The Sandalwood Shaveoff

[stoof2010]

Ok gents, shave #6 done last night.
Same results as far a s the cream goes.
I'm thinking that there is more than enough left of this tube to PIF to another and allow them to try this sandlewood shaveoff.
Anyone ever consider that? We all PIF to another set of gents and have them do this all over again?
Personally I can't wait to mix things up a bit. Might still use one of these creams, but I a superlather with eithery parker or EJ sandlewood. Sound like it could turn out well.

We'll this shaveoff hasn't converted me to creams, it's opened my eyes to to ease and performance of these two companies. If it wasn't for this shaveoff, I wouldn't have found that out, so it's at least one win on the company's side because, while maybe not the sandlewood, I'll definitly be picking up some of these brands' creams.


I'll most likely be taking today off because I never fully healed from my shavette mishap from a couple shaves ago.
All in all it went well.
Again I want to thank these two companies as well as fordfather for putting this together.
It's been fun trying these out and reading so many experiences and tips from these gentleman here.
Shave on gentleman!!

 

[emwolf]

Day #6 with T&H I switched up a few elements. I tried the Burts Bees skin oil as a pre-shave. Not thick enough, needs be blended with some more clinging oils, like castor oil. I also tried my new unbranded silvertip brush. The jury's still out on this one. It performed okay, but there is something wrong with the way it retains water: it's unlike anything I've used before. Lathered in bowl with a small amount which is more than enough for two latherings of the face and head. 2.5 passes wtih the Progress, first on 3 and the remainder on 5. DFS, but had some issues on the back of the head (where I take the extra pass). I think it had more to do with the new brush than the cream. Finished with Fine American Blend (wow, lots of menthol).

I've heard some had bad reactions to the T&H ASB. I didn't, but I'm not allergic to much of anything. Also, I'm in complete agreement with Stoof2010 about PIF-ing the remainder forward. I've got enough creams and soaps to start a store. It would be nice to have a good gimmick on the PIF. After tomorrow I'm going to be breaking out some soaps I haven't yet tried.

Again, a big thanks to Fordfather for making this thing happen. I'm going to try and compose my thoughts into a good contrast/comparison report on the two Sandalwoods tomorrow.

 

[redrako]

SHAVE #5

This morning was a little bit on the cool side, so I dug out the Dirty Bird 1.5 Scuttle to bowl lather our T&H Sandalwood. I used a Satin Tip Purest synthetic brush and everything looked like another enjoyable T&H shave.

However I had a harder time making lather this time. Once I got the water requirements down, Truefitt & Hill has been easy, peasy to lather. So far this cream has been a dream to lather.

Certainly the Satin Tip Purest brush was drinking up the shave cream, acting like a lather hog. Perhaps the latent heat of the scuttle affected lather. However I did end up with an effective workable lather that made for a very good shave.

 

[global_dev]

#3 with T&H

Vintage Slant
HMW 22mm

lathered this time by putting the cream directly on my face and some on the brush, worked it to a nice lather, same nice scent, definitely not as dense as the last lather but very nice..

used the ASB again it feels nice, not the relevatory feel that i am gleaning from some of the other reviews. i probably would have been happier with an ASL sample, as I am not generally much of an ASB type of guy.. I really disliked the Razorock ASBs when they firs came out because of that same scent..

I am definitely enjoying T&H Sandalwood, but i'd probably enjoy it more out a tub; i like it when creams dry out a bit..

 

[horvy]

Day 5 T&H:



Omega Mixed Midget
Gillette Travel Tech
Gillette 7 o'clock yellow


I tried to use a plastic disposable razor with a single blade on one side, but that experiment failed horribly after the first stroke.

I just used the tech for the whole shave. This one was a bit harder with face lathering the mixed midget, but it was still a nice shave.

One weeper, but other than that pretty nice. I will say I do like this cream better, but that TOBS container is definitely handy when traveling. It makes it easier to load the midge.

Anyways, another pretty nice experience with the T&H.

 

[edwinhmcbride]

Heading out of town this morning for the day. Not shaving as it is the weekend and I will not be in uniform. The weather in Southern California has been quite a bid colder and my face has been getting dry. Because of this and this alone I used the remainder of the ASB this morning to give it a second chance. Laid it on nice and thick as I split it in to 2 portions. As I said in my review when I used it yesterday after my shave it burned and stung and turned my face all blotchy and red. I wanted to see how it worked stand alone and see if I got the same results. When I applied it this morning to my face/whiskers it did not burn at all. The scent is very subtle and now about an hour later it has completely dissipated. My face feels very well conditioned and my whiskers are fairly soft. A completely different experience compared to using after a shave.

Not much more I can say about it. After a shave with fresh skin it was horrible. With one days growth it is very nice. Definitely not a product I would invest in seeing as how it is AFTER SHAVE balm and I do not see myself using it AFTER SHAVING. Not that I am saying it is a bad product in any way, just that it absolutely did not agree with my face. YMMV!!!

 

[TheVez2]

I broke from the two test creams today and used Coates Sandalwood cream. Another British cream, no longer made, but still available.

Scent! This is exactly what I had in mind when I think of a sandalwood scent. It's awesome. Whoever asked what they should try, if they wanted a normal sandalwood scent, that's it!

Performance, was good, but not up to the same standard that TOBS and T&H are. Just a little short.

 

[AbbyW2]

OK, I committed to four shaves with each, so I'm going to suffer through one final, fourth, T&H shave. I decided to change as much as I could otherwise, so,


Pulled out my vintage Gillette Black Beauty (1959?) "super" adjustable, set at 4.


Used TOBS Herbal Pre-shave gel for prep.


Used Taconic Bay Rum soap in the überlather.


Held back to a more normal, large snurdle of cream. Whipped it well.


For what it's worth, the performance and comfort were better, but the shave still wasn't good. Comfort was improved but not yet great. I found the shave patchy afterwards. My fault? Probably, but it doesn't happen with the TOBS or my other regular rotation creams.

 

[mio_cuggino]

OK, I committed to four shaves with each, so I'm going to suffer through one final, fourth, T&H shave. I decided to change as much as I could otherwise, so,


Pulled out my vintage Gillette Black Beauty (1959?) "super" adjustable, set at 4.


Used TOBS Herbal Pre-shave gel for prep.


Used Taconic Bay Rum soap in the überlather.


Held back to a more normal, large snurdle of cream. Whipped it well.


For what it's worth, the performance and comfort were better, but the shave still wasn't good. Comfort was improved but not yet great. I found the shave patchy afterwards. My fault? Probably, but it doesn't happen with the TOBS or my other regular rotation creams.

Photos? This set up looks really interesting?

 

[emwolf]

I have finally snapped a photo of the gear I've been using for this test. I've been using the VDH boar with the Parker, the Jagger Badger with the Gillette and the LS Synth with the Merkur.

 

[tankerjohn]

T&H Shave Six and Seven

Apologees for missing a post yesterday, I didn't get a chance to write up a review. But here we are with yesterday's "Clubman Friday" shave.

Razor-Gillette Fatboy (set to 5)
Blade-Astra SP (first use)
Brush-Semogue 2000
Aftershave-Pinaud Clubman



Normal shower, Nivea scrub, and face lather. The 2000 lathered up beautifully. I'm really liking how the T&H performs now that I've got it dialed. First shave ever with a Fatboy, so that was lots of fun. Set to 5 for all three passes, I finished with a nice close and comfortable DFS. Still, I felt like I was just scratching the surface of the Fatboy's potential. The T&H had plenty of cushion and glide; just the trick for an unfamiliar razor. Clubman was icing on the cake. Such a great scent and great post-shave face feel.

This morning's shave:

Razor-Gillette Aristocrat
Blade-Astra SP (second use)
Brush-Simpson The Colonel
Aftershave-Stirling Executive Man



Another new razor for me and another great shave. The Aristocrat was hands down the fanciest razor I've ever used, but a perfect fit for the Duke of Edinburgh's shaving cream. Same basic shave as above. I think The Colonel is my favorite brush with this cream. It whips it up so nicely and with minimal fuss. The shave was one of the smoothest I've ever had. Wow, it was just incredible. I chalk it up mostly to the Aristocrat, but so to the excellent lather. Nothing much to say about the Exec Man except it was the perfect finish to a perfect shave.

Conclusion

So there it is - seven straight days of T&H Sandalwood shaves. Overall, I liked it better than TOBS' rendition. Better scent. Better performance. It doesn't surprise me to learn that T&H and TOBS no longer share the same cream manufacturer. The only thing I didn't like was it did cause some irritation, though not as bad as TOBS. I'd put the T&H Sandalwood about at the same level as Musgo Real but I still think I like Proraso Blue better. I'll have to use Blue tomorrow to see and to sort of "cleanse the pallet ", so to speak. But I definitely liked the T&H cream, and I'd love to try some different scents. I hear Grafton is nice.

 

[tankerjohn]

Ok gents, shave #6 done last night.
Same results as far a s the cream goes.
I'm thinking that there is more than enough left of this tube to PIF to another and allow them to try this sandlewood shaveoff.
Anyone ever consider that? We all PIF to another set of gents and have them do this all over again?
Personally I can't wait to mix things up a bit. Might still use one of these creams, but I a superlather with eithery parker or EJ sandlewood. Sound like it could turn out well.

We'll this shaveoff hasn't converted me to creams, it's opened my eyes to to ease and performance of these two companies. If it wasn't for this shaveoff, I wouldn't have found that out, so it's at least one win on the company's side because, while maybe not the sandlewood, I'll definitly be picking up some of these brands' creams.


I'll most likely be taking today off because I never fully healed from my shavette mishap from a couple shaves ago.
All in all it went well.
Again I want to thank these two companies as well as fordfather for putting this together.
It's been fun trying these out and reading so many experiences and tips from these gentleman here.
Shave on gentleman!!

As a matter of fact, I did intend to PIF the rest of the cream to let other guys try the "2Ts" sandalwood. If we want to make it sort of an official "shaveoff round two", I would support that.

 

[JaredB]

As a matter of fact, I did intend to PIF the rest of the cream to let other guys try the "2Ts" sandalwood. If we want to make it sort of an official "shaveoff round two", I would support that.

I already committed mine to another member to try, so this may carry on after all.

 

[whiteweed]

The shave today was supreme. Like Mr Daniel said "the T& H is worth the money".

Today's setup was a Mekur 1904 Rapira Swedish and the Commodore 2. Finished with a good amount of the balm and my face felt great all day.

I really like the stability of the lather. Today was a qui k shave and a cold morning with the heat gong hard and the lather did not require any adjusting. It provided protection from my OCD extra passes and buffing.

 

[Mr Daniel]

I gotta say fellas, this had been mighty fun
I'm a little bit sad, ilthat its already done

In my opinion Truefitt & Hill takes the win
I would be obliged to do a shave off again

Thank you Dane, for the great organizing
You should get a merit, or some kind of recognizing



Gentlemen, I have enjoyed reading all the reviews. I honestly loved using both creams but I have to give the edge to Truefitt & Hill in every category. I like the packaging better. I like the scent, performance, and post shave better and PLUS my last name is Hill so that gives it a few extra points which it honestly doesn't need. I will be using the Truefitt & Hill consistently until it runs out then I will probably get a tub of it.

Thank you Dane, I enjoyed being included in this panel of fine gentlemen.

 

[emwolf]

I suppose I can jump the gun and give me 2 cents on the comparison. They are both quality products and both worth the money. At 13 cents per gram, T&H is the higher priced. I think it was the slicker of the two creams. At 10 cents per gram TOBS was the "budget" entry. For me the TOBS only worked face lathering, bowl lathering failed to produce a product slick enough to provide a quality shave. What TOBS had for me that T&H failed to deliver was a strong, lasting scent. The T&H was never pronounced and vanished in the rinse. TOBS had almost a perfume quality that hung around after the shave, and filled the bathroom during the shave.

As I said, neither cream was a loser. I could see me keeping the T&H at home and taking TOBS on vacation. Since I'd face lather TOBS anyway I wouldn't need to pack a bowl.

And finally, I really appreciate the opportunity to take part in this.

 

[parastang]

Shave 4: Cade brush, scuttle, Universal shavette and Masters Bay Rum aftershave. I am building on the success of the last shave. I used a decent amount of the T&H cream. The Cade brush does a great job of making a nice lather. I took my time with creating it and the results were very good. It was pretty thick and I was a little worried that it was too thick. My fears were misplaced. I had a great shave with so much cushion I really didn't feel the blade cutting my hair on either pass. While the shave wasn't the closest, I'm still very pleased. There was slickness and glide. I just need to add a touch more water tomorrow and that will be my sweet spot. This cream smells great and gives a good showing on the performance side. I'll buy other creams from T&H. I'll probably pass on the aftershave though. I want to use next week to experiment with both creams and compare them.

 

[stoof2010]

As a matter of fact, I did intend to PIF the rest of the cream to let other guys try the "2Ts" sandalwood. If we want to make it sort of an official "shaveoff round two", I would support that.

This morning I gave mine to one of my converts at work with the promise that when he is done he will pass it to another convert of mine.
These guys have it better than I did lol. They now have almost stocked dens because of me. But my joy comes from them enjoying their shaves now.

 

[Fordfather]

I think the results of any review are highly susceptible to YMMV. Everyone has a differing opinion on the various qualities that each Cream has, so I have devised a few questions to take that into account.

Question #1: You're the Minister of Creams, and have the final say for any Cream that is branded in Britain. Which single quality, of each cream, would you change to make the product better? Scent, glide/slickness, cushion, post shave feel, etc. Feel free to comment on each aspect of each Cream, but remember that you can only change one of the aspects.

Question #2: If you haven't, would you buy/try a different scent from either Brand? If you have tried a different scent, which is it and how does it rate to the Sandalwood version?

 

[hydro-magic]

First I'd really like to thank you Dane for putting this together and also to TOBS and T&H for allowing us to put their products to the test.

Answer 1:
TOBS could use a little more slickness IMO. I got good shaves with it though, as long as I didn't take any second swipes or use a really aggressive razor.

For T&H, I'd change the scent. I really liked the performance of it. It was as good as any cream I've tried. Something in it, and I'm guessing the scent oils didn't agree with me though. Made me look like I had a spray tan where my beard would be. I hope it's not an ingredient in the base but most likely it's not I think.

Answer 2:
I'm definitely going to get a tub of TOBS Grapefruit in the future. That's probably my favorite scent in the world. Crazy that I haven't tried it already. Just have so much other stuff that I haven't got around to it.

I'll be getting T&H in another scent too at some point. I'll probably stay away from the woody scents since I had a little trouble with this one. Maybe Lavender or Rose?