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Stirling Syndicate

Thank you all for the responses. I believe I will pull the trigger on a few samples based on these recommendations.

If you haven't pulled the trigger yet I have a sample of Frozen Tundra and Piacenza I could PIF you. I got a decent number of samples and while I like these two, they are pretty far down my personal list.

The Frozen Tundra is fairly new and has been stored in a ziploc since I received it. The Piacenza is a little older and I cannot guarantee it didn't pick up a scent from a different puck.

PM me if interested.
 
If you haven't pulled the trigger yet I have a sample of Frozen Tundra and Piacenza I could PIF you. I got a decent number of samples and while I like these two, they are pretty far down my personal list.

The Frozen Tundra is fairly new and has been stored in a ziploc since I received it. The Piacenza is a little older and I cannot guarantee it didn't pick up a scent from a different puck.

PM me if interested.
PM sent. Thank you for the generous offer!
 
Here is what I did . . . and I'm still working on them (FYI Frozen Tundra is one of my favorites)

I went to the Stirling site and sorted the list by popularity and bought 6 samples of the top that I thought sounded interesting. Check here for the scent descriptions.
 
I've tried most of them. I recently figured out the top 5 that I could stay with after I've used up everything I have and be very happy with just these.

Christmas Eve, Sandalwood,Ozark Mountains, Nag Champa, and Sharp Dressed Man.
 
I've read this thread with great interest. I've spent the last several hours researching Stirling, initially focusing on their brushes (I just bought two of their synthetics. One for me, one for my son). But I found myself ordering a few of their sample shave soaps, too.

So far, this thread has really focused on all the wonderful scents, and that's great... but how do they perform?

I've mentioned this in a thread or two, so I apologize for the repeat, but...

I had a very bad case of SAD back in '08. So bad that the wife relegated me to one soap for the last ten years. I picked Tabac. Not because of the fragrance, as I absolutely *hated* the stench of Tabac, but because of the absolutely stellar performance. I still don't particularly like the smell of Tabac, but at least now I can tolerate it.

But anyway... I now find myself wanting to (with the wife's approval, of course) try a few more soaps.

So how about it, gents, how do the Stirling line of soaps perform? Are they all the same soap base, with just difference scents?

Slickness. I'm all about the slickness. So much so that I was willing to put up with a horrible smell for ten years to get that unbelievable slickness that Tabac has (as long as you hydrate it enough).

I don't care about how the lather feels in any other regard than slickness... it can be thin and watery or floofy and cotton candy like. I don't care if it's difficult to build, hard to hydrate, difficult to load, leaves my skin dry, or how it smells. I want the slickness. Lubrication. Friction reduction. I want a soap that makes the razor want to zip across the skin.

Lubrication uber alles.

If Stirling has the slickness/lubrication, they have my business for the *next* ten years.
 
Excellent post, thank you for the most informative share. Stirling is truly up there in terms of value and performance. I have plenty of other soaps but I always tend to include a Stirling soap in my purchases. They are just great value and I don't feel bad at all one buying one. Some of my favorite soaps are too expensive, I feel iffy. Heh.
 
@FloorPizza
I switched to Stirling exclusively over 2 yrs ago because it was a great soap. To me its a very easy soap to lather whether its bowl or face, and is very slick. Bang for $ probably the best on the market today... I believe most of the line is beef tallow based with Sheep, Scots Pine Sheep, and Electric Sheep being mutton tallow based...
 
@FloorPizza
I switched to Stirling exclusively over 2 yrs ago because it was a great soap. To me its a very easy soap to lather whether its bowl or face, and is very slick. Bang for $ probably the best on the market today... I believe most of the line is beef tallow based with Sheep, Scots Pine Sheep, and Electric Sheep being mutton tallow based...

Great information, thank you.

I have three samples on the way. I wish I woulda known about the other types of tallow available. I've always wanted to try a sheep tallow base.

Early this morning while I was researching Stirling (and other brand) synthetic brushes, I fired off a question to Stirling using their "Contact Us" web form. I figured I'd get a response in a few days. I got an answer in about two minutes. This was at 5:00 a.m. his time zone.

Their prices are very reasonable, their customer service (at first experience at least) is amazing. I think I may have found my new shaving vendor.
 
After trying out many of the samples, the only two I bought a whole tub of were Barbershop and Mountain Man. Mountain Man because my wife loved it and Barbershop is really fresh clean and quite powdery. I also have the matching aftershaves which are pretty strong and stay with me for most of the day.
 
I wish someone would capture the scent of the coast with the scent of the salt, seaweed, just that distinct smell that you get when you first arrive at the beach.

I don't know about mix of salt, seaweed etc ocean smell (that would be heaven!) but I find SV Dolomiti has a beautiful salty background scent that does take my mind to a beach.

I try to purchase from Stirling directly to help their margins and their success. But I don’t fault you for going the free shipping route as well. I’m guilty of it.

A nice bonus to ordering from them is the sample body soap they always throw in. And much to my surprise this last order I discovered I had enough loyalty points built up for $10 off. It was pretty unexpected and a nice gesture by them to have a loyalty program.

Yeah, I've ordered twice from them just this last month, paying full shipping both times. If one of those items was available at West Coast Shaving I would have bought that there.

Once I bought "Christmas Eve" from Maggard's because it was in July and Stirling only carries it seasonally. It's good to have choices but I like to help keep them in business as well as they are a really good company.

Whilst Stirling may have a better margin selling directly, I'm sure they would also prefer their sales channels to remain fruitful as I'd guess they sell more through their relationships with WCS, Maggard etc etc.

If WCS or Maggard stopped stocking Stirling, that would really hurt them IMO.
 
If WCS or Maggard stopped stocking Stirling, that would really hurt them IMO.
From conversations I've had with Rod, he an Mandy have a pretty big customer base so I'm not sure this would really hurt them all that much. Besides, in the 2+yrs I've been using, posting, and reading about Stirling, I rarely ever hear that someone purchased their Stirling products from Maggard's or WCS... Most everyone buys direct.
 
From conversations I've had with Rod, he an Mandy have a pretty big customer base so I'm not sure this would really hurt them all that much. Besides, in the 2+yrs I've been using, posting, and reading about Stirling, I rarely ever hear that someone purchased their Stirling products from Maggard's or WCS... Most everyone buys direct.

Fair enough.

Every business I know of would prefer to do wholesale to retail. Not sure if Stirling owners think differently but I'm confident it would make a dent in their turnover of major stockists ceased selling their product.

One example is CRSW. Awesome soap but with no retailers, they haven't become a big name and hardly ever come up on the forums. If they had stockists, I'm sure it'd be a different situation.

Also, overseas sales are just about impossible from what Rod told me so Maggard and WCS are catering to the global market. I got my Stirling through Maggard as it was the only cost effective way to get them in Australia.
 
I was wondering if anyone has ever used this EDT before, the Stirling Spice ( spin off of Old Spice Cologne ) ???
I have forever been a fan of Shulton's Old Spice, but always wanted something that had better longevity. It is hard to find clones of Old Spice and wondered how this one may be and wear time?
Thank you in advance for your input.
 
I received two of Stirling's post shave balms (Unscented and Executive Man) and used it for the first time this morning. This stuff is great!!!!!

I love that it leaves no greasy residue and seems to be a great moisturizer. I may have to splurge for some more of their scented balms.
 
I'm using Stirling Executive Man balm in rotation. As bmw45mo says, performance is excellent. It gets absorbed quickly and leaves no grease or slime. It also seems to soften my skin, especially in this cold weather.

As I understand it, Executive Man is Stirling's most popular scent across the product line. It's pleasant and not too strong. But to my nose it's a bit sweet. Next time maybe I'll try something more herby or piney or even unscented. (I'm not a scent guy, but I kind of like Nancy Boy's Replenishing (cucumber), T&H's Grafton and Ultimate Comfort, Spieck and anything lavender.)
 
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