rschul2 »

Vince,
Thanks for the follow up on the classicshaving soap. Very interesting. I think Ray has a point in the incompatability issue. I, for one, have skin that for whatever reason is incompatible with the Taylor's shave creams, but I am glad that this forum allows all people to give their OPINIONS on any and everything. AND people should take opinions as that--opinions. Still thanks for all you do with the sight allowing for dissemination of information.
Randy
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Gramps
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Post by Gramps »

Well......

Maybe (?) I should have e-mailed Mr Classicshaving with my opinion ... I don't know.... if he reads this column, then .. Ray I apologise for not emailing you first.

Now, I am not allergic to any known foods, minerals, meds, or booze or anything else you can think of.... THAT I AM AWARE OF.... maybe there is something in the soap that is a new earthly substance ??? Don't know.

But... I do not draw back from my "crap" comment!!! Because to me it IS CRAP... my opinion.... it was my money that purchased it, (paid the damn exchange on the dollar and the gov't surcharges etc) and it was my face that broke out/reacted/got irritated,,, whatever phrase you want to put on it.
I went through as many posts as I could at "Wetshavers" and without a search feature at MSN... it is almost impossible to find what you are looking for.

Guess I'll be on his 'banned list for orders' now too.... (yeah I read the last one on Wetshavers... BS too)

I will try the Taylors when it arrives from QED and I will post my opinion here on that too.

Thanks Vince for an HONEST FORUM through which we are allowed to express our thoughts and opinions without worrying about hurting someones' feelings...... my post had nothing to do with Ray personally... just the damn soap. And thanks for posting the entire e-mail from Ray.

Shaking my head up north,

Gramps
~~ Larry ~~
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Johnnie
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Post by Johnnie »

I have in fact tried the classic shaving soap and it irritated the shit out of my neck. It should be called "ASSICSHAVING or ACIDSHAVING." Who in the hell does this guy think he is telling Vince, the creator of this website that he basically shouldn't be honest. He also said that he does not affiliate himself with any other forums. I could have sworn that I read in another forum I saw a topic that read "classicshaving.com supports methodshaving.com" I also could have sworn that I read an article by Ray on the same site. This guy is off his rocker.

I know that if I were a vendor I would refund Gramps his money and anyone else who was not completely satisfied with my product. I have dealt with several vendors in the past and they were more than happy to refund me my money without me even asking.

Gentlemen please continue stating your opinions. Without opinions we wouldn't have the knowledge that we do. It is nice that we have vendors who care about their customers but it is unfortunate that we also have vendors who want to rain on everyones parade.

Ray since I know you read this site, start your own site and talk about whatever you want. You can be the FCC on your own site. Don't come here and bark orders. Fix your ACID SOAP then come and tell us that how great it is.

Shave my face is all about opinion. No one should ever be punished for stating their opinion. That is why I love this site. There is no other forum where you can do that without getting booted by some grumpy old man.

Thanks for running an honest and opinionated site!
Johnnie
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Gramps
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Post by Gramps »

Thanks Johnnie but that is a 'bit' harsh on Ray...

Number one... as pointed out, I did not e-mail him or report my experience to him before posting... my bad. I forget sometimes that this is the Internet and not just a group of guys chewing the fat. I apologised for that....

I don't need or want any refund, for that I would have had to report it to Ray, return the un-used portion and pay cross-border shipping again and,, and,, on it goes.

I got considerable pleasure melting the sh*t down in the nuke-oven and pouring it into an old cat food can! Made the kitchen smell nice though.

As I am given to understand, Ray is an OK guy and a great businessman, read the posts all over the WWW.... just a look at his site will show anyone, he appears to be dedicated to Wet-Shaving and making products available. I in no way want anyone to think I consider it any other way. I just think the cake soap FOR ME is crap!!! I have tried a lot of stuff in 35 years and this is the first time I have had this "problem". "Acid Shaving" might be a good term for what I experienced with that soap... but alot of guys swear by it too (that's why I ordered a cake).

Nuff said....
I will be dealing with Charles for ALL my future toiletries anyway.
Well, maybe EM also, I like some of the stuff on that site too !!!
But.. mama says I got to 'slow down' a bit with the credit card and paypal... heh heh... got to keep mama happy for sure!!

- Gramps
~~ Larry ~~
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Johnnie
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Post by Johnnie »

Gents,

If it sounded a bit harsh. Good. I am not trying to offend anyone in here but Ray is the reason that this site was created. If he can't handle opinions about his product, then oh well. I appreciate anyone who reports to us with their opinions.

I understand that we as consumers may not want a refund but any good vendor would have done so. Especially in a small community such as this.

I think we should leave his letter up for a while and let people see what kind of business man he is.

I will try my best not to touch on this topic anymore. :twisted:

I have to vent somewhere.
Johnnie
Keep it Wet
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VinceFX
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Post by VinceFX »

I hope to wrap up this thread with this final response. When I posted the update and Ray's email I did not expect such a heated debate. Here is my position:

1. This site exists to share opinions both objective and subjective alike.

2. It is my little mission to spread the word about wet shaving and facilitate the sharing of knowledge and information. I therefore want to present relevant and factual information as often as possible. That was my primary motivation for making my post and linking to Ray's letter.

3. I have nothing personal against Ray. I think he and his business are all about sharing the passion for wet shaving which we too all have. I therefore think highly of his business. Having a mutual respect is good for both classicshaving.com and shavemyface.com and I hope we can still achieve that. I do wish he would lighten up though on the tone he conveys in his correspondences. All anyone ever has to do is send me an email with their concerns and I will listen. There is no need to bad mouth our management or call into question our motives. Our motives were made clear when this site was started and are currently posted on our home page.

4. I will not delete this thread nor the letter from Ray. I think this is all good information even if some of it is mixed with criticism. If a reader comes along and discovers that Ray changed his formula, I think that person should decide for themselves if they want to try his product. I would then hope that person comes back and reports their experience.

5. I do appreciate the support and loyalty of all members on this forum. Though your opinions are sometimes...uhh...a bit strong and guided by emotion I hold you all in very high regard and I'm really happy to be able to interact with you all.

OMG...are you still reading this? It's over! Now get back to work and stop reading my jibber jabber!

Vince
:::Vince:::
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Post by blackgrass »

Now get back to work and stop reading my jibber jabber!
Work????? What's that? I'm just concentrating on growing out my whiskers so I can look forward to shaving in the morning! Who has time for work? :P
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clownjuggles
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Post by clownjuggles »

Get back to work? Vince I have been at work since 7 am!
Peter
"Attend the Tale of Sweeney Todd
His skin was pale and his eye was odd,
he shaved the faces of gentlemen who never
there after were heard of again. He trod a path
that few have trod, did Sweeney Todd,
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
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Gramps
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Post by Gramps »

Good Job Vince!

I have no idea WHY this BB was created and can only find "phantom-like" allusions to past events on other boards.

I only know I like it here, the guys are great, the info is the best and the only attitudes seem to come from 'outside'..... :bull :lol:

BUT.... Vince, if you start 'carving out 'the ........................................TEN Commandments of Wet Shaving........................
and start wanting to call us all "wet something-or-others" I'll have to re-think my position... :-k :-s

I posted from work in the middle of the night...
I am not going back now... I am home ffor the weekend!

Take care,

Gramps
~~ Larry ~~
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Gramps
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Post by Gramps »

Glad you got a proper response Chris.

Hope you get the razor you wanted too!

Gramps
~~ Larry ~~
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