Great read Chris, and good luck with the edge on the next shave.
CBLindsay's Journey into Mixed Blade Mastery
- Thread starter CBLindsay
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John makes a good soap, explains the creative scent selection too. I have (and enjoy) his Myrkvior, a unique formula AND unique/complex scent.
I can't put my finger on it but the scent goes from super enticing to just too much without changing at all. Scents like lavendar and rose are "singular" scents and they don't bother me as stand alone scents ...but I guess even they get mixed with other scents to become MORE exciting.
I have both lavendar and rose scented soaps I plan to mix with the saffron to see how they play. I was considering Frankinsence and Myhrr too ...but that may be too cliche. I tried to use base notes to see how parfumerie folk like Tom Ford use saffron and all that gets overwhelming to me, I need to stick with 2 basic scents at a time.
I did find it quite good, gotta make sure you get the right amount of water into it for most pleasure but that's the same with any soap.
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- #3,224
Sunday 3-5-2017 (#392)
March soap theme -Artisan showcase
Prep: WSP barbershop face wash (in the shower)
Brush: WD24mmSilvertip
Soap: Beehive Bay Rhum
Razor: Cvargo's Genco Heavy
Strop: Welsh Trio Retouch
Post: Alum Rub / WH Splash
Aftershave: CBLindsay 2015 Bay rum
EDT/EDT:
Day 5 of the March Artisan showcase. Today was a perfect day to use the Beehive Bay rum that @cvargo sent me earlier this week. The Buzz about this soap (pun intended) this week has been significant so I was eager to give it a try. It really has had such incredible reviews I held very high expectations for this soap.
The soap has a texture much like Noxzema, firm but yielding under presure, almost like a cream with form. I scooped a dollop onto a plate and loaded it onto my brush, it quickly became evident that my dollop was far too small so i smeared more onto my face. Despite my best efforts i got absolutely nothing worth while from the dollop and extra smear, it was as if i had been sabotaged by alum or something. I wiped the "lather" from my face, rinsed the brush and scooped a new larger dollop and loaded again. This time in the captains choice bowl with out any additional water. Soon i has a thick lather and a few drops of water made the brush heavy with lather, scrubbing the brush on my wet face was all that was needed to make the brsuh as heavy and full as it could handle and my face as slick as it need be. From this point on the lathe was fantastic yet finicky about how and how much water i added. I should also say, the scent although very pleasant and enjoyable doesn't strike me as bay rum so much as simply "fresh"...much like a stronger version on Mitchells wool fat. Heck, if i didn't know better i might say this was a bastard version of Mitchells wool fat, one that desired less water yet had better residual slickness. After the difficulty i found the soap to be very good in terms of perfomance and scent but i cant say i love it yet ...but the scent it VERY enjoyable and fresh.
The edge on chad's Genco is very much improved, i think it is as it needs to be. I was ab le to achieve a VERY close shave in 3 passes with a 4th DE pass yielding an incredible BBS finish. Splashing on my 2015 vintage CBLindsay Bay Rum was blast from the past, a lovely version of bay rum with plenty of clove and a nice hit of oakmoss.
March soap theme -Artisan showcase
Prep: WSP barbershop face wash (in the shower)
Brush: WD24mmSilvertip
Soap: Beehive Bay Rhum
Razor: Cvargo's Genco Heavy
Strop: Welsh Trio Retouch
Post: Alum Rub / WH Splash
Aftershave: CBLindsay 2015 Bay rum
EDT/EDT:
Day 5 of the March Artisan showcase. Today was a perfect day to use the Beehive Bay rum that @cvargo sent me earlier this week. The Buzz about this soap (pun intended) this week has been significant so I was eager to give it a try. It really has had such incredible reviews I held very high expectations for this soap.
The soap has a texture much like Noxzema, firm but yielding under presure, almost like a cream with form. I scooped a dollop onto a plate and loaded it onto my brush, it quickly became evident that my dollop was far too small so i smeared more onto my face. Despite my best efforts i got absolutely nothing worth while from the dollop and extra smear, it was as if i had been sabotaged by alum or something. I wiped the "lather" from my face, rinsed the brush and scooped a new larger dollop and loaded again. This time in the captains choice bowl with out any additional water. Soon i has a thick lather and a few drops of water made the brush heavy with lather, scrubbing the brush on my wet face was all that was needed to make the brsuh as heavy and full as it could handle and my face as slick as it need be. From this point on the lathe was fantastic yet finicky about how and how much water i added. I should also say, the scent although very pleasant and enjoyable doesn't strike me as bay rum so much as simply "fresh"...much like a stronger version on Mitchells wool fat. Heck, if i didn't know better i might say this was a bastard version of Mitchells wool fat, one that desired less water yet had better residual slickness. After the difficulty i found the soap to be very good in terms of perfomance and scent but i cant say i love it yet ...but the scent it VERY enjoyable and fresh.
The edge on chad's Genco is very much improved, i think it is as it needs to be. I was ab le to achieve a VERY close shave in 3 passes with a 4th DE pass yielding an incredible BBS finish. Splashing on my 2015 vintage CBLindsay Bay Rum was blast from the past, a lovely version of bay rum with plenty of clove and a nice hit of oakmoss.
Sounds like you were able to get the Bee Hive to work for you. Good read!
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- #3,227
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- #3,228
Good stuff, CBL!
Great shave and read Chris. I've got a sample if the same soap, and have the same opinion of it's scent. It's a really nice scent that would work year round, but I don't get any bay rum from it. It might be on deck for tomorrow.
Good stuff Chris! What is this, "over loading" you speak of?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
nice review of the soap!
Sounds like after a mis-fire initially, the soap ended up firing on all cylinders Chris! nice review!
Great read Chris. About 7 years ago I had a surplus Deuce and a Half truck that I got to work around the property, etc. At one point I contemplated making biodiesel to run in it, and I even tried to set up some sources for vegetable oil with local restaurants. The process is just like making soap in that you add lye to break all of the ester bonds in the oil/fat, essentially what you are left with are free fatty acids (the biodiesel) and glycerol. Main difference being that you drain the glycerol out the bottom. You can actually burn straight vegetable oil in a diesel engine, but the viscosity of the triglyceride form is too viscous, and the injectors will not inject efficiently enough to create a complete combustion and problems ensue. There are kits that you can purchase that will warm the oil, hence reducing the viscosity, but in these systems you have to have diesel tank and a vegetable oil tank. You start on diesel, when the temperature is high enough in the oil, you switch to oil, and upon shutdown, you switch back to diesel so that you are always starting with diesel in the fuel line.
Not sure you have any interest in this, but I thought I would share another organic chemistry application for the do-it-yourselfer.
Not sure you have any interest in this, but I thought I would share another organic chemistry application for the do-it-yourselfer.
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- #3,236
Monday 3-6-2017 (#393)
March soap theme -Artisan showcase
Prep: Musgo Glyce Oakmoss
Brush: Sv Artisan 2.0 Thuya Briar Handle
Soap: Blue Bell "Lime Wood"
Razor: "?"
Strop: Norton 1k, Coticule complete hone, Diamond/FeOx Balsa
Post: Alum Rub / Cucumber WH Splash
Aftershave: Coachman
EDT/EDT:
Day 6 of the Artisan showcase. Last day of the artisan parade and I pulled the Blue Bell soap Chad (@cvargo) sent me last week. Chad spoke highly of this soap, being a Utah based artisan he felt an obligation to try them and was pleased to find them high quality. The scent from the tub was light but enjoyable and the lather produced the same light enjoyable scent ...perhaps too light for my preference but enjoyable still. The ingredients list boast more glycerin and "butter" than almost anything else so I wondered if the lather would perform but I didn't question whether the face feel would be nice. According to the website I was to bloom for several minutes then load longer than I might usually ...45 seconds it says. I don't know about you but when an artisan takes the time to leave explicit instructions on their website you follow them, and you expect them to be accurate. So, being a good little being a good little boy I followed the instructions. I now know the artisan either left of some very important information OR has a very good sense of humor, I'll explain further in a moment.
The Blue Bell Soap comes in a nice sized crystal clear hard plastic tub and a bright blue label...it is quite attractive. The soap itself is a firm pour croap made from a formula rich in glycerin and the butters/oil that feel good on the skin. I was very curious to see how the lightly scented soap performed and eager to load from a tub so I grabbed the SV Artisan and soaked it while I showered. The instructions on the website said to bloom the soap for 1-2 minutes and my shower is longer than that so I waited until I was out of the shower to begin the bloom. Once bloomed I dumped the water into the Capt. choice bowl, squeezed the brush dry (instructions say to use a pretty dry brush) and even shook the excess water from the surface of the soap. I pressed the brush to the soap and began to load ...swirl, swirl, swirl. About 10 or 20 seconds later I noted that the soap had begun to load all the way into the brush, making its way clear to the base. No matter, the instructions made it clear I was supposed to load "longer than I would normally load any other soap", suggesting 45 seconds. I don't know if I counted 45 swirls or 45 seconds but I tried to count to 45. Once done I inspected the surface of the soap...hmm, looks like the surface of a soap that has been loaded upon ...the brush...hmm, looks like a brush that has been loaded. Per instructions I commenced facial lathering, dipping the brush into the bloom water (instructions call for water, not bloom water). A gallon later the lather was still taking on water, being in a good mood I gave it what it wanted. I gave it so much water I had 2 inches of lather protruding from my face...my entire face, and still I needed to go to the lather bowl to fill it with lather. I seriously considered painting my body with lather JUST to see if I could do it...TWO solid inches thick and a bowl full. I scraped the lather from my face, dumped it in the bowl and continued lathering until another half gallon of fresh water had been added and another 1 inch of lather had been built on my face.
The Instructions SHOULD have gone on to inform me that I would need 2 gallons of water and that I should plan to lather until the cows come home, then I should lather those cows, shave them and send them out to tell the sheep to come in it their turn. What kind of crazy crap is that? What if I had used a larger brush? A synthetic? Don't you guy's in Utah know California has been in a drought, what if we don't have enough water to use this stuff?
After lathering 2 cows, 6 sheep, and 3 pigs(little ones) worth of lather I got down to the business of shaving. Today's razor is one I picked up on eBay a month or 2 ago for a decent price and got it cleaned up this weekend. I got a pretty good deal on it and had thought about doing a quick fix and flip but I decided otherwise after I honed it. I thought this one would make a good traveling partner for Chads Genco. I figured since I honed up the Genco with the Welsh trio I would do this one with a couple of Coti's to see if he can tell the difference. I think it turned out ok although my face was not entirely happy after the lather marathon this morning. The shave was very close, just 3 passes with a little water only clean up and I am BBS. The soap really is a great soap with excellent lather and superb residual slickness. I look forward to using this soap again, although I WILL be loading a little bit less.
Seriously, why would they tell me to load MORE than I would normally load...?
March soap theme -Artisan showcase
Prep: Musgo Glyce Oakmoss
Brush: Sv Artisan 2.0 Thuya Briar Handle
Soap: Blue Bell "Lime Wood"
Razor: "?"
Strop: Norton 1k, Coticule complete hone, Diamond/FeOx Balsa
Post: Alum Rub / Cucumber WH Splash
Aftershave: Coachman
EDT/EDT:
Day 6 of the Artisan showcase. Last day of the artisan parade and I pulled the Blue Bell soap Chad (@cvargo) sent me last week. Chad spoke highly of this soap, being a Utah based artisan he felt an obligation to try them and was pleased to find them high quality. The scent from the tub was light but enjoyable and the lather produced the same light enjoyable scent ...perhaps too light for my preference but enjoyable still. The ingredients list boast more glycerin and "butter" than almost anything else so I wondered if the lather would perform but I didn't question whether the face feel would be nice. According to the website I was to bloom for several minutes then load longer than I might usually ...45 seconds it says. I don't know about you but when an artisan takes the time to leave explicit instructions on their website you follow them, and you expect them to be accurate. So, being a good little being a good little boy I followed the instructions. I now know the artisan either left of some very important information OR has a very good sense of humor, I'll explain further in a moment.
The Blue Bell Soap comes in a nice sized crystal clear hard plastic tub and a bright blue label...it is quite attractive. The soap itself is a firm pour croap made from a formula rich in glycerin and the butters/oil that feel good on the skin. I was very curious to see how the lightly scented soap performed and eager to load from a tub so I grabbed the SV Artisan and soaked it while I showered. The instructions on the website said to bloom the soap for 1-2 minutes and my shower is longer than that so I waited until I was out of the shower to begin the bloom. Once bloomed I dumped the water into the Capt. choice bowl, squeezed the brush dry (instructions say to use a pretty dry brush) and even shook the excess water from the surface of the soap. I pressed the brush to the soap and began to load ...swirl, swirl, swirl. About 10 or 20 seconds later I noted that the soap had begun to load all the way into the brush, making its way clear to the base. No matter, the instructions made it clear I was supposed to load "longer than I would normally load any other soap", suggesting 45 seconds. I don't know if I counted 45 swirls or 45 seconds but I tried to count to 45. Once done I inspected the surface of the soap...hmm, looks like the surface of a soap that has been loaded upon ...the brush...hmm, looks like a brush that has been loaded. Per instructions I commenced facial lathering, dipping the brush into the bloom water (instructions call for water, not bloom water). A gallon later the lather was still taking on water, being in a good mood I gave it what it wanted. I gave it so much water I had 2 inches of lather protruding from my face...my entire face, and still I needed to go to the lather bowl to fill it with lather. I seriously considered painting my body with lather JUST to see if I could do it...TWO solid inches thick and a bowl full. I scraped the lather from my face, dumped it in the bowl and continued lathering until another half gallon of fresh water had been added and another 1 inch of lather had been built on my face.
The Instructions SHOULD have gone on to inform me that I would need 2 gallons of water and that I should plan to lather until the cows come home, then I should lather those cows, shave them and send them out to tell the sheep to come in it their turn. What kind of crazy crap is that? What if I had used a larger brush? A synthetic? Don't you guy's in Utah know California has been in a drought, what if we don't have enough water to use this stuff?
After lathering 2 cows, 6 sheep, and 3 pigs(little ones) worth of lather I got down to the business of shaving. Today's razor is one I picked up on eBay a month or 2 ago for a decent price and got it cleaned up this weekend. I got a pretty good deal on it and had thought about doing a quick fix and flip but I decided otherwise after I honed it. I thought this one would make a good traveling partner for Chads Genco. I figured since I honed up the Genco with the Welsh trio I would do this one with a couple of Coti's to see if he can tell the difference. I think it turned out ok although my face was not entirely happy after the lather marathon this morning. The shave was very close, just 3 passes with a little water only clean up and I am BBS. The soap really is a great soap with excellent lather and superb residual slickness. I look forward to using this soap again, although I WILL be loading a little bit less.
Seriously, why would they tell me to load MORE than I would normally load...?
- Thread starter
- #3,237
I had a friend who converted his OLD Mercedes car to biodiesel. This was maybe 15 or 18 years ago before it was more of a thing than it became. I don't remember him doing to much more than going around to the Chinese restaurants asking them for their oil. His exhaust smelled like french fries half the time and egg rolls the other half, it was funny. Organic chem was a heck of a lot easier for me than most other classes, but it still makes my wife cry ...2 quarters of O-chem kept her from the completion of her Bachelors degree, she couldn't pass to save her life.
Well Chris I need a good laugh today! First i'll be honest I am a tad bit shocked you found the scent more on the subtle side. To me I put the Limewood at a solid 3/5. I was going to send you the Spice Rack because that is the strongest scented easily at a 4.5/5 but he was sold out when I placed the order, before bingo started.
As to the lathering issue or is that really an issue? I mean you had suds for days!!! I actually told Casey (co-owner at Bluebell) that his instructions as far as timing seemed too long to me, I told him I average 20 seconds and that is more than enough. Now this is strictly a guess but I do know he lives in a very small town and I am assuming he is on well water. I wonder if that is the reason he recommends a longer load.
But you deserve credit. You follow instructions well! I have some baby furniture that needs to be put together do you want to come solve that puzzle? My wife says I am bad at following directions. In fact the other day we had our niece over (7 years old) and my sister, and wife thought it would be funny to walk me through doing pig tails in my niece's hair. She agreed and well let's just say my soon to be daughter better hope that I never have to do her hair! I don't what magic girls do to get there hair straight and perfect but it must be black magic.
As to the lathering issue or is that really an issue? I mean you had suds for days!!! I actually told Casey (co-owner at Bluebell) that his instructions as far as timing seemed too long to me, I told him I average 20 seconds and that is more than enough. Now this is strictly a guess but I do know he lives in a very small town and I am assuming he is on well water. I wonder if that is the reason he recommends a longer load.
But you deserve credit. You follow instructions well! I have some baby furniture that needs to be put together do you want to come solve that puzzle? My wife says I am bad at following directions. In fact the other day we had our niece over (7 years old) and my sister, and wife thought it would be funny to walk me through doing pig tails in my niece's hair. She agreed and well let's just say my soon to be daughter better hope that I never have to do her hair! I don't what magic girls do to get there hair straight and perfect but it must be black magic.
LMAO! That's a lot of Lather! 
Great great read! Glad I peed before reading!
Great great read! Glad I peed before reading!OMG...this has to be front runner for post of 2017 so far! You're talent for witty prose is undeniable, Chris. Glad the shave and soap were at the same level of performance as your entry!
