Josh's 3017 Journey

[nelsonic21]

April 22, started a new tub of Taylor of Old Bond Street Grapefruit. This is a 5.3oz container purchased from Maggard's last year. I had used the Peppermint before and thought it was a great cream.

It has a nice citrus scent that has a bit of a harsh medicinal smell at the end. Definitely not as sweet as the lime scents I've tried before. The consistency is pretty thick for a cream and closer to Noxema than whipped cream. I imagine it should last longer than St. James.

For the first shave I used my Karve SB-C with a Voshkod and used a Simpsons Duke 2 best badger. I picked up an almond size amount with my finger and face lathered. I had more stubble than normal and my blade was on its 6th shave. The cream lathered up very nicely and took a little more water to get that nice whipped cream result.

The shave went ok with a few nicks which is probably due to the blade and not the cream. The lather held up very well and didn't have any post shave irritation when applying Gillette aftershave gel (which does contain alcohol). I was surprised to notice the scent was able to overpower the aftershave. There was no post shave slickness though my skin did not feel dry afterwards.

Like most soaps/creams this will take a few shaves to really dial in and get a good impression.

 

[nelsonic21]

April 29, 8 days using the TOBS. I've dialed in the lather. About an almond's size amount of cream works well for a 3 pass or 2 pass with touch up shave. Even a little bit less results in a thin final lather. I find taking some cream with my finger, applying it in a brush that has been soaked and squeezed out, face lathering and adding water helps build a really nice lather.

The scent still has the harshness to it (of course grapefruit is not a really sweet fruit) and still overpowers the Gillette post shave gel. It protects as well as any other soap/cream I've used. Initially it seems like a better value than the St. James cream, but the longevity will judge that.

 

[nelsonic21]

May 20, almost a month with the TOBS. I'm still lathering the same way and there seems to be a lot of product left. This looks to be a better value than the St. James cream. I don't get the whipped cream lather consistency like that cream, but it continues to protect well.

Today's shave was with my Karve OC-C, Duke 2, Proraso pre shave and Gillette aftershave gel. The pre shave didn't seem to have any effect and I added a little more TOBS for the 3rd pass (sometimes I'm stingy with the product). The shave went well though with no nicks or irritation. This cream is looking like it can last another month or more.

 

[nelsonic21]

June 10, not seeing the bottom of the tub yet.

Today's shave was with some Proraso pre shave, Karve OC-C, Duke 2 and Proraso red splash. I wasn't so stingy with the preshave and cream this time which helped create a nice lather consistency. I did get one nick when I went over a pimple near my jawline. However there was no irritation when applying the splash. I think I have plenty of time to decide which soap/cream to use next.

 

[nelsonic21]

July 22. The bottom is finally visible. The TOBS had lasted a lot longer than I first imagined. It still performs as well as the beginning and the scent is the same. My loading technique of picking up an almond sized amount with my pinky, putting in a wet brush, face lathering and adding water as needed has worked really well. This has kept the amount of moisture in the tub at a minimum. I think it's safe to say that this cream is a really good value.

 

[nelsonic21]

August 11. The TOBS is finally gone!

It lasted an amazing 112 days. When I started this tub I was thinking it would last maybe 2 months. The loading technique of using my pinky to pick up an almond size amount and putting it into the brush must have extended its longevity. With other creams I would use a wet brush to load directly from the tub. This must have lead to some overloading and/or dissipation.

Overall this was a cream well worth the price paid. It consisently lathered and protected well. The only issues I had were that it could take a little more time to get the lather dialed in and the citrus scent was not as strong as other soaps/creams like Razorock lime. These wouldn't keep me from getting it again though.

Next up I have a used puck of Pre de Provence that hasn't been lathered in some time so it should be interesting.

 

[nelsonic21]

August 12. Started a puck of Pre de Provence. I purchased this 4 or 5 years ago and it never really made it into regular rotation. The tin isn't great for loading so I moved it to a mug. It's a triple milled soap and the puck is 3.75oz according to my kitchen scale.

My first shave was with my Karve SB-C with a Personna blade and Semogue 1305. The scent I can best describe as just soap, I'm not picking up anything else. Lathering takes a bit more time since it's a hard soap. The first 2 passes were fine, but the 3rd was a little thin. It did protect well though. Like most it'll take some time to dial the lather in.

 

[nelsonic21]

September 2. Been using the Pre de Provence for a few weeks. I dialed in the soap after a few shaves with my boar brushes. The soap needs a bit more moisture than the others and starts out looking a bit thin before building up a whipped cream consistency. It provides good protection for 3 passes and should last a long time.

Overall the soap strikes me as ordinary. It smells like a bar of regular soap, the lather is fine, there is no residual slickness and the scent is gone after a final rinse. This isn't a bad soap. It gets the job done, is low priced and should last a while.

 

[Rusty Blade]

@nelsonic21 I have enjoyed reading your journey to 3017 your soaps and creams. I cant seem to bring myself to the point of only using one soap until it's gone. Though for 40+ years I did exactly that as a matter of routine. Buy one soap, use it until it's gone and then buy another. For me, my soap for 40 years was William's. Your journey is inspiring. I will follow with interest.

 

[nelsonic21]

@nelsonic21 I have enjoyed reading your journey to 3017 your soaps and creams. I cant seem to bring myself to the point of only using one soap until it's gone. Though for 40+ years I did exactly that as a matter of routine. Buy one soap, use it until it's gone and then buy another. For me, my soap for 40 years was William's. Your journey is inspiring. I will follow with interest.

Thanks. I started this journey to get my shave den under control and learn to enjoy the products I have instead of buying a new soap every month or two.

 

[nelsonic21]

September 24. The Pre de Provence is still working good. Today my shave included some Proraso pre shave which helped build a much nicer lather (some lathers have been frothier than others). The puck is getting a little dent in the middle though I can't tell how much is left. The shave went well with the pre shave providing some nice post shave feel and the scent overpowered the soap.

 

[Rusty Blade]

September 24. The Pre de Provence is still working good. Today my shave included some Proraso pre shave which helped build a much nicer lather (some lathers have been frothier than others). The puck is getting a little dent in the middle though I can't tell how much is left. The shave went well with the pre shave providing some nice post shave feel and the scent overpowered the soap.

View attachment 1019672

The Pre de Provence should last months. Its one of those triple milled soaps that takes forever to use up. The bonus is it's a wonderful soap. One of my favourites.

 

[nelsonic21]

October 16. The Pre de Provence is going strong. After 2 months I don't see a hole in the middle of the puck. I've found that it's best to load with a drier brush and add water while building lather on the face. Performance is still good and the scent is still the same strength.

 

[nelsonic21]

January 21. A hole developed in the puck of Pre de Provence a few days ago. The performance and scent are unchanged though it does take a little more water to develop a good lather now (which may be due to lower humidity). I'll break up the soap after a few more shaves and let it mix with the remnants of the other soaps in the mug before moving on.

 

[nelsonic21]

March 17. I got to a point with the Pre de Provence where it was no longer usable for a shave. Last month I broke the remaining puck up and had been lathering the pieces. It was taking more loading to get a decent lather and on the 17th it was too thin resulting in a sub par shave. The Noxema I used as a pre shave only helped a little. The slivers of soap are still in the mug and will be combined with other soap remnants at a later date.

The soap lasted for an incredible 218 shaves. Now I'm sure by February when I broke the puck up some other soap remnants started mixing in, but a soap lasting by from August into February isn't too shabby. So the soap is a great value though the scent and lather are unremarkable.

 

[nelsonic21]

March 18. I started a tube of Heath shaving cream which I received as a Christmas present. The tube is 150ml and is A unique blend of 9 soft and hard soaps to provide the ultimate shaving experience. Tasmanian Pepper with Tea Tree helps calm skin from the harsh effects of shaving.

The first shave was with my Karve SB-C, Wolf Whiskers brush with mixed knot and Corn Huskers lotion. Lathering was extremely easy creating a thick whipped cream consistency that can tolerate a bit more water. The scent is hard to describe. I can smell a bit of pepper and a lot of sweet perfume. It reminds me a lot of St. James of London and will take me some time to pick up other scents. I frequently struggle trying to pinpoint flavors and scents in many things like whiskey which can get frustrating.

The performance was excellent with the cream protecting well, leaving a little residual slickness and sme scent lasted after the shave. This has a lot of the characteristics of a higher end cream.

 

[nelsonic21]

March 30. I've been meaning to update my experiences with the Heath cream, but a lot has gone on since then. I work in retail and events this month have really been working on my nerves. The store much busier than normal and practicing social distancing is impossible with all the people in the store (although there have been some steps taken). Yesterday I saw two customers get into a little argument over personal space.

So today is a day off and shaving has continued to serve as a time for me to relax. Been using the Heath cream for a couple weeks and have dialed in the lather. I switched to using a bowl after face lathering lead to some flinging and a cleanup afterwards. My bowl is smooth and is normally only used for brush soaking, but has worked well for lathering.

I start with a few with streams of product in some drops of water.


Then I work my badger brush in a clockwise and counter clockwise motion for 30-45 seconds adding a little more water in between.



After that I work the cream on my face in a side to side motion for 15-30 seconds giving me a bit of the face lathering I'm used to. The result is a whipped cream consistency that isn't too thick of a layer.


My standard 3 pass shave goes well leaving me with a little residual slickness and enough leftover lather if I need a touch up.


The scent is still hard for me to describe though I have noticed a bit of musk in it now. Right now I'm only using badger brushes with this cream though I do plan on trying a boar later. I've had issues getting a good lather from a cream with a boar brush due to the thicker bristles and water retention in the knot. Looking forward to more shaves with this cream and more relaxing times ahead.

 

[nelsonic21]

April 6. I've been trying out the Heath cream with a couple different brushes this past week. One is a custom brush with Omega boar knot and the other is a Frank's shaving best badger. Both have worked well and produced different lather consistencies than the Simpsons best. Today's shave was with the boar, Merkur Progress and Astra SP blade.

I started as usual with 4 little streams of the cream.


Then a good shake of the brush, working the lather in the bowl for 15 seconds, adding a little water and working for another 30-45 seconds. This brought about a foamier lather which I imagine is due to moisture in the boar hairs being released during the circular motions.


After that I applied the lather to my face with a side to side motion. Because of the consistency I painted it on more than face lathering and it looked a bit thinner than with the badger.


Once the shave was finished I still had a decent amount of lather left.


I set the Progress at a 3 for a 3 pass shave that produced a near BBS. The shave went well for the most part. I did notice a little razor drag when going XTG on my left cheek. This didn't cause any irritation though. I did have a little irritation on my neck and a small nick that closed up with an alum stick. I finished with a little Corn Huskers lotion which soothed my skin well. For future shaves with the boar I'll try bowl lathering a bit longer before adding more water.

 

[nelsonic21]

April 14. I used my boar a few more times, but still ended up with a thinner lather. Either I started with less water in the brush and had to add a bit more or started with more water initially. The cream still protected well though. On one shave I started with some Proraso pre shave, but didn't notice any difference with the quality of the lather.

So I started using my Frank's shaving brush this past week to see how it fares with the cream. This is a best badger brush that has a 20mm knot and is less dense than the Simpsons. I started with 4 streams of cream, shook the brush and started bowl lathering. It needed a bit more water which resulted in a similar lather that I got with my boar.


When applying it to my face I noticed the consistency was the same as it was with the boar.


This isn't a bad thing since the lather protected well during the shave. I just found it interesting that the Simpsons produced a thicker usuable lather quicker than the boar or Frank's brush. I imagine this is due to the Simpsons holding onto more water than the Frank's, but not as much as the boar.

There are a couple other brushes I'm going to try with this cream so I'll see how it goes.

 

[nelsonic21]

May 12. I've been using my Shavemac pure badger with the Heath cream for a few weeks. The lathering technique has been unchanged. I started with a few little streams of product.

I shook my wet brush lightly and started working the lather. Added a few more drops and continued bowl lathering for a total of about 45 seconds.

Then I worked in into my face for another 15 seconds.

I got a whipped cream consistency that was a little thinner than I got with the Simpsons. I shaved with my Merkur Progress. It protected well and the scent has not dissapated. I got one small nick that closed up with a cold water rinse. I'm not sure how much product is left though I have had to shake the bottle to get some out of the bottle. Overall this seems like a good cream that falls in between budget and luxury.