Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood Herbal Shave Soap

OK, first of all, this soap is not cheap. It's considered top shelf and there is a reason for it. It's just plain great. Lather, glide, comfort, scent all are top notch. The only downside is the price and that is why I give it a 4/5 rating. I need to use it less so it will last longer.

Truefitt & Hill Luxury Shave Soap (Bowl Refill)

Purchased on The Shave Den Forum. I've heard nothing but good things about this soap. If it's anything like the creams I have then this soap should do quite well.

2008.05.06 - First shave with this product. I wasn't disappointed. I took a risk on this because even though something is supposed to be top notch and it costs more than average, it should be great. The lather, glide, cushion and skin care were all there. If you want scent, forget it. It's a nice clean, fresh, "soap" scent. Now, the trick will be to use this back to back with say the Institut Karite and the Crabtree & Evelyn Soaps for comparison. At first impression, I'd say this soap should hold it's own.

Shave of the Day Explanation

If you've been reading this blog you will have noticed that I try to post my "Shaves of the Day." This is basically a chart of what I used for the day plus maybe a few comments about the results of the shave or some of the products used. The chart lists the category of the line item which can be a group title, product category or method, the product manufacturer, the product description, a product rating from 1-5 with 5 being the highest rating and finally a link to either a blog posting with picture, description and review or maybe just a picture. People are more then welcome to post their own comments about their own products, a mistake a made in the posting or product information or their own shaving experiences. You will notice that most of the ratings you'll see are either 3 or higher or nothing. At this stage of the game, I'm using mostly the items I like the best and bad or mediocre products quickly get shelved. If there is no rating then I don't have a fair opinion about the product yet. You might see me revisit a low ranking product for a re-evaluation. I'm still learning. So enjoy, try not to make some of the mistakes I made and have a great shave.

2008.04.22 Shave of the Day

*Shave of the Day*

Category	Mfg	Item Name	Rating 1-5	Blog Link
	Shower
Bath Soap:	Issy	Tropical Fruit Bar Soap	5	[Link]
Shampoo/Conditioner:	Avalon Organics	Lemon Clarifying Shampoo w/Shea Butter	4
Shampoo/Conditioner:	Avalon Organics	Lemon Clarifying Conditioner w/Shea Butter	4
Facial Wash:	Burt's Bees	Soap Bark & Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream	4	[Link]
Hair Tonic:	Lucky Tiger	3 Roses Hair Tonic	4	[Link]
	Shave
Razor:	Feather	Artist Club DX Japanese Style Non-Folding Razor ACD-N	5	[Link]
Razor Blades:	Feather	Professional Blades for Feather ACD-N	4	[Link]
Razor:	Merkur	37C Slant Bar HD Double Edged Safety Razor Chrome	4	[Link]
Razor Blades:	American Safety Razor Co	Crystal Double Edged Platinum Chrome Razor Blades	4
Brush:	Edwin Jagger	Limited Edition Finest Silvertip Badger Faux Ebony Shave Brush
Shave Cream/Soap:	Pre de Provence	Shea Butter Shave Soap	4
	Post Shave
Aftershave Balm:	Lucky Tiger	Mint & Menthol Vanishing Cream	4	[Link]
Aftershave:	Pinaud Clubman	Musk Aftershave Cologne	4
	Other
Shaving Other:	Face Prep	Mild cleanser begin shower. 45-60 sec HOT water end shower 20-30 sec splash begin shave.
Shaving Other:	Lather Prep	Lather building directly on face.
Shaving Other:	Technique	(Feather WTG)/(DE 45XTG/ATG Cleanup)
Shaving Other:	Technique	WTG/45XTG/Cleanup

Result: Continuing my 4+ streak, day 2 of the B&B LTD brush showing that like other people, I think it should have had a little more backbone. It's not floppy but I can tell when it's soaking in the bowl, it spreads out a little more then some of the other brushes. The Pre de Provence soap shaves well and feels nice on the skin. This is the last of the Feather Pro Blades. I do better with the Super Pro Blades so that is what I am going to stick with.

2008.04.21 Shave of the Day

*Shave of the Day*

Category	Mfg	Item Name	Rating 1-5	Blog Link
	Shower
Bath Soap:	Issy	Tropical Fruit Bar Soap	5	[Link]
Shampoo/Conditioner:	Avalon Organics	Lemon Clarifying Shampoo w/Shea Butter	4
Shampoo/Conditioner:	Avalon Organics	Lemon Clarifying Conditioner w/Shea Butter	4
Facial Wash:	Burt's Bees	Soap Bark & Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream	4	[Link]
Hair Tonic:	Lucky Tiger	3 Roses Hair Tonic	4	[Link]
	Shave
Razor:	Feather	Artist Club DX Japanese Style Non-Folding Razor ACD-N	5	[Link]
Razor Blades:	Feather	Super Professional Blades for Feather ACD-N	5	[Link]
Razor:	Merkur	37C Slant Bar HD Double Edged Safety Razor Chrome	4	[Link]
Razor Blades:	Personna	Double Edge Super Platinum Chrome Razor Blades (Comfort Coated)	4	[Link]
Brush:	Edwin Jagger	Limited Edition Finest Silvertip Badger Faux Ebony Shave Brush
Shave Cream/Soap:	Crabtree & Evelyn	Sweet Almond Oil Glycerin Shave Soap	5	[Link]
	Post Shave
Aftershave:	Pinaud Clubman	Citrus Musk Eau De Cologne	4
	Other
Shaving Other:	Face Prep	Mild cleanser begin shower. 45-60 sec HOT water end shower 20-30 sec splash begin shave.
Shaving Other:	Lather Prep	Lather building directly on face.
Shaving Other:	Technique	(Feather WTG)/(DE 45XTG/ATG Cleanup)
Shaving Other:	Technique	WTG/45XTG/Cleanup

Result: 4.5/5.0 Surprised I could see this morning. I'm tired. Tried the LTD Edition brush for the first time. A bit weak in the backbone, soft bristles though. I suspect, for the price, the Shavemacs are going to beat it easily. Needs more shaves. It has that wet badger smell. We'll see how it does by the end of the week. Almost time for me to wrangle all the badgers and take
a group photo. I'll wait for the new brush to come in. Should be here tomorrow.

2008.04.19 Shave of the Day

*Shave of the Day*

Category	Mfg	Item Name	Rating 1-5	Blog Link
	Shower
Bath Soap:	Issy	Tropical Fruit Bar Soap	5	[Link]
Shampoo/Conditioner:	Burt's Bees	Dr. Burt's Herbal Treatment Shampoo	2	[Link]
Hair Tonic:	Pinaud Clubman	Eau de Quinine Hair Tonic	4
	Shave
Razor:	Feather	Artist Club DX Japanese Style Non-Folding Razor ACD-N	5	[Link]
Razor Blades:	Feather	Super Professional Blades for Feather ACD-N	5	[Link]
Razor:	Merkur	37C Slant Bar HD Double Edged Safety Razor Chrome	4	[Link]
Razor Blades:	Personna	Double Edge Super Platinum Chrome Razor Blades (Comfort Coated)	4	[Link]
Brush:	Shavemac	23mm Custom Nickel Blue Silvertip Badger Fan Shaped Shave Brush	5	[Link]
Shave Cream/Soap:	The Gentlemen's Quarter	Gentleman's Oak & Moss Glycerin Shave Soap	4	[Link]
	Post Shave
Aftershave:	Master	Ocean Blue Aftershave
	Other
Shaving Other:	Lather Prep	Lather building directly on face.
Shaving Other:	Technique	WTG/45XTG/Cleanup
Shaving Other:	Technique	(Feather WTG)/(DE 45XTG/ATG Cleanup)

Result: 4.6/5.0 Yes, yes, yes. I figured it out. If I soak in the tub then I don't use a facial scrub and extra beard soaking. It's too much. My face actually over hydrates. Always nice to finish up a shave and the wife strokes my smooth face and says I smell nice. Even daughter said I smelled
nice. Have to remember this one.

Custom Afzelia Burl Wood 24mm Silvertip Badger Shave Brush

This Afzelia Burl wood Silver Tipped Badger hair shaving brush was hand turned. This 24mm Silver Tipped Badger hair brush has extra stuffing and long hair. The brush and handle together are 5 1/2" tall. The Badger brush is 2 1/4" wide and 2 1/2" tall. The shaving brushes' finish is durable, highly polished cannot be penetrated by water.

Afzelia Burl is a rare and beautiful wood with colorful wood and wavy flow in the burl. This piece has an interesting combination of lighter sap wood and darker heartwood--very striking. Depending on your view, this brush is like looking at two different pieces of wood.

Here a some comments about this brush after about a 10 days of usage. The handle is outstanding. Beautiful wood and craftsmanship. Light and fits my hand well. A little tall for weight so I have to watch out for tipping. Finish is excellent. The knot is the one weakness to this brush. The loft is fine. The bristle softness is fine but the density of the brush should be more and it looks like the trimming and placement distribution of bristles are a little lopsided. You can tell when you load up the brush where the flaws are in the knot. Also, the brush is advertised as a 24mm knot but I'm guessing it's a little smaller. I need to measure it but putting it next to my other 23mm brushes it looks a little small. I would love to get some more of these handles from this maker and have someone else supply the brush knot.