My Guess... 3017

[paintflinger]

So, either I am doing it wrong... or doing it very right... depending on whether or not you are in the "load it like you hate it" camp.

Either way, I won't complain about really thick, slick, wonderful lather.

It really was quite nice lather. I don't really approve of how Smythe has handled himself with his business, but he makes a nice soap.

Not the biggest fan of the aftershaves/balms though.

 

[dkeester]

Using the Fat for a while will certainly make you heavy handed

I guess so...

Speaking of MWF, I have 22 shaves on that puck and really am looking forward to finishing it. I haven't had any problems lathering it so far, and I love the post-shave feel. I can see why it has such a big following around here.

 

[dkeester]

It really was quite nice lather. I don't really approve of how Smythe has handled himself with his business, but he makes a nice soap.

Not the biggest fan of the aftershaves/balms though.

I have read a bit about his shenanigans, but it predates my membership here by a couple of years so I am sure I don't have the whole story. (And I don't feel like dredging it up to get the whole story.) I am quite satisfied with the quality of the few of his products that I have tried and I am going to leave it at that.

I have been using the Magi AS splash also and really like it. I got a sample of the Sun Down balm with my order. I used it a few times, but there was something in it that my face didn't like. It burned quite a bit, but seemed to have good conditioning properties.

 

[Gott543]

I guess so...

Speaking of MWF, I have 22 shaves on that puck and really am looking forward to finishing it. I haven't had any problems lathering it so far, and I love the post-shave feel. I can see why it has such a big following around here.

I like it. After Tabac and the Fat, I figured you'd be happy one went away quick lol

 

[dkeester]

I like it. After Tabac and the Fat, I figured you'd be happy one went away quick lol

I probably should be, but my feelings are a bit mixed. I expected it to go faster than either the Tabac or MWF, but not this fast. My cost per shave with this is going to be a fair bit higher than I initially expected. I won't say I am disappointed, because I am not, just surprised.

It does make me wonder how fast the other artisans in my stash will go.

 

[SamariJack]

This is the conclusion that I was approaching, but you guys confirmed it. Thanks.

I have to say that I am a bit shocked that I hit bottom in the tub after only 15 shaves. I know that I load heavy, but I didn't think I was loading that heavy. (I forgot to weigh this one before starting, so I have no idea what my usage is.) This is my first soft artisan soap after spending October and November with Tabac and MWF, so maybe that has something to do with it?

EDIT:
I just did some quick math. This was a 4oz. tub, so to hit bottom I have to have used at least 2oz. of product. Using that as an estimate I have been loading around 3.8 grams per shave... I certainly wasn't intending to blow through this soap that fast... Oh well, the shaves have been stellar so I can't complain.

This is exactly what happened to me with B&M which I feel is a similar soap hardness to PAA. I feel like this is an issue with the cure times on the hot pour soaps, and may be why we see ranges of 1.8 to 3.8 grams per shave. Maybe someone more educated than me can jump in. I know it's all YMMV, but I was disappointed with only 36 shaves (3.4 grams per shave) on a $20 soap (55 cents per shave). Especially when I got 54 shaves on a puck of Haslinger which cost me $5 (9 cents per shave) purchased in bulk internationally. Or even 20 shaves from a sample puck of Stirling at $2.75 (13 cents per shave).

With the holidays I still managed to stretch the soap to about 2 months of usage. I got comfortable with that being about the amount of time before I get anxious with wanting to try something new anyway. So ok I can deal with that - but I'm really questioning if I will be buying more hot pour soaps. Cost is not necessarily an issue for me - but I over analyze everything and it a data point that's hard to ignore.

 

[dkeester]

This is exactly what happened to me with B&M which I feel is a similar soap hardness to PAA. I feel like this is an issue with the cure times on the hot pour soaps, and may be why we see ranges of 1.8 to 3.8 grams per shave. Maybe someone more educated than me can jump in. I know it's all YMMV, but I was disappointed with only 36 shaves (3.4 grams per shave) on a $20 soap (55 cents per shave). Especially when I got 54 shaves on a puck of Haslinger which cost me $5 (9 cents per shave) purchased in bulk internationally. Or even 20 shaves from a sample puck of Stirling at $2.75 (13 cents per shave).

With the holidays I still managed to stretch the soap to about 2 months of usage. I got comfortable with that being about the amount of time before I get anxious with wanting to try something new anyway. So ok I can deal with that - but I'm really questioning if I will be buying more hot pour soaps. Cost is not necessarily an issue for me - but I over analyze everything and it a data point that's hard to ignore.

There is a way to find out if it is cure time or not. Buy two tubs of your favorite hot pour soap from the same batch. Use one right away, measuring usage. Allow the other to sit for 4-6 weeks, perhaps with the lid off or loosened so that there is air flow. Once it has sat for a while, use it and see if the usage differs. Assuming that the conditions in your den allow for decent curing (I would think that cool, dark, and dry with stable temperatures would be enough.) it should be a valid experiment.

Without doing any such experiments, I am inclined to believe that you may be on to something. The cure time should allow for the soap to dry out and for saponification to completely finish (if it isn't quite complete at the time of sale), which (if my limited knowledge is correct) should harden the soap a bit. I doubt the usage numbers will ever get to the levels that you see with harder soaps like Haslinger, but I expect that ageing your artisan soaps a bit should improve usage some.

 

[snowman]

I still haven't settled on the next 3017 effort. Been using my Haslinger shave stick and getting fantastic shaves. I dunno, after almost a year of using Haslinger I thought I would be anxious to try something else, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I sort of feel like opening up a fresh puck of schafmilch and rolling with that for the next month or two.

 

[dkeester]

I still haven't settled on the next 3017 effort. Been using my Haslinger shave stick and getting fantastic shaves. I dunno, after almost a year of using Haslinger I thought I would be anxious to try something else, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I sort of feel like opening up a fresh puck of schafmilch and rolling with that for the next month or two.

I think you should go with your gut and 3017 the Schafmilch.

Otherwise, I suggest your next effort be the puck that has been waiting in your stash the longest, that you aren't planning to PIF or sell.

 

[FL shaver]

Palmolive cream. Simply works. Can't be any easier. I drop 3/4" of cream in the scuttle. Incorporate the cream into a damp brush. Face lather. Makes a slick and fairly dense cream. I can take or leave the scent. Nothing special. Shaves are good. Post shave feel is good. The stuff is cheap. Lots of ingredients on the tube, but I guess all of the creams I use have a long list. I'll finish the tube I have and probably save the other tube for travel. I like the brighter scents of citrus (AOS Lemon, CF Limes) or fresh marine scents (O Melhor comes to mind).

 

[Jarick]

My Palmolive seems to have grown by 2g over the last two shaves. Ugh.

I definitely find that the softer artisan soaps have a higher usage. Commercial soaps that are mostly solid seem to average about 1.5g per shave for me while the soft artisan soaps are closer to 2.5g or more. SCS was actually 4.3g per shave!

Speaking of soft soaps, I'm thinking of ordering one for my next 3017. My stash is now down to a few AOS Sandalwood tallow pucks and a stick of Irisch Moos.

Thinking about ordering Cella, which I found to be an okay soap with a great scent. I don't want to do Proraso because it's freezing cold out. Or maybe give an artisan a shot.

Any suggestions?

 

[cvargo]

My Palmolive seems to have grown by 2g over the last two shaves. Ugh.

I definitely find that the softer artisan soaps have a higher usage. Commercial soaps that are mostly solid seem to average about 1.5g per shave for me while the soft artisan soaps are closer to 2.5g or more. SCS was actually 4.3g per shave!

Speaking of soft soaps, I'm thinking of ordering one for my next 3017. My stash is now down to a few AOS Sandalwood tallow pucks and a stick of Irisch Moos.

Thinking about ordering Cella, which I found to be an okay soap with a great scent. I don't want to do Proraso because it's freezing cold out. Or maybe give an artisan a shot.

Any suggestions?

I get crazy usage from SCS. I didn't average that high. But 3.5g on the last puck I 3017ed.

Have you tried Soap Commander yet?

 

[paintflinger]

My Palmolive seems to have grown by 2g over the last two shaves. Ugh.

I definitely find that the softer artisan soaps have a higher usage. Commercial soaps that are mostly solid seem to average about 1.5g per shave for me while the soft artisan soaps are closer to 2.5g or more. SCS was actually 4.3g per shave!

Speaking of soft soaps, I'm thinking of ordering one for my next 3017. My stash is now down to a few AOS Sandalwood tallow pucks and a stick of Irisch Moos.

Thinking about ordering Cella, which I found to be an okay soap with a great scent. I don't want to do Proraso because it's freezing cold out. Or maybe give an artisan a shot.

Any suggestions?

If I still have my Cella, you can have it for free if you like.

 

[dkeester]

My Palmolive seems to have grown by 2g over the last two shaves. Ugh.

I definitely find that the softer artisan soaps have a higher usage. Commercial soaps that are mostly solid seem to average about 1.5g per shave for me while the soft artisan soaps are closer to 2.5g or more. SCS was actually 4.3g per shave!

Speaking of soft soaps, I'm thinking of ordering one for my next 3017. My stash is now down to a few AOS Sandalwood tallow pucks and a stick of Irisch Moos.

Thinking about ordering Cella, which I found to be an okay soap with a great scent. I don't want to do Proraso because it's freezing cold out. Or maybe give an artisan a shot.

Any suggestions?

These two are top notch of the limited number of soaps that I have tried so far:
https://www.bluebellsoap.com/
https://sudsysoapery.com/

 

[MuhleShaver]

I'm currently at 39 shaves on my puck of Haslinger Schafmilch. I probably have about a third of the puck left, and the bottom of the soap is a translucent grey where the IKEA Gruntal stainless container that it's in is starting to show through. Probably one shave left before breakthrough and probably about 15 shaves or so left. It appears that my usage is a bit slower than some people on the thread - but it's been giving me fantastic lathers so I'm not complaining. However, I don't think I'll get [MENTION=86380]ruckin[/MENTION] levels of usage out of it, but it's lasting longer than I expected.

 

[NyquistRate]

. . . I don't want to do Proraso because it's freezing cold out. Or maybe give an artisan a shot.

Any suggestions?

Proraso Red or Blue would be great in winter. Blue's skin treatment is nice for the dry air. It's my next 3017 after I finish RR XXX in a few days. I've put 40 shaves on the 4.2oz tub. It had 3 shaves according to the first owner and weighed 136g when I started it. The tub is down to 65g, meaning 15g of soap. I started this tub for Razorocktober and it has taken me much longer than expected for three reasons: 1) I participated in the November theme weeks, 2) I partook of Dfoulk's soap pass-around box and 3) I've seen some unexpected travel. I don't take the RR tub because the lid broke. However, it puts more shaves on my next 3017 because Proraso blue is my travel cream.

This thread is missing something. It needs . . .

Spoiler

more pictures! I've had a ring for a few shaves:



Today seemed a little tougher to load so I reformed:

These two are top notch of the limited number of soaps that I have tried so far:
https://www.bluebellsoap.com/
https://sudsysoapery.com/

That Sudsy stuff is pretty good.

 

[SamariJack]

Thinking about ordering Cella, which I found to be an okay soap with a great scent. I don't want to do Proraso because it's freezing cold out. Or maybe give an artisan a shot.

Any suggestions?

I haven't tied it but you may want to look at IB P.160 - if you have already tried cella. Apparently very similar to cella but some people like it more. It's in a new formula now - but they claim every bit as good.

I'm currently at 39 shaves on my puck of Haslinger Schafmilch. I probably have about a third of the puck left, and the bottom of the soap is a translucent grey where the IKEA Gruntal stainless container that it's in is starting to show through. Probably one shave left before breakthrough and probably about 15 shaves or so left. It appears that my usage is a bit slower than some people on the thread - but it's been giving me fantastic lathers so I'm not complaining. However, I don't think I'll get.

Don't be surprised if those last few shaves really increase in grams per shave. The end of my Haslinger really accelerated. Once it absorbs enough water to become soft, the losing shot from .75 to 4 grams per shave for me.

 

[Kooze]

C&S 88 is done. Every shave was excellent. It never lost its scent, and will definitely be replaced at some point. I started this puck on 8/1/16, and probably got close to 125 shaves out of it (summer weekends at the beach- no C&S)



Next up: haslinger schafmilch

have a great weekend everyone

 

[paintflinger]

The Valobra made hard soaps are so damn good.

Also, I keep forgetting to update on my 3017 of No. 63. Good, not amazing shaves from the PdP. I do find that I have to bloom the puck to get enough soap on the tips. I plan on busting out the 30 mm board to start eating away at it. On the couple of days I've run out of time in the morning or am on travel, I've been using a LEA stick and am hugely impressed with it. The LEA stick is very very good.

 

[NyquistRate]

The Valobra made hard soaps are so damn good.

Also, I keep forgetting to update on my 3017 of No. 63. Good, not amazing shaves from the PdP. I do find that I have to bloom the puck to get enough soap on the tips. I plan on busting out the 30 mm board to start eating away at it. On the couple of days I've run out of time in the morning or am on travel, I've been using a LEA stick and am hugely impressed with it. The LEA stick is very very good.

That sounds disappointing since I have a few pucks of PdP 63 to work through. On a side note, please don't eat any boards. We don't want you to hurt your teeth.