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Martin de Candre usage

Tirvine

ancient grey sweatophile
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Over the past twelve months I have shaved three passes every day. I may have used Pre de Provence a very few times, but for the vast majority of the last year this is how much soap I have consumed. If you are put off by the Martin de Candre price tag, this may be a useful point of reference.
 
I am now primarily an MdC user. The 130 g Le Canele size has yielded 175 3 pass shaves and there are more shaves to go.

It isn’t a cheap soap but based on its longevity it is not unreasonably expensive. For me the decision to use MdC is easy. Great performance at a decent if not great price. I have also not found the soap to be drying as some have reported. (The only soap that was too drying for me was Proraso Green)
 
It might be great soap but this is the equivalent to the Excalibur guys…
In my current state and after all the stuff that I have stocked up hearing that there is soap that will last nearly indefinitely is the last that I want to hear :letterk1:

Seriously if I have whittled down all the impulse buys (1-2 years) I will give the high-end stuff (MdC, SV) some thought.
 
If the brush question was addressed to me, I use the following brushes equally:
  • Rudy Vey Rubberset type Manchurian
  • Rudy Vey/Shavemac 2 band 2018 LE
  • Rudy Vey Persian Jar with Shavemac 2 band
  • Shavemac Beagle 2 band
  • Omega 011842 (Connaught Jade)
  • Simpson Classic 2 (best)
  • Simpson Duke 3 best
  • Simpson Chubby 1 super
None of the brushes are huge but none are sparse and I load heavy.
 

Tirvine

ancient grey sweatophile
What brushes do you usually use? A Wee Scot or a Chubby 3, for example, this could make quite a difference.

How hard is your water? How long do you normally load your brushes?
I currently use a Kent BK4 and a BKB4, but for most of the year I alternated chiefly between the BK4 and a Chubby 1 in best badger. So, smallish brushes. Our water is quite hard. I load by twirling atop the puck a little under ten seconds. More would have me dripping lather. One loading is much more than enough for all three passes. I dip the tips in hot water for the second and third latherings because I like the feeling of face lathering with everything warm.
 

Tirvine

ancient grey sweatophile
It might be great soap but this is the equivalent to the Excalibur guys…
In my current state and after all the stuff that I have stocked up hearing that there is soap that will last nearly indefinitely is the last that I want to hear :letterk1:

Seriously if I have whittled down all the impulse buys (1-2 years) I will give the high-end stuff (MdC, SV) some thought.
Prudent to use what you have! I am not hawking Martin de Candre. I just wanted to offer something concrete regarding the use of it so that anyone who wants to try it will have a feel for one person's usage. Obviously, on a per shave basis I do not find it particularly pricy, but the initial outlay is the cost of a fancy steak dinner and two martinis!
 
Prudent to use what you have! I am not hawking Martin de Candre. I just wanted to offer something concrete regarding the use of it so that anyone who wants to try it will have a feel for one person's usage. Obviously, on a per shave basis I do not find it particularly pricy, but the initial outlay is the cost of a fancy steak dinner and two martinis!
I don’t mind the cost but shudder that it will last for ages. I’m currently rotating 3 soaps (Vitos Tabacco, Vitos Extra Super Coco and Proraso Red) + 1 treat (Officina Artigiana Milano) when I’m getting bored of the other three. Seeing some progress on the 500ml tube is satisfying but the little Vitos tub is lasting and lasting…
 

Tirvine

ancient grey sweatophile
I don’t mind the cost but shudder that it will last for ages. I’m currently rotating 3 soaps (Vitos Tabacco, Vitos Extra Super Coco and Proraso Red) + 1 treat (Officina Artigiana Milano) when I’m getting bored of the other three. Seeing some progress on the 500ml tube is satisfying but the little Vitos tub is lasting and lasting…
I did not know whether to use a laugh or sad emoji. I chose sad, but I feel your pain. Having too much of something that no longer lights you up the way it used to is rough. Maybe fear of such is what spurs my minimalism! The past few years have been the first time I have had more than one brush and one soap!
 
Am I the only one to find MSC lasts no longer than most other soaps? My rose jar went in 3 months and eventually became very cream like. I did load heavily and suspect some shavers are timid to load considering the cost. Also, it is 200gms a puck, whereas lots of soaps are just over 100gms.
 
I’m working down my large collection of samples and MdC is quite high on the list. So far I find that I do not need more that 0.5-0.6 grams of any hard soap to get more than enough lather for 3 passes. I use a collapsible slow feed dog bowl and a Brooklyn Grooming rosewood brush with a German synthetic knot. I’d get a lot of shaves out of a 200gm container!
 

Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
Here’s what I have observed/experienced:

Wee Scott, almost 2 years per tub, reference @martym
Chubby 1 Super, lathering with abandon, 9 months, Around 1.4g/shave. (me)
Most normal non-soap hogs, about 0.4g/shave or 400+ shaves per tub. (me)

A year per tub is a reasonable working number for typical brushes.
 
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