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Stirling Varen Shave Soap Review

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
Is there an active page in the wiki? I admit I haven't poked around there much at all.
Just this


But adding scents to this list as items that are not "inspired by" is pretty easy.
There is also this
and this
 
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JCinPA

The Lather Maestro
Yeah. Just got some more Schicks. Found 15 Personna 74 blades for $3.77 per blade, incl shipping. Not gonna happen. Ever. I'm sure they're mind blowing, but I'm not gonna ever find out.
 
Ha Ha! I have several sales for 74s saved on my ebay watch list around $6 blade. If you don't know, when you save something to your watch it tells the seller somebody is interested and they usually send an offer. People, somebody, are buying these 74s at $3 blade. The $6 per blade ones are still sitting like a collector car, hoping for increased demand and limited supply! My $1 per blade Light Brigades are just as sharp and last half as long, which is still twice what a modern blade does!
 

BradWorld

Dances with Wolfs
Ha Ha! I have several sales for 74s saved on my ebay watch list around $6 blade. If you don't know, when you save something to your watch it tells the seller somebody is interested and they usually send an offer. People, somebody, are buying these 74s at $3 blade. The $6 per blade ones are still sitting like a collector car, hoping for increased demand and limited supply! My $1 per blade Light Brigades are just as sharp and last half as long, which is still twice what a modern blade does!
I have plenty of 74’s. Would love to get some Light Brigades though.
 
I have plenty of 74’s. Would love to get some Light Brigades though.
They are still available for about 120 including shipping from the seller in Poland. There are a couple of sellers that obviously bought from him and are selling the tucks for double. They weren't called Light Brigade in Europe so they kind of fly under the radar.
 

BradWorld

Dances with Wolfs
They are still available for about 120 including shipping from the seller in Poland. There are a couple of sellers that obviously bought from him and are selling the tucks for double. They weren't called Light Brigade in Europe so they kind of fly under the radar.
I would love the info on how to buy these if you are willing to share via PM. 😎
 

Esox

I didnt know
Staff member
@Esox Thanks for that post! I never thought of that. I am also not a fan of Feathers, and since I discovered Kais I cannot think of a reason to ever use one again. The Kai is about as sharp, much, much smoother right out of the gate, and shaves for a week for me, so why fiddle with Feathers any more? Well, as a soap test, that's a really interesting idea, thank you!
Kai blades didnt work well for me, at all. I found they had a very hard time cutting anything on my face, even skin haha. I found them very smooth but when using one in my Grande for a first pass ATG shave, I needed 2 passes and 2 cleanups instead of one quick pass with a Polsilver.

Shave 12.

53 hours since last shave.

Red Kai in the morning, shavers take warning. Have I got that right?

Its not morning, but anyway...

Shave 12.JPG


The much discussed Kai was at bat today.

The red dot is so I could remember which side was up if I flipped it for another shave as there are no other markings on it.

Lather up and start on my cheeks, buffing upwards ATG and I instantly felt and thought "blade!". I could feel slight tugging as I was buffing each cheek, but nothing bad at all. Both cheeks finished I started on my jawline, buffing towards my chin and lower onto my neck and up towards my chin. The same shave I always do now. Quite a lot of tugging and the lower I went on my neck the more pronounced that tugging became.

I finished both sides of my face and neck and buffed up the center of my neck and over my chin and upper lip. Considerable tugging again and almost painful up the face of my chin the closer I got to my bottom lip.

I have a theory why these blades are the .008" wider than typical blades...

I finish that first buffing pass and wipe and check with a wet hand. Cheeks BBS, but nothing else is. I lather again and did a complete pass ATG over my entire face again. This blade was really struggling over the trouble spots on my neck, corners of my chin and right below my bottom lip.

Wipe and check with a wet hand again, BBS everywhere but my trouble spots. Paint my neck and stroke over them down towards each opposite chest, wipe and check, paint lather again and stroke up towards my opposite eye. Wipe and check, BBS everywhere. I had to whittle those areas down to get the BBS finish with this blade.

No irritation at all, but one small spot of blood on my right side swirl where this blade struggled.

Right now checking, if I feel ATG with considerable pressure I can feel a hint of stubble below the surface of my skin along my jawline each side and more so just below my bottom lip, again where this blade really struggled and was borderline painful.

My skin is cool, tight and comfortable and really a very nice shave, but this is after two full passes ATG, and two more clean ups on my neck.

Sharp this blade is not. It is however more than smooth enough for me.

This goes to show how we're all different and can have very different experiences. Its never just about one component either. The razor, blade and soap must all work together perfectly for you. Its your skin and your whiskers. Its your shaving technique, how you hold the razor, the direction of your strokes, the speed of those strokes, the angle used, the amount of pressure applied. It all needs to be tailored to you, no one else.

Once you find the best combination for you, they tend to stand out like a neon sign in the dark. When it all comes together, personally, I found it very rewarding.
 

BradWorld

Dances with Wolfs
True that! The hunt sure is fun, though! But the YMMV factor is, perhaps, highest with blades. It’s remarkably high, actually.
Exactly. I have done a few of the blade challenge PIFs where Grundi and Space Cadet send out 3 blades of a specific brand and vintage to a couple dozen participants and we all shave with them for a number of shaves and report on the results of each shave. The blades are from the same batch so there is consistency from participant to participant. The results are always up and down the complete scale from “these are the best blades of my life” to “these are the worst blades ever” and everything in between.
 
I've always been a fan of Stirling's 'unscented' Sheep, but always liked to add a little scent to it (usually a little ToBS peppermint). I happened upon this vendor (well, I saw a video) that appears to allow one to create a scented lather with any unscented base.


I am very, very intrigued about having Stirling's mutton base but now with NEW IMPROVED scents. :) They even have a peppermint fragrance.
 

Hannah's Dad

I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
I wish I knew why it makes such a difference. @Hannah's Dad have you asked Rod why sheep fat makes such a difference? My Varen arrived today! 😎
No, I’ve not asked him the ’why’ question. As a former prosecutor, I’ve been conditioned to never ask that question, because the answer could be devastating to the case (or the shave, in this case).
 
I actually got samples of Scott's pine and varen (along with the aftershave samples) last Saturday and I already own a full size Glastonbury. I shaved with the Scots pine this morning, and it's okay scent wise, but I like Coniferous better as far as the scent. Way better pine scent. We will see how varen goes. The performance of the mutton soaps is unbelievable, but I'm just not sold on any of the scents so far... I really wish they would do my favorite scent, Christmas eve, in mutton!
 
Inspired by the enthusiasm of my friend John @JCinPA I've just ordered the Scots Pine Sheep soap and matching balm! Thankfully, there are Stirling retailers here in Italy. :thumbup1:

@Marco I too just got “the sheep”. Gave it a shot yesterday and it performs as all Stirling soaps do….superb!

Slick, protective, awesome post shave feel.

I also picked up some unscented AS splash with menthol.

Solid products. Enjoy!!
 
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