Maggard's Shaving Soap Review:

All I can say about this brand of soap is oh wow! I ordered their shaving soap along with the other I mentioned in the previous post and I chose the "London Barbershop" scent. It's nice clean masculine type of scent that's not too over powering and yet it lasts. The slickness was good, but the cushioning ability was epic. It would be perfect for a straight razor shave. The post shave feel was also really good. It was nice and clean with a little bit of slickness left behind but not alot. It can use a little bit of extra slickness during the shave so adding a pre-shave oil, cream, or some type of soap may help in the slickness department but it doesn't need much. The container it comes in is amber in color which makes a difference in the scent. By blocking out the light and blooming the soap, the scent actually becomes stronger. The price is also excellent. You get 5 ounces of soap for $12.95. So you are getting your money's worth. I would recomend trying Maggard Razor's brand of soap. It's really good.

Tiki Bar Shaving Soap Review:

This is another soap that I got to try here recently and it was really good and easy to use. I purchased Tiki bar Soap's Peppermint Bark scented shaving soap and it did NOT disappoint me at all. The scent will remind you of a "york peppermint patty" that was made with white or standard chocolate instead of the usual dark chocolate. It was extremely easy to load and even easier to lather. Speaking of lathering capabilities, I call this soap a "volcano" when it comes to lather. The cushion was good and it has a real good level of slickness when it comes to the lather. The post shave feel was great. Not too slick, yet clean and fresh. It also wasn't too dry either which I can't stand at all. In fact it's one of the reasons why I quit using Taylor of Old Bond Street and Proraso's products. The post shave is way too dry on those 2 product lines. I do recomend adding Tiki Bar Soaps to your shaving rotation.

Soap Commander Takes Top Spot:

Happy Thanksgiving ladies and gentlemen. Here recently, I have tried 4 new soaps and all of them are indeed top performers. The first one I tried stood out and has continued to do so. That shaving soap is Soap Commander's "Endurance" scented shaving soap. I have yet to find a shaving soap that equals the post shave feel it has which is beyond belief. It also didn't leave any irritation at all and each time I've used it, I have acheived that elusive B.S.S. or Baby Smooth Shave without even trying to. That's the kind of performance that I love to get out of traditional shaving. The price of Soap Commander's shaving soaps are spot on due to the fact that you get a huge 6 ounce container of soap. The container itself is black and easy to open even with wet hands and last but not least, the label is waterproof. The scent is that classic "old school" version of  a "certain cologne" from the 60's which is awesome. It's not like the molested stuff that's being sold on store shelves today. The post shave feel is epic. It has a moist post shave feel to it that is somewhat slick but you can tell that it's extremely clean. This soap also rinses cleany as well and does not leave hardly any white residue either like I get with some other soaps. Soap Commander is a "must have" in any shave den.

The Feather Blades Surprised Me:

I really didn't know any other way to title this post. The first time I used a Feather DE blade was in my Weishi and it performed like a superstar. So I tried them again in an Edwin Jagger DE 89 safety razor, and horrible is pretty much sugar coating it. So after changing razors again, I decided to try them again with great fear and trepidation, and got a really mild and almost forgiving shave. I never thought I would use the words "forgiving" and "Feather" in the same sentence. The last surprise was the fact that they didn't last past 3 multi pass shaves which is not good because they tend to be a little bit more expensive than other blades are depending on where you purchase them. I have never seen a blade so razor oriented in my life. They good in a razor that has no weight to it and very little blade exposure. That changes when you have more blade exposure and add weight to the equation. The twisted or scewed fasion of the slant bar razor must have changed the aggression level of the blade because it was comfortable in my Merkur 37C slant. I guess it was mainly due to the "slicing guillotine" action instead of the usual "straight chopping" action that you get with other razors. That probably has a lot to do with it. But for now the Feather DE blades are in the 3rd spot behind Voskhod blades.

Maggard Razors Review:

In the last post, I did a review of Arko shave cream and I purchased it at Maggard Razors. The service was excellent and my order got here really fast. This is the retailer that you'll want to add to your favorite suppliers list because they do something that a lot of online retailers don't do which is sell product samples. Instead of buying an entire container of a product that you're not sure you can use or if it doesn't work because of the type of water you're using, you can buy a small sample of that product to try for an ultra low price. This works out for both you the customer and it works out for them because selling samples allows them to get rid of products that often expire before getting sold. They also offer some restoration services for vintage razors and sharpening for traditional straight razors. Their price points are low which is a good thing and they have quite a bit to offer. I would definately recomend Maggard Razors as a favorite supplier. Here's the link to their website:

http://www.maggardrazors.com

Arko Going in Rotation:

I recently purchased a tube of Arko shave cream. The scent I chose has been renamed to "Extra Fresh" and it was incredible. It used to be called "Ice Mint" but the chill factor was a bit on the mild side which was fine. The first impression I got was the price point. I paid $3.95 USD for a tube that weighs roughly around 3.2 ounces so that gives it a price point of $1.23 USD's per ounce which is ultra low. That's a really good thing in the shaving world. I don't even think you can get a can of your typical shave foam or gel for that price to be honest about it. Here's a photo of the product:

The tube comes sealed with aluminum foil:

 The first impression is always going to be the scent. Unlike their popular shaving stick, this product does NOT stink. In fact its scent is extremely close to Taylor of Old Bond Street's Jermyn Street formula only it's a bit milder with a little hint of mint coming through towards the end. This cream does NOT take a lot of water and does NOT require it either. All you'll need is about an almond sized dolop and 1 tablespoon of water and you'll have a massive amount of lather that has the consistency of yogurt:

 Here's the lather results:

At first, I added too much water so I doubled the amount of product and got the ratio I mentioned earlier and got the results you see above. This cream has a mild cooling affect which is soothing to the skin. The lather has really good cushioning ability and provides protection through out the entire shave. It's not the slickest, but it has more than enough glide to get the job done. This product has great staying power. The following photo was taken after a multi pass shave and I had already cleaned up my shaving area which I like to do to test the staying power of a product that I've not used before:

The post shave felt extremely good. It was clean, with a minimum amount of slickness left behind and there was a minimum amount of residue left on my equipment which was easy to rinse off. This cream has everything you're looking for and often outperforms the more expensive creams on the market. The performance is excellent, it has an ultra low price point, the product itself is easy to use, the scent is fantastic and you have a variety of scents to choose from. I would highly recomend trying these creams and it's going in my rotation.

No Longer Interested in Purchasing DE Razors:

In a previous post, I eluded to another decision that I made after giving my Merkur 37C Slant Bar DE safety razor a real acid test on a week long heavy beard growth. It exceeded my expectations as to what kind of results I would get. I've been shaving with the slant for over 2 months now, and the shaves just keep getting better and better with each use. After this awesome experience, I have decided NOT to purchase any more DE or double edge safety razors. Why keep looking at other razors, when the one you have deemed your "go to" razor fits your every shaving need? That's why I made this decision. The Merkur 37C slant is mild enough to shave everyday with, but it also has no problem removing a full beard either. Before trying it against a heavy beard growth and seeing the results first hand, all I had seen was a few YouTube videos of this razor removing a full blown beard after letting it go for over a month which was impressive. No clippers were used or anything. Just this razor and a double edge blade. The cartridge system would have been totally useless in this scenario.