Pyrate Cove Soapworks

Discussion in 'Shave Soaps' started by jabberwock, Jan 30, 2013.

  1. jabberwock

    jabberwock Well-Known Member

    I managed to stumble upon a great low cost soap recently and have nothing but good results and good things to report in regards to it. The soap is a glycerin heavy melt and pour soap produced right here in Texas by the Pyrate Cove Soapworks. I was reading an old blog post by Leisure Guy about good quality artisan shave soaps when I noticed a comment from one of his readers about the Pirate's Cove Soapworks, which is a defunct domain name for a still currently produced shave soap. After a little checking I found a lot of good comments about this soap, so I went to their site and ordered up a few pucks. Their soaps cost between $3 and $4, depending on which scent you order. Currently the shipping is free and there are no taxes charged, so the price of the soap is all you will pay (Tom, from the Pyrate Cove, has told me that this nice little perk is only temporary and that they will soon have to charge for shipping, but at such a low cost per puck, a shipping charge is not going to take much away from the great value of this soap).

    A little bit of forum sleuthing into the products of Pyrate Cove Soapworks will turn up two things. The first is that many new shavers used their incredibly inexpensive soaps as their introduction to wet shaving and still like them, even after branching out and trying other products. The second is that they used to go by the name "Pirate's Cove Soapworks" and that their former domain is off line. It's this second issue that caused many people to believe that they had gone out of business. This is not the case. The Pyrate Cove Soapworks simply have a new name and new domain, http://www.pyratecovesoapworks.com/ or http://www.pyratecovesoapworks.com/index3.htm if you are using a mobile device or have issues with the regular domain, a little googling will reveal this fact. The folks who did find the new web site had tons of speculation centering on the idea that the company had gone down and then changed their name due to legal or copyright reasons, but during a brief email chat with Tom, from Pyrate Cove, I asked him about this issue and learned what actually happened. This is Tom's response to my question about the name change:

    "Oh Man! OK, I'm still not sure what exactly happened, but the old host I had vanished! Nobody knew at the time what happened to him & I haven't checked in over a year. There was tons of speculation but the reality was a lot of people were left swinging in the breeze. I drove by the business address that I was given & it was a Chinese restaurant! I couldn't even contact the host to request my site to be changed to another host. So I changed it the old English spelling & dropped the s in hopes people would do a search & maybe stumble on it. Several have & have spread the word.
    With the economy the way it is & the site vaporizing, its been tough. I'm sure a lot of people thought the ship sunk but we're still making soap. It was tough hand to be dealt, but I just laugh about it now. That's about all you can do sometimes.
    Just Pyrate luck I reckon :X"

    So, how does this soap perform? I broke out the Cucumber and Melon soap this morning to give it a try. My first impressions of the soap are that it is strongly scented and feels very slick without being overpowering or greasy. The packaging is a simple tissue paper wrap with a Pyrate Cove Soapworks label on the front and another securing it in the back. The paper is kind of a pain to fully remove from the soap, but it's worth the effort. Properly loading up my brush took a bit more work than I usually have to put into a soap, but that extra effort resulted in a lot of slick and thick lather. The scent is pleasant and really comes out when you lather, but dissipates pretty quickly after the shave. Many of the comments that I've read in regards to this soap talk about the great scent, but mediocre lather; however, I found that with a little extra work this soap perform extremely well. There was pretty good cushion and the soap let my razor glide across my skin with no irritation, even using a three day old Voskhod (a blade that I normally find a bit harsh). I did have to refresh my brush after the second pass, but it took much less time to load a sufficient amount the second time around. Afterwards my skin felt glass smooth and had a faint, but pleasant cucumber scent lingering on it.

    All things considered, I was very happy with this soap. With a little extra time dedicated to loading up the brush this soap performs beautifully and is worth much more than $3. This soap would probably be amazing as a superlather, but even without any other product added I highly recommend giving it a shot. At $3 to $4 per puck and with no taxes and free shipping how can you lose?

    Here are some images of the soap (yeah, I know my sink looks rough...even after bleaching it I couldn't get those stains out, it looked a lot worse when I first moved in).

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  2. Sam D.

    Sam D. Member

    Cool ! If I hadn't a Fitjar on its way... if I had'nt already mentally bought a PannaCrema...

    But it's always a pleasure to see independant producers launching a business in this domain !
     
    FatherofSquirrel likes this.
  3. 178-bplatoon

    178-bplatoon Well-Known Member

    :happy096: Great review!! Snagged me anyway...:happy102: I just ordered 3 pucks Lavender,Bay Rum&Lime and Manderine. Your right the price is just too good to pass up....:) I'll do a review of them once they get here and I can give them a try....:shaver

    [Edit] I've been using the BayRum and Lime for over a week now and I'm liking it.
     
    FatherofSquirrel likes this.
  4. jabberwock

    jabberwock Well-Known Member

    I'm always happy to bring people's attention to a good product flying under the radar

    Just keep in mind that if you get too thin a lather that you probably just need to load up the brush a bit longer, as my pictures demonstrate this soap can give you some serious lather with just a little bit of extra work.
     
  5. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    Try using a pumice stone like they sell for removing calluses. It will get most stains off of porcelain. Nice review, by the way.
     
  6. Shaver X

    Shaver X Well-Known Member

    Thanks for a great review!

    The Pirate's Cove used to be often recommended and praised on the forums a few years ago. I think the name change and new website URL led many to think they had gone out of business.
     
    crackstar likes this.
  7. Erik Redd

    Erik Redd Lizabeth, baby, I'm comin' to join ya.

    I've got more soaps and creams than I'll ever finish, but you forced me to order another one. Got a puck of the bay rum soap on the way. My wife's going to be mad at you.:)
     
    crackstar and PatrickA51 like this.
  8. Hayter

    Hayter Active Member

    I just got the three I ordered in and they all smell very strong. I am going to try the bayrum and ginger tomorrow. I ordered the bay rum and ginger, bay rum and lime and rose. With how strong the smells are I am sure the lather will smell fantastic. I will update with the lather tomorrow morning.
     
  9. 178-bplatoon

    178-bplatoon Well-Known Member

    You may have started or restarted something jabberwock...:) Maybe "Pyrate Cove" should give you a little something for the interest your post has generated?? My 3 soaps(BayRum & Lime, Manderine and Lavender) arrived yesterday also. I agree with you Hayter if they lather as strong as they smell, should be a good soap!! :shaver
     
  10. jabberwock

    jabberwock Well-Known Member

    They smell great when lathered, but the scent does dwindle after the shave. I don't mind that so much seeing as I prefer the scent of my eShave Cucumber after shave or my Aqua Di Gio cologne.

    I don't need anything in return for spreading the word about Pyrate Cove, I'm just happy to help a good soap spread its name and, hopefully add to the company's longevity. It's always disappointing to find a great company only to have them disappear due to a lack of customers.

    Just remember, you haven't actually tried the soap yet, you may end up hating it. I doubt that will happen, but you never know.

    When you load up the brush remember to load a bit more than you probably would with other soaps, I've found that these soaps require a little extra work for a really good lather.
     
    178-bplatoon likes this.
  11. Hayter

    Hayter Active Member

    I got to mess with the soaps today a little bit. The one i got to try out was the Bay-Rum & Ginger. The smell is very strong of ginger, and the lather is very slick and smooth. I used my VDH pure badger brush and loaded it for about 30 seconds using the puck in my apothecary mug. The lather built up very quickly for me. However what i did a bit differently was i soaked it in hot water for about 5 mins or so.

    This made laoding the bruish really easy and building the lather on my face was very quick. I dont know if it could be a super lather type soap (keep in mind I am still new) as I could not get a really thick layer, but this does not detract from the scent or the slickness of the soap. If anyone has has a lot of expertise at getting a really awesome lather going could try this stuff out. I am sure they could get a really good lather out of it.

    As for the scent lasting. I smelled the scent on my face for a few hours after rinsing it off, and i really enjoy the scent of the soap. I really hope the lime one and the rose are the same way. If i can figure out how to super lather this stuff, i will continuously use this stuff on the regular.
     
    PLANofMAN likes this.
  12. drewcandraw

    drewcandraw Member

    After seeing this thread, i hopped online and ordered 3 pucks- sandalwood, bay-rum & ginger and lime...like everyone else said scents are very strong...will try one of pucks out tonight...will report back when tomorrow on my thoughts

    Super fast shipping too in my opinion
     
  13. Lexicon Devil

    Lexicon Devil the Liberace of shaving

    Just ordered Bay Rum and Lime pucks. Jabb, you should get a commission.
     
  14. 178-bplatoon

    178-bplatoon Well-Known Member

    Well I broke out my Bay and Lime this morning. "SMELLS" Great, No problem lathering it!! Still needs more testing,but so far I "LIKE" it...:) Makes a nice feeling lather, enough for a 3-4 pass shave....My only tiny concern as of now is when I was using it this morning, I noticed a slight "tingling" I guess you could call it on my face. It wasn't painful or irritating, just not normal and noticable. I'll be using the Pyrates Cove soap all this week, so I'll just keep an eye on it and see what if anything developes...:shaver
     
    Hayter likes this.
  15. Hayter

    Hayter Active Member

    ok. so i think i have figured the stuff out a bit. I soak the puck in my bowl about about 2 mins with hot water and drain the water out. the brush should be soaked and still damp. I load the brush up for about 15 to 20 seconds. What i get in the bowl is better than i have been getting when i first started with it. Tell me what ya think!

    [​IMG]
     
    FatherofSquirrel and PLANofMAN like this.
  16. jabberwock

    jabberwock Well-Known Member

    Hey, good work. It can be a bit difficult to get lathering down because it's just not a skill that has much in common with any other skill (except maybe hand whisking). It is the one part of traditional shaving that took me a bit of work to figure out. I am still figuring out how to get a good thick lather without making too much. I hate wasting soap, so I try to make only what is absolutely necessary.

    I'm glad that so many folks are enjoying these soaps, I am really happy with their performance and I have found Tom, the owner and proprietor of Pyrate Cove Soapworks, to be an accessible and friendly guy. It's difficult for small operations to do well in a market that has so many choices for such a small customer base, but when there is a good product out there it at least deserves a chance.
     
    FatherofSquirrel and Hayter like this.
  17. Hayter

    Hayter Active Member

    I don't mind wasting soap. I load it up more to make sure I have plenty for touch ups if I need it.
     
  18. iambatman85

    iambatman85 Well-Known Member

    All this glowing praise has prompted me to order two pucks of the soap. The free shipping is what really did it for me. I don't mind in they take a while to get here since there was no shipping. I ordered the Lime soap and the Rose soap. Two scents I have been really wanting to try.
     
  19. jabberwock

    jabberwock Well-Known Member

    The Cucumber and Mellon is by far my favorite. I love the smell and it's only $3.
     
    FatherofSquirrel likes this.
  20. iambatman85

    iambatman85 Well-Known Member

    The soap came in on monday so I just had to Shave with it. Melted both into different bowls and using two different brushes lathered them both up. The scents are amazing. They smell a little on the strong side when you smell the puck but mellow out when whipped up into a lather. I used lime on the right side of my face and the Rose on my left. It was very interesting to have both scents on my face. I found the best way for me to lather them was to build the lather right on the puck. It took about 30 seconds to whip up a nice creamy lather. The protection was great and the razor was just gliding all over my face. If I get any more addicted to this shaving thing I'm gonna have to shave my head so I can keep shaving. :D
     
    FatherofSquirrel likes this.

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