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Stirling Syndicate

This seems like a new soap with a lot of promise, I was wondering why there haven't been review?

I know it's new and every new batch has been reformulated to improve it. But I figure even some reviews on maybe some earlier batches would be nice. Seems like the scents are made with essential oils, it looks promising to me.

Anyways I guess post if you tried some (if you know which batch that's probably helpful).


For people reading, I am pretty sure this company is very new, so I wouldn't be surprised if the first batch wasn't great, and I'd be a little easy on passing judgment since it seems as if they're still working on the formula.
 
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I hope the reviewers DON"T take it easy. I want to know both the good and the not-so-good when it comes to product reviews. The reason I didn't jump on his offers is the lack of reviews, especially since he mentioned that he has sent out several free samples to board members. I also hope that it turns out to be a great product, because at the price he is offering it would be a nice deal, but I already have spent enough money on products that don't work well (two Trumper's soaps in bowl that only serve as a base for super or uber-lathering since they won't lather alone).
 
Well, I just wouldn't be turned off if the first generation doesn't work, and I don't think judging the first generation is so fair. I know this is meant to be a business selling soap, but I also realize that it may take some experimentation to get it right.

Either way I'm with you. I was told most of the reviews were done privately, but I too wish some members posted some publicly so it would give me some idea of how the soap works.
 
Well, I just wouldn't be turned off if the first generation doesn't work, and I don't think judging the first generation is so fair. I know this is meant to be a business selling soap, but I also realize that it may take some experimentation to get it right.

Either way I'm with you. I was told most of the reviews were done privately, but I too wish some members posted some publicly so it would give me some idea of how the soap works.

Why would judging a first generation production run be unfair if it doesn't work well. Isn't that what trials and testing is for _prior_ to selling it. If this is beta where it is given with only the expectation of testing and reporting, fine. But if you are charging for stuff, it should work as advertised.
 
Why would judging a first generation production run be unfair if it doesn't work well. Isn't that what trials and testing is for _prior_ to selling it. If this is beta where it is given with only the expectation of testing and reporting, fine. But if you are charging for stuff, it should work as advertised.

Sorry I meant more to highlight that the first generation reviews may be irrelevant. I'm not sure what the current stock is, but I am pretty sure the 1st generation soaps are sold off, and the 2nd generation I think either are about to be finished off, or they've already been sold.


The reason is more that I thought the first/second generation soap reviews are definitely helpful, but since it's been changed so much since then, it would be irrelevant if say the 1st generation didn't lather so well. I don't know the situation, but according to the seller the 3rd generation has been greatly improved and builds lather much better. So I guess it would be hard to take a negative review of the 1st generation of soaps and use that to decide if I should buy the 3rd generation ones or not. Just irrelevant, but not unfair I guess, bad terminology.

I'd actually be interested if someone tried them all to see how they have changed too, but I just wanted to clarify for people who didn't know the company that the 1st generation soaps are not being sold and have been improved on. I guess it's unfair to think the 3rd generation soaps would act like the 1st generation, that is a better statement. But at this point any reviews would be helpful!
 
It's under $10. Go out on a limb and give the guy a try. For $7, I got a tallow soap and his new gen3 almond shipped - should be here soon.
 
This seems like a new soap with a lot of promise, I was wondering why there haven't been review?

I know it's new and every new batch has been reformulated to improve it. But I figure even some reviews on maybe some earlier batches would be nice. Seems like the scents are made with essential oils, it looks promising to me.

Anyways I guess post if you tried some (if you know which batch that's probably helpful).


For people reading, I am pretty sure this company is very new, so I wouldn't be surprised if the first batch wasn't great, and I'd be a little easy on passing judgment since it seems as if they're still working on the formula.
I've been keeping my eye open for reviews/feedback as well, would like to try them out and support a new vendor as long as the product isn't horrible.
Not sure where in LA you are David but I'm in the area as well, if you're at all interested in trying a few things out I'd be down to place an order to split shipping...
 
I understand that it's cheap, but I don't have a ton of disposable cash, plus if he's a member you want to support, I would think posting a review is one of the best ways you could help support him...
 
Funny you should bring this up. I bought the last 3 of his "Buck a Puck" deal. They arrived today.

I bought Unscented (tallow), Strawberry (tallow), and Citrus (non-tallow).

Lathering:

I'm just going to be honest here...I test lathered all three and they all leave a lot to be desired as a shaving soap as far as lather goes. I tried bowl lathering, palm lathering, and lathering on my arm (like face lathering...I get brush burn easily).

I loaded from the puck using my Omega '49 on my first tests and then took the pucks and rubbed them directly on my arm like I would a shave stick. The non tallow soap did the best, but I'm sorry, I won't be using any of these soaps to shave with. In my opinion they aren't ready. Maybe I missed something or maybe someone could tutor me on techniques to use with this particular soap...but for now, it just doesn't do it for me, lather wise. The lather in all 3 was airy, bubbly. About what you would expect trying to lather hand soap with a brush.

Scent:

The only scent that seemed to reflect the label was unscented. It smelled a lot like Valobra, which to me smells like saponified tallow, which isn't bad. The Citrus scented smelled nothing like citrus, nor did the Strawberry. If they weren't labelled as such there was no way I would be able to identify what they were supposed to be. They smelled like clay to me.

I hope they get better with the formulation, OR, I hope I figure out a way to lather it better, but for now, these are going into the back of my closet as they don't work very well for me.


I like supporting vendors who are members here. I'm sorry I have to report these results but I'd rather be honest than not. Maybe they can get it better.

Hopefully someone will come in with the newer reviews. It seems as if he's had a lot of reformulations since then. I wouldn't want to have to relegate my shaving puck to the shower, but for $1 it's not horrible.

Maybe we'll find out how Gen2/3 did. I wonder if he'll chime in on the scents because I know he has posted about the lather being much better in the newer pucks, but if I read correctly, most of his soaps are made with Essential Oils, usually those are the best scented ones! I really hope more people chime in.
 
The pucks I ordered should be here tomorrow if on schedule. I haven't met a soap yet that I couldn't get a good lather with using my SOC boar..even the new, garbage William's.
 
The pucks I ordered should be here tomorrow if on schedule. I haven't met a soap yet that I couldn't get a good lather with using my SOC boar..even the new, garbage William's.

Nice! Please review if you can, it would be really helpful I think to the whole community. As far as I know this is the only thread with an actual review.

You ordered the new Generation 3 pucks right? I guess it'll be hard to compare it to the previous review (Gen1), but we'll see how the newer pucks work for sure.
 
Nice! Please review if you can, it would be really helpful I think to the whole community. As far as I know this is the only thread with an actual review.

You ordered the new Generation 3 pucks right? I guess it'll be hard to compare it to the previous review (Gen1), but we'll see how the newer pucks work for sure.

Mailman came with a late gift just now. The Gen 3 Almond puck is VERY soft and easy to jam into my plastic containers. I whipped up a quickie with it and it looks promising. I guess I'll have to see how it does on tomorrow morning's shave. The Gen 2 Citrus is harder, so I'm working on that... hopefully I won't have to cheese grate it. Both smells like they said they do. Citrus ISN'T orange. Smells like a blend, but that could be due to the clay added.
 
Very classy and unnecessary move ezlovan! I specifically didn't order the buck a puck because of the up-front warning. I personally have given up on testing out un-researched products after buying a puck of Camamu shave soap made by a local artisan which performed very, very poorly, though it was one of the best smelling soaps I have tried. Keep up the hard work ezlovan and if you are able to attain your goals of a great performing natural soap for under $5 you will be very busy indeed.
 
I will be following this thread. I purchased a bunch of stuff from him just now and will hopefully come back over the next few days to add my $.02.
 
So a quick breakdown:
1. Active B&B Member and Hobbyist
2. Excellent customer service focusing on customer satisfaction
3. Active Duty Member

I'm sold. I'm always a huge advocate for supporting small businesses like Mike's Natural Soaps and Mama Bear's so I don't care if it takes him years to perfect his soaps, I'm buying some of his stuff too! (even though I have 6 pucks of soap under the sink right now:blushing:)
 
G3 Almond. I was under the impression it wasn't tallow, but that's what the first ingredient read.

The good:

The soap was VERY soft and took little time to mash into my container. The lather was slick and a little on the thin side. I'm talking Col. Conk Bay Rum slick to the point that it's hard to wash off. I'm convinced I could've done all 3 passes with one lather application. I don't feel I got the closest shave from it, but it was very comfortable. The scent, I'm not quite sure what it is, sticks around for about an hour. I can definitely smell the almond, but it's also spicy. I can forsee that being a love or hate depending on how much you like your aftershave's scent. I enjoyed it, though.

The bad:
I'm a quick shaver, but towards the end the lather looked like it was disappearing. It also wasn't very thick/cushiony. Both these issues could very well be due to not enough product. Next time, I'll be sure to load twice as long or so (I did for 20 seconds and it looked good to go, but I was most likely wrong). You can smell some of the bentonite clay through the scent. The major thing for me, though, is a slight burning feeling after application. I'm not sure if that's due to new soap syndrome or my skin being sensitive to the fragrance oil. I'll leave the top off and see next week.

The scent is thrown off by the clay, but I it's used to enhance the slickness (right?). Pending further testing, I'd say this soap's performance is similar to MJ's Soap. Not yet on par with the more expensive artisan soap masters here, but considering the comments regarding previous versions it's quickly approaching. I have a feeling that once I nail the water/product/load time for this soap, it will be a great performer. All in all, I'd say it's worth the money or at the very least worth a try.
 
I can confirm the progress that has been made between Gen2 and Gen3 soaps. The airy "olive oil" lather from Gen2 really disappeared. Gen3 was still a touch frothy, but slick as all get out. No problem shaving with it, though it doesn't quite get to a yogurty consistency. I found best success with Gen3 by loading a ton of product on a rather dry boar brush, and going straight to the face. It really didn't need any water added, though it can be hard to resist doing so due to habit. Again, due to its slickness, the shave is very smooth and easy. Just not aesthetically the most beautiful lather. I will also confirm there is a bit of stability issue, as the lather tends to dissipate after a couple minutes.

Gen4 is apparently going to be ready soon, and I will post my impressions on this soap as well. I had planned to post an extensive review with pictures of the whole evolution, but with the topic trending, I wanted to chime in.

In all, the Gen2 soaps I agree completely - lovely bath soap. Gen3 was a huge step forward, but still with stability issues. I am confident Gen4 will see similar progress.

I, for one, absolutely LOVE the scents. I didn't try the vegan ones. He is clearly using superior essential oils. The Scots Pine and Ozark Mountain Gen2s were subtle, but masculcine and contemplative. The Almond Cream Gen3 is just straight delicious.

More to come ...
 
Was the recent "buck a puck" sale Gen 3? I orderrd a couple... figured it's a cheap bath soap if I don't like shaving with it. Also ordered a bath nar.... vegan stuff, all. Can't wait to get it.
 
Was the recent "buck a puck" sale Gen 3?

From what I understand, the buck-a-puck sale was for the Gen1/2. I never tried any of the vegan soaps, but the tallow G2 are excellent bath/hand soaps. At $1, it's pretty phenomenal. I'm eagerly awaiting the G4. Rod is phenomenal, and I am absolutely convinced he will end up with an excellent soap by the time he's done.
 
Was the recent "buck a puck" sale Gen 3? I orderrd a couple... figured it's a cheap bath soap if I don't like shaving with it. Also ordered a bath nar.... vegan stuff, all. Can't wait to get it.

To be clear his buck a puck was because they were poor performers. He sold his first batch, but he put a lot into it, for $1 they were nice bath soaps with real EO's at wost, that's not a bad deal. And if you use airy lather (straights) they may even be ok performers, I'm not sure.
 
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