What's new

Say hello to those Shave Sticks (All Turkish shave sticks reviewed)

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
With regard to the Camelot stick, when mine arrives it will go straight into a twist-up shave stick container like this one http://mamabearssoaps.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8&products_id=222. I use the same container for Klar Kabinette, a soap well known for its softness, so Camelot will work much the same. These containers work GREAT and are the perfect size for a shave stick. If you dislike the whole foil thing, or have a soap or stick you just want to grate and put into a stick, you can't go wrong here.

Sadly, my Camelot stick seems to be taking its sweet time getting here. Nothing to do but wait.

I got one of those containers but I don't like that I loose a ring at the bottom to solidify the stick. The old shave stick containers use to be stuck to the bottom of a handle and the user could remove the disc at the end and stick it on top of the new stick so you don't loose anything. I know, we are taking cents here but I like to think that I got all my money's worth and more!

I could always melt a soap that doesn't lather at the bottom so the shave stick would sit on it... I still got to work on those things...
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
Today was my first shave with the GZD shave stick. Review to come on Saturday...

First thing. Packaging! Packaging! Packaging! Like the Camelot Classic, no wrapper, holder, nothing. Loose in the box. I will do the same than the Camelot Classic and use it as is. I really think a wrapper should be considered, it would give the product a better protection.

Second, soft soap, almost as soft as Camelot but not quite. I already have fingerprints in the stick...
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
This is the review for stick number 4. Just a reminder, I used the product daily and I face lather. I do a 3 pass shave with a straight razor and use the left over lather to clean my face after the shave. To complete my routine, I need enough lather for 3 1/2 to 4 passes. There's one stick left after this, the Tweex which will be tried starting tomorrow.

Here are my notes that I got during the week.
$GZD Shave Stick 1.JPG

First the pros:
  • Lather at least 1 notch above Arko like the Camelot stick and I would say pretty much the same than Camelot
  • Very slick lather

The cons now:
  • No wrapper around the stick. Again, this is a major let down for me. I love it when the manufacturer sells a stick in either a wrapper or a container. If the shave stick would be sold as a refill and I could buy a single container designed for that particular shave stick, I would. Bring back the old Erasmic, Williams, Colgate and Gibbs days!
  • The soap is very soft. It's not as soft as Camelot Classic but not close to Arko either. It's pretty soft, finger marks in the stick again. I went from the soft camelot classic to the ultra hard Derby and back to a soft shave stick (GZD).

The scent is a mixture of the Camelot and Derby (Strange I know). It's not too strong, neutral, a bit lemony (Zest again). It's a good scent. I started using the Colgate Face Lathering Method at the beginning of the week. I know, it's not good to change how we do things like that but this one was a good improvement. I don't think I will always do that but for those sticks without any wrapper or holder, it's perfect.

attachment.php

It's fairly simple, you need to rub your wet shaving brush on your face, you then rub the stick on your face. Since it's your face that's wet and not the stick, there's way less water dripping on your finger while you spread the product. Finally, important step that isn't shown here, shake the brush and then build the lather. Chances are that you will still have too much water in your shaving brush so in the end, it will be a too wet lather (Shave 3 had the infamous disappearing lather - Too much water, not enough product). Since I corrected that step, it works like a charm. If you never tried that method, I would advise that you try it. Specially if you have a similar shave stick (no wrapper), it's great!
$GZD Shave Stick 2.JPG

Current ranking:
  • Camelot Stick
  • GZD Stick
  • Arko Stick
  • Derby Stick

I know this review is strangely similar to the Camelot Classic Shave stick. The fact is they are both similar sticks and pretty much up similar to each other. I can't stress enough the fact that the packaging sucks and should be replaced. Having a better packaging would be the best!
$GZD Shave Stick 3.JPG

Next, the Tweex stick! I will do an overall opinion at the end of this journey to explain why they stand in that order.
 
Great in depth review Luc !...I have never tried the Tweex or Camelot ,but I rank GZD above Derby and Arko....My GZD box has actually held up quite well,do to its internal plastic coating ,and I let the stick dry a few minutes before loading it back in,but for sure,I would love to see the old heavy duty metal cans return.
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
Great in depth review Luc !...I have never tried the Tweex or Camelot ,but I rank GZD above Derby and Arko....My GZD box has actually held up quite well,do to its internal plastic coating ,and I let the stick dry a few minutes before loading it back in,but for sure,I would love to see the old heavy duty metal cans return.

I also leave the shave stick out for a little while so it can dry before I put it back in the box. If you like GZD, you would probably like Camelot as they are very similar.
 
They all smell like Arko to me. I know GZD is not a private label by Evyap who owns Arko, but I wonder if Derby is a private label from them. Tweek does not look packaged well enough to be an Evyap item.
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
The scent is like laundry detergent and that stick is not as hard as Derby but it's pretty hard! Nice to have a wrapper on this one!
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
Any particular laundry detergent, Luc? Around here they come in 31 flavors, just like ice cream.

One with a lemony type of fragrance (They like their lemon in Turkey...)...
 
I never tried a shave stick until last night - I have an Arko and a GZD. Went with the GZD. Kind of a pain to use it as there is no wrapper around the stick. The soap gets on your hands and makes holding the brush an adventure. Even more of an adventure picking up the straight razor. It had the typical Turkish bathhouse smell that I remember when I lived there as a teen. Brought back a bunch of pleasant memories. As far as the shave, I was pleasantly surprised. A lot of cushion and pretty slick. I'll definitely give if further tries.

the way i solved the problem with my gzd stick is i took some tin foil and wrapped it around the bottom of the stick. this holds it quite well. i put the stick in a glass spice jar from ikea that is slightly bigger, so when i need it, just turn the glass over, and the tin foil handle falls into my hand. works great. love the soap! love the old laundry detergent smell!
 
I'm betting that shipping cost more than the order...

Here is my Bestshave order from last week:

1 Arko Stick 75g at 1.95 USD
2 10 packs Astra Green Blades at 1.04 USD each, total 2.08
1 Plastic DE razor at 1.75 USD
1 GZD Stick 75g at 1.75 USD
1 Derby 140g puck at 3.59 USD

Subtotal 11.12 USD
Shipping from Istanbul, Turkey to Ludington, Michigan 5.90 USD

Total 17.02 USD

In the past I have made larger orders with Bestshave and the shipping for a $40 order was $9.50 IIRC.

The Derby pucks were coming with five Derby DE blades when that product first came out, I don't know if that is still the case or not.

Luc, as for the sticks that were too soft to hold comfortably, I like to smush them into my shaving mug with the bottom of a large prescription bottle. It works for Arko and sounds like it would work for Camelot and GZD (of which Joe from Shave A Buck and I had a few posts in another thread talking about this very issue when GZD first came out and Joe was testing it for possible sale at his store, IIRC Joe seemed to agree with me that the sticks could easily be used in that form).
 
Last edited:
I would Mix the Derby with the Camolot in a Anchor Hocking 1 cup glass bowl with lid. That would balance things out.
 
I bought the same assortment on Ebay Luc, I have only tried the Derby though at this point(besides Arko of course). I think I like Arko more so far, we'll see...
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
I bought the same assortment on Ebay Luc, I have only tried the Derby though at this point(besides Arko of course). I think I like Arko more so far, we'll see...

Nice! There are good and great shave sticks in there. There are some that I will buy again and others that I won't. Everything will be known at the end of the journey, this Saturday!
 
I have a GZD stick on the way. It will take a while to get here, but I'm looking forward to trying it.

Dave
 
Great series of posts Luc!
I really appreciate your write ups on these sticks.

Never tried sticks before - I do have a pile of Arko (mr R. Vey hooked me) but put them in jars.
Nice, effective lather with a big bang for the buck.

I like the Colgate method so I will certainly try that some day!
 
Top Bottom