CRSW

These V2 offerings are right up there with the best soaps made today. Great post shave and classic scents not overdone. Normal scents! A lot of the artisans today are pumping out soaps that just give me a headache. CRSW doesn't overdo it. Probably the finest artisan in the US at the moment IMO.

Special order of CRSW Select V2 soap, scent-free and lanolin-free, along with a bottle of the Replenish Post Shave Tonic. Larry threw in all the sale options for the month, as well. I hope the products are as good as the customer service.

They are. The soap is excellent, even without the extras. Easy to lather, rich and slick. First shave I thought it might be overdoing it with post-shave moisturizing, but after the second shave I'm thinking it's pretty alright. Now I want to try the Oliva to compare.

Does CRSW make a straight up vetiver soap? Like mikes natural.

Does CRSW make a straight up vetiver soap? Like mikes natural.

Not that I am aware of.
The Vetiver Moderne has a few other notes to it.

They don't offer a single-note soap from what I understand.

Vetiver Moderne is simply awesome!

vtmax Do you use v2 with badger brushes? The v2 is much easier to lather that v1. I have even given my feedback to Larry but my performance flaws were little to no residual slickness. The lather was "stable" but wasn't ever comfortable with how dense or protective the lather was. I stopped blooming after Larry or other members at TSN advised not to soften the soap. One friend said to load a bit heavier before face lathering. I found that Oliva gave me more consistent results but have settled on using only a synthetic brush to get over some of my lathering hurdles.

Any suggestions or details on how you load/lather/wet/brushes/yada/yada?

Interesting.

I used Puro Fresco today, was my second shave with this soap. I have used Boise Flo... about 10 times. I have used badger/ boar/ synthetic, but I found that while the lather is extremely protective, the residual slickness is somewhat behind say MW, Mikes, MWF. I tried adding water till the lather starts becoming thin.

Now, when it comes DE shaving, I never shave an area twice without reapplying lather. So I don't know how important residual slickness is. I got some of my best shaves with CRSW which is why I have 4 of their soaps in my den now (4 from same brand is a lot for me).

when it comes to straight razor shaving, my shaves haven't been that comfortable with this soap when all other variables are same. I tend to use 1-3 strokes on different areas of my face ( may well be a bad habit). But I can get away by doing so when I use say Mystic Waters soap but not CRSW.

But keep in mind that my technique is rather new (2 years, only 1 year of exploring multiple products) and I haven't used this soap for more than 30 shaves (a number I use to come to a final decision about a good product).

Zac, I used the large Franklin from Declaration Brushworks with CRSW yesterday with great results. To be honest though present day synthetics match or exceed any of my Somerset Simpsons, M&F, Paladin, Shavemac brushes and on. I heartedly embrace these brushes. I think sometimes it's tough for some to admit a $15-$20 synthetic creates better prep than $250-$400 brushes.

Sourav makes a good point about residual slickness. I prefer CRSW actually in the warmer months. MW, Mike's, P&B, Manuel's new JabonMan's Premium Tallow all shine during the colder winter months. My favorite all around soap at the moment is L&L Grooming. Scott's doing amazing things right now.

Just great prices this month on Larry's products.

They are. The soap is excellent, even without the extras. Easy to lather, rich and slick. First shave I thought it might be overdoing it with post-shave moisturizing,

This ^^^^^

Great soap. Easy to lather. Slick lather. But the post shave is TOO much for me. Leaves me greasy.

-Mark

They are. The soap is excellent, even without the extras. Easy to lather, rich and slick. First shave I thought it might be overdoing it with post-shave moisturizing,

This ^^^^^

Great soap. Easy to lather. Slick lather. But the post shave is TOO much for me. Leaves me greasy.

-Mark

Ah, so maybe I wasn't imagining that happening to me first shave. Second shave was better, but we'll have to see how it goes. (Maybe the Oliva would be better in this regard?) That so far is my only concern with this soap, and I'm really glad that I ordered it without lanolin else-wise I'd still be trying to rinse it off. The Stirling with Beeswax and Reef Point unscented are also good at the lathering part but without any signs of greasiness afterward.