The next 10 years begins now

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!
brothers
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Post by brothers »

BullGoose wrote:Gary...you will probably live at least another 30 years. You better stock up. :D
Great suggestion Phil, I think I already did that! If all goes according to plan, then at a not-too-distant day, I will be able to reload once again. I've probably got a subconscious list started already.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
greyhawk
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Post by greyhawk »

I have to applaud your efforts. I'm trying not to buy anything new because I have far more product than is defensible. (If my wife finds my stash I am in deep Bandini.)

I have to say, though, that all of this is good in theory, but the unknown variable is that great new products come out periodically. I can't imagine not wanting to try a fantastic new product. That is one of the great joys of this hobby for me.

For example, I just got two tubs of Jabonman soap from Spain. After just one use, they have soared to the top of the charts and would certainly displace something if I were sworn to keeping the den limited to a certain quantity.
95%
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Post by 95% »

Buzz should be everyone's role model. He uses only one soap, Trumper's Sandalwood, and he delights in it every day.

Gary, you can cut those ten years of self-denial down to only a few months if you repurpose your shaving preps as bath soap and hand soap. Shaving creams work well for that purpose, and they go very fast. Another idea is to use a cream - any cream - as a preshave. Just rub in a generous amount and allow it to soften the beard while you prepare your lather.

I would mercilessly discard any product that really doesn't please me. No need to keep it around just because I paid money for it. Sooner than you think, your shelves will be clear, and you can start all over again!
Porter
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Post by brothers »

Porter, this is very wise advice and I appreciate it!
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
rsp1202
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Post by rsp1202 »

95% wrote:. . . No need to keep it around just because I paid money for it. . . .
My poor bank account. Unfortunately, that's been my practice since the beginning. But now I've been given the incentive to continue. Thanks, Porter. :lol:
Ron
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Post by brothers »

Backups for the chosen few are now secure. I'm 11 shaves into my first soap, and it looks like it won't be long before I've finished this one off. It was routinely used over the past 4 years, but this time it's the only one on the shelf, and there it'll stay until the last remnants have gone from my razor to the drain. After this inaugural puck, I'm going to shift my focus to concentrate on working my way those few excellent products of which there are only one or two in my drawer, and which have not made it through to my short list I'll be using (one puck, tub, or tube at a time, of course, from start to finish) until the day I stop shaving. This process of using up the discontinued singles will take many months.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
Whistler
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Post by Whistler »

Gary, I think every wet shaver comes to the point you have reached, some it takes a while longer to hit that feeling that he has enough, for me, I stopped buying razors when I found the Gillette slim set on 3 was as good a shave as I could find, it took me 60 or so razors to understand that, creams and soaps took about 3 years of trial and error to come to the conclusion that creams are the bees knees for me, so I stocked up on Coates when it was available and Taylors before the reformulation, with the 4 or so tubs of T&H in each scent I enjoy, CR Saltier 4 or 6 tubs in the scents I enjoy, there are more in my stash but I'm to embarrassed to list all that I have, this does not include the 10 or so soaps I have but dont use much. Blades were a different story, I still purchased Nos Gillette blades up until last year, but once I reached a 30 year supply that also stopped, now I start a tub of cream and use it up till I reach the end then pick a new tub of a scent I enjoy and use that for 3 or so months till that is gone, and it just repeats.

To me, you are following a normal path of a wet shaver.

To be honest, I found my shaves got better once I started using one cream and sticking to it till the end.
Regards,
Marty
---------------------------------------------------

"Be still! Me mind is a raging torrent flooded with rivulets of thought cascading in a waterfall of creative alternatives."
brothers
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Post by brothers »

Day 12 was a breakthrough, that's a pun because that's the day the bottom of the MWF bowl first showed up. It's probably going to take another 8 or 10 days, give or take a couple, before I get to mark this one off the list and choose the second.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
bernards66
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Post by bernards66 »

Marty, Yep....there you go. Although, personally, I still rotate the shave product every day it is within a fairly narrow range and they are all products I'm quite familiar with. And I agree that most serious wetshavers do, sooner or later, reach a point of sharply diminishing 'experimentation' and urge to acquire. I mean, yes, there is a lot of stuff 'out there', more than there was and more than we were aware of, back when these forums started. But eventually one realizes that there is only so 'good' that it's going to get, and by then one has probably already sampled a lot of different products. It's at this point that one usually stops messing around and settles down with a more focused kit. Afterall, the main point of all this is to consistantly get really good shaves that one enjoys doing. Serious 'collecting' for it's own sake, or major OCD buying ( with the money to comfortably indulge it, hopefully ) are special trips that only a minority are on. Oh...and...( ahem ) now I know whose door to come begging at when I run out of vintage blades ( chuckle ).
Regards,
Gordon
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Post by brothers »

Marty, is it a concern that with so many tubs of shaving cream on hand, they'll eventually deteriorate to the point that someday they'll not be available for you when you want them? Those tubs of Coates, for example, as precious and sought after as they certainly are, must be starting to shrink and harden just a bit?
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
brothers
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Post by brothers »

I've just enjoyed shave #23 (in a row) with the TabacMWF blended soap puck that was about 4 years old and 1/3 of the original size when I started on it three weeks ago. I think I might have enough for 2 more shaves, if I'm lucky, before this one is history. Looks like there'll be a new sheriff in town the early part of next week.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
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fallingwickets
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Post by fallingwickets »

must be starting to shrink and harden just a bit?
I have one like that, but i used it like a soap and it worked fine. I have no basis for comparison, so my experience might be worth naught/nought to you

clive
de gustibus non est disputandum
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Post by brothers »

One down, and a lot more to go. Saturday November 24th was the 24th shave which was the end of the TabacMWF blended soap puck. My next soap will be a fresh full bowl of Straight Razor Designs Opus X soap. I'm not at all experienced with glycerin soaps. The delicious fragrance of the Opus X reminds me of a tobacco shop. Cavendish maybe? I love how it smells. I test lathered it this afternoon with a boar brush, but didn't shave. That will be tomorrow's second use of this tub, with many more to follow, I hope. It'll be fun to see how it holds out and what I learn about it over the next few weeks.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
bernards66
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Post by bernards66 »

Gary, Good work!...and let us know how this new one goes. Generally, soaps of that type don't last nearly as long as something like Tabac. Enjoy!
Regards,
Gordon
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rustyblade
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Post by rustyblade »

I'm still working on the same puck of Tabac I started using in 2005. I don't use it that often, of course. I dug it out of the drawer of shame yesterday, it's very pleasant to use now, it only mildly smells of Tabac. I do like the scent though, but it can be strong. The aftershave I have nicknamed "Liquid Fire". I left the cap off about a year ago to let it mellow. I forgot about it until now, I'll have to try it out.
Richard
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Post by brothers »

Richard, could you detect any difference in the aftershave's intensity after it was uncapped for a time?
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
brothers
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Post by brothers »

Just checking in to say I'm 26 days into the new tub of Straight Razor Designs Opus X soap. I'm still guessing it's going to last at least 50 if not a bit more. The lather is excellent. Not at all what I was expecting from a glycerin soap. Using this soap every day is very easy. I'm looking forward to it every morning.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
brothers
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Post by brothers »

95% wrote:Buzz should be everyone's role model. He uses only one soap, Trumper's Sandalwood, and he delights in it every day.

Gary, you can cut those ten years of self-denial down to only a few months if you repurpose your shaving preps as bath soap and hand soap. Shaving creams work well for that purpose, and they go very fast. Another idea is to use a cream - any cream - as a preshave. Just rub in a generous amount and allow it to soften the beard while you prepare your lather.

I would mercilessly discard any product that really doesn't please me. No need to keep it around just because I paid money for it. Sooner than you think, your shelves will be clear, and you can start all over again!
Porter, thanks for the encouragement. I keep looking at my overstocked inventory with an eye to repurposing, and most recently have started using my Fraser's Polar Ice and Jake's Sport shaving creams for shampoo. I've got the Musgo Real and Yardley shaving soaps ready to use for showering now, and in about 3 or 4 weeks I'll have finished up the delightful SRD Opus X shaving soap. These shelves will soon start feeling a lighter load.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
brothers
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Post by brothers »

In addition, today's thinning activity resulted in the sale of 3 tubes (really cheap) and a trip to the dumpster for two others. I think the easy part is now going to be just using them one by one until the end of time as we know it.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
brothers
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Post by brothers »

Day 31. One full month of shaves from the new tub of Straight Razor Designs Opus X soap. I'd guess a third or a fourth of a tub left. I'm still looking at around 50 shaves before it runs out.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
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