Mass Appeal Reaction Thread

[tehnothing]

Now for a another soap. Cella. The hype is well deserved. If you like almond/cherry-like scent, and you haven't tried this soap, you should. It's a tallow soap and it lathers up fast and thick. Slick and smooth coming off an Omega 10049 that has been thoroughly broken in. The quality of the shave itself is very, very good. To me the question for others is the fragrance. It's not a mildly scented soap, it really fills the room with it's essence when you go at it with the brush. My wife loves the scent. My daughter was more neutral in her reaction. Thumbs up here.

The recommendations of the community in the polls are strong. I can say that for a person who is not knowledgeable about the myriad products available, and who is trying to figure out a good combination(s) to get going, you have formed a set of lists that are a great starting point.

At least one of those for cella was for extra extra bio which is not the same forumula. No tallow. Many swear by it.

 

[OldeManWinter]

At least one of those for cella was for extra extra bio which is not the same forumula. No tallow. Many swear by it.

Good point. I updated the chart to read just Cella, as I can't say if all the votes are for the red or green. At least one is for green as you stated.

 

[timetofly]

I grated Arko and mixed it with Williams. I call it "Willarko". You get the slick quality of the Williams with the lathering properties of the Arko.

I would have named it Arkowill for the following reasons.
Arkowill either turn you on or turn you off due to scent.
Arkowill provide you a nice comfortable shave.
Arkowill get the job done.

 

[OldeManWinter]

Going to finish up the soaps I've tried with two more. First is La Toja. This is another great soap, but you do have to use it correctly. It lathers like gangbusters, and shaves fantastic. The scent is perfect if you like your soaps on the subtle side. There are, however, two things to keep in mind when using it. When I first tried it out I was disappointed at how it dried on my face very shortly after brushing it on. A little reading on the forums pointed me in the direction of extra water. This stuff is thirsty, and to get the full benefit you may need to re-add water to the brush as you go along. Properly hydrated, La Toja is excellent. Skimp on the water and you may find it too dry. Second point, it has alum as an ingredient, and alum can irritate the skin, particularly if your skin is sensitive. When using La Toja, make sure you are properly rinsing your face afterwards if you happen to experience and irritation. I had one shave, improperly rinsed, that left me slightly irritated. The forum again steered me straight, and subsequent shaves were irritation free. Absolutely thumbs up for La Toja. Water is your friend when using it.

 

[OldeManWinter]

The last soap I've tried to date from the list is Proraso. In my case I went for the red. This is another affordable but high quality option. The scent is great and the shave is even better. It's a softer soap that lathers very well, is quite slick, and I found it to be completely irritation free.

The poll results for the soaps have been a highly reliably predictor of success for me. Cella, Proraso and La Toja are soaps that I would buy again. Arko, though I didn't enjoy the scent, has to be considered a winner due to it's shaving qualities. If I want to mix something up, Arko would likely be part of that mix. I now have a ton of soap on hand to use but eventually will want to circle back to this list to try others that have been recommended. Thanks again to all for your feedback, the results have been super useful.

 

[Dominic]

I now have a ton of soap on hand to use but eventually will want to circle back to this list to try others that have been recommended.

May I introduce you to this thread?

My Guess... 3017

Over the course of the last year I have been concentrating on using and finishing product. I have been going through aftershaves, colognes and shaving creams and sold off most of the excess. But the soaps... well, I just like them all and don't want to unload them. Over the last several...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[ksblazer]

I voted and followed the poll you did on the soaps.

While it was tough to pick just one. As I have a few in my den that made list.

Glad you took our advice and are sharing your thoughts with us about them.

I look forward to following this thread now.

 

[OldeManWinter]

To semi-close the loop on this, I was unsure how to finish the blade write-up as I have tried nearly 20 blades over the past two months, many due to the recommendations of the poll. Some, however, were blades that came from sample packs or other recommendations so not all blades I tested got votes. After one run through this list of blades, with a minimum of two shaves each, I put them all in a table (because of course I did) and ranked them according to two basic characteristics. How cleanly they shaved my face and the impact they had on my skin. 5 is best. There are 8 blades in the current top tier. I will be retesting these with the idea of getting down to the two or three best. This test is purely about best blade for me in a pre-war Gillette Tech. Once I get that best combo(s) sorted, I will expand to use new razors using the Tech setup as the baseline for comparison. Some of the blades that did not make the top 8 with the Tech may work well with my next test razor, which will be either the Slim or Red Tip Super Speed. Though I truly disliked the Feather in the Tech, I suspect it will perform well paired with a different razor. Then I'll move on to Gillette New, Old, Schick Krona, Fatboy, Aristocrat Jr (all razors I have on hand and have not used), so on and so forth until the year 2050 when I might be able to say what my best overall setup is.

Again, the poll was very valuable. The top two polled blades made my top 8. I have not yet tested Wizamet or Personna Red, but will eventually get to those as well. Thanks again to all who voted.

 

[APBinNCA]

It seems you like several blades in the sharpness range that I do. Of course the design of the razor will impact the shave performance. The Gillette Yellow is very similar to Voskhods, but out of the wrapper goes to Moscow. The Sharp blades seem to have about the same QC and sharpness as the Indian Wilkis as they are marketed as bargain blades. I find that Super-Max has better QC as long as you get the ones marketed for export. Zorrik is from the same company, but most are for domestic sales. Super-Max Titaniums are about the same sharpness as Indian Wikis, but slightly smoother. So are the older made in China Indian Wilkis of which I have hundreds. They are still available at RBC and elsewhere and are still cheap.

 

[ShavingPanda]

Wonderful summary and table. Appreciate all the effort put into this!

I like your shave quality and skin impact criteria. I have been pondering how to judge the quality of a blade lately and have boiled it down to performance and comfort, which is what you have rated as well. Lots of different factors go into whether a blade is suitable, but boils down to how does it work and feel.

Again, great table.

 

[OldeManWinter]

It seems you like several blades in the sharpness range that I do. Of course the design of the razor will impact the shave performance. The Gillette Yellow is very similar to Voskhods, but out of the wrapper goes to Moscow. The Sharp blades seem to have about the same QC and sharpness as the Indian Wilkis as they are marketed as bargain blades. I find that Super-Max has better QC as long as you get the ones marketed for export. Zorrik is from the same company, but most are for domestic sales. Super-Max Titaniums are about the same sharpness as Indian Wikis, but slightly smoother. So are the older made in China Indian Wilkis of which I have hundreds. They are still available at RBC and elsewhere and are still cheap.

I'll have to check out the Super-Max, those were not previously on my radar, thanks for the info.

 

[OldeManWinter]

Wonderful summary and table. Appreciate all the effort put into this!

I like your shave quality and skin impact criteria. I have been pondering how to judge the quality of a blade lately and have boiled it down to performance and comfort, which is what you have rated as well. Lots of different factors go into whether a blade is suitable, but boils down to how does it work and feel.

Again, great table.

I had thought about it for a while as well. The table columns went through some different iterations and in the end it all came down to how well the blade shaved and how it felt during/after shaving.

 

[kingfisher]

Another example of YMMV. For me the Voskhod blade ls mediocre at best, and I much prefer the Astra SS to the Astra SP.
You apparently haven't yet tried the world's best blade, which is, of course, the Polsilver SI. Don't find them and try them, because they are no longer in production, and once you find out how much better it is, you will be sad.

 

[Frank Shaves]

There is no doubt that blades are very much a YMMV kind of thing. When I first started trying different wines, I remember a particular salesman whose recommendations consistently just hit the spot. The same can be said for blades, scents, etc. That's how I found some of my favorite blades - paying attention to people whose preferences aligned with mine.

I am also in the camp that prefers the Astra SS over the SP .

 

[jmd]

Making frankensoap with Arko is a solid idea if you find the scent discomfits but the product's other merits seem worthy. I consider the often-offered reassurance that its assertive qualities dissipate over time a canard (even thought I concede the fact of it.) I think it more complete to say Arko can feint dormancy, lie in wait, retaining a capacity to reassert loudly. But I like it.

Re Cella. I know well the smell of almond, almond butter, and almond oil, likewise the cherry tree and its products, yet I need someone who has a finer grasp of scent profiles and the vocabulary used to describe them to find the almond in Cella and the cherry that is an almost there, but not, mirage. I need to read the label or hear the description to get the handhold of almond. Once done, yeah, that's it, of course. Not unlike Arko which is decidedly, exactly, not citrus, though belongs in that category.

Cella remains glorious in my view whatever my quibbles with it.

I'm grateful as you share your experience walking through this process. There may be a single soap out there that will be comforting and reassuring and provide a homebase even as you enjoy trying other soaps. Or worst case, not, and you'll just be forced to enjoy a variety of different soaps all on their own terms. Pretty good consolation prize. Maybe the best case is that you make your own. Eventually.

 

[andromeda673]

you guys all complaining about the scent of Arko, need to pump the brakes and re-think what your doing with Arko, the trick is to just move past the smell for the first three shaves or so, and then once you get a stick and or a puck going, you will get past it, and the scent dies so fast overall that by the 10th shave it will be so faint.

Other then that, the poll and the products and the overall concept of the thread is awesome.

 

[Quaznoid]

YMMV indeed. For me the Lord Plat is head and shoulders above the others, but I agree with you about the Shark Chrome. I get fantastic results w both of them
I am a big Williams fan but it does require more work to get a good lather vs your other choices. I like the smell and I love the Arko smell too; I don’t use Arko because it seems to leave a residue behind that won’t easily wash off.
Good idea to use the Tech for your testing. Nice, neutral test bed.

 

[Ron R]

Next up is another item that's a bit polarizing: Williams soap. First thing, the scent is not for me, but it's relatively mild and like a lot of soaps if you leave it exposed to air for a while the scent diminishes rapidly. It's not a show stopper. I'll skip to the conclusion and then circle back to the supporting claims. This is a good soap, but it's a bit of work to get it to act like some of the moderately higher priced soaps. I'm all for saving a few dollars, but the labor I had to invest to get good results negates the price advantage. I'd rather spend a few extra dollars and get one of the soaps I will list later that perform on equal if not better footing while needing less prep. When I first tried Williams, I just attacked a raw puck with a pre-soaked Omega boar brush utilizing a method inspired by the Marco. The results were ok, but underwhelming. I didn't get a great lather, but the soap was reasonably slick and smooth feeling on the skin.

Knowing there were many who love Williams, instead of giving up I did some B&B reading on suggested techniques. The next time I went to use it I prepared the soap with a basic blooming. This brought the Williams to life. Lather was good, nice and slick, good overall feel. I can see why those who like it are fans. For me, if the scent was more appealing, the good results and great price point would make this a keeper. As it is, the extra prep and take-it-or-leave-it scent make it a pass. There is nothing wrong with it, it just falls short of a few soaps that cost only a bit more in my experience. Still, I have no trouble seeing why people like it. Thumbs level on this one, but frankly I'd recommend everyone try it at least once. It has it's strengths and you don't have to mortgage your house to give it a chance.

I enjoyed you mass appeal topics and we all learn from them(polls), will it change some folks I doubt it but down the road they might try some of the products if they remember the polls or the your threads you created that are reasonably accurate IMO.
Great threads on mass appeal.