I have been wet shaving for only 6 months and have been searching for the perfect soap, razor and aftershave like everybody else. I documented my journey on another forum shaving with well over 100 soaps but was a newby and only using a beginner's razor (Merkur 38c barberpole) for my tests so I feel like I missed out on a lot by not using different razors. As you know a soap review with a mild razor holds no ground if you're using a straight razor. This time I will test and review each soap with razors that are typically recommended to new DE shavers along with some different ones for Fun. The razors I will use for the most part are: Straight razors Gillette Aristocrat Gillette Post War Tech Gillette WW I Officer OC Merkur 38c Barberpole Gillette Adjustable All of these are readily available and frequently owned by new Shavers except for the World War 1 open comb however it is very similar to Vintage and modern open comb designs and serves that purpose well from a review standpoint. In the end I'm looking for a thread that I can use as a personal reference for shave soap and what I prefer with certain razors. Eventually I forget what I rate certain soaps and need to go back somewhere for reference, this will be my reference. I encourage you all to help me out along the way especially with the straight razors because I am new to those and can use all the help I can get. I would also like to collect a few straights along the way since the ones I own currently are for practice honing and don't serve as a good foundation for reviewing.
Martin de Candre Fougere ( I wanted to start with a soap that is extremely well known and well tested by wet shavers. This will serve as a good base for my mild razors aggressive razors and Straits.) I wont typically take all of these redundant pictures but wanted to for the first post showing my methods. With Martin de Candre you only need to use 0.4 grams to obtain a very thick 3 pass shave. If you don't like wasting lather you could get by with .2 - .3 grams. I am using a synthetic 30mm monster so I love to use up soap. Slickness 8.5/10 Residual slickness 7.5/10 Cushion 8/10 Moisturizing 7/10 ( the downfall of this soap in my humble opinion) Scent 8/10 the Fougere scent is fantastic. It is spot-on and very clean smelling however it could definitely be stronger like 2 or 3 times stronger even. If this was twice the strength it would score almost a 10. Overall 8/10 if the soap was cheaper I could recommend it to New Shavers but at this price I think it's something you need to sample for yourself before going out and buying a full tub. There are much better soaps out there for a fraction of the price. Still this is something I will probably always have in my Den and always come back to have as a reference point for new soaps. Edit: tomorrow will be MdC with the tech followed by the next day with a straight followed by the next day with the aristocrat Exedra until moving on to the next soap which will be randomly selected and tested the same way until I run through all my soaps. My goal of this experiment is to see how much my reviews change with different razors. I use a feather blade almost exclusively but sometimes will use an Astra SP. I will be sure and include this information in my review. Today was a feather.
Thanks! I'll definitely be seeking your knowledge on straight razors after my first SR review here. I completely forgot to include what razor I was using this test. Set to 3 I would say this is on the milder side but not as mild as the 38 or tech. I won't ruin the surprise but I hope the milder razors give MdC a better rating.
I'm surprised that you're maintaining this thread on two separate forums. I found your other thread pretty helpful and it's also a fun read in general. I think that this will be another great thread if you stick it out and I'm looking forward to your reviews now that you're more experienced and you're sticking to a certain methodology this time.
The other thread was closed because I was deemed to be self promoting in it by giving away free soap and openly accepting samples from other members. The MdC reviewed above was a sample given to me by another generous member. So here I am, the TOU here don't seem to be as strict and the members post a lot less noise and a lot more substance. I hope to contribute some substance of my own as well. Today's shave was MdC with a Gillette Aristocrat. This soap loads extremely easily and after 20ml of water is added will grow into a very thick rich lather. 0.2 grams used today. Slickness 8.5/10 Residual slickness 7.5/10 Cushion 8.5/10 Moisturizing 7/10 Scent 8/10 Overall 8/10 Overall the same score but the cushion feels a little better since there is less blade gap on the aristocrat. The razor did clog from time to time because it has a small gap between the blade and safety bar however it was not excessive and provided a very close BBS shave. I know a lot of people put this in their top 5 but my skin prefers super fatted Butters like Shea and kokum. My skin also likes avocado oil in the summer and less saponified coconut oil.
Sounds like Badger & Blade. I think you'll find the atmosphere here to be a bit slower and more relaxed.
MdC with WW I open comb This review is all about perceived slickness and perceived cushion because it's the same soap I used with my less aggressive razors. Slickness 7/10 Residual slickness 6/10 Cushion 6/10 Moisturizing 7/10 Scent 8/10 Overall 6.5/10 I really enjoyed shaving with this vintage open comb but I prefer to do it with several days of growth and with a soap which contains lots of superfatted Butters. Today I only had 18 hours of growth so it was a little aggressive for that. I still really enjoyed this shave and consider it part of my journey.
Keep it up Benjamin. I'm watching with interest. I've never shaved with Martin de Candre, so I can't weigh in here. Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
Rockclimber, your reviews are excellent! Thank you for those posts. I look forward to seeing more, and especially like that you have a "residual slickness" category. That sounds like typical Squirrel & Nut. You will find The Shave Den is a lot more open and friendly. Wetshaving information is welcomed here, not censored.
Extremely friendly and knowledgeable so far! There's a ton of soaps discussed on here that I've never even heard of which is fantastic. MdC with a post war tech. That picture was my 3rd pass so I pulled as much soap out of the bowl and brush as I could for the last pass. I hate wasting soap and MdC always loads enough for five or six passes. Slickness 8/10 Residual slickness 7.5/10 Cushion 8.5/10 Moisturizing 7/10 Scent 8/10 Overall 8.1/10 The score is just a smidge higher because the perceived slickness and residual slickness are higher with this mild razor. The lowly post war tech cuts through 24 hours of growth with ease. The only thing I do differently is add a slight bit more water and air to the mixture which prevents the razor from clogging. Definitely not a yogurt like consistency which is critical to maintain with the more aggressive razors. I feel that the tech is the best razor for a newbie out of the ones I have reviewed so far. I don't know how the tech was ever replaced by these multi blade monstrosities. Simple and effective.
MdC is one of, if not, my favorite shave soap. I understand that some folks may find it drying to the skin, but I enjoy both the ease of lather-making and the thick & slick lather the ever-lasting puck produces. I shave with a straight razor and am quite satisfied with the glide MdC provides. Is it as slick as a good-quality tallow soap? Perhaps—perhaps not, but i've had some hit-or-miss experiences with renowned tallow soaps. I know there are comparable soaps that cost less (Route 66, for example, is another of my favorites and costs considerable less per puck), but I've not found one that is as consistent nor as long-lasting as the MdC jars. I've used two of the 200g jars (regular and fougére scent) for the past two and a half years fairly regularly (maybe 3-4x a week) and both jars still contain nearly 75%. I do appreciate your efforts in testing and sharing. Info exchange is what make this forum a must-read. Good luck in your futures soap ventures!
Or suggest that someone should go ahead and purchase a Patchouli scented soap he's interested in. Especially when a retired Navy Mod opines about stinkin' hippies. That'll get ya a spanking. Very good set of qualities to your evaluation. Thank you for sharing your personal preferences, too. Knowing you already lean towards or away from certain ingredients may shade your opinions. I'm looking forward to reading more.
Thank you gentleman. My straight razor shave will be tomorrow with MdC and from what I have read this is a soap made for straight razor shaving so I'm hoping that my newbie skills will be up to the task! I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to review it numerically but I'll do my best and hopefully you all can help me out along the way. One quick question, would you all recommend a thinner or thicker lather for straight razor shaving? I've read conflicting opinions on this especially in relation to tallow. Since MdC is stearic acid and coconut oil I would assume a little thicker yogurt consistency?
I prefer a thicker lather for SR shaving. Thick yogurt (no fruit or granola added) would be a good description.
