Burma Shave Kit

[Masterblaster]

I couldn't help myself. I bought the Burma Shave mug-brush-soap kit online mainly for fun and for nostalgic reasons and also to have yet another shaving mug. I paid around $12.50 including shipping.

Then I read some of the reviews of the soap

has anybody had any positive experiences with this stuff ?

 

[gsurko]

I did the same thing. Figure I can always bathe with it.

 

[BlackBard]

I couldn't help myself. I bought the Burma Shave mug-brush-soap kit online mainly for fun and for nostalgic reasons and also to have yet another shaving mug. I paid around $12.50 including shipping.

Then I read some of the reviews of the soap

has anybody had any positive experiences with this stuff ?

I liked the soap. It has a mild and pleasant scent. I think it lathers well, but I can lather Williams well, too, so I may not be the one to ask about lathering.

Too bad it has been discontinued The only way to get it is with the kit, or pay way too much for NOS from an on line vendor.

 

[Dubbya]

Burma Shave has a nice, light scent. Kind of fresh. I like the lather but, as above, I can get good lather from Williams. The brush, on the other hand, is okay; not great. I have one with the original know for nostalgia but I also have two more with new blended hair knots. They look cool and perform much better that with the original, more loosely packed, boar knots.

 

[BBrad]

Burma-Shave's claim to fame was as a brushless shaving cream, requiring no mug or brush. Their famous roadside signs (used for advertising) were a major part of the American landscape for many, many years.

The modern-day marketing of a brush, mug, and soap is nothing more than a shameless (but licensed) use of a classic trademark designed to sell product to an otherwise uninformed consumer, all in the name of nostalgia.

(My uncle (83 years old) still refers to any "prepared" shaving cream as "Burma Shave", regardless of if it comes from a can or a tube.)

That being said, I must admit that my favorite boar brush is one that I bought about five years ago (at Wal-Mart) sold under the Burma-Shave brand name.

I was, however, deeply offended by an antique dealer who once tried to sell me a modern-day Burma-Shave mug, while telling me it was made in the 1920's . . .

 

[Masterblaster]

Well the Burma Shave kit arrived yesterday.

So after waiting a week I had to try it out. The soap as others have mentioned reminds me of Williams soap. With some work, it whipped up a nice frothy lather. Except I like the smell of Williams and didn't like the smell of Burma shave soap. The smell also was too strong and kind of overpowering. The smell reminds me of that woman in every office who wears her perfume too strong - ughh ! As others have pointed out the soap is drying and offers little lubrication. Using My Merkur with a Dorco blade I got a close shave but had some irritation.

The Shave mug is smaller than I thought it would be. It's the size of a standard size coffee cup and is much smaller than the mug I have been using. To use the mug and soap I needed to hold my brush nearly vertically with three fingers and churn quite a bit to make some good lather. I prefer the not-so-close quarters of my larger mug.

The brush, which I haven't used, looks usable but of marginal quality.

The thing I enjoyed the most was the old-fashioned metal box that it came in. It was kind iof nostalgic.

In conclusion, This is one of those life lessons. Perhaps I should have gone with the wisdom of the B&B forum. It wasn't that much money. Nonetheless I had hoped for something a little more upscale and was disappointed.

 

[kdalmand]

If you like Honeybee Spa soaps, they fit into the Burma Shave mug perfectly.

Ken

 

[Masterblaster]

Just a little update...

After my Burma Shave soap was used and sat out wet, and then dried, the scent wasn't so overpowering as it was when it was new. In fact the smell was tolerant - even pleasant. I used it again a couple more times over the weekend with generally satisfactory results. However I still maintain that this soap could use a bit more lubrication to work better.

So now that I have had the Burma Shave soap a bit longer I am not so disappointed in it. If you want a little nostalgic shave kit with some middle-of-the road type soap then this shaving kit may be for you. It certainly didn't cost all that much money and is kind of fun to have.