Another Cedarfurnitureman-alike on the bay?

[xgunterx]

This soap looked interesting to me so I sent the guy a message to ask for the ingredients.

This was his answer:
Hi sorry we don't have the ingredients for the soap, these soaps have been made for generations and are made the same today as they were 50 pluss years ago, kindest regards Kevin

Hmm...

 

[krissy]

I'd be cautious of an answer like that. Sounds like it might be a melt and pour soap rather than one that is made with oils and lye. If they have been making soap like that for 50 years then it should be real soap. Something is wrong with the picture if they can't send you an ingredient list. It either contains ingredients they know you won't approve of or they simply have no clue what they are selling.

Sorry if i got an answer like that from a store I wouldn't be buying from them.

Another thought is why are they selling a product with no packaging and not stating that in the listing description. Sorry but that would ring warning bells and flags would be flying for me.

 

[Spatterdash]

Overlooking his complete misuse of the comma, there are three possibilities as I see it.

1.) He, like Cedarfurnitureman, has thrown together a soap with no idea of what the shaving community expects (and receives, I might add) from cottage industry soapmakers. He is completely unaware of the leaders in soapmaking and the relationships they maintain with their aggressively loyal customers.

2.) He is selling a new soap by Cedarfurnitureman and is completely unaware of the soap's reputation. He is simply a distributor who can only parrot what Cedarfurnitureman tells him.

3.) This is Cedarfurnitureman who, well-bitten by his borish behaviour earlier, has decided not to change tactics and earn a loyal fan base but has instead decided to seek other suckers in another venue with a new soap.

 

[xgunterx]

8<
Sorry if i got an answer like that from a store I wouldn't be buying from them.
8<

Well, that was my decision the moment I read his answer.
I just had a deja-vu with the notorious thread a while ago.

 

[Spatterdash]

I'd add that Krissy, like the Sues of legend and many other fine soapmakers, has set an excellent example of what I'm talking about. The process, distinct from other soapers and as individual as Krissy herself, is laid out for all to see and any questions are answered.

This leads to a rabid, slobbering anticipation of her first soaps, and reviews both good and bad will likely not slow down a soaper so obviously commited to this community. That's how it is done.
Whenever I hear "Behold, the finest shaving soap, the same recipe as used by the Merovingian Kings of Old! None may know it's true secret, but all may now bask in it's glory for only three dollars!", I picture a wagon and a man in a bright tailcoat and dented silk hat, lifting a bottle of oil above the crowd.

 

[Cutter]

I'd add that Krissy, like the Sues of legend and many other fine soapmakers, has set an excellent example of what I'm talking about. The process, distinct from other soapers and as individual as Krissy herself, is laid out for all to see and any questions are answered.

This leads to a rabid, slobbering anticipation of her first soaps, and reviews both good and bad will likely not slow down a soaper so obviously commited to this community. That's how it is done.
Whenever I hear "Behold, the finest shaving soap, the same recipe as used by the Merovingian Kings of Old! None may know it's true secret, but all may now bask in it's glory for only three dollars!", I picture a wagon and a man in a bright tailcoat and dented silk hat, lifting a bottle of oil above the crowd.

I agree, people like Krissy, Sue, and Sue care about the customer as much as they care about the soap. Profit is just an afterthought.

 

[biomesh]

If you look at the picture, it looks like the refills for T&H, Culmac, etc. It could just be someone trying to sell it as home-made.

 

[Stubblefield]

This was his answer:
Hi sorry we don't have the ingredients for the soap, these soaps have been made for generations and are made the same today as they were 50 pluss years ago, kindest regards Kevin

Hmm...

. . . and how do we know his name is really Kevin?


I won't put anything on my face that I can't at least see the list of ingredients for first.

That answer is pure hooey. For all we know Kevin and his Appalachian cousins/sisters have lye burns from using the family recipe.

The "family recipe" comment is such a cop-out.

 

[TheGrooveking]

First off that does not look like a puck of Cedarfurnitureman's soap. I bought a puck after seeing all of the hoopla on B&B and figured out that many people were throwing crap and they in fact had not even bought a puck, or tried a puck. So I bought a puck to make my own decision and can report that Cedarfurnitureman was pleasant to deal with, had quick shipping and the soap is decent. Is it the next Tabac, no, does it work, yes.

As to shape of the puck in this ebay listing, it is not Cedarfurnitureman's, you can tell that because this soap shows the side of the puck has radius/arc to it, where as the Cedarfurnitureman puck I have has a straight taper from the small diameter to the large diameter.

 

[biomesh]

If you look at the picture, it looks like the refills for T&H, Culmac, etc. It could just be someone trying to sell it as home-made.

I just noticed that they specify that the soap comes in two sizes, which are exactly the same size as the Vulfix soap refills. (T&H also has bowl & mug refills, so it could be a toss-up)

 

[Spatterdash]

First off that does not look like a puck of Cedarfurnitureman's soap. I bought a puck after seeing all of the hoopla on B&B and figured out that many people were throwing crap and they in fact had not even bought a puck, or tried a puck. So I bought a puck to make my own decision and can report that Cedarfurnitureman was pleasant to deal with, had quick shipping and the soap is decent. Is it the next Tabac, no, does it work, yes.

As to shape of the puck in this ebay listing, it is not Cedarfurnitureman's, you can tell that because this soap shows the side of the puck has radius/arc to it, where as the Cedarfurnitureman puck I have has a straight taper from the small diameter to the large diameter.

Yeah. That's why one of my possibilities was that Cedarfurnitureman had a new soap, not selling the older opaque one.
And since cedarfurnitureman was initally closed-mouth and secretive about the recipe, he could have made the next Tabac, but I'll never know. I don't play that game.
I'm glad you got a decent experience from him.

 

[marvin100]

I'd add that Krissy, like the Sues of legend and many other fine soapmakers, has set an excellent example of what I'm talking about. The process, distinct from other soapers and as individual as Krissy herself, is laid out for all to see and any questions are answered.

Hear, hear. Krissy is the anti-Cedarfurnitureman.

 

[Dink]

First off that does not look like a puck of Cedarfurnitureman's soap. I bought a puck after seeing all of the hoopla on B&B and figured out that many people were throwing crap and they in fact had not even bought a puck, or tried a puck. So I bought a puck to make my own decision and can report that Cedarfurnitureman was pleasant to deal with, had quick shipping and the soap is decent. Is it the next Tabac, no, does it work, yes.

As to shape of the puck in this ebay listing, it is not Cedarfurnitureman's, you can tell that because this soap shows the side of the puck has radius/arc to it, where as the Cedarfurnitureman puck I have has a straight taper from the small diameter to the large diameter.

+1, Good for you. I agree Cedarfurnitureman was sketchy in regards to how he presented the soap, but I couldn't understand everyone bashing it without trying it. It seemed that the soap got a a lot of criticism for being just a melt and pour soap. Isn't MB, HBS, and QED melt and pour as well?

Cheers,
David

 

[xgunterx]

First off that does not look like a puck of Cedarfurnitureman's soap.
8<

I was not referring to the soap itself but the practice.
No, I'm also not claiming these are the same people, but again, the practice is the same.
Namely, offering shaving soap on the bay and not being able (or more likely unwilling) to list the ingredients claiming it is a recipe from decades ago.

 

[marvin100]

The criticism wasn't just for being melt&pour, but for being obfuscatory, refusing to answer questions honestly, and a few suspiciously positive posts on here by brand new members who really appeared only to praise (and write almost absurdly positive reviews of) cedarfurnitureman soaps and then basically vanished (astroturfing? Dunno. Suspicious? For sure.)

 

[zirk208]

But does this new mystery soap, handed down through time, EXPLODE with mounds of luxurious lather, with herbs that will exfoliate, hydrate, and split the atom????

 

[xgunterx]

I just noticed that they specify that the soap comes in two sizes, which are exactly the same size as the Vulfix soap refills. (T&H also has bowl & mug refills, so it could be a toss-up)

You have it probably at the right end.
These are the soaps from these guys on the bay.
And this and this are from the Vulfix site.

But why the secrecy?

 

[Ignatius]

+1, Good for you. I agree Cedarfurnitureman was sketchy in regards to how he presented the soap, but I couldn't understand everyone bashing it without trying it. It seemed that the soap got a a lot of criticism for being just a melt and pour soap. Isn't MB, HBS, and QED melt and pour as well?

Cheers,
David

If you read through that long thread I doubt you'll find one example of what you're accusing the B&B membership of. People were critical of the business practices and outright lies/ignorance from the vendor.

There was zero criticism of it "just for being a melt and pour soap." Rather, people were somewhat peeved that that was what he was selling while marketing it as something else.

 

[mmack66]

I just noticed that they specify that the soap comes in two sizes, which are exactly the same size as the Vulfix soap refills. (T&H also has bowl & mug refills, so it could be a toss-up)

You have it probably at the right end.
These are the soaps from these guys on the bay.
And this and this are from the Vulfix site.

But why the secrecy?

They also sell Vulfix soap in containers in their eBay store.

 

[Anton von Tripp]

I picture a wagon and a man in a bright tailcoat and dented silk hat, lifting a bottle of oil above the crowd.

How particularly well-put!

Cordially, AvT.