A month (or at least 9 days) of Prarie Creations

[pcb01]

Received a big order from PC yesterday: 9 differently scented tubs. I plan to use them with a variety of brushes and razors (straights, DEs, SEs, etc.) and post daily here for awhile (mods please notify or place elsewhere if appropriate).

First up today was her popular Old Spice type. All the tubs contain a softish soap (somewhere between Omega and Speick), and I thought my Simpson Polo 8 would be a good match for it. I thought wrong. After a good soak, a thorough wring and a couple of flicks, the Polo just did not pick up soap after a sixty-second swirl. I started adding water, about five-six drops at a time. About four applications later, I had enough to work with. I've never had to use so much water to work up a lather -- maybe twice the amount I customarily use.

Reasonably slick and dense, not ideal, but this was a first attempt. One notable thing was that volume and slickness did not deteriorate through a one hour straight shave, and this is rare for me to experience. If anything, the lather seemed to improve throuout the shave. There was plenty left after a four-pass shave with a Genco Master Barber.

The scent was not Old Spice -- and my memories of this product go back to my Dad's daily use of it half a century ago. The scent is burned into my brain, and I still use it in my rotation. Don't know quite what to call it. Not unpleasant, very faint, a bit like MWF, maybe.

BBS shave, no weepers.

In brief, I'm a little disappointed at the effort and the scent, but had great results.

 

[nwman]

that's strange you're not getting more of the os scent, my open tub can scent up a small room.

quick note on krissy's Old Spice--you may be interested to know that on my last prairie creations order i included a short note asking if she would ever consider a "lime" version of her OS soap.
she ended up making one up for me and it's terrific. the lime is subtle but adds a really nice slight sweetness or floral quality.
anyway, sounds like you've got some shavin' to do.

 

[redbike]

Received a big order from PC yesterday: 9 differently scented tubs. ...

The scent was not Old Spice -- and my memories of this product go back to my Dad's daily use of it half a century ago. The scent is burned into my brain, and I still use it in my rotation. Don't know quite what to call it. Not unpleasant, very faint, a bit like MWF, maybe.

In brief, I'm a little disappointed at the effort and the scent, but had great results.

I just got in her Old Spice on Monday and was also disappointed at the faintness of the scent.

 

[pcb01]

Up today was PC Plumeria, chosen because of the OS's faint scent yesterday -- Plumeria is one of the two strongest scents in the bowl out of the nine I received, and I wanted a little olfactory entertainment.

Addressing that first: the only time I really caught a whiff (pleasant, peachy-floral), was when applying the lather directly under my nose. In the interests of full disclosure, I smoke a pipe. Still, I can detect the difference between Sumatran, Kenyan, and Ethiopian coffee beans, and can differentiate similar complex scents. In my experience, though, nothing is more individuated than different humans' perception of scent. Look at Basenotes for great examples. So maybe others would find the soap overpowering, unpleasant, etc. To me, it was pleasant but very muted.

Despite the soap's soft consistency, after yesterday's experience with the Simpson Polo 8 (Super), I decided to go with my Rooney Heritage today. Of the Badger brushes I have, this one has the most backbone. After soaking it in distilled water for 15', I wrung it thoroughly and flicked the excess just once. This left some water still on (and in) the brush. The puck developed a protolather almost immediately, and I probably could have stopped swirling after 20', but I stayed on it for just under a minute.

Unfortunately, when I popped the brush into my scuttle I realized immediately that I had left some tap water in it (the scuttle). I usually empty and wipe it dry before moving to the bowl, using only distilled water to soak the brush and work the lather. The tap water here is not condusive to great lather development, so my budding lather was working against excessive (and subpar) H2O.

Bubbles immediately. This to me should have been a sign to start over, but I didn't. I worked up a reasonable lather, but far from what I'm used to. More meringue than whipped cream. Thinner than yesterday, not dense, but adequate, even good, lubrication. I won't say any more aout the lather consistency, because any issues were the result of my own carelessness, not the fault of the soap.

The soap latsed well enough through a 4-pass shave with a Gillette 40s Superspeed and an IP going for its fourth mission into the bush. Once again there were no weepers, the alum revealed just a little tingle, and I had a near-BBS shave in about 20 minutes.

Despite my mistake, and a less than terrific lather, it again performed without a fault.

 

[Darjeeling Express]

PCB, thank you for this thread. We look forward to your further experiences, and of course, your choice of favorite scents.

 

[pcb01]

Picked Dragon's Blood today because it, along with yesterday's selection, Plumeria, had the strongest scents in the bowl. It's advertised as an exotic oriental. What I got was cinnamon and cloves, with some other subtle undertones. A good scent, and a little stronger than Plumeria, but still not noticeable (to me) unless it was right under my nose.

The brush was a VDH Deluxe, the only boar I have. While I have badgers that sell for 25 times the cost of one of these, I'd be hard-pressed to justify that, or even paying twice as much. Always does a good job. Note to self: Buy more boars!

The razor was my very first straight, a Dovo Bismarck. It has seen me through my first straight shaves, suffered through my ham-handed early stropping and honing attempts (including an early attempt to reset the bevel with heavy pressure on a Norton 220 -- you can guess the rest), an early "experiment" with isopropyl alcohol for routine cleaning and disinfection (the scales are made of celluloid and isopropyl melts... celluloid). In short, it has been abused, and it's a testament to its basic goodness that it has survived, still at it's original 6/8 (minus maybe a mm.) original size, and serves me well.

The lather was, again, disappointing from an aesthetic viewpoint. That is, it did not appear to be dense or slick. I added more water than I do ordinarily to experiment with it, but it still it looked fluffy, aerated, and meringue-y. It was again thin on the face. And again, the end result was a great shave.

So, there is a pattern developing here. The scents are more stirring in print than they are in the nose. I haven't been able to get a "pretty", aesthetically- appealing lather. But like one of my F. Rodgers that is 150 years old and looks every minute of it, when it comes time to shave, it just flat performs.

It occured to me today that, with nine tubs of PC, I have entered into a long term relationship with Krissie's product, and I'd better to learn to live happily with it. Breaking up is hard to do.

 

[Austin]

I like your reviews very much. They are detailed and provide your observations other than saying "This is great stuff".

Nevertheless, why would you buy 9 tubs?

 

[The National Razor]

I like your reviews very much. They are detailed and provide your observations other than saying "This is great stuff".

Nevertheless, why would you buy 9 tubs?

Agree with the assessment. You paint a vivid picture.

About the scents...I have yet to get a duplicate soap w/ a different scent. But I can understand.

 

[drumana]

Very nice reviews here.

It's curious to me that you have a tough time getting a proper lather from your PC soaps. My experience has been quite the opposite - it takes me under a minute to get the type of lather I like - thick, dense, creamy... Interestingly though, it's not so easy with my boar brush, but with my Rooney brushes the lather explodes.

 

[WhosYerBob]

I'm wondering about your lathering technique as well, as I have *no* problem with creating the richest, thickest lather of any soap I've tested to date by using PC tallow with aloe, lime and wheat protein.

I know others claim PC isn't a stupendous product, but I've tried all the other top products in my environment and PC rules them all - at least for me. YMMV.

 

[pcb01]

Let's see, how about a quiz?

A. Krissie offered free shipping for an $80 order and the 9 tubs came to $80.50.

B. It was late one Friday night (actually early Sat morning), I was working on my third Scotch, and I'm an impulsive buyer even when totally sober.

C. I had read in the forums that Krissie had some sick kids, was ill herself, was having trouble keeping up with orders, etc. This compounded my natural sympathy for anyone living in N.D. in December, so I thought I would encourage her by placing a large order (Cf. Scotch reference above)

D. All of the above

Correct Answer: D

 

[Austin]

Let's see, how about a quiz?

A. Krissie offered free shipping for an $80 order and the 9 tubs came to $80.50.

B. It was late one Friday night (actually early Sat morning), I was working on my third Scotch, and I'm an impulsive buyer even when totally sober.

C. I had read in the forums that Krissie had some sick kids, was ill herself, was having trouble keeping up with orders, etc. This compounded my natural sympathy for anyone living in N.D. in December, so I thought I would encourage her by placing a large order (Cf. Scotch reference above)

D. All of the above

Correct Answer: D

 

[pcb01]

Today I pulled a tub of "Spring Rain" out of the box. Very light scent, even compared to the other PCs I've tried, and I didn't get the "Spring Rain" association at all. After a few sniffs I thought "washed clothes," then just "clean," which seemed more accurate if less precise. There was something else organic and elemental beneath that -- "earth" came first, then even closer -- "dirt." Since "Clean Dirt" would not be a wise name for a scent and, considering what spring rain actually does, I think Krissie made an excellent choice.

I used my Rooney Heritage again and this time came up with the rich, creamy, slick lather I'd been hoping for, and others have mentioned. I probably would have achieved this a couple of days ago with the Rooney, if I hadn't screwed up (see previous entry). Plenty of volume, density, great lubrication, etc.

I did get a couple of pinpoint weepers on my upper lip during the last (ATG) pass. This is the first sign of blood I've seen since starting with the PC soaps. It might have been the razor -- a Hoffritz Slant loaded with a Feather blade that was seeing its third tour of duty. I'm not very knowledgable regarding Feathers, but from other posts I understand they have a habit of "going off" very quickly, often on or around the third shave. So let's say it was that.

Thanks to all for the positive feedback. Starting off, I didn't know if anyone would be interested in my experiences, but I'm very pleased some of you are finding it worthwhile. (Sorry about the wrong date, I cen't edit it).

 

[pcb01]

Great shave day. The PC soap was labeled, "Egyptian Sandalwood." Again, very faint, kind of nondescript, but (with maybe a little imagination), I could detect wood. I couldn't call it Sandalwood, but a generic woody scent that just as easily could have been called "Washington State Plywood." It might also have been labeled "Unscented," though, and not surprised me.

Tried the Kent BK8 today. I knew after the Polo 8 struggled to pick up enough soap that the Kent would be overmatched, so I did something I rarely (and don't like to) do: I put several drops of distilled water on the puck last night, and then did this a couple more times this morning before attempting to load the brush.

This had the intended effect, and a 50" swirl was sufficient. The end lather was not quite as dense as yesterday's, but equally slick. Volume excellent, and longevity great. Again, lather quality improved throughout the (4 pass)shave, and there was more than enough prime suds to have done a couple more passes easily. The Kent felt like a bunch of rose petals against my skin, the razor (a John Clark & Sons 11/16 round point) glided effortlessly, and the beard disappeared as if a magic wand had done the deed. BBS shave with no weepers, and the alum finished things up with nary a tingle.

I'll keep this thread going until I've tried all 9 flavors of PC, but I think I've arrived at some pretty firm opinions.

The scents are so faint that they should not be the basis of a purchase decision. I think the majority of others' posts elsewhere confirm this.

Although the soap is soft in the tub, it takes a relatively stiff brush to work it unless you do some prelathering prep as I did today. I know many do this routinely, so that may not be a concern.

It takes a little more attention and effort to get a great looking lather than does say Tabac, Trumper's, Proraso, Omega, Speick, etc., etc. But unlike say VDH, MWF, Williams and others I've pretty much given up on in terms of "beauty," it can be done.

Like MWF, scent, effort, and aesthetics are not what this soap is about. It is constructed to provide great cushion and lubrication, and maybe the best longevity I've yet encountered in a soap. With a good razor and decent technique, shaving becomes more fluid and efficient.

 

[azmark]

Interestingly though, it's not so easy with my boar brush, but with my Rooney brushes the lather explodes.

That's why I love this place. I can't get a decent lather with any badger brush but any boar I use works great. I think environment is a huge factor in pre, during and post effects.

I agree with the op, from the 4 soaps I've used, the scents are the soaps weakest points but the OS is quite nice IMO.

 

[azmark]

Like MWF, scent, effort, and aesthetics are not what this soap is about. .

+1

Hammer, meet nail.

 

[Darjeeling Express]

Let's see, how about a quiz?

A. Krissie offered free shipping for an $80 order and the 9 tubs came to $80.50.

B. It was late one Friday night (actually early Sat morning), I was working on my third Scotch, and I'm an impulsive buyer even when totally sober.

C. I had read in the forums that Krissie had some sick kids, was ill herself, was having trouble keeping up with orders, etc. This compounded my natural sympathy for anyone living in N.D. in December, so I thought I would encourage her by placing a large order (Cf. Scotch reference above)

D. All of the above

Correct Answer: D

Perfectly rational as far as I'm concerned.

 

[WhosYerBob]

Try using PC for face lathering - I think it's even better that way.

 

[pcb01]

There, finally got a date correct.

Up today was PC "Weekend Getaway." Not sure where Krissie was going with that. To some of us, a weekend getaway should smell like an old bait can and diesel fuel. However, knowing what (little) I do about women I'd guess something else. What I got was a tea and floral scent, which sounds possible. Again, it was faint (more about that in a minute). Wish I could be more precise, as others are, like: "A dozen Knockout yellow rose petals floating in a broth of Lapsong Oolong (probably from one of the southern provinces) and yellow saffron." But what I got was tea and flowers.

Tried the Polo 8 again, this time with hydrating the puck as described earlier, and got an outstanding lather. A couple of things happened that I've never experienced before. First, the volume of the initial lather: it was overflowing the bowl and covering my hand. Second, the quality of the lather significantly improved over the next hour -- it became steadily more slick and dense. Last, the scent grew more pronounced as time passed. By the end of the shave, I was smelling it constantly. By shave's end, there was easily enough lather left to do a second 4-pass shave.

Had to do a little more touch-up than usual for a BBS shave. I was working with a HBT. Youle Sheffield, which I suspect is a rebranded W&B (anyone know?), and it may need a touch-up itself. Probably because of that, the alum was a little more "bracing" than it was following other PC shaves.

 

[Darjeeling Express]

Pcb01, I look forward to your updates. The yellow rose petals will be blooming soon enough.